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Despite being one of the founding fathers in the development of LCD products, the performance of NEC's LCD monitors has often been a let down compared to rival products.
However, the same can't be said for its latest model, the MultiSync LCD1880SX, which shows a considerable level of improvement in both features and display quality.
The TFT panel sits inside a remarkably slim chassis, with a bezel that's little over 1cm on all sides and, despite an integrated power supply, it has a depth of less than 7cm.
The equally slim stand tilts and swivels easily and also allows you to adjust the height of the screen if required.
Like other NEC LCD monitors, the screen can be pivoted through 90 degrees and software is supplied that will rearrange your desktop resolution to match this new orientation, which is ideal if you work regularly with programs that output A4-size documents.
It doesn't offer an integrated USB hub, nor does it provide a set of integrated speakers. However, it does support dual signalling, with a DVI-I port at the rear, alongside DVI-D and VGA ports.
Although it's an unusual combination compared to the simpler dual DVI-I solution, it does allow you to connect analogue and digital signals with a variety of cable options. In addition, you can switch between each connection with a single button push.
As is typical for an 18.1in. panel, the native resolution of the LCD1880SX is 1,280 x 1,024 pixels, although it will rescale to non-native settings with three options available: 1:1 pixel ratio; rescale to full screen; or rescale to aspect ratio.
An onscreen message will advise you if you're driving the screen in a sub-optimal resolution, but this can be disabled. In addition, you can adjust the sharpness of the overall image to suit your preference.
There are automatic calibration settings for both brightness and contrast, as well as five colour temperature settings between 5,000 and 9,300K. The display's native Accucolor setting matches the sRGB colour profile to assist colour matching between capture devices, screen and printers.
Overall image quality is extremely good. We found the automatic calibration for analogue signals to be effective and the contrast ratio of 300:1 and maximum brightness of 240cd/m2 provided a clear, sharp image.
There's no evidence of streaking or ghosting and colour balance is even throughout. Overall uniformity is clear and the 35ms response time should be more than sufficient for general use.
System administrators will be pleased about the menu lockout and Video Electronics Standards Association 100mm arm mounts are also supported.
This screen might be more expensive than competing flat panel displays, but it provides a very respectable combination of performance and features for the price, especially if you're in the market for a screen with an extremely thin bezel.
Price: (ex VAT) £975.99
Contact: NEC
www.nec-monitors.com
See also:
A decent quality, well priced 19in LCD monitor with dual inputs. 05 Dec 2002
This is a very competent product with a feature set and appearance that compares favourably with more expensive monitors. 28 May 2002
All Flat Panel monitors
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