Ron Martinsen's Photography Blog: 10-bit

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Sunday, July 24, 2016

REVIEW: NEC MultiSync PA322UHD-2 32” 3480 x 2160 Pro 4k Photo/Video Editing Monitor (UPDATED: July 2016)

NEC PA322UHD-BK-SV 32" Widescreen LED Backlit
Color Accurate IPS Monitor (Shown with SpectraView II)

When I was a kid there were two ground breaking HBO specials by the comedian Eddie Murphy called Delirious and it’s sequel RAW. These were a uncensored stand up comedy programs like nothing anyone had ever seen on TV before (at that point). As a minor watching them when my parents were sleeping I found it to be rib cracking funny to watch and 30 years later I still quote numerous bits from these movies. Why am I telling you all of this? Well because my first thought when I first started my PA322UHD review unit was a direct quote from these movies – “goonie goo goo”. My jaw literally dropped when I saw this glorious 32” beast come to life, and if you knew my full history with 4K displays dating back to 2010 you’d realize that is a very hard thing to do!

Right out of the box I was able to calibrate this display with my NEC SpectraSensor and SpectraView II 1.1.18 on my Windows 7 system to a staggering 0.26 Delta E. What this means in non-Geek terms is that this display was able to be calibrated – on it’s first try out of the box – to a level that is almost an identical match to the reference target white point. This is one of the lowest Delta E’s I’ve seen on a display right out of the box, so this puts this display up there with the best Eizo display’s I’ve used.

Delta E: 0.26!!!

So let’s see what NEC has to say about the features of this display:

The ultimate in reliable, accurate color. The 32” MultiSync PA322UHD is the benchmark desktop display for color accurate work, from photography to pre-press to videography. Featuring a UHD resolution (3840 x 2160) IGZO technology IPS-type panel with wide gamut white LED backlight, this display provides 99.2% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space while consuming less power than comparable displays. Packed with features and backed by a 4 year warranty with Advanced Exchange, the MultiSync PA322UHD will reliably deliver high quality, accurate images simply and beautifully.

Superior screen performance (1000:1 contrast ratio, 3840x2160 UHD native resolution, 350cd/m2 brightness)
14-bit 3D internal programmable lookup tables (LUTs) for calibration
Picture in Picture and Picture by Picturemodes increase productivity by displaying two or four sources simultaneously
MultiProfiler™ software provides complete control over the five picture modes, including the loading of any ICC profile directly into the monitor for optimal color space matching
DisplaySync ProTM controls two computers with only one keyboard and mouse
Wide connectivity includes two DisplayPort with 10-bit support, four 10-bit HDMI, two DVI-D inputs as well as a USB hub (new -2 model includes HDMI 2.0 support)
NaViSet Administrator 2: Free software solution that greatly eases administration and management of larger display device installations
Available with SpectraViewII Color Calibration Kit (PA322UHD-BK-SV)

Now let’s look closely at that 99.2% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space claim with the Color Gamut overlay that shows the Display’s color gamut on the outside and the faint triangle on the inside as Adobe RGB:

That doesn’t look like 99.2% to me – it looks to be > 100%. However, there might be some tiny bit of red missing that is hard to tell from this graph, but what I can tell you is that if you are doing color critical work – this is THE display to have! This is as good as I’ve seen boys and girls!

If you read my review of the NEC EA244UHD 4k Display, then you can safely assume that nearly every negative comment I made about that display has been properly addressed by this display. Specifically, this is a BRILLIANT display for photo and video editing that has proper physical buttons (instead of the EA series annoying non-tactile touch controls) and it’s physically large enough that Photoshop is actually readable! If you haven’t read that review, I encourage you to do so now as I won’t be repeating a lot of points about 4k / UHD and video cards.

To learn more about NEC 4k UHD, I’d encourage you to check out this web site that they have created.

Warning: This beauty is a beast!

This is definitely the dream display for photographers and videographers, but beware – it is HUGE! Weighing in at a whopping 45+ lbs (20.5 Kg) and 29.3 inches wide – you need a LOT of space on your desk (or a seriously heavy duty monitor arm). It really is big enough where I’d replace a traditional 2 x 24” display setup with just this one to avoid having to cross displays. As a result, don’t plan on putting this on some flimsy desk – it will destroy it!

White Point Matching/Copy

One interesting feature of this display for those who are doing color critical work is that it features the ability to copy the White Point from one display to another. This is important because it helps you to have an exact match between two displays to reduce the variation between displays.

To learn more, see Page 33 in the English manual.

UPDATE: New PA322UHD-2 Model

PA322UHD-2 (left) vs PA322UHD (right)

In May 2016, NEC replaced the PA322UHD with the PA322UHD-2 model which looks identical at first glance, but on the side you see the key difference (shown on the left above). The new model now features HDMI 2.0 support including a new HDMI 2.0 port on the side. This is important because the best resolution and refresh rate on the previous model could only be achieved via DisplayPort, but its now possible with HDMI as well.

If you have the older model, don't fret unless you need HDMI 2.0 support because the performance of this display is otherwise identical.

Conclusion

When I imaged what 4k UHD would be like on a display, this is what I was expecting. With incredibly accurate color, excellent edge to edge consistency (which is shocking on such a huge display), and a physical size that helps make 3480 x 2160 readable on poor behaving legacy apps (like Photoshop on Windows 7) – this is without question the best 4k UHD display I’ve seen to date. I am simply blown away and will be crying like a baby when I have to send this one back to NEC!!!!

My only gripes about this display are the massive weight and cost. At more than 2x the cost of the EA244UHD (as of this writing), is it really that much better? In my opinion – ABSOLUTELY. However, that’s more money than I can afford for a display, so I’d have a hard time justifying the cost of a display like this at this price. Hopefully as time passes we’ll see it drop to the sub $2500 range where it at least will start approaching the cost of a good DSLR.

NOTE: For more information about UHD video cards, 4k Netflix, Photoshop in 4K & more, then I highly recommend you read this past review of the PA322UHD’s cheaper sibling.

Long Term Report - July 2016

I've had my PA322UHD for over a year now, and I can easily say this has been the most enjoyable display that I've used in my entire lifetime.

I have a lot of experience with display technology and devices that can output 4k and beyond, but many still lack the edge to edge color quality and color consistency over time that this display offers.

Using this display is a bit like watching a Harry Potter movie because it's like looking at photo that is alive on your display. The screen resolution is very close to print resolution, so if you want a display that looks as good as a 15x27"+ size print - THIS IS THE DISPLAY YOU WANT!

I've also appreciated the matte finish of the display which minimizes reflections, and the color accuracy and quality appears - to my eyes - to be superior to the Apple 5k displays (which have an extra 1k due to the width / aspect ratio).

Where to order

Click here to learn more or order on B&H’s web site. My friends at Amazon have it available here. I STRONGLY encourage you to use the NEC SpectraSensor (or equivalent X-Rite) and ONLY the SpectraView II software with it to get an accurate calibration. As a result, if you don’t own a sensor or the SpectraView II software, then I’d strongly suggest that you consider the bundled version with the sensor and software. You can also buy the SpectraView II software here if you already own a 4k wide gamut compatible sensor from X-Rite or DataColor. Please note that this software is only designed to work with NEC displays.

WARNING: If you want the new -2 model, be sure to check for "MFR # PA322UHD-BK-2" when ordering. If you purchase via B&H, you can place your order and call or email to confirm that you will get the "MFR # PA322UHD-BK-2" model. This will only be a short time issue though after inventory is depleted as only the new model is shipping now.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this. NEC provided me with a loaner display for testing and reviewing, but I don’t own it. My love of NEC PA series displays has also led to be being featured on their website.

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This blog is intended for freelance writing and sharing of opinions and is not a representative of any of the companies whose links are provided on this site.

The opinions provided are of Ron Martinsen alone and do not reflect the view of any other entity

Friday, June 27, 2014

MINI-REVIEW: NEC’s 4k Display (EA244UHD) & the Intel NUC

NEC MultiSync EA244UHD 23.8" 4K IPS LED Monitor

I’ve had the luxury of testing NEC’s first ever 4k display for the last few months, so it is with great excitement that I can FINALLY talk about it!

4K resolution (courtesy of Wikipedia)

4k in the computer world is most often 3840 x 2160 pixel (aka UHD) resolution which has twice as many horizontal and vertical pixels as your 1080p (1920x1080) display or TV. There are other resolutions calling themselves 4k. For those without calculators handy, that means 1080p is roughly 2 megapixels whereas 4k is 8 megapixels, so photographers should immediately understand the advantage that 4k has to offer!

Show FOUR different 1080p sources at ONCE on ONE of these displays!

6 discrete input ports can with up four 1080p sources visible at one time

While not super relevant for photographers, one of the needs I have at work is to see up to 4 different computer screens at once. In the past that required four different computer displays, but with this display I can show up to four sources at the same time in full 1080p resolution. Of course you can just show one input source, but if you do have a need to show the input from multiple sources at once (i.e., security cameras, laptop and desktop, old computer & new computer, etc..) it supports or several combinations of up to four from the six digital inputs ports.

Yeah, I know this is geeky so scratch it from your mind if you’ll only be connecting one computer to your display.

4k Video Cards

To take advantage of 4k displays you need a video card or computer that supports 4k. Currently few computers meet that requirement, but you might be surprised learn that if you have an integrated graphics chip like the Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4600, 5000 and up that you system might support 4k output. Most often this graphics chipset is found in laptops and small computers that do not have separate pluggable video cards.

If you don’t have one and you have a big computer then you might be able to buy one of the monstrous, yet wonderfully fast 4k graphics adapters like this one:

EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Graphics Card

The EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Graphics Card was the video card I used for most of my 4k testing and it was awesome. However it is gigantic so most computers can’t handle cards that large. Click here to see over 600,000 video cards benchmark ratings where this card comes in first in the high end category (at the time this was written), but to also research other cards that are capable of 4k. The key thing to look for are cards that can display a resolution of 3840 x 2160 at ideally 60hz, but 30hz will work.

While I haven’t tested it, in theory this slightly cheaper card should be functionally similar:

PNY Technologies GeForce GTX 780 Ti Graphics Card

Of course the market has plenty now and many coming that are smaller and cheaper, but I didn’t test any so I can only speak to what I actually have used thus far.

4k on the cheap

Intel NUC Next Unit of Computing Kit - D54250WYK

This cool little Intel i5 Haswell based PC can drive up to two 4k displays and boot Windows 8.1 in as under 10 seconds with a fast mSata and DDR3L RAM. I’ve loved this so much that I bought my mom one of the larger Intel D54250WYKH1 Mini PC Nuc Kit so I could put both a 2.5” and mSata Samsung EVO SSD (the fast SSD I’ve tested) in at the same time.

Please note that if you buy one of these that you must buy the RAM, SSD and optionally wireless adapter separately. You must also be VERY careful when ordering RAM. It ONLY takes DDR3L (1.35v) and that L is very, very, very important because most RAM is just DDR3 (1.5v). Here’s one example:

16GB (2 x 8GB) 204-pin SODIMM DDR3L1600 MHz Speed Memory

but I’ve had good luck with Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MHz (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V.

I’m very happy with the NUC units I’ve tested and the one I’ve purchased for my mom, so if you are looking for a system that has the power of a good laptop in a tiny 4x4” desktop form factor then I highly recommend the Intel NUC! To learn more about the NUC, visit Intel’s NUC home page.

Oh and in case you are wondering, the i5 here is the same generation i5 found in the latest 13” MacBook Pro Retina laptops, but it is a little slower Ghz version.