NEC MultiSync LCD3090WQXi 30" widescreen

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While we're down in that corner of this monstrosity of a screen, we should also talk about NEC's dynamic brightness adjustment technology. Now, this isn't new; it's a feature present on the LCD2690WUXi that's also sitting on my desk, but it's one that I find incredibly useful – even if it does take a bit of time to get used to.

The transitions are both smooth and subtle, and I think the technology works pretty well – it's unlike just about any other dynamic backlight adjusting implementation I've seen. It works by using a sensor that's right next to the power button – this detects how much ambient light there is in your environment and then adjusts the backlight to what the monitor deems an acceptable level given ambient lighting conditions.

There's also a second dynamic brightness setting available that adjusts the brightness depending on the amount of white displayed on the screen, but I'm not quite as keen on that particular technology. It's very much like the dynamic contrast ratio technologies we've seen fail on various TN+Film displays, but it's not quite as garish as those because the adjustments are very subtle and well-managed – I just prefer to have a consistent brightness that isn't dependent on what's on my screen.


One of the most impressive features of the monitor, which is sure to appeal to those that take image quality incredibly seriously, is the calibration functionality. Normally if you want to calibrate your monitor, you have to use a sensor that plugs into your PC (usually via a USB port) and then use software to calibrate the monitor using pre-supplied profiles.

This is fine, but it's often not as simple as it sounds and getting two monitors to match is usually not that easy. On the other hand, the LCD3090WQXi can calibrate itself – you simply plug an X-Rite i1 Display Sensor (no other sensor works with the self calibration firmware) into the back of the monitor and it'll calibrate the brightness, white tint and gamma levels automatically without the need for a PC.


What's more, if you have two LCD3090WQXi displays, you can match the second to the first – without ever having to plug the display into your PC. This is feature is undoubtedly great, but it's targeted more at businesses deploying lots of LCD3090WQXi screens. Just imagine being able to calibrate tens of LCD3090WQXi displays to match each other exactly without ever having to connect them to a PC – it's undoubtedly a boon for any IT department looking to roll LCD3090s out across their business.

One thing that NEC warns though is that you'll need to leave the monitor running for at least 30 minutes to allow it to warm up properly. If the display hasn't had sufficient time to warm up, a warning will be displayed on the screen to tell you that you'll need to wait before you can calibrate the screen.

So far, we've not really talked much about the connectivity offered by the LCD3090WQXi. The display comes with a pair of dual-link DVI ports—both with HDCP—one is DVI-D and the other is DVI-I. The reason for this is that, by providing a DVI-I connector, it allows you to connect both digital and analogue sources to the screen – and NEC supplies both dual-link DVI and DVI-to-VGA connectors in the box.