Microsoft Surface Pro for Monitoring

T

True North

Well-known member
Like many others out there, you have probably wished you could just use your ipad as a field monitor. Sadly this capability doesen't seem to exist as of yet. I was recently checking out a microsoft surface pro the other day and was talking with a microsoft rep and asked him if he thought if I could connect a camera via hdmi to the surface pro and view video material real time. He seemed to think it was possible so I am going to bring my camcorder in to test it out.

The screen on the surface pro is full 1080 resolution, 10" and 2lbs. I recently spent $1500 on a 9" marshall monitor at a lower res and the same weight. If it works, Ill probably sell my marshall and get a fully functioning computer to boot for less money. Ill keep you posted on my findings. Mounting might be a bit of a problem but I am pretty sure I can rig up a solution.

Has anyone else considered this option or tested it out?
 
No, but sounds interesting! Would also like to know color accuracy. Ipad, for instance was supposed to be very close to rec 709. Be nice if your idea works and we find out surface is the same!
 
Isn't it HDMI output on the Surface? What makes you think output port will accept input signal?
These are two opposites-weird....
 
optitek said:
Isn't it HDMI output on the Surface? What makes you think output port will accept input signal?
These are two opposites-weird....
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The hdmi port accepts incoming signal as well ouputting signal.....as explained to me by the resident microsoft expert. It was a Microsoft retail store that was setup directly facing the apple store, so the staff was reasonably knowledgable and I was talking to the most knowledgable guy in the store (I had to work my way up to him....lol) He may have been wrong but I was very clear in my questioning and I asked more than once. I guess I will find out soon enough. Problem is I was on vacation out of town when I asked the questions and there isn't a microsoft store in my area......that I am aware of. I will hopefully find someone knowledgeable in my area who can help me through my questions.
 
Josh Bass said:
No, but sounds interesting! Would also like to know color accuracy. Ipad, for instance was supposed to be very close to rec 709. Be nice if your idea works and we find out surface is the same!
Click to expand...

I didn't ask about the colour accuracy but because it is a PC I am pretty sure you can calibrate it. The monitor is actually quite stunning.
 
True North said:
The hdmi port accepts incoming signal as well ouputting signal.....as explained to me by the resident microsoft expert. It was a Microsoft retail store that was setup directly facing the apple store, so the staff was reasonably knowledgable and I was talking to the most knowledgable guy in the store (I had to work my way up to him....lol) He may have been wrong but I was very clear in my questioning and I asked more than once. I guess I will find out soon enough. Problem is I was on vacation out of town when I asked the questions and there isn't a microsoft store in my area......that I am aware of. I will hopefully find someone knowledgeable in my area who can help me through my questions.
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Wouldn't be easy enough for him to demonstrate? With two tablets? I could not find a mention about this on the web. I'm sure MS would herald this feature like the second coming... I've got to look locally but I'm very doubtful...
 
optitek said:
Wouldn't be easy enough for him to demonstrate? With two tablets? I could not find a mention about this on the web. I'm sure MS would herald this feature like the second coming... I've got to look locally but I'm very doubtful...
Click to expand...

I have my doubts as well but they gave me a couple of examples of how the Surface Pro accepted and displayed incoming 1080 video. I will believe it when I see it. It wouldn't have been easy to demonstrate your example as the hdmi connection is mini hdmi and mini hdmi to mini hdmi cables are not common. Also keep in mind that the Surface Pro is a fully functioning PC with tablet form and function. Accepting and displaying incoming 1080 video signal is not that big a deal by PC standards. I am pretty certain that the current ipad is capable of being used as a field monitor, the thunderbolt connector can certainly handle the bandwidth. I think its just a matter of someone writing an app for it. Maybe the guys who wrote the Cine Meter app would be interested in taking a crack at it.

At any rate, I will see where this hunch takes me and report back on when I find any further info. If someone here has access to a surface pro maybe they can contribute to this thread
 
none of the ipad or tablet in the market has the HDMI input yet. Same as surface pro.

He seemed to think it was possible
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it mean he doesn't know. Not all tech work at MS store know their stuff.
 
Bubble said:
none of the ipad or tablet in the market has the HDMI input yet. Same as surface pro.
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The surface pro is neither a tablet or obviously not an ipad.....I know......I own both


The surface rt IS essentially a 'tablet' but thats not what we are talking about here


The Surface Pro is a fully functioning PC. It runs a full version of Windows 8 and it can and install any Windows 8 compatible software. It also has a USB3 port on it which may be another way of using it as a monitor


Bubble said:
it mean he doesn't know. Not all tech work at MS store know their stuff.
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I know not all staff know....hence the reason I have my doubts. However, I did have some small hope as the guy I was talking to actually seemed reasonably knowledgable.
 
just cause it can be calibrated doesnt mean it can accurately display color for hd camera signal monitoring. two different color spaces.
 
True North said:
The surface pro is neither a tablet or obviously not an ipad.....I know......I own both


The surface rt IS essentially a 'tablet' but thats not what we are talking about here


The Surface Pro is a fully functioning PC. It runs a full version of Windows 8 and it can and install any Windows 8 compatible software. It also has a USB3 port on it which may be another way of using it as a monitor





I know not all staff know....hence the reason I have my doubts. However, I did have some small hope as the guy I was talking to actually seemed reasonably knowledgable.
Click to expand...

The Surface is still a tablet. Tablet is a form factor, it used to be "Slate Tablet PC", but the term has since changed. The iPad is a tablet, the Asus TF700 is a tablet, the Surface Pro and RT are tablets, the Asus EP121 is a tablet.

That said, there is no way the HDMI port will accept input. But you could probably use the USB3 port and a capture device.
 
atarijedi said:
The Surface is still a tablet. Tablet is a form factor, it used to be "Slate Tablet PC", but the term has since changed. The iPad is a tablet, the Asus TF700 is a tablet, the Surface Pro and RT are tablets, the Asus EP121 is a tablet.

That said, there is no way the HDMI port will accept input. But you could probably use the USB3 port and a capture device.
Click to expand...

Then our definitions on what a tablet is and is not are different. Tablets do not ship with a fully functioning OS from either Apple or Microsoft. The software has always been geared towards mobile use and in the case of Apple, the iPad is much leaner OS version then their laptop and workstation bretheren. Android is an OS completely catered to mobile use. Microsoft are certainly not calling the surface pro a tablet and are going to great lengths to differentiate how the Surface Pro is defined. I personally see a difference but I guess none of it really matters. You can define how you want and Microsoft can define how they want....the question is....can it be used as a field monitor.

As far as the HDMI being able to manage signal input you may be right but how are you absolutely positive that it dowsent ?
 
True North said:
Then our definitions on what a tablet is and is not are different. Tablets do not ship with a fully functioning OS from either Apple or Microsoft. The software has always been geared towards mobile use and in the case of Apple, the iPad is much leaner OS version then their laptop and workstation bretheren. Android is an OS completely catered to mobile use. Microsoft are certainly not calling the surface pro a tablet and are going to great lengths to differentiate how the Surface Pro is defined. I personally see a difference but I guess none of it really matters. You can define how you want and Microsoft can define how they want....the question is....can it be used as a field monitor.

As far as the HDMI being able to manage signal input you may be right but how are you absolutely positive that it dowsent ?
Click to expand...

Well your definition is different. But both Microsoft and Wikipedia call the Surface devices tablets as well.

Surface with Windows 8 Pro is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, so you can do everything you’ve ever done on your PC, on a tablet that weighs 2 lbs.
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From the Surface Pro user guide.

As for the HDMI, it is the nature of the HDMI spec, and control hardware, that 1 port connects to 1 transmitter or receiver. You would need to use an external capture device, most likely USB3 with the Surface Pro.
 
You can broadcast to both the iPad and The Surface via a Teradek Cube. Signal transmits over wireless. It's more than a 1 frame delay but it you aren't pulling focus with it, the delay is acceptable. There is also the Teradek Bolt now and the Paralinx Arrow that can broadcast wirelessly with a 1 frame delay. The Arrow will be receiving an update that should be announced at NAB that will allow it connect to HD-SDI as well the current HDMI connectors. The Bolt and the Arrow are for connecting largely to monitors rather than tablet computers.
 
All these random posts about random gear make my head spin. Does anybody understand the technology anymore? While the cube is theoretically plausible (Although you need to be an IT pro to keep it working ;) the other two are absolutely irrelevant. They still put out HDMI so the the main I/O issue remains... weird... Apparently most on this thread do not get the difference between video input and video output. Incredible.....
 
Josh Bass said:
just cause it can be calibrated doesnt mean it can accurately display color for hd camera signal monitoring. two different color spaces.
Click to expand...

Can you expand on this in more detail?

Assuming;
(a) the Surface Pro can be used as a monitor
(b) you can calibrate the monitor

Why wouldn't you be able to calibrate it to be any more or less accurate than any other field monitor?
 
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