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Mt. Tiburon Testing Labs

NEC omnibus display

NEC 37-inch LCD monitor, 3735WXM. (Source: NEC)

NEC invented the multisync monitor in 1985—22 years ago. The company was king of the hill for computer monitors for a long, long time, but slowly lost market share to aggressive Taiwanese monitor companies like LLLL and in 2000 merged with long-time rival Mitsu-bishi. NEC was also one of the first to bring out LCD monitors.

Recently NEC Display Solutions (formerly NEC–Mitsubishi) brought out a killer 37-inch LCD multi-sync display that can be used for almost anything, and they loaned one to us to test.

Well suited for home entertainment systems, gaming arcades, conference rooms, hospitality applications, or digital signage, the 37-inch MultiSync LCD3735WXMs display it one of the brightest, sharpest screens we’ve seen and would be ideal for broadcast or PC applications.

The MultiSync LCD3735WXM wide-screen monitor is a large-format display that offers workhorse display convergence performance and capabilities, while also offering a sleek design.

The LCD3735WXM monitor can display just about anything you can throw at it, it has an ATSC high-definition TV tuner, and VGA, DVI, and HDCP video connectivity, in addition to S-video, component, and composite video inputs, but no HDMI, we’re sad to report. The display is a 16:9 aspect ratio with a delightful 9-millisecond response time (gray-to-gray), a brilliant contrast ratio of 1600:1, and native resolution of 1366 x 768.

There are detachable speakers that can be mounted on the sides or bottom of the display, and the detachable base allows for easy ceiling or wall mounting.

We tried it in several different situations. First we used it to run games from the PS3, using the component inputs. It was a great experience, and the 720p content jumped on the big screen. A 37-inch 16:9 display is a wonderful size to play games on in the living room, you can get close enough to it to stimulate your peripheral sensors, which make its ideal for road-racing games as well as FPSs.

Next we tried it with the QuadFX AMD game SLI-based machine and, although it was as good as the Dell 30-inch at 2560 x 1600, it was damn close, and faster, not that we could see the 2-millisecond difference. With a fast-action FPS like GRAW the difference in resolutions isn’t always that noticeable; however, we could detect it.

Next up was a DVD player. We chose a low end, Philips DVP642, which we like because it can play DivX and has a nice 4x upsampling line doubler for progressive scan displays, and a built-in PAL-to-NTSC converter. We loaded “Battlestar Galactica 2005” and had an enjoyable time, using just the side-mounted speakers. Another nice feature is the display’s 178-degree viewing angle.

And then we stuck an antenna on it and watched OTA NTSC TV. The set can receive ATSC signals, too; it actually has two tuners with separate co-ax connectors. We didn’t have any success with the DTV—it reported low signal even though we are literally line of sight to the transmitter antenna. We even tried an RF amplifier but it didn’t help.

Sources are selected via the remote, and although robust, the switching is rather slow, in the range of a second or more, not instantaneous, so you tend to push the button repeatedly wondering if you did it right.

With all those sources it also offers a PIP, and you can position the second window in any corner or split the screen between the two. When watching one source there is an aspect button that switches the screen from 19:1 to 4:3, which makes it easy to adjust for standard video and not make everyone look like a fat face.

The SRP price for the unit is $2,300, but we found it for as low as $1,778 http://www.monitoroutlet.com/M11053.html?gclid=CICWiJrIu4kCFQ3ZYAod-gnj3Q without too much effort. 37-inch LCD TVs are popular and lots of companies are offering them (e.g., Dell, LG, JVC, Olevia, and Sceptre, to mention a few), and they all have basically the same 1366 x 768 screen. The Olevia was the least expensive at $881, and NEC seems to be the most expensive.

What do we think?

We think you’d have to see the various units side by side to make an objective determination. The NEC is brilliant. We have a 30-inch Olevia and it’s not a great picture, and even though it had the same specs as others, it doesn’t look as good as some of the others.

Our overall impression of the Multi-Sync NEC LCD3735WXM is very favorable, although we are concerned about the price. However, NEC thinks the way past that is to position the product for the signage market, but given the commonality of the platform to the other suppliers, it’s hard to see where NEC has any competitive advantage in that market unless it’s through VARs. And, given the ATSC tuner and other inputs, it’s overkill just for signage applications.

But wait—there’s more—Multeos

NEC has also just brought out the Multeo line of big LCD displays, 40- and 46-inch. Multeos is derived from the prefix “multi,” meaning many, and the word “Eos,” the Greek goddess of dawn. The NEC Multeos LCD Series is a new line of multi-function monitors (MFMs) that offer:

• NEC’s exclusive Digital Signage Technology Suite (DSTS)—more than 20 features and functions developed specifically for digital signage

• HDCP—High bandwidth Digital Content Protection—can be used with future Hi-Def components

• HDMI—High Definition Multimedia Interface—all digital audio/visual interface transmits uncompressed streams

• Selective gamma curves—Auto adjust color scheme for even-looking, true-color pictures with multiple gamma curves designed specifically for different applications

• OSM lockout—Gives users ability to lock out all functions, including power, limiting non-users from adjusting preset adjustments

• Proprietary IR (infrared) codes—prevent unauthorized remotes from controlling the monitor

• TileMatrixT and TileCompT capability—creates realistic video walls up to 25 displays (5 x 5 maximum)

• Enhanced AccuColor 6-way color control for improved color matching

• 10-bit Faroudja DCDi chip for a crisp and true picture

The displays offer full HD 1080p resolution at 1920 x 1080 and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

or the past three weeks we got to test some really great gear—it’s this aspect of the job that really makes it fun. We played with, er, tested racing games with head-tracking and steering wheel, a super 3D gaming mouse, and a killer 37-inch display.

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