Eizo or NEC

My CRT is on its last leg and must be replaced. I use a Optix to calibrate. I

have narrowed my choice of an LCD to either a NEC 2190UXi or Eizo ColorEdge

CG19. I am not concerned with monitor size 19" vs 21", but more with the color

quality and reliability of the monitor. Anyone have experience with either one.

Recommendations are welcome.

I'm using an Eizo CG210 for about a year and can only say it's great. Color match and

reliability, eyestrain, color and density consistency from middle to the edges are outstanding.

A friend is still running his LaCie Blue CRT's and compared to those I?m worlds happier. It?s a

steep price but so worth it (My favorite Post Production shop in NY uses the CG 210 as well,

and doing color corrections/contract proofing for major (inter-) national advertising and

editorial clients).

The October edition of "Shutterbug" magazine reviews the Eizo. I'm impressed. There's also some hints why LCDs are pushing CRTs off the map, besides desktop real estate.

I have no experience with the monitors you mentioned, although I had

a chance to play with a NEC 2180Uxi. It was a very nice monitor.

EIZO is an great brand as well, but in your situation I would go

with the NEC.

I own a CG21 and for a time had an evaluation unit of the CG19. I also own the NEC 1980Sxi,

which has been updated to the 1990SXi. In my experience, the NEC, when properly calibrated

can deliver about 80-90% of the the performance of the Eizo. This makes it an excellent value

when you consider the price difference. But with the NEC do factor in the cost of NEC's

Spectraview II calibration software (and of course a colorimeter if you don't have one already).

NEC does employ DDC for one button calibration but in a way that makes the fucntion

unusable with third party calibration software like ColorEyes. It seems the 90 series has

consistent color specs across the line so you can save without giving up color accuracy with

the 19 inch model. Hope that helps.

morrie, i've been going back & forth between those 2 brands as well.. including the apple cinema display. from what i've gathered the NEC SpectraView range is best for our needs, and as said above, properly callibrated, will probably be close to 90% to the eizo. but do look into the SpectraView range...

I do understand that the Eizo is a bit pricy, here's a little test someone showed me last

year:

Create a Photoshop document (i use 8x10, 300dpi, good size, not too big).

Then draw a continuous tone black to white graduation from left to right (Gradient tool,

standard, but you could it in all colors, diagonal, whatever).

Now enlarge the image so it covers the entire screen (Mac: press tab and "F" twice to make

only the image visible.

Finally judge the "continuous" tone that the monitors are able to reproduce.

That should give a bit more than a ballpark idea of the quality of the screen, you just have

to find your own quality/pain/monetary relation level (I was personally very disappointed

with the Apples, loved the Eizo CG220 but my budget hated it, so it was a CG210 for me).

By the way i calibrate with Gretag Macbeth Eye One Photo.