Monitor setup for the editor

[Geno]

I'm looking for advice on how I (the editor) can set up my system for editing HVX footage. My cinematographer is shooting 720p in variable frame rates and I have a Mac Dual 2.0 gig with 2.5 RAM and two 20" screens. I usually go firewire out to a Minidv deck to a 14" JVC monitor but I am planning on a 50" Plasma with DVI/HDMI inputs, but it just occured to me, how do I get the timeline to the Plasma without giving up a computer monitor? I can't have the HVX sitting around as a go-between so is there some third-party PCI-X solution or a $30,000 deck (which is not possible.) Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Suede]

Solution #1: AJA and Blackmagic both have HD Cards with HD component and HD-SDI output. Both companies also sell a HD-SDI to DVI converters (I believe Griffen sells a converter as well).

Solution: #2: If you have a free PCI slot, add a second video card. Attach your plasma to the DVI out of the card. Under FCP's View/Video Playback option, select your plasma as the Digital Cinema Preview option.

Hope this helps.

Nick.

 

[Geno]

Thanks for the advice. If I shoot 720 then I would just use the desktop preview as I have two 20" displays, but if I want to do some serious color correction then it looks like I would need one of those big $$$ boxes right? Well, theres got to be a solution for sending out to a fat 50" plasma without getting a $3000 breakout box. Maybe a third party developer is working on a cheap solution like a PCI-X card that just sends out a HD signal through HDMI as the Firewire out channel if that makes sense.

 

[Suede]

Thanks for the advice. If I shoot 720 then I would just use the desktop preview as I have two 20" displays, but if I want to do some serious color correction then it looks like I would need one of those big $$$ boxes right? Well, theres got to be a solution for sending out to a fat 50" plasma without getting a $3000 breakout box. Maybe a third party developer is working on a cheap solution like a PCI-X card that just sends out a HD signal through HDMI as the Firewire out channel if that makes sense.

If you get a second video card (in the $300 range), you can use it for your plasma's dvi connection. With regards to trying to get a true HD signal to your plasma, I highly doubt your plasma can do a true 1:1 pixel representation of your 1080 image anyway - it requires 1920x1080 resulution. Your plasma will process the signal and drop it's resolution. The top-of-the-line Panasonic only gives you 1366x768. Niether your 20''s nor your plasma will give you what you are looking for. You would have to move into a 24" Dell monitor or something of that ilk.