NEC Goes for a Curved Display, Launches 3440×1440 MultiSync EX341R Monitors
by Anton Shilov on February 9, 2017 6:00 PM EST
This week NEC has announced its first curved ultrawide display, the EX341R. NEC is promoting the panel for offices, control rooms, trading rooms, and other applications that typically use multi-monitor configurations but also appreciate color accuracy. The screen has a number of differences when compared to displays for gamers, and the price of the new MultiSync EX341R will be reflected in this.
In the recent years, NEC concentrated on displays for commercial and professional use, whereas its consumer monitor lineup slowly stepped into the background. The majority of curved ultrawide displays nowadays are designed with gamers in mind, which is why manufacturers tend to incorporate very high refresh rates along with dynamic refresh rate technologies and gaming specific features or aesthetics. Nonetheless, ultrawide displays may make sense to replace those used to multi-monitor environments, and this is a reason why Dell introduced its business-oriented curved ultrawide screens last year. NEC now also sees demand for monitors with a 21:9 aspect ratio from its customers, which is why the company announced its new MultiSync EX341R-BK and EX341R-SV-BK products this week.
The NEC MultiSync EX341R-series displays are based on SVA panels (presumably made by Samsung) with a 3440×1440 resolution, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 290 nits brightness, 178°/178° viewing angles, 5 ms response time and a 60 Hz refresh rate. It also targets customers that need various degrees of color accuracy (NEC markets the panels as supporting 99.5% sRGB) and therefore bundles the Spyder5 color calibration sensor and the SpectraView II software with the EX341R-SV-BK monitor.
As for connectivity, the NEC MultiSync EX341R has one DisplayPort 1.2 with MST support as well as two HDMI headers (one 1.4 and one 2.0). The monitor fully supports NEC’s control Sync technology that allows controlling the settings of up to 25 displays in a multi-monitor setup using controls of only one of them. Additionally, the display supports PBP and PiP features when connected to two computers. Finally, it has a quad-port USB 3.0 hub with two USB Type-B upstream ports (to connect to two different PCs).
| NEC's MultiSync EX341R-Series Displays | ||
| EX341R-BK | EX341R-SV-BK | |
| Panel | 34" SVA | |
| Native Resolution | 3440 × 1440 | |
| Maximum Refresh Rate | 60 Hz | |
| Response Time | 5 ms | |
| Brightness | 290 cd/m² | |
| Contrast | 3000:1 | |
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | |
| Curvature | 1800R | |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.23 mm | |
| Pixel Density | 110 ppi | |
| Color Gamut | NTSC: 77.5% sRGB: 99.5% '16.7 million colors' |
|
| Inputs | 1 × DisplayPort 1.2 1 × HDMI 2.0 1 × HDMI 1.4 |
|
| Outputs | DisplayPort 1.2 (SST/MST) | |
| USB Hub | 4-port USB 3.0 hub 2 × USB Type-B upstream ports |
|
| Audio | 1 W × 2 audio in/out ports |
|
| Power Consumption (idle/active) | Idle: 0.26 W Active: 62 W |
|
| Product Bundle | Setup sheet User manual Power cord DisplayPort cable USB cable ControlSync cable |
Setup sheet User manual Power cord DisplayPort cable USB cable ControlSync cable SpectraViewII Software USB Spyder5 Color Calibration Sensor |
| Launch Price | $999 | $1150 |
The NEC MultiSync EX341R-BK and EX341R-SV-BK displays will be available in February at an MSRP of $999 and $1,149 respectively.
Related Reading:
- Dell Unveils UltraSharp U3417W: Makes Its Curved Display More Curved
- Acer Launches Curved XR382CQK Display: 37.5-inch, 3840×1600, FreeSync, & USB-C
- AOC Announces the AGON AG352UCG 21:9 Curved Display: 35", 3440×1440, 100Hz with G-Sync
- Philips BDM4037UW Goes on Sale: 40 Inch 4K Curved Display for $800
Source: NEC
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
39 Comments
View All Comments
Gothmoth - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
curved died for TV... reborn for computers.i pass.
bigboxes - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
Yup. It's a gimmick for sales. Like 3D. I realize there are some that like the feature. If I was a gamer then yeah, I'd be all over the curve. As a content producer I value accurate geometry. I already have an ultrawide monitor. I use a VESA mount to hang the display near me without taking all the desktop space underneath it.dstarr3 - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
It's gimmicky on TVs, because you're much too far away from them for it to make a difference. But being just a few feet away from a computer monitor, the difference is much more pronounced. Look at one in person sometime. The difference is a lot more significant than you'd expect, and it's precisely because you sit so close to a monitor vs. a TV.seerak - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
I'm in visual effects, and I find that the curve isn't an issue for content creation - though admittedly, VFX is more about looks than precision.Rather, the advantage for me is that the curve mitigates the corner distortion that come from being closer to the screen. In doing so, it makes practical sitting much closer to the screen, giving me a much more usefully expansive workspace. I run a 40" curved TV as a monitor and sit back no more than 3 feet from the screen, and in 4k mode I can run Houdini full-screen and use all of it, including the corners. Before that I was an early adopter of a cheap Seiki 39 inch, and at 3 feet away the corners tended to go unused, or I had to translate my head around more than I liked. A 30 inch 2560x1600 flat would have been just as good.
So yes, curves are useless for a TV where the angle of view is less than 20 degrees - but for monitors, in applications that demand a lot of screen real estate, it's great - similar to angled multi-screen setups.
Beaver M. - Saturday, February 11, 2017 - link
Of course it died for TVs, since nobody sits only 1 meter from it at max. Its more like 3 meters on average. At such distances a curved surface would only benefit on huge TVs, 120" and up, probably more, since I dont really have any idea how big that would be...For PCs its awesome. It gives benefits in many aspects, like better color in the edges, immersion and space.
vicbee - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
I will say this every time I see a monitor promoted/reviewed: The new (finally!) trend in TV's is panel + innards connected by a near invisible cable. That trend makes even more sense for monitors since most users have them connected to a base which could easily hold the electronics and the cable hidden in the arm. I give it 2 years top before all higher end monitors are near bezel free, 3-4 mm thick and curved.Beaver M. - Saturday, February 11, 2017 - link
No. Many people actually use a monitor arm to have more space on the desk and be able to pivot them easily or get them closer to your eyes or further away for different applications. For example I like to get the monitor very close for games, and further away for working.With a construction like that, that would be impossible. A VESA mount is a must.
TEAMSWITCHER - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
34" for over $1000. You can a 40" Samsung 4K TV with speakers, wifi, apps, and a remote for only $450. The Monitor industry is dead to me..BigDragon - Friday, February 10, 2017 - link
I'm disappointed with the color gamut and refresh rate on this model. For $999+ I'm expecting 10-bit color with at least 75 Hz refresh. I am glad to see another 34 inch option available though! This format seems to be gaining a lot of steam. Still trying to convince my employer to replace my dual monitors with one of these!Why buy this NEC EX341R instead of the Samsung CF791?