NEC EA231WMi-BK 23-Inch MultiSync Widescreen LCD Monitor

Don't be fooled by the price -- you're not buying a run-of-the-mill TN consumer LCD. This is actually one of the best bargains in high-quality eIPS displays you're going to find anywhere.

First impression: the EA231WMI is a solid, quality-constructed monitor. This BK variant comes in a no-nonsense basic black with a sturdy, heavy stand that even adjusts for height as well as the usual axes (I only wish it had better tilt control, but it pivots, rotates and lifts up and down). The ports are down-facing, which is a little inconvenient to set up, but stable when the cables are cinched in. It also has a decent sound system, and takes DisplayPort, VGA and DVI (DualLink DVI-D compatible) up to its native 1920x1080 resolution. HDCP is accepted through DVI, so HDMI connections should work fine with just a converter. You can have separate signals connected and switch between them (on mine, one Mac on VGA, the other on DVI); there is a sound input, and in a very nice touch, a USB...Read more

My most critical use and reason to upgrade was for photo editing and photo printing so if this is your need make sure to use the DVI connection for the best possible performance on any monitor. This monitor replaces my old 22" Samsung Synchmaster 225BW. The EA231WMi produced accurate color right out of the box. After color calibrating with Datacolor's Spyder 3 I found only small corrections were made in the monitor color correction profile produced by Spyder to calibrate the monitor to Spyder's theoritical calibration values.
The viewing angle is excellent with no visible color shifts or dimming with normal head movements and well beyond, thanks to the e-ips technology. Bonuses are the height, swivel, tilt adjustments and full array of cables (DVI, VGA, USB, audio). I don't need or use the VGA input, speakers, USB, or portrait tilt, so no opinion on those. I find the 23" size more than adequate for photo work (Lightroom, PhotoShop, PDF), AutoCAD, and all the MS Office...Read more

Below is my personal experience with NEC and their support

I've got a 6 month old NEC EA231 WMI monitor of which the multi control switch has failed working properly (up position seldom works)

NEC Display support offered me a replacement (with a refurbished unit told to be up to specs) under warranty, assuming I am supposed to pay shipping of the defective unit to NEC. So far so good.

The replacement unit has arrived timely, well packed but to my surprise the unit has a solid 1" darker spot toward the middle of the screen and also a dead pixel in the same area!

pics here: [...]

Contacting NEC support again, they are advising me that a dead pixel is within the normal specs (nothing new here, just annoying) and that the dark spot is also within the specs!! Are you (NEC) guys kidding me that you can live with a dark spot on the middle of your display, and that is considered within specs? Probable for a 50% blind person...Read more