NEC MultiSync E201W

By John R. Delaney

The NEC MultiSync E210W is a compelling choice for businesses looking to trim costs without sacrificing ergonomic comfort. This 20-inch monitor features a stand that allows you to position the panel to achieve the best possible viewing experience, and it offers three video inputs, including DisplayPort. It doesn't require much power to operate and is built using recycled materials. However, it lacks HDMI and USB ports and its grayscale and off angle viewing performance could better.

Design and Features
The E201W look like a typical business display; the 1600-by-900 TN panel is framed by thin (0.50 inch) bezels and is housed in a plain matte black cabinet measuring 2.2 inches and weighing 7.6 pounds. The 11-inch mounting arm provides height and tilt adjustability, and the round base contains a Lazy Susan mechanism for swivel adjustments. You can also pivot the panel 90 degrees for viewing in portrait mode, but you'll have to use your graphics card's control panel to change image orientation as it does not support auto-rotation.

The back of the cabinet is home to VGA, DVI, and DisplayPort video inputs. You won't find an HDMI port on this model, nor will you find any USB ports or speakers. Positioned along the lower screen bezel are five buttons that are used for navigating the on-screen display (OSD) and for making quick input selections and ECO Mode adjustments. One of the buttons is a four-way rocker switch that makes it easy to choose menu items and tweak picture settings. There's also a light sensor that works with the Auto Brightness feature which changes brightness settings depending on ambient light. Auto Brightness can also be set to react to white content or a combination of white content and ambient light.

There are six DV modes (picture presets) including Standard, Movie, Photo, Text, Gaming, and Dynamic. Standard mode offers the best picture quality for everyday use and is the setting that I used for my testing. The six color temperature adjustments include 9300K, 7500K, 5000k, and Native color settings as well as a User setting and an sRGB setting. Along with separate Brightness and Contrast settings there are two ECO Mode options; one is an Energy Star setting and the other changes luminance settings to reduce power consumption by 30 percent. This model also features NEC's Carbon and Cost Savings meter which shows you how much money you save while operating in ECO mode using your own cost per KWh formula. It displays the carbon savings in kilograms.

NEC covers the E201W with a three year parts, labor, and backlight warranty. The monitor comes with a user guide and DVI and VGA cables. A DisplayPort cable is not included.

Performance
The E201W did a good job of displaying every segment of the DisplayMate Color Scales test image. Colors appeared uniform across the scale and were evenly saturated with no obvious tinting errors. Small text was sharp and well defined down to 5.3 points (the smallest font on the Scaled Fonts test). Grayscale performance was lacking; the panel was unable to display the lightest and darkest shades of gray on the 64-Step Grayscale test. The two darkest swatches appeared black and the lightest swatches were white-washed. Grayscale performance won't be much of a factor while conducting everyday office tasks, but if you require grayscale accuracy for things like photo editing, this monitor will likely disappoint.

As is the case with most TN monitors, the E201W looks best when viewed from the sweet spot, which is head on. When viewed from a side angle there is noticeable color shifting where whites appear tan and the overall picture loses luminance. The view from the bottom is worse as the screen becomes way too dark and color shifting is dramatic. You can avoid this by using the height adjustment to keep the panel at eye level, but you'll certainly notice it when you pivot the panel for portrait mode viewing.

The E201W used 19 watts of power during my testing while operating with ECO Mode disabled. Switching to ECO Mode 1 dropped power usage to 17 watts and the picture was still bright enough for a typical office environment. In ECO Mode 2, power usage dropped to 12 watts without becoming too dim. Given the E201W's low power consumption and use of recycled materials, it merits our Greentech stamp of approval.

With a sub-$200 price tag and numerous eco-friendly features, the NEC MultiSync E201W can help businesses save money on capital expenditures while reducing utility costs. It comes with a couple of options not typically found on budget-class monitors, most notably a four-way adjustable stand and three video inputs, and it delivers good color and small text reproduction. Grayscale performance is not this monitor's strong suit, however, and the picture deteriorates when viewed from side, top, and bottom angles. If viewing angle and grayscale performance is a deal breaker, consider the Editors' Choice Asus VS229H-P . It uses IPS technology and offers much better color and grayscale quality, and it looks good from any angle. You'll have to live without the ergonomic stand though.

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