Tim Naylor
Veteran
I posted this in Hardware, but realized more people would get some use out of it under the 35mm adaptor forum.
I wasn't able to do a side by side scientific chart based type of test. My review was based on what I see with my eyes and antectodal comparisons to its competition.
Picture:
Sharp as a 7" inch monitor gets. I found the colors quite accurate and the contrast excellent for a monitor this bright. It's about a stop brighter than its competitor the Panny L80. Instead of 7.9" it's a 7" screen which has its pros and cons. The pro being a small footbprint. I feel the Panny housing is unnecessarily large for the LCD.
Brightness
It's brightness is excellent. At 600 NIT it's brighter than both the Panny LT 80 and 900 and considerably brighter than a Marshall. That level of brightness comes in handy on bright sets or for exteriors. Nebtek has seem to found the threshold and circuitry to maximize brightness without compromising contrast (usually the first thing to go with a too bright monitor).
Sharpness
It's rez is 800 x 480 which is the same as the Panny 80 and Marshall. But numbers don't make a great picture. It's contrast and color accuracy as well as its high quality scalers deliver a significantly sharper image than the Marshall and on par with the Panny 80.
Color
I found the colors quite accurate with no perceptible bias towards any particular hue. My Panny BTH 1700 has a definite green lean (they all do). It's viewing angle is the same as the Panny 80 and better than the Marshall. Meaning you can't be too off axis for optimum picture.
Peaking
The focus can be enhanced with three levels of white peaking. I rarely used the peaking option unless the lighting is really flat. The Panny I feel has the advantage here as white peaking can get lost sometimes when working with white or grey backgrounds and production design or excessive highlights. I hope Nebtek add some other color peaking options in firmware improvements. It does not have pixel for pixel (an LT 80 feature). I don't miss it as I rarely ever used it with the LT 80. I find the Neb's image plenty sharp for focus. A huge improvement over my Marshall and about equal to the LT 80.
Interface
All your controls: chroma, contrast, brightness, peaking, hue, aspect ratio etc. are controlled by a series of up / down buttons. The display shows a grapical level that either shortens or extends accompanied by numbers as well. This all works fine and requires no manual to figure out. However, it needs (or I need to find it) a settings lock. The buttons get too easily knocked out of adjustment when adjusting the monitor's positioning. Also, the graphical level bar displays right across the pluge and contrast bars of my color bars. Not a deal breaker as I can turn them on and off to check my pluge bar or contrast white square but still annoying. This is something they should replace with just simple number display in the top corner from 0 to 50.
The Neb also features a dedicated set of buttons to blue burst making calibration quick and easy.
Aspect Ratio
This I love. It's very easy to hit the buttons a few times and view all your aspect ratios from 16:9, over/underscane, 4:3, 1:85 and 2:35 with out having to futz around the menu. Much easier than the Marshall or my Panny 1700. Thank god for dedicated buttons. In fact I wouldn't call this a menu driven montor. Hit a button and you get what you need without having to dig into the menu. Love this aspect.
Image Flip or Rotation
Very easily dealt with. Hit the button a few times and viola. Monitor also has a built in brass ¼" threadings on the top and bottom. They are very well built, replaceable and rock solid. A big step from Marshall and more versatile than Panny.
Protective Cover
It comes with a protective plexi anti glare panel. Use it. I once had to replace my BTH 1700 screen because of a permanent fingerprint left by a touchy director. Cost close to 1500.00. So I set my Neb cover up with Velcro stripping. Yet the plexi has four holes drilled into the corners. I think it would be far nicer if the monitor had four threaded holes so I could just screw the plexi in. As it its I have velcro on my monitor and on both sides of the plexi for my hoods.
That said, the quality of the plexi is quite good and it really does reduce glare.
Size/Weight
This is one of the main reasons I bought it. The Panny 900 is too big for my run/gun purposes weighing almost four times the Neb. The LT 80 is almost double the weight. I don't like heavy monitors torqueing on the rods/baseplate set up. They're also a pain for handheld. The 900 is out of the question for hand held. The Neb weighs slightly more than my old Marshall but has a far superior build.
In/Out
This was a real deal maker for me. It has SDI and Component In/Out making it compatible with HVX's, EX1 and all ENG Broadcast cameras. Full loop through reduces my cabling as well. The Panny LT 80 only has in. All the BNC connections are not built into the board - which is great. Should a connection go bad it can be replaced or repaired in less costly way.
Power
I got mine set up for Panny batteries. If I ever need to change it to something else, Nebtek charges a reasonable 50.00 fee. As I have loads of Panny batteries and like their weight / cost over IDX. The LT 80 does not have this option. However, the increased brightness gives you about an hour per each 5400 amh battery, roughly half the time as my Marshall. I'd recommend bringing along a cheap bescor belt just in case. My 80 dollar bescor will power this for at least five to seven hours.
What's Missing
No waveform or vector scope. I had to wrestle with this for a while then concluded that I'll be upgrading to an HPX and I also use an EX1 and the waveform or histogram on those will do just fine. However, I love the other features so much, I'd pay 3-400 more for a good waveform and hope Neb adds it in their next iteration or even better via firmware if possible. Where the lack of a waveform may be a drag is when I use ENG or RED cameras on locations that I can't bring my BTH 1700 with me.
Customer Service
This was a real deal maker. Rob Dubree, Nebtek's GM will talk to you on the phone about what you need, pros/cons, repair info, etc. about anything he sells and warrants. I bought my Marshall from them and needless to say, my Marhsall due to somewhat sloppy build and QC on Marhsall's part had to go the hospital several times. Nebtek is small enough of a company that they kept the process simple. No automated routing and endless call waiting. In fact I've never been put on hold. When I call them I think I'm in the early 80's (remember when customer service had real people who actually knew what they were talking about). Neb staff also return calls and leave messages. God Almighty! In canon of customer service, the Neb staff are up for sainthood. I can't say the same for Panasonic. Neb reminds me when I call up Zacuto and inquire about or buy their products.
After my horrific epic long experience with Redrock's bait and wait MB, reading how people get ignored by this vendor and that (you know who you are), people putting money down on Carrions and not a word or monitor in sight months later; I've now vowed to steer clear of any company with chumpy customer service.
I never bought the sentiment rampant here about cutting the noble inventor a break because he's working out of his basement, only has himself doing everything, and the price of potatoes just went up. Save the tears.
Whether you're a start up , big company or small, once you take good money for a product, you have to deliver on your promises. You are now officially in business. Screw your growing pains. They should not be ours. Deliver on promises or don't make them.
Neb delivers on all promises of performance and delivery.
Summary
For my priorities in an external monitor (weight, size, sharpness, color, loop through, power and customer service), the Neb HDS 70 was the best choice. It''s great but not perfect. I think improvements in the graphical level bar and plexi cover should be made. Add a waveform and colored peaking it would be near perfect. Instead of me pulling hairs over what I like best - it would crush the competition and be a no brainer.
Strong recommendation.
I wasn't able to do a side by side scientific chart based type of test. My review was based on what I see with my eyes and antectodal comparisons to its competition.
Picture:
Sharp as a 7" inch monitor gets. I found the colors quite accurate and the contrast excellent for a monitor this bright. It's about a stop brighter than its competitor the Panny L80. Instead of 7.9" it's a 7" screen which has its pros and cons. The pro being a small footbprint. I feel the Panny housing is unnecessarily large for the LCD.
Brightness
It's brightness is excellent. At 600 NIT it's brighter than both the Panny LT 80 and 900 and considerably brighter than a Marshall. That level of brightness comes in handy on bright sets or for exteriors. Nebtek has seem to found the threshold and circuitry to maximize brightness without compromising contrast (usually the first thing to go with a too bright monitor).
Sharpness
It's rez is 800 x 480 which is the same as the Panny 80 and Marshall. But numbers don't make a great picture. It's contrast and color accuracy as well as its high quality scalers deliver a significantly sharper image than the Marshall and on par with the Panny 80.
Color
I found the colors quite accurate with no perceptible bias towards any particular hue. My Panny BTH 1700 has a definite green lean (they all do). It's viewing angle is the same as the Panny 80 and better than the Marshall. Meaning you can't be too off axis for optimum picture.
Peaking
The focus can be enhanced with three levels of white peaking. I rarely used the peaking option unless the lighting is really flat. The Panny I feel has the advantage here as white peaking can get lost sometimes when working with white or grey backgrounds and production design or excessive highlights. I hope Nebtek add some other color peaking options in firmware improvements. It does not have pixel for pixel (an LT 80 feature). I don't miss it as I rarely ever used it with the LT 80. I find the Neb's image plenty sharp for focus. A huge improvement over my Marshall and about equal to the LT 80.
Interface
All your controls: chroma, contrast, brightness, peaking, hue, aspect ratio etc. are controlled by a series of up / down buttons. The display shows a grapical level that either shortens or extends accompanied by numbers as well. This all works fine and requires no manual to figure out. However, it needs (or I need to find it) a settings lock. The buttons get too easily knocked out of adjustment when adjusting the monitor's positioning. Also, the graphical level bar displays right across the pluge and contrast bars of my color bars. Not a deal breaker as I can turn them on and off to check my pluge bar or contrast white square but still annoying. This is something they should replace with just simple number display in the top corner from 0 to 50.
The Neb also features a dedicated set of buttons to blue burst making calibration quick and easy.
Aspect Ratio
This I love. It's very easy to hit the buttons a few times and view all your aspect ratios from 16:9, over/underscane, 4:3, 1:85 and 2:35 with out having to futz around the menu. Much easier than the Marshall or my Panny 1700. Thank god for dedicated buttons. In fact I wouldn't call this a menu driven montor. Hit a button and you get what you need without having to dig into the menu. Love this aspect.
Image Flip or Rotation
Very easily dealt with. Hit the button a few times and viola. Monitor also has a built in brass ¼" threadings on the top and bottom. They are very well built, replaceable and rock solid. A big step from Marshall and more versatile than Panny.
Protective Cover
It comes with a protective plexi anti glare panel. Use it. I once had to replace my BTH 1700 screen because of a permanent fingerprint left by a touchy director. Cost close to 1500.00. So I set my Neb cover up with Velcro stripping. Yet the plexi has four holes drilled into the corners. I think it would be far nicer if the monitor had four threaded holes so I could just screw the plexi in. As it its I have velcro on my monitor and on both sides of the plexi for my hoods.
That said, the quality of the plexi is quite good and it really does reduce glare.
Size/Weight
This is one of the main reasons I bought it. The Panny 900 is too big for my run/gun purposes weighing almost four times the Neb. The LT 80 is almost double the weight. I don't like heavy monitors torqueing on the rods/baseplate set up. They're also a pain for handheld. The 900 is out of the question for hand held. The Neb weighs slightly more than my old Marshall but has a far superior build.
In/Out
This was a real deal maker for me. It has SDI and Component In/Out making it compatible with HVX's, EX1 and all ENG Broadcast cameras. Full loop through reduces my cabling as well. The Panny LT 80 only has in. All the BNC connections are not built into the board - which is great. Should a connection go bad it can be replaced or repaired in less costly way.
Power
I got mine set up for Panny batteries. If I ever need to change it to something else, Nebtek charges a reasonable 50.00 fee. As I have loads of Panny batteries and like their weight / cost over IDX. The LT 80 does not have this option. However, the increased brightness gives you about an hour per each 5400 amh battery, roughly half the time as my Marshall. I'd recommend bringing along a cheap bescor belt just in case. My 80 dollar bescor will power this for at least five to seven hours.
What's Missing
No waveform or vector scope. I had to wrestle with this for a while then concluded that I'll be upgrading to an HPX and I also use an EX1 and the waveform or histogram on those will do just fine. However, I love the other features so much, I'd pay 3-400 more for a good waveform and hope Neb adds it in their next iteration or even better via firmware if possible. Where the lack of a waveform may be a drag is when I use ENG or RED cameras on locations that I can't bring my BTH 1700 with me.
Customer Service
This was a real deal maker. Rob Dubree, Nebtek's GM will talk to you on the phone about what you need, pros/cons, repair info, etc. about anything he sells and warrants. I bought my Marshall from them and needless to say, my Marhsall due to somewhat sloppy build and QC on Marhsall's part had to go the hospital several times. Nebtek is small enough of a company that they kept the process simple. No automated routing and endless call waiting. In fact I've never been put on hold. When I call them I think I'm in the early 80's (remember when customer service had real people who actually knew what they were talking about). Neb staff also return calls and leave messages. God Almighty! In canon of customer service, the Neb staff are up for sainthood. I can't say the same for Panasonic. Neb reminds me when I call up Zacuto and inquire about or buy their products.
After my horrific epic long experience with Redrock's bait and wait MB, reading how people get ignored by this vendor and that (you know who you are), people putting money down on Carrions and not a word or monitor in sight months later; I've now vowed to steer clear of any company with chumpy customer service.
I never bought the sentiment rampant here about cutting the noble inventor a break because he's working out of his basement, only has himself doing everything, and the price of potatoes just went up. Save the tears.
Whether you're a start up , big company or small, once you take good money for a product, you have to deliver on your promises. You are now officially in business. Screw your growing pains. They should not be ours. Deliver on promises or don't make them.
Neb delivers on all promises of performance and delivery.
Summary
For my priorities in an external monitor (weight, size, sharpness, color, loop through, power and customer service), the Neb HDS 70 was the best choice. It''s great but not perfect. I think improvements in the graphical level bar and plexi cover should be made. Add a waveform and colored peaking it would be near perfect. Instead of me pulling hairs over what I like best - it would crush the competition and be a no brainer.
Strong recommendation.
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