NEC MultiSync EA271F-BK

amazon NEC MultiSync EA271F-BK reviews

Many of our recent reviews of business monitors are professional panels with eye-catching ultra-wide displays, extended color gamut, and affordable prices. These high-end monitors have a valuable place in many offices for content creators and C-level executives. But what the business world is running into are efficient workaday models as cost-effective as NEC’s MultiSync EA271F-BK. This 27-inch monitor offers good color accuracy, virtually no bezel, and great adjustability. It’s solid for general productivity use, though for the price and screen size, the 1080p native resolution could easily be 1440p.

1080p on a big screen

The all-black EA271F-BK measures 37.8 x 50.8 x 27.9 cm (HWD), with the height increased to 51.8 cm with the stand fully extended. Including the stand, this monitor weighs 7.2 kg.

The EA271F-BK is ergonomically well-rounded, providing height, tilt, swivel, and axis control. The sole has a Susan slot design that allows for easy side-to-side rotation. The screen also rotates 90 degrees in both directions to allow for portrait viewing. In landscape orientation, edge and top bezels are virtually non-existent (only 1mm thick), maximizing screen space for overall surface area and making it ideal for pairing two or more in a multi-monitor array.

At the core of the EA271F-BK is a 27-inch display (measured diagonally) built on in-plane switching (IPS) technology. It has a native resolution of 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), with a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.

The days of 1080p (aka “full HD”) as alpha resolution are long gone, and many business monitors now have a native resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 (1440p) or 3,840 x 2,160 (4K). But 1080p displays are still very popular and very useful, especially at smaller screen sizes. However, the larger the screen, the lower the pixel density, so the EA271F-BK’s pixel density operates at a modest 82 pixels per inch (PPI). Practically speaking, 27 inches is nearly as large a display as you’d want on a 1080p display without the potential for any loss in image sharpness.

For comparison, the 27-inch Samsung CHG70 and the ViewSonic VP2768, with their WQHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) native resolution, has a pixel density of 109ppi. Acer Predator X27, a luxurious 27-inch gaming monitor, has a native resolution of 4K and a much higher pixel density (163ppi). They can produce slightly sharper images than the EA271F-BK when viewed simultaneously from the screen, but they also cost proportionally more.

The bottom line is that the EA271F-BK’s resolution and PPI should be fine for casual business use. However, if you are a photographer or a graphic designer, you will probably want to use at least a 1440p monitor at this screen size.

Old and new connection ports

As for connectivity, the EA271F-BK has an unusual set of ports, including a USB hub with one USB 3.1 upstream and three downstream USB 3.1 ports (including a convenient side-facing port), one DisplayPort connection, one HDMI port, one VGA port, and one DVI-D Port. We rarely see DVI-D ports on any new computers these days (higher-end video cards have abandoned them). The VGA port is an extinct species, as many laptop manufacturers are getting rid of these analog ports. This monitor is a particularly good choice for an office with older hardware that may use these legacy ports or maybe the only output option.

One port we’d like to see is USB Type-C, implemented as a video input from which you can charge the laptop while displaying content from it. Two related models, the NEC MultiSync EA271Q and EA271U, include a USB-C port and have a higher resolution than the EA271F-BK, but they sell for a significantly higher price ($619 and $699, respectively).

Integrated into the bottom bezel on its right edge is a line of touch controls, labeled Input, Menu, and Eco, along with an on/off button and four arrow keys for the virtual display (OSD). That is a welcome change from the line of unlabelled buttons at the bottom or even at the back that I come across on most monitors. Through the OSD, you can control a wide range of functions, including brightness, contrast, sound, and picture modes. Finally, you choose Standard, Text, Movie, Game, Photo, and Dynamic settings.

Check color and brightness.

In my testing, using a Klein K10-A colorimeter and SpectraCAL CalMAN 5 software, I measured the EA271F-BK’s luminance — luminance per unit area — at 262.4 nits (candelas per meter square). Its contrast ratio, meanwhile, tested at 802:1. These numbers are all pretty close to the NEC’s rated value (250 nits and 1,000:1, respectively).

I created the chroma chart shown here with the EA271F-BK in sRGB color mode. The area inside the triangle represents the colors produced by mixing the primary colors red, green, and blue. In contrast, the area bounded by the curve approximates the range of colors the human eye has recognizable.

NEC rated the EA271F-BK covering 95% of the sRGB spectrum, while our testing recorded a slightly better measure, covering 96.3%. Color accuracy is generally good. NEC sells a variant of this monitor for users who need higher color fidelity, the EA271F-BK-SV ($569), which adds SpectraViewII calibration software and SpectraViewII Color Calibration Kit (SVII-PRO-KIT).

The EA271F-BK’s built-in speakers (two of them) get pretty loud, but they sound a bit distorted at higher volumes. Video quality is good, with well-saturated colors that look realistic. The EA271F-BK is suitable for light gaming, but it doesn’t have gaming-friendly features.

A basic, bezel-less productivity monitor

As a general-purpose business monitor, the NEC MultiSync EA271F-BK gets the job done. It has some nice touches, such as an almost bezel-less case and a host of ergonomic adjustments, including the ability to rotate to portrait mode. It also includes two uncommon ports on monitors that will serve older hardware well: VGA and especially DVI-D. Its IPS display performs well with color accuracy.

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