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Conclusion
We’ve reviewed a variety of NEC displays here at Tom’s and without exception they perform well, look great and impart the feel of a precision-built tool. Whether you choose from the professionally-oriented PA series or an enterprise-ready EA screen, you’ll get high-end quality with performance and factory support to match.
With this new 27-inch IPS category in the Ultra HD realm, users have a good choice that works well from the standpoint of size, image quality and price. They’re more expensive than the 28-inch TN screens but with both the ViewSonic VP2780-4K and NEC EA275UHD, you get more features, a better build and a better overall picture.
Both displays offer excellent contrast, comfortably over 1000:1 which is our preferred standard. Color accuracy is also competitive with more expensive professional screens. And brightness is extremely high with max outputs over 400cd/m2. In fact the only flaw we ran into here was less-than-stellar gamma tracking. And NEC offers a fix for that in the form of SpectraView calibration software.
If you’re interested in Ultra HD for gaming, this monitor doesn’t break any new ground. It’s a 60Hz panel and forgoes both G-Sync and FreeSync. A 60Hz refresh rate at 3840x2160 resolution is likely to be with us until newer DisplayPort and HDMI standards are able to handle the extra bandwidth. And at this writing the only frame-rate-matching-capable UHD screen available is Acer’s XB280HK which offers G-Sync technology.
The EA275UHD therefore is squarely aimed at the enterprise. Pretty much anything NEC makes can be considered luxury business class based on build quality alone. The Ultra HD factor however takes this display to the top of its category.
If you’re looking for the ultimate in performance, check out the PA series. That’s where you’ll find factory-certified calibrations and a menu system that can do just about anything including full color management. Those screens have proven themselves ready for mission-critical work right out of the box. But if you’re looking to save a few bucks, an EA series monitor will satisfy the majority of users regardless of application. The addition of the EA275UHD to that line just creates another excellent choice from both NEC and the Ultra HD category.
For general computing tasks and casual gaming it’s hard to imagine a monitor with the look and feel of an NEC. There are displays of equal performance but the overall package, build quality and all the details that go into its design are hard to find elsewhere. The EA275UHD may not have the lowest price in class but we sure wouldn’t regret buying one. That’s why we’re giving it our Editor Approved Award.
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