NEC PA322UHD 32-Inch Ultra HD Monitor Review
We haven’t seen any new IGZO UHD panels for a while, but NEC surprised us with its PA322UHD. Priced at the level of a precision instrument, it promises accuracy with a factory calibration. Today we test it in our labs.
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Grayscale Tracking And Gamma Response
Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.
At this price point, it’s reasonable to expect precise out-of-box performance (at least in the sRGB and Adobe color modes). We’re showing you both graphs to demonstrate that the PA322UHD does indeed match its factory-generated tests. The box includes a data sheet for each monitor that shows similar results to what we recorded. There is a slight red push from 30 percent and up, but with all errors under two DeltaE, you won’t see it.
The sRGB mode shows slightly better performance. Either way, though, you don’t have to calibrate.
Then again, if you have the means, why not? Running your own calibration yields the the results below.
The RGB adjusters are extremely precise. They offer very fine resolution, allowing us to generate one of our best grayscale tracking graphs ever. It doesn’t really get much better.
Results from the Adobe RGB mode are pretty much identical.
And here's our comparison group again:
NEC’s own EA244UHD still sets the standard for out-of-box grayscale performance, though the PA322UHD is only a tiny bit behind. The sRGB mode is the most accurate, followed closely by the Adobe RGB preset. Like we said earlier, calibration is definitely an option, not a requirement.
The gains we realize from adjusting the PA322UHD are worth it in our opinion. Any professional monitor should score under one DeltaE for grayscale tracking, especially when you’re spending $3000.
Really though, none of the screens represented here have flaws worth worrying about. They’re all very accurate and perfectly suited for color-critical applications.
Gamma Response
There are gamma presets to be found in the Advanced menu. They all provide solid tracking, as shown above. From 70- to 90-percent brightness, you can see a slight dip, but it only represents an error of 1.81 cd/m2, which is negligible.
Here is our comparison group again:
None of the screens have any serious tracking errors, and yet the PA322UHD comes out on top. As with the grayscale result, it matches NEC's factory data sheet perfectly.
We calculate gamma deviation by expressing the difference from 2.2 as a percentage.
The slight dip from 70 to 90 percent drops the NEC to fourth place. Only Sharp's PN-K321 demonstrates any visible gamma flaws. The rest of the monitors are visually perfect.
Current page: Grayscale Tracking And Gamma Response
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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.
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Nuckles_56 I was wondering and couldn't see anywhere but what HDMI and display port versions is the panel using?Reply -
MonsterCookie In this bad economy, where especially the "first wirld" countries are affected who kould pay for such toys, asking 3000$ (nowadays the same as 3000Euros) is almost ludacris. That is the price for a decent used car.Reply
Please just make first standard 30-inch 256x1600 screens available for an affordable price, and only after that is done, hope to sell these gems on the market.
No offence, but here in Europe things are running so bad, that even design companies (where color accuracy is important are outsourcing), and they definitely cannot afford to splash 3000Euros of a darn computer screen.
Not even talking about the private sector. -
MonsterCookie I know that that there will be hundreds of people commenting that for them this monitor is cheap.Reply
Well, lucky YOU!
In socialist (nowadays becoming almost communist) countries like within the EU, where the state steals 48% of our salary as tax, we do *NOT* make six figures to pay for these things. Period.
Btw, Tom's. Why on earth is there no Edit button?
Just noticed that I made lots of typos in my first post because I was so angry at the price... -
beebbeeb The other top dog is Eizo, and the proper comparator is obviously Eizo ColourEdge series. Hope that Tom's Hardware will do a review of Eizo soon.Reply -
Tanquen This is kind of out there. My 5 year old Dell U3011 (16:10, 2560x1600) was $950 when I got 2 of them, has 10-bit color and works fine. Going up to edge lit LED at 3840x2160 (16:9 Yuck!) , 5 years later for $3000 is too much. For $2000 it should be 4096x2160 or 5120x3200 (16:10) and have a better multi zone LED back light and have a better response time.Reply
TVs are bigger and do it for much less.
Eizo and LG have 30"-ish 4096x2160 displays for less and what is with the bezels still being so huge. Look how deep this this is, why is the bezel so big. Again, bigger TVs have small bezels and people actually want to put two or three PC monitors next to each other. -
Shankovich Some comments aren't realizing this is a professional oriented monitor. Targeted to artists, video editors, probably some types of engineers. Not for gaming guys (though it could game quite well it seems)Reply -
mechanus If I had $3000 I'd start a business like selling stuff on amazon instead of spend it on a lot tiny light bulbs under a glass sheet.Reply -
mechanus If I had $3000 I'd start a business like selling stuff on amazon instead of spend it on a lot tiny light bulbs under a glass sheet.Reply