Panic!! Onboard Monitor Screwup!!!

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drcheese

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm shooting a music video today with the HVX/Brevis combo and I'm using the Totevision Onboard Monitor for focusing/etc and Gateway 24" for field monitor. I've used just the Totevision before and it looks great (I plan to post a thread with pictures, reviews next week). But this is the first time with using the gateway also, and it's screwing up!!!

Essentially, with just the totevision plugged in, the image looks great. As soon as I connect the BNC Out to the totevision, the image becomes really green and I also get a vague double image going on.

Any ideas what's wrong? We're shooting in about 5 hours (setting up an intensive shot now!) and I need some help!

Thanks!
 
Are you using the component cable into the totevision? Then looping through with 3 bnc cables to the gateway?
 
I'm going from the HVX to totevision with the standard HVX 3 BNC component cable

then out from the totevision with a 3 BNC RG59 component cable to 3 RCA.


I'm talking to the totevision people and they're saying that the totevision downsizes the image resolution when it goes into it (makes sense) and then there's some issue with sending that image out to the gateway at a different resolution. Which I'm not sure should be an issue.

Thanks!
 
I'd say go from the camera to the Gateway to the Totevision.... and see if that works.... since then it comes into Gateway full and then into Totevision (since it down rezzes.). Might not be the most simple set-up but....
 
Directly camera to gateway looks fine. Just the camera to totevision looks fine also. And when I do camera to totevision to gateway the gateway also looks fine. It's just the totevision that looks horrendous (and seems to be getting worse) when I connect all 3.

I'll give the Camera to Gateway to Totevision a try now just to see what happens, but I don't have the cables to do that permanently for the shoot.
 
You're using BNC right?.... I think your options would be the Gateway to Totevision (if it works) or three of these (if you're using Component.).

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...NC+Splitter&kw=bnc+splitter&parentPage=search

$20 dollar fix, no extra cables (you put those onto the on-board monitor connectors, then a cable to one side of that connecter, from the camera, and then the other side goes to the gateway.)
 
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Those BNC "T" adapters are a drity fix that will mess with the termination, however they are often adequate for monitoring.


Is there a Termination (maybe called "75 Ohm") switch on the Totevision?

- Mikko
 
So, my Gateway doesn't have component out (should have remembered that), and the totevision doesn't have a 75 Ohm termination switch either (not really sure what that's for?).

The T adapters might be a quick fix, so I'll probably run out to radioshack and see what I can pick up, but will I lose image quality? Also I worry that 2 cables and the extra metal weight might put strain on the BNC connectors... which on the totevision is attached right to the circuit board.

Even if T adapters work, this goes down negatively for the totevision if I can't fix it. What's the point of component output if it makes the LCD useless?
 
Alright, got the T connectors and I'm getting the same problem. It isn't quite as bad with the t-adapters vs. the direct BNC output, but still the colors are too green and the slight double image makes focusing impossible.

Any ideas as to why I'd be seeing this issue even with a t-adapter going in? Could the gateway be causing any of the issue?

Thanks once again for the help!
 
I would definatly call the Gateway into question. And also the cables to it.

Can you test with a different monitor in it's place?

- Mikko
 
I think the rg59 cable is ok, since I connected the camera to the totevision by using the hvx component cable attached to the rg59 component cable (with female to female adapters), and that looked fine.

I don't have a second monitor to use unfortunately. But I also get the ugly totevision image if I just have the cables connected to nothing.

Could it be a power issue where if the totevision has to handle input/output or a depleted input signal then the image is skewed?
 
Try a highband 5 wire da like an Extron300RGBHV and go from camera to da than split to both monitors. only use RGB spigots on the 5 wire da - the HV spigots aren't designed to pass standard signal just sync. this is something u can get from a local rental/staging company.
 
So I went over to totevision yesterday and ran a series of tests to figure out the problem. It turns out that the 50ft cable is just too long to carry the signal without creating interference in the signal (we found a 5ft cable worked fine). This may just be an issue with the specific 50ft cable I used. It has the 3 components running along each other the entire way and not in one independently shielded cable.

Regardless of the cause, I plan to just shell out the extra bucks to buy a 25 ft one from b&h instead of sniffing around for savings.


Btw, the totevision people were very helpful and easy to deal with, as this was the third time I've dealt with them (once to demo, once to buy, and then this time). The monitor has also been great and I plan to post a review including a few criticisms sometime this week if I get time.

Thanks for everyone's help!
 
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