NEC Unleashes Crazy Ultra Wide 29-inch Display

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By Kevin Parrish
published

This 29-inch monitor has a 21:9 aspect ratio.

NEC Display Solutions on Monday launched a 29-inch, ultra-wide LED-backlit IPS display, the EA294WMi. Part of the company's MultiSync EA Series lineup, it sports an elongated 21:9 aspect ratio, "enhancing" multi-tasking capabilities, work performance and productivity. It also consumes 29-percent less power than dual 19-inch monitors with similar LCD technology.

"The EA294WMi continues a long tradition of NEC monitors that have forged new and better ways of working for people across a spectrum of industries," said Kevin Christopherson, Director of Product Marketing for Desktop Displays at NEC Display Solutions. "This 29-inch MultiSync model effectively replaces two SXGA 19-inch monitors in a very elegant way, yet can still enable multi-screen setups."

The specs indicate that the monitor sports a 2560 x 1080 resolution, a 300 cd/m2 brightness, a 25,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (1000:1 typical), 97 dpi (which provides better readability) and a 6-ms response time. It also has wide viewing angles of 178°H/178°V and 100-percent sRBG support.

NEC reports that smart sensing technology built into the panel automatically detects work conditions to determine the proper display brightness using ambient light and human sensors. It also provides a built-in 4-port USB 2.0 hub: two ports on the front and two on the back. Other connectivity options include DisplayPort (x1), HDMI/MHL (x1) which recharges a connected compatible device, DVI-D (x2) and VGA D-Sub (x2) inputs.

"ControlSync technology allows users to control up to six EA294WMi displays in a multi-monitor configuration," the company said on Monday. "Upon establishing one unit as the master, users are able to control many performance attributes of the multi-monitor setup in unison through the single monitor."

For those thinking about shelling out money for six panels in a wall of pure desktop awesomeness, be prepared to take out a loan. The MultiSync EA294WMi will have an estimated street price of $799 when it arrives in May 2013. Additional information can be accessed on the product page here.

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Kevin Parrish
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21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • derekullo
    231:9 would go through my side wall ...
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    For those thinking about shelling out money for six panels in a wall of pure desktop awesomeness, be prepared to take out a loan. The MultiSync EA294WMi will have an estimated street price of $799

    I've seen monitors that were a tad more pricy. Please refer to the 4K resolution monitors...
    Reply
  • JeBuSBrian
    3 or 5 of these in a portrait array would be interesting.
    Reply
  • Estix
    Soooo... $800 for a 2560x1080 monitor? How is that in any way better than, say, a U2711?
    Reply
  • MauveCloud
    EstixSoooo... $800 for a 2560x1080 monitor? How is that in any way better than, say, a U2711?
    I think the only advantage over a U2711 or U2713HM is for people who want to watch 2.35:1 widescreen movies without letterboxing. Of course, such people wouldn't have to wait for this monitor, since the Dell U2913WM is already available. I just looked up the price, it sells for about $650, making the $800 price tag for the NEC even more questionable.
    Reply
  • twelch82
    I bought the Dell version of this, and I intend to eventually use it, but I wouldn't recommend buying one as a computer monitor. It's just too short. It's the same width as a 30" 2560x1600, but it's about 40% shorter vertically.

    Spend your money on a 27" 2560x1440 instead. Or spend a couple hundred extra and get a 30" on sale for $1,000-1,100. I wholheartedly recommend getting a 30". There are few computer hardware purchases that I would consider more worthy than a 2560x1600 30" IPS.
    Reply
  • de5_Roy
    in portrait mode, this monitor will be Very useful for reading Long tomshardware comment threads. :)
    Reply
  • ikyung
    EstixSoooo... $800 for a 2560x1080 monitor? How is that in any way better than, say, a U2711?NEC, EIZO, and Sharp were always the highest end for monitors. Those three Japanese companies were considered the Cadillac of monitors back in the 90s, but after companies like LG and Samsung broke through the display panel manufacturing process, they lost a lot of market shares. I know there are still people who prefer NEC, EIZO and Sharp since their build quality is top of the line, but I know they use LG panels on a lot of their monitors. Then again, who doesn't use LG panels.
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    de5_Royin portrait mode, this monitor will be Very useful for reading Long tomshardware comment threads.They need a + 999 option on here. Comment of the day :)
    Reply
  • 2560x1080 makes sense only for movies with that idiotic "1080p" resolution that most of the time turns out to be 1920x800.
    Reply