HD Monitoring on iMac - is TB to HDMI enough? Or sth like Blackmagic Ultra needed?

Spartacus

Spartacus

Veteran
I´m just not sure, what exactly the BM Ultra Studio Monitor (http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudiothunderbolt/) does.
I know that things like the Matrox MXO offers hardware calibration for an (cheap/non broadcast) external monitor, but what does the BM offer over the FinalCutX build in "Digital Cinema Display"...?
I also have to admit that since the advent of DSLR video and smaller budgets even on "big name projects" 95% is the new 100%:cheesy:, so if a simple TB to HDMI cable gets me there, I´m fine with it (even with the BM Ultra at a very moderate price tag...)

 
Am I really the only one trying to get the best possible 1080p monitoring out of an iMac with FCPX? I was prepared for being ridiculed for using iMoviePro, but this, this silence is utterly disturbing, need to calm down, need to find my pills...
 
FCPX the software alone doesn't provide professional monitoring. Thunderbolt alone doesn't do it either. You need a hardware solution such as provided by BM, Matrox, or AJA. I can't provide a comparison as I have only the Matrox, which provides the monitoring and encoding I need. If you need capturing too, then go with either BM or AJA. All three companies are reputable, which product for you depends on the feature you need.
 
Finally thanks!
Can anyone elaborate on what exactly the small adapters, like the smallest "in-line" box from BM http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudiothunderbolt/ does?
Anyone compared signals?
Again, Matrox mxo2 offers hardware calibration of a TV monitor, BM doesn´t say anything about being able to calibrate an external monitor with its TB ultra studio, so I´m really wondering what´s the benefit over using the build in FCPX preview...
 
If you use any of the output devices that I mentioned above, you'll be sending a true video signal out from your Mac that conforms to broadcast standards for frame rate and picture size, not a computer display signal, which can be many different frame rates and sizes. You can also send a correctly interlaced signal to a broadcast monitor that can correctly display it.
 
arniepix said:
If you use any of the output devices that I mentioned above, you'll be sending a true video signal out from your Mac that conforms to broadcast standards for frame rate and picture size, not a computer display signal, which can be many different frame rates and sizes. You can also send a correctly interlaced signal to a broadcast monitor that can correctly display it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clearing that up! So it mainly is about frame rate and size? What about color accuracy?
 
Your color will be more accurate, as well. The TB output boxes will also output a YUV video signal, going from your TB port to an HDMI will be RGB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top