NEC MultiSync EA221WMe review

The EA221WMe looks as if it means business. It has a practical matt bezel that won’t distract you from the screen, and a fully adjustable stand with over 10cm of height adjustment and the ability to rotate the screen into portrait mode.

A sophisticated cable management system is built into the stand, and a built-in carousel allows easy rotation through almost 360°. The EA221WMe also includes a four-port USB hub.

Colour accuracy is superb, although colours are natural rather than vibrant. With a dimmer backlight than most – 250cd/m2 rather than 300cd/m2 – the EA221WMe’s colours aren’t as punchy as we’ve seen on other displays. The contrast ratio isn’t as high as we’d expect, and images lack detail in dark areas, although you’d be hard-pressed to notice this without making a direct, side-by-side comparison.

As well as a PC, you can connect a Blu-ray player through the HDCP-compliant DVI input. However, the screen’s resolution of 1,680×1,050 is less suited to HD movies. It’s also disappointing for office use, as other 22in displays have 1,920×1,080 resolutions.

Small, unobtrusive buttons are located under the screen, with a main menu button and a small joystick control to navigate and set values. This is intuitive and easy to use thanks to the joystick. The menu offers the usual controls, and there are four preset image modes, which didn’t improve the image.

An eco mode reduces power consumption to as little as 15W, but this produced a very dark picture and would be suitable only for a darkened room. In standard mode, the EA221WMe draws only 24W anyway, so it’s already one of the most environmentally friendly monitors we’ve tested.

If you want the convenience of an adjustable stand and a USB hub, the EA1221WMe is ideal, and for serious graphics work its colour accuracy is brilliant. For standard home use, though, Samsung’s 2494HM is a better choice.