Cheap Video Monitor

Re: Cheap Video Monitor

Looks to be about comparable to a TV. Not bad, and cheap, but not what one would consider a "professional" monitor, like the Panasonic 1390 or the Sony 1354... but then again, it's 1/6th the price.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

it is a TV. the biggest reason you need a pro monitor is for the underscan and 16x9 switch. The resolution and accurate colors are just a bonus.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

I probably should have said what I want the monitor for.

We want a monitor so that the production team can see the picture while we are shooting - instead of just the camera's lcd display.

Actual editing will take place on a Mac.

Chris
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

case in point.

When you are shooting you want your team to be able to tell you when stuff creaps into the frame. on the viewfinder and the LCD you dont see 100% of the image. So if a boom is in the frame you may not see it.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

And, of course, you won't see it on a TV either... or a monitor without underscan.

Which is why you want a pro monitor if at all possible. They're expensive, but they're the right way to do the job.

(no-budget hack way to do it: use a laptop to monitor your footage via firewire: the capture window will show full-frame as well. You won't be able to judge color accurately, but at least you'll know what's in the frame.)
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

Can someone explain to me why you don't see the whole frame if you connect to a video monitor?

What exactly is underscan?

Thanks,

Chris

BTW, Jubal28 that Toshiba monitor you listed seems like a real bargain.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

It's not a monitor; it's a TV. For a TV, it kicks serious ass. I gotta think it's better than that Panasonic you posted above. But it's not a monitor.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

That toshiba is an industry favorite..

underscan basically zooms out your image, so you see the complete image. with black edges around them on the monitor.

On a normal TV you dont see the whole image because of NTSC standards and TVsafe.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

There's an area around the frame that a TV never displays. About 10%. Draw a rectangle around your image, about 10% in from the edges, and everything inside that rectangle is what we call "TV Safe". Anything outside that rectangle may or may not show on someone's TV, there's no guarantee, but every TV should be able to show what's in the TV Safe area.

Why does there need to be a TV Safe area? Why don't we see the whole frame? I don't really know, I imagine it has to do with the bezels on monitors, same reason a 19" monitor is listed as 17" Viewable... there's a plastic frame that covers up the tube, there's variations in manufacture, there's low quality-control standards, all sorts of reasons. But the bottom line is, you won't see the whole frame.

That hidden area is often called the "overscan" area.

Your viewfinder and LCD also will not display the overscan area. Your viewfinder and LCD do not show the full frame.

On professional monitors they offer the ability to "underscan" -- they zoom out the picture so that the entire frame fits.

Once upon a time it didn't matter so much, overscan vs. underscan, etc. But now with computer editing stations, it can become more of a factor. If you decide to do a picture-in-picture effect, for example, then the small picture will show the full frame -- and there might be a boom in the shot, or a light or something that doesn't show in the TV Safe area, but is in the full frame, and when you go to do your PIP shot it'll show up there as well. Or for computer playback from a CD-ROM or web streaming, you'll see the full frame. Or, of course for a film transfer. There are lots of ways that you can now see the full frame, it sure would be nice to know what's IN that full frame when you're shooting! Hence why you want a monitor with underscan.

Now, here's the no-budget hack way to know what's in the full frame: the DVX100's LCD has a groove outside the frame. That groove corresponds with the full frame. So, once you frame your shot, pan around a little to reveal what you think would be shown in the frame if the LCD was as big as that groove -- that'll show you what's in the full frame. It's a lame hack technique, I know, but it's better than nothing...
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

As a cheap NTSC monitor alternative for video editing, would anyone consider a 17" Video monitor driven by a 'video to VGA' adapter? It looks like an XVGA model (1024X728 at 75Hz) can be had for $60 to $100 on Ebay, and everyone has at least one spare 17" VGA monitor lying around. The picture should be much sharper than that of a regular TV. BTW, it comes out deinterlaced, would that be a feature or a problem? I think I'd also be able to simulate the blue gun switch in software.

Does anyone have any experience with those adapters? Can a VGA monitor be calibrated to show true colors? Am I out to lunch?
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

Well, the point of going out to a TV is that a computer monitor doesn't show you what your footage will look like on a TV. A monitor can show a whole spectrum of colors that a TV can't, and at a much higher resolution. You want to output to a TV or NTSC monitor precisely because it's NOT a computer monitor.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

Barry Green wrote:
> (no-budget hack way to do it: use a laptop to monitor your footage
> via firewire: the capture window will show full-frame as well. You won't
> be able to judge color accurately, but at least you'll know what's in the
> frame.)

Interesting... what software would you use to be able to see the image?

Thanks!
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

You would use whatever capture software you use to capture your footage. The preview window will show whatever is coming in from the cam.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

[quote author=Jive link=board=Links;num=1077830559;start=0#15 date=04/03/04 at 18:02:43]You would use whatever capture software you use to capture your footage.  The preview window will show whatever is coming in from the cam.[/quote]

Thanks Jive, but there isn't anything that would show me full screen (on the laptop) the feed from the camera?
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

Some capture software might be able to show full screen, but I'm not aware of any that does. Most have only a preview window, and some (like the capture software with Vegas) will let you resize the picture to a large size -- but most have timecode readouts and shuttle controls and whatnot which prevent a full-screen picture.
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

A FCP Capture now window could surely do it. Perhaps not full screen, but full size window, wich is essentially the same for your purposes...
 
Re: Cheap Video Monitor

If I am not mistaken, there is an annoying delay between what your shooting and what is displayed when using a laptop via firewire. I could be wrong though.

Just something to consider...

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media
 
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