NEC MultiSync P221W - 22in widescreen LCD

Subjective Image Quality

If the P221W aces the objective image quality tests, it looks just as good to the naked eye. One of its best attributes is black tone rendering. Even with the backlight set to maximum, light occlusion is well controlled. However, knock it down a few notches and black levels really are superb.

Consequently, this is a fantastic screen for watching HD video. The black bars above and below letterboxed widescreen video can often be a distraction on cheap TN monitors with poor contrast capabilities. But not here.

Thanks to the inkiness of the P221W's blacks, they melt into near non-existence. The subtle and natural colour balance is also a boon for video, with realistic flesh bones a particular strong point. The only drawback, obviously, is the modest 22-inch diagonal. It's not exactly cinematic.


As for gaming, apart from the slightest hint of lag, the P221W puts on quite a show, though perhaps not as in your face as you might expect from a PVA screen. Thanks go to the slightly subdued overall colour balance for that. Super-saturated colours are par for the course for PVA panels, but this NEC is pretty low key. For those who prize colour accuracy, that's an undoubted boon, but it does rob it of just a little visual pizazz.

Conclusion

Make no mistake, this monitor has a lot going for it. If impeccable colour accuracy is your bag, then the P221W's cutting edge S-PVA panel and quality electronics make for a great choice. And yet even in isolation it remains awfully hard to justify at £425. Making matters worse, HP has also recently released a 22-inch monitor based on the latest Samsung S-PVA panel, the LP2275W.


In many regards, it's a dead ringer for the P221W save for the absence of a programmable look-up table. But it sells for under £300. We have a review of the HP coming soon, so at the very least we'd recommend you peruse that before plumping for the NEC. However, one potentially deal-breaking niggle both the NEC and HP share is pixel density.

In recent months, we've become accustomed to the generous virtual elbow room and visual sharpness that comes with the full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. It's now a standard feature on many 22-inch TN monitors available for under £150. It would be pretty galling to pay over £400 for significantly fewer PVA-powered pixels. In that context and in order to justify its almost punitive pricing, what this monitor really needs is a 1,920 x 1,200 native resolution and a 16:10 aspect. Sadly, therefore, the quest for the perfect 22 incher continues.

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• 8/10

• Image Quality
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• 8/10

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• 5/10

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• 7/10

Score Guide