NEC EA275UHD 27-inch UHD Monitor Review

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Color Gamut & Performance

For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.

In the past we’ve shown you the relationship between gamma and color saturation. The charts generated by the EA275UHD further demonstrate the concept. At the 100-percent level, all six colors are pretty much on-target except blue which is slightly under-saturated. But look at the targets inside the gamut triangle. Light gamma coupled with high luminance values create under-saturation most significantly in red, blue and magenta. A fix to gamma tracking would yield a better result in this test.

sRGB mode is a little better but it still has higher luminance values than it should. The net result is decent color accuracy as you can see by the Delta E numbers. But there is more performance available here.

Calibration of the number three preset brings down the error levels a little more but doesn’t completely solve the saturation and luminance issues. It seems the only way to improve upon these results is to use SpectraView to correct the gamma tracking.

Now we return to the comparison group.

We’ve been saying overall errors aren’t too far above the visible threshold. 3.28dE is the best we could do with an instrumented calibration. If you choose the sRGB mode, the error is only slightly higher at 3.47dE. Native mode yields an average of 4.30dE. Since sRGB provides more contrast than Preset 3, that’s the mode we recommend.

Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998 And sRGB

There’s a tiny bit of bonus red and green available so the total gamut volume exceeds 100-percent sRGB by 2.96-percent. It looks like some tweaking has happened here since the VP2780-4K, which uses the same panel part, has seven-percent less volume. In NEC’s case however, if you want exactly 100-percent volume you can achieve it with SpectraView or CalMAN.

Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

  • deuce_23
    This might be the one for me tho i would like a 32inch for gaming but 4k and HDMI cant really complain. It will nicely with my gtx 980ti. Now time to save! Whats that in Australian dollars?
    Reply
  • oyoy
    Nice, nothing special, no serious news really to lighting up 2016. Good sRGB and great uniformity but RGB and color gamut are just faulty, that's a deal breaker ..maybe at $599. Will skip this one, waiting for better performance + price wise (Design + Little gaming here and there).

    Thanks for the review Christian Eberle
    Reply
  • thundervore
    NEC monitors are always great. Beats Dell and HP by a mile when it comes to their quality and performance to price. Even a nice height adjustable stand.
    Reply
  • kartu
    No FreeSync support out of laziness? Meh...
    Reply
  • picture_perfect
    OK for photography & surfing. I don't think they are marketing it as a gaming monitor. Just as well unless you have a $1000 SLI set up to drive this excessive resolution. Low frame rates add persistence blur, stutter and lag,
    Reply
  • epobirs
    I ordered one of these from Newegg today:
    http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-27MU67-B-4k-uhd-led-monitor

    It has Freesync, though the user doesn't go in for the games where the difference would make itself known. It's mainly to fill a gap in a household that has several devices that can drive 4K but no 4K displays on hand. I'm trying not to get my hopes overly high but it seems like a good unit for the price.
    Reply
  • erickw
    I’ve been the proud owner of an Eizo Flexscan 24”HD monitor for over 8 years (another monitor that was not really intended for gaming). Nonetheless, I’ve done a ton of gaming on this workhorse of a monitor (though not much in the way of fast paced shooters), along with many other applications. It has been an absolutely superlative gaming monitor, and I’ve long maintained that it makes virtually every other HD monitor I’ve seen pale in comparison. Depending on one’s specific needs (and pocketbook), monitors like this NEC can be excellent choices; even for gaming. I’m seriously looking at replacing my dearly loved (and hard to part wth) Eizo with this 4k beauty!
    Reply
  • TwoMetreBill
    Keep in mind that for photo/video use, it is a QUADRO and not a GeForce that is needed for highest image quality. The GeForce is for gaming and not photo editing. For AMD I think the equivalent is the Pro series.

    In order to deliver a higher frame rate for gaming, the GeForce cuts off the rendering before it is complete.
    Reply