Monitor Question

P

Poco

Active member
I have a brand new Samsung lcd TV. It's hooked up to my Imac via hdmi.
If I use it as a canvas the footage looks terrible and nothing like the image on canvas in FCP. Very muddy and contrasty.
BUT, if I burn a disc and view it in a stand alone player the images are beautiful.
I'm assuming it's a quality setting in FCP for an external monitor but I can't find any such thing. Is there such a thing or am I way off?
FCP6 BTW.

Thanks
 
Good question. I also want to know how to see my video on a tv monitor without burning to dvd. What do you need to hook up the iMac to a TV monitor and view it while you're editing so you can make the changes on the spot.
 
Good question. I also want to know how to see my video on a tv monitor without burning to dvd. What do you need to hook up the iMac to a TV monitor and view it while you're editing so you can make the changes on the spot.
Click to expand...

To do this you need something to convert the digital video you see on your computer to an analogue source that the TV or video monitor can display. This is a bit of hardware that you plug in, usually in the form of an input output box (IO), video deck or you can use your camera if it supports DVin.

You need to plug your IO, video deck or camera into the TV using whatever inputs you can, composite or Svideo is usually used. You then need to connect your camera to whatever device you are using via firewire. Make sure any settings on the camera (if you are using a camera) are set so it will accept DV in. In FCP go View >> Video Playback and select your video device. Bear in mind this only works with SD as you cant fit an HD signal down a firewire cable unless you buy an IOHD box (about $3500). Once that is selected you can go to View >> External video and select all frames. Make sure the TV is set to the channel and input that is plugged into the video device. It might take a few seconds to come through.

If your device does not appear on the Video Playback menu, try doing View >> refresh AV devices.


As far as HD is concerned, you really need an IOHD input output box made by AJA. This thing costs about $3500 but will allow you to view HD footage in HD resolution via HDMI or component video on your HD TV. Doing it any other way unfortunately uses your HDTV as another computer monitor and not as a television. Burning a disk and playing it back treats the video as video and not a digital image like the computer does.

There is one other thing you could try though. If you set the HDtV up as another monitor, then go to View >> video playback then select digital cinema desktop preview (thats how it appears on my system, might vary depending on what monitor it is but play about until it works). Then do View >> external video and select all frames. this will then deidcate your HDTV to the canvas (or viewer if the viewer is active) and will display HD resolution. It wont display true HD colours though....

Let us know how you get on and if I have said anything wrong, please correct me...
 
Poco,

Long story short, FCP isn't designed to send out a quality signal in the manor you are attempting. In order to use the DVI connection on your monitor as a "video out" w/FCP you need the Matrox MXO ($999).


-A
 
Or supposedly a Black Magic Intensity card ($350) that I have yet to get to work doing this very thing...sigh
 
Experiencing something similar. Sony EX1+FCP=GROSS PREVIEW!!

Experiencing something similar. Sony EX1+FCP=GROSS PREVIEW!!

I am using a Macbook Pro 2.2GHZ Core 2 Duo with Final Cut Pro 6.0.2, Mac OS 10.4.11, and Quicktime 7.4.1. All footage was shot with the Sony EX1 and ingested using the XDCam Transfer Program 2.1. Everything is up to date.

When the source footage is viewed using just Quicktime player, everything looks fine. The footage also looks fine on the Sony EX-1 Camera LCD. But when editing in Final Cut Pro... the footage looks EXTREMELY BAD. In fact, it looks so bad, it's very difficult to edit. And this is on the Macbook Pro monitor, too! There is flicker, stutter, horrible banding, and gross discoloration throughout all the footage. And it only seems to look this way in Final Cut's Sequence and Preview Monitors. It looks fine everywhere else I view it. I can still edit and see the footage in Final Cut, but it just looks terrible.

I think this is an issue with Final Cut.
At first I was scared that the EX1 was shooting this way,
but upon further examination, it ONLY looks this way in Final Cut's Canvas monitors.

Also, I can't post footage displaying the problem because, again, when I export or play it anywhere else, it looks fine.

Any ideas? I know Final Cut's Preview Monitors aren't supposed to be amazing, but they can't be THIS bad. And why does the Quicktime Player play the footage FINE?
 
hoarp001 said:
To do this you need something to convert the digital video you see on your computer to an analogue source that the TV or video monitor can display. This is a bit of hardware that you plug in, usually in the form of an input output box (IO), video deck or you can use your camera if it supports DVin.

You need to plug your IO, video deck or camera into the TV using whatever inputs you can, composite or Svideo is usually used. You then need to connect your camera to whatever device you are using via firewire. Make sure any settings on the camera (if you are using a camera) are set so it will accept DV in. In FCP go View >> Video Playback and select your video device. Bear in mind this only works with SD as you cant fit an HD signal down a firewire cable unless you buy an IOHD box (about $3500). Once that is selected you can go to View >> External video and select all frames. Make sure the TV is set to the channel and input that is plugged into the video device. It might take a few seconds to come through.

If your device does not appear on the Video Playback menu, try doing View >> refresh AV devices.


As far as HD is concerned, you really need an IOHD input output box made by AJA. This thing costs about $3500 but will allow you to view HD footage in HD resolution via HDMI or component video on your HD TV. Doing it any other way unfortunately uses your HDTV as another computer monitor and not as a television. Burning a disk and playing it back treats the video as video and not a digital image like the computer does.

There is one other thing you could try though. If you set the HDtV up as another monitor, then go to View >> video playback then select digital cinema desktop preview (thats how it appears on my system, might vary depending on what monitor it is but play about until it works). Then do View >> external video and select all frames. this will then deidcate your HDTV to the canvas (or viewer if the viewer is active) and will display HD resolution. It wont display true HD colours though....

Let us know how you get on and if I have said anything wrong, please correct me...
Click to expand...

Gonna try it tonight and get back to you.
 
"Gonna try it tonight and get back to you."

I tried it without much luck. I first went DV out Composite in through my crappy little Canon camera/deck and it looked about the same. I then went DV out Svideo in through the DVX. It looked a bit better but not much.

I'm sure Adkimery ... "Long story short, FCP isn't designed to send out a quality signal in the manor you are attempting. In order to use the DVI connection on your monitor as a "video out" w/FCP you need the Matrox MXO ($999)." ... is probably right.

Bummer :(
 
filming said:
Good question. I also want to know how to see my video on a tv monitor without burning to dvd. What do you need to hook up the iMac to a TV monitor and view it while you're editing so you can make the changes on the spot.
Click to expand...
If you want to monitor on a standard def TV without digital input's go out though fw 400 to your camera then from your camera to a monitor, this is how the marshall is set up in the pic above.

If you want to go to an HD TV just get a mini DVI to DVI adapter and an DVI to HDMI cable. Easy peasy.
 
Poco said:
... "Long story short, FCP isn't designed to send out a quality signal in the manor you are attempting. In order to use the DVI connection on your monitor as a "video out" w/FCP you need the Matrox MXO ($999)." ... is probably right.

Bummer :(
Click to expand...

whaaaaaa??????

Dunno what problem the original poster is having but FCP and Macs should go out the miniDVI port to HDMI and have fantastic results:

If you want to go to a THIRD monitor with high quality then you need an out box.

Here's 1080HD playing no problem fullscreen on both monitors.
1196750336.jpg


The above is LCD TV via the miniDVI to HDMI
and Marshall monitor via firewire 400 through the HVX and out S cable.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=117523
 
Poco said:
I have a brand new Samsung lcd TV. It's hooked up to my Imac via hdmi.
If I use it as a canvas the footage looks terrible and nothing like the image on canvas in FCP. Very muddy and contrasty.
BUT, if I burn a disc and view it in a stand alone player the images are beautiful.
I'm assuming it's a quality setting in FCP for an external monitor but I can't find any such thing. Is there such a thing or am I way off?
FCP6 BTW.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You may need to calibrate your monitor.

I recommend the pantone huey pro, links in this thread
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=117523&page=2

It will make the monitors match and even adjust them automatically as your room light changes.

Here's what the above monitors looked like BEFORE the huey auto calibrated them for me.
1196749955.jpg
 
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