best monitor set up

E

enrico

Well-known member
I'm editing in FCP, using mixed footage (24p advanced and straight video) in a documentary and need to purchase a monitor set up for a variety of applications including still pans and different extreme lighting effects. What is the most most realistic way to go, so that what i see is what will transfer to a big screen? Is it worth getting a dedicated editing monitor, or am i getting the same results with just a normal tv and camera interface? Or perhaps normal tv and a digital interface? I haven't used colour bars before as well. Your experience and input is always appreciated.
 
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Does the lack of response suggest this question is a no brainer? That i should just get a dedicated editing monitor and spend the extra cash, stay away from tv's...? ... hoping to purchase the set up right away if possible. I'm editing on a Mac G5 with double monitors.
 
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Cool! How does the size of the monitor reflect the quality of your image on a big screen? Can you tell with a 13"? I'm using various still image sizes in the doc and other imported stock...need to know how these will translate in larger formats.
 
Hi.

I use normal 14" TV for a casual reference. Its not great, but its cheap and I get a sense of the size of images and the frame. A true monitor will be sharper and much better than a TV for color and light referencing, but it must be properly calibrated (They can be calibrated much better than a TV ever could) otherwise its just an expensive TV. I use the scopes in FCP to get an idea of my levels and it works for me.

As for using stills, just make sure you have good scans that are a good size to work with in the frame if your gona be moving them about. Don't scale them over 100%, always start out with a good scan.

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks!

It looks as though a real NTSC monitor may be a safe bet with the variety of media I'm using. Do you have a suggestion regarding what size monitor screen is preferable to get a good representation of the cinema screen resolution?
 
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I don't mean to be impatient, but I'm probably going out today to purchase an NTSC monitor...any practical ideas about the screen size or other considerations?
 
the bigger the better obviously, if you can afford it. also 16:9 switchable is nice to have.
 
Thanks for your input!
The shop I'm going to has a good deal on a 15"...hope that's gonna be versatile enough ...and that I'll be able to get a sense of the cinema sreen size translation. The doc is also being shot primarilly in 24p adv with some added stuff filmed earlier in straight video. Now for a really dumb question: what's the 16:9 switchable gonna do?
 
Thanks for your input!
The shop I'm going to has a good deal on a 15"...hope that's gonna be versatile enough ...and that I'll be able to get a sense of the cinema sreen size translation.
 
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