Packaging, Physical Layout, And Accessories
Product 360
The V801 presents an all-business appearance with a neutral style that puts the image front and center with no distractions from the chassis. The bezel and the back plate are stamped steel. There isn’t much going on up front besides the screen. All of the interesting goodies are on the sides and back.
There is plenty of ventilation to keep the V801 nice and cool. Thermostat-controlled fans are built in and can be managed from the OSD. Around the NEC logo are lugs for a 400 mm VESA mount. NEC even has a wall bracket available for this beast. If you hang this display, make sure the studs are reinforced to support at least 150 pounds.
Speaking of hanging…
There are two of these lugs at the top of the V801. With the appropriate hardware, you can hang it from cables in a free-floating configuration. The idea of having a 135-pound monitor hanging overhead is both tantalizing and terrifying!
The V801 is a tremendously flexible monitor as evidenced by this very full input panel. From the left we have analog RGBHV BNC-type terminals, DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI in and out for daisy-chaining, VGA, and composite video inputs. At the far right is a LAN port and RS-232 I/O connections. As long as your source outputs a compatible signal, you can connect almost anything to the V801.
You're only able to use this control panel if the V801 is mounted to a frame, rather than a wall. And you can't see what you're doing as you manipulate its buttons, either. They control the power, select the input source, and navigate through the screen's menus. Fortunately, there's a TV-style remote included.
This wand works very well, except that it isn’t back-lit, making it difficult to use in a dark room. At the top are discrete power keys, plus one-button input access, picture mode toggle, aspect ratio, and audio. In the middle is menu navigation with volume and PIP controls. You can use a single remote to control up to 100 V801s by giving each monitor a unique ID.
Four of these handles are bolted onto the V801 to help you move it. We found them indispensable in our lab.
Here are the external speaker connections. The slot cover above them can be removed to insert a single-board PC, which NEC sells as an optional accessory. This would be extremely handy in presentation situations where you’d want a self-contained solution.
A tiny box on the back of the display contains one of the two down-firing speakers. They boast 10 watts of power, but their output is underwhelming. Consider them fine for basic computer sounds and little else. Frequencies are limited to the upper mid-range.
NEC also sells a simply stand as one of the V801's optional accessories. It’s a two-piece affair that bolts onto threaded fittings in the back. It was very helpful for our purposes, but we believe a majority of owners will mount the screen in some fashion.
Included in the box is a power cord, a DVI cable, and a CD containing drivers and user manuals. NEC also throws in batteries for the remote control.
