Cadalyst - April 2008 - (Page 21)

cadlabsreview right of the front bezel. The buttons stand out and are relatively easy to see, although the function indicators printed on the bezel are difficult to read. The simple OSM is adequate, but the monitor is best controlled by the included Soft OSM software that lets users adjust monitor settings with the mouse cursor. With the controls being somewhat difficult to identify, it’s all too easy to inadvertently power down the monitor. I ran the Lenovo ThinkVision L220x through its paces using DisplayMate Multimedia Edition on USB to test a wide range of display characteristics. The brightness, focus, convergence, geometric distortion, and raster rotation tests all resulted in A scores, with the contrast component receiving an excellent A+. I gave color purity an A, although the yellows were slightly dull and the greens overly saturated. The grays were very neutral, and the grayscale ramps were clean and relatively stepless. No flicker or ghosting was evident at any point during testing, and 6.8 point (9 pixel) text was just readable on double-spread, side-by-side pages. The displayed image is pleasing and should be easy to live with over time. The ThinkVision L220x monitor is priced at $499, a very good price for a display of this size and quality, earning it an A+ in the pricing evaluation. The warranty is a fairly standard three years for labor, parts, and the display backlight. For additional information about this and other Lenovo displays, visit the company’s Web site at www.lenovo.com. Highly Recommended. NEC’s MultiSync LCD2690WUXi features X-Light Pro, which uses the display’s internal luminance and color sensor to achieve a consistent light-output level. MultiSync LCD2690WUXi NEC Display Solutions has been producing displays — including the MultiSync LCD 2690WUXi model it sent for review — for a very long time. The MultiSync LCD2690WUXi is a 25.5” 16:10 wide-aspect-ratio display that has a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 at 60 Hz and a dot pitch of 0.287 mm. Its response time is 16 ms or 8 ms gray-togray. This newly introduced display qualifies as a Windows Vista Premium monitor, and it’s positioned in NEC’s highend professional line. The LCD2690WUXi is compatible with both of NEC’s display-calibration software packages — SpectraView II and GammaComp MD — which are sold separately. Special features of this display include HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) and X-Light Pro, which uses the display’s internal luminance and color sensor to achieve a consistent light-output level for the useful lifetime of the display. The LCD2690WUXi has a 92% gamut versus NTSC, with 93.4% coverage of the Adobe color triangle and 87.8% coverage of the NTSC color triangle. The MultiSync LCD2690WUXi has a vendor-rated brightness of 400 cd/m2 and a contrast rating of 800:1. The display has a horizontal sync range of 31.5–93.8 kHz for analog and 119.2 kHz for digital with a vertical sync April 2008 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com NEC Display Solutions 630.467.3000 www.necdisplay.com Price: $1,199.99 range of 50–85 Hz. It uses 111 W in operation. The LCD2690WUXi has a Vacation power switch on the back that completely powers down the display and disables the front power toggle switch. The panel itself is 4” deep, and the overall measurements for the LCD2690WUXi monitor are 23.2” x 17.5–23.4” x 12” with the stand and 23.2” x 15.1” x 4.1” without it. The unit weighs 28.9 lbs with the stand and 21.4 lbs by itself. The stand pivots smoothly between portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) modes and supports the panel without wiggle at all extensions — no small feat for a panel this large. Both 100 mm x 100 mm and 200 mm x 100 mm wall-mount options are supported. Both digital and analog interfaces are supported on the NEC MultiSync LCD2690WUXi, with VGA, DVI-D, DVI-I, VGA 15-pin D-Sub, and HDCP via DVI-D input supported. The monitor does not incorporate a USB hub of any sort, nor does it integrate speakers, although a soundbar is available as an optional accessory. The LCD2690WUXi offers the normal range of image controls found on most LCD monitors with the addition of 93.4% RGB color adjustments and the NEC no-touch auto-adjust feature. Controls are accessed by an array of buttons and bars along the bottom right of the bezel that extend up the right side of the display. These buttons consist of a power toggle with blue LED, input, menu, left/right bar, up/down bar, and reset button. The control buttons are black on black but still easy to locate even if the functions aren’t readily apparent. Touch any button, however, and all the button functions appear on the screen next to each button, which is an excellent way to handle this ability. The OSM is excellent, well designed, and easily navigated with an extensive array of available functions. On the test bench, the LCD2690WUXi performed admirably, receiving an A+ for color purity and A scores for all other display characteristics. This display is a little expensive, even for a panel of this size, which resulted in it receiving an A– for pricing. The outstanding four-year 21 http://www.lenovo.com http://www.necdisplay.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - April 2008

Cadalyst - April 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central The Summer of BIM Thin Is In — Large LCD Monitors Caligari trueSpace 7.5 — 3D Modeling Software HP Compaq 8710w — Mobile Workstation Autodesk Design Review 2009 — Design Viewing and Collaboration Software Getting Better — What Should You Learn? Technical Uses for Nontechnical Software AEC on Macs Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Tips Rain Down on Harry

Cadalyst - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.