Good "On Set" monitor for the HVX200

[Landon D. Parks]

Would the Panasonic 50" HD Plasma set be a good choice? Not only is it huge, but it's not to expensive either.

My main question is does the HVX have a port on it that will feed a live HD, camera native resolution in 24p to the 50" Plasma? Using SD output kinda defeats the purpose of an HD monitor.

I'm mainly interested because of it's size, and as a director, I like HUGE production monitors. It allows you to frame 100% correct, check for basic color correction issues, a hair on the actor out of place, etc in real time.

Suggestions? Comments?

[Haakon]

Yes, the HVX has component output which will allow you to monitor footage straight from the camera in HD.

[wigby]

i doubt any plasma monitor would be any good for your application. too much scaling and bad contrast ratio. even most lcds don't reproduce full 1920x1080 native resolution and they look much better than plasma. why do you need such a large display? it won't give you any more detail than a smaller, cheaper, high quality display.

[Landon D. Parks]

I dont know, If its good enough for Georgle Lucas, It's good enough for me... But anyway, what monitor would you suggest? IT has to at least be 20", if not 25 or 30, It has to have HD resolution, ability to playback 24p and be realtivly low-profile...

[MovieSwede]

Buy a laptop with a 1920*1200 monitor.

[Oz]

I don't think they actually have any 1920X1080 native resolution plasmas set for wide release yet. I know Samsung has a 57" LCD out on the market soon but it will cost around $10,000. Sharp has at least two 45" native resolution 1920X1080 LCDs, one around $5,000, the other closer to $8,000. I am sure there are models I'm neglecting, but no plasmas just yet (there may be a 65" Panasonic one...)

But another concern is whether they will accept the proper connection for 1080P - not all will. For example, some Pioneer/Panasonic models only accept 720P from PC input only and no component support.

This Christmas should see more support.

[contentlab]

why the panasonic monitor in particular? or plasma?

the hazard with using consumer devices for professional purposes is quality. i wouldn't suggest using a consumer monitor for checking things like color correction unless you are sure the monitor is properly calibrated and adjust for every time you change lighting conditions. this would be a good reason to have an experienced digital image tech on set. one with screen calibration tools.

in addition i highly doubt you will find a consumer monitor that will support native 24p display. it costs manufacturers engineering development time and controller card money to handle all the flavors of HD there are. which is why you see sets that only suport 720/59.94 or 1080/59.94 natively and it is left to their processor circuitry to do scaling and conversion of these rates. but even still you can't guarantee that1080/50p from Europe or Oz will play back on a US set configured for 1080/60 video. even my pro level PVM20L5 HD CRT display with HDSDI inputs can't handle 50hz video.

yes it is possible for manufacturers to make sets that play video all over the world and to some it might make sense that they do this but this isn't the way the consumer video world works.

i'm not saying this is a bad idea but i'm skeptical any consumer monitor will support 24p native as you have stipulated.

having a giant sized monitor IS a good idea for the following reasons:
*your makeup person can see if an actor needs a touch up when in for closeups
*your script supervisor can see those fine details they need to detect much easier like a pile of magazines in the wrong place and orientation rather than squinting into a 14 or even 20inch HD CRT.
* your lighting guys can have nice big screen to view when they need to catch a cue
* in general it is good for non essential crew members to see what is going on and not have everyone on set crowding the director and DP who should be the only ones looking at the 14 or 20 HD CRT pro level monitor.

but this is jsut my opinion as one who works for an engineering companyt that makes display products and a limited bit of experience working on sets. i just wanted to caution you on relying on consumer devices for color correction and support of non-native broadcast rates like 24p.

and i would also add that native 720 or 1080 doesn't really matter. because what if you are shooting in the 720 off speed modes. then you might have a 1080 display that has to display scaled 720 video.

[Oz]

I agree, for color correction and critical decisions, I would not trust just any monitor/display. But then again, if someone wants to use one for those reasons contentlab outlined above, I can see how a plasma could be of help. Thanks for that summary!

[D_and_G]

I can see using a giant size monitor on a sound stage for extended shooting, but on location ?


Cheers.

[Steve Shovlar]

This is what you need. 37 inch lcd screen, for colour correction.
http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=384

Only trouble its $50,000!!!