Good deal, good monitor

This particular monitor has a lot going for it. On top of its solid refresh rates (I run 1280x960 @ 85Hz), the monitor is about an inch shallower than most of its counterparts and weighs only 55 pounds.

Looks:
This monitor looks great. The flat screen is a good start, then the black adds a sleek look to it. The buttons don't look bad, and the glowing green "MultiSync" light is cool (except when watching DVD's in a dark room - I put tape over it sometimes).

Geometry:
Mixed. For starters, the first one I took home had a number of issues and I had to exchange it. Kudos to NEC here; they cross-shipped an identical monitor immediately, and sent me a voucher for the shipping fees of the returned unit. Still a pain, but at painless as NEC could have made it. I was very impressed with their service, and I never had to hold long on the phone. To those unfamiliar with purchasing semi-professional quality CRT's, this kind of return is not unusual. CRT monitors are prone to shipping damage and manufacturing flaws, which is why it's best to buy locally if you can. That way if you have to return it you know you won't lose shipping fees. But back to geometry... on my "keeper" unit the geometry is good to excellent. There is a slight outward bulge near the top of the right side, but it's very slight and the eye easily adjusts to it. The unit displays the usual, extremely slight "W" distortion, in which the middle and sides of the display sag down ever so slightly. Again, easily adjusted to and better than most monitors in its class. After fiddling with the corners, you can get near-perfect geometry out of this monitor. The caveat is, the picture moves slightly when you change resolutions or reboot. You'll boot the computer in the morning and the picture will be about three clicks left of where it was when you shut down, or maybe right. Once it heats up, it usually comes back (close) to center. A bit annoying if you like edge-to-edge, but not bad considering the quality of the geometry.

Convergence:
My monitor has a slight convergence issue, in which each quadrant is just a bit off. The 22" model (the 1250+) has corner convergence correction, but not mine. It's not horrible but it is noticeable at the edge of the picture with a slight blue or red fringe.

Load power-on:
The monitor makes a loud static buzz when turned on, though not when simply waking from stand-by (thankfully). It really is loud, and both units I dealt with were the same in this regard. Not really an issue though if you leave it on or in standby all the time.

Image quality:
I'm not a real expert here, but it looks good to me! Colors are nicely saturated and my eyes don't get tired. Games look great.

Overall:
I mostly talked about the problems, but don't let me steer you away from this monitor. It is one of the very best 19" units you can buy in its price range.