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The first thing that appears clear in NEC's new MultiSync EX341R is that the photos on the website certainly do not give credit to this product, which for be fully evaluated, must be seen and experienced. And this is not a catchphrase, but the pure truth, written by those who daily use a latest generation iMac 27 retina: yet, the new NEC EX341R offered, even with a total number of Pixels of about one third compared to the 5K display of the iMac, a completely new sensation.
Probably thanks to the decidedly anomalous ratio of 21: 9, which even at a not very high resolution still manages to offer impressive usability: just to do a comparison, the full resolution EX341R allows the viewing of three open Cyber Layman pages, while also advancing space on one side.
An excellent starting point for those who work with many open palettes, or with applications for video editing where the use of the Timeline is often essential, or for those who do translation and have to work with several files open at the same time, for those who do 3D animation or even simply design.
It should also be said that the initial emphasis is not fruit surprise, and the operation does not decrease in the following days, on the contrary, one gradually learns to use the entire surface, Application after Application and returning to the iMac in the evening gives a feeling of claustrophobia.
But the size of this display is not the only positive note: there is so much more to say, so make yourself comfortable we have so much to tell you.
EX341R, box and preparations
If the display is large, the box is even more so, and the unpacking of the display, with positioning on the desk it was an operation that occupied us one afternoon, a little for the space occupied and a little for the USB connectors, since it was connected to a 13 “MacBook Pro via HDMI (we also did some tests) .
The EX341R consists of a 34 “display, with a maximum resolution of 3440 × 1440 pixels (21: 9 ratio), supported by a single section and a 22 cm circular base. . The arm is adjustable and allows you to easily raise or lower the display even with a single finger.
In the rear part of the display there is space for a cable reel which can be very useful in a fixed location.
The display is not thin, on the contrary, it is quite thick both in the part relating to the display and more centrally where the various connectors are placed, but this is not a problem considering that it is not a consumer product.
In the back, at the bottom, there are the display connectors: one HDMI 1.4 port, one HDMI 2.0, two Display Port 1.2 and audio inputs. These are added to the four side USB-A ports, which as we will see can be used in different and interesting ways.
The display was connected to a 2013 MacBook Pro 13 “, which despite a card integrated video Iris offered a full user experience without the slightest problem.
The integrated OSD controls are also good, placed on the base of the display at the bottom right, which open up to a wide customization of the product: we found the possibility offered by these controls curious to be able to view two sources together, both side by side and superimposed (one in the box) and to be able to share also the mouse and keyboard, a very convenient factor for those who perhaps use a connected server, but even if the size of the display invites uses like this, in all honesty we do not see such an important function.
A front sensor, located at the base of the display, which serves to determine the ambient light and to corr any excess panel, this function can be deactivated by the OSD controls.
The light and the color
For dimensions, cost and specifications, it is obvious that the EX341R is designed for the professional, certainly not for those looking for a solution for a Mac mini. Hence the matte display, excellent news for retouchers, which offers adequate contrast and high color fidelity.
The brightness is good, although for those coming from an iMac it may appear a bit 'undertone; but as we said the evaluation is influenced by the destination of the display. The size of the panel (34 ”, with a viewing angle of 178 °) is important and we have noticed some compromises, with the lamps concentrating the maximum light in the center with a slight loss in the lateral two thirds.
The response is good, the maximum frequency is 50 Hz, and basically leans towards the use of still images or the construction of moving images. We didn't notice any artifacts in watching a movie, but it's clear the display was designed for something else.
We didn't like the internal speakers, whose 1W power seemed ineffective considering the market standard: much better to opt for an external speaker, USB or Bluetooth.
A photo of the Mac desk during a drawing in Adobe Illustrator, where NEC's display let us work in an excellent way
EX341R in casual
Although the design follows professional standards, it is obvious that in our test we used the display in an undifferentiated way, therefore also casual.
The test with some games unfortunately did not give the desired results: using the titles tested with a classic ratio of 16: 9 or 4.3 none problem, the screens turned perfectly but with the black side bands, while trying to use the whole surface it was immediately clear that practically no oco tested by us is optimized for this resolution, offering a disproportionate vision.
The vision of the films was instead diversified: most of the titles tested offer a correct vision without any black band, which it is an advantage, but in our opinion the contrast in the films is not adequate, even when we put our hands on the sets. iMovie, Photoshop, Illustrator (where you learn new ways of placing panels, leaving the sheet in the center) and in particular Parallels Desktop, which offered an interesting overview of using three different operating systems side by side (with macOS Sierra as a base).
The display seemed instead a waste, positively speaking, using the Office Apps, iTunes, Photos, BBEdit and Mail, unless you use them all side by side.
A unique experience, or so
Detailed all the technical aspects of the display remains what we believe is the most important side: the user experience. EX341R was, for the writer, the first curved display used in an important and continuous way, and it was a very interesting experiment.
The curvature envelops the user and brings the edges closer, offering a vision Much better overview than the iMac flat display, but also other displays we have worked with.
The upper thickness, identified here by a reference 
The back of the display, also convenient as headphone port 
The side USB HUB 
The video sockets at the base 
OSD controls 
Watching a movie, here DEADPOOL 
From retouching in Photoshop to writing this article, from watching some videos on Youtube to managing documents and folders in the Finder, from editing some movies with iMovie to drawing with Illustrator (exciting), on every occasion the width of the display and the enveloping shape have been able to offer a very pleasant and at times curious feeling.
To be honest, it wouldn't be bad if Apple thought of such a product for the next generation of iMacs.
Pro :
Against:
Price : 1,219.00 Euro
NEC MultiSync EX341R is available through the official NEC website at a price of 1,200.00 Euros, but readers can order it, as a Prime product, also on Amazon.it.
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