Portable monitor recommendations

ullanta

ullanta

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I'm looking for a low-cost portable production monitor. Any recommendations, issues to be aware of? Any comments on reliability of used vs. new? I've been using a cheapo Jensen 5" "kitchen" TV or a cheapo Radio Shack 3" LCD TV. I need better focusing than either allows, and, most importantly, better color and "mosquito noise" detection. I don't think anything over 9 inches would work out for me... even the tiny, 6 lb. Jensen has had to be left behind because of transport issues in the past.

So, small, cheap, high-res... what's the best I could do for, say, less than $300 new or used?

-Barry
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

I have a JVC TM-R9U 9" monitor I picked up on eBay. It looks like the crap got kicked out of it in a dark alley, but it was only $125--bargain basement for a real monitor. It was the cheapest monitor I could find with underscan. It doesn't have a 16:9 mode like the latest monitors, but it does have a blue gun mode, dual loop-thru inputs, and it can be run off of 12/24 volt DC power. It's a field monitor, and built like a tank, but it does weigh 24 pounds (!).

There are some good bargains in used monitors, but you do need to be careful about burn-in on the CRT and funky color issues. Good field monitors start at about $600 for new models and prices rise quickly from there. As far as I'm concerned, if it doesn't have underscan, it's not a monitor--just a TV with no tuner.

Barry S.
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

assuming money is no object, i'd like to hear of some nice feild monitors

when i say money no object i don't mean thousands upon thousands of dollars, just something nice.
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

A good field monitor should be a CRT, offer adequate lines of resolution (500+), 16:9 mode, underscan/overscan, a blue-only switch, and SMPTE-C phosphors.

There are a few out there that meet some or most of those requirements, but they typically stumble on the phosphors, instead using consumer TV-set phosphors like P-22. Of course, that may be what you want -- SMPTE-C is the broadcast standard, but P22 is more like what a consumer TV set has (and will typically provide a brighter and more vivid, if not as accurate, picture).

The standard for quite a while was the Sony 1354Q.

Another question is battery-operation and size. The Sony 8045Q is an 8" monitor that can be powered off NP-1 batteries, but 8" is awfully small, and when you put it in 16:9 mode you're getting effectively a 5" monitor.

A 13" or 14" seems to offer the best combination of resolution and large-enough image size, although obviously not as portable as a 9".

The Panasonic BT-H1390Y looks like the most affordable professional monitor that hits all the right points. Around $1200 or so. Sony has a 14M4U which seems similar in specs and price.
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

Only one portable monitor to consider for judging color - 8" Sony 8045Q, a true high res professional monitor. It also runs on two NP-1 batteries. About $1100.

The ONLY LCD monitor to use for serious work on a steadicam or jib is the 5" Transvideo RainbowII. This is the only LCD monitor that is bright enough to work in full sunlight. A big hit at about $2000, but if you are serious, this is what you will eventually end up buying. There is a reason this is the monitor you see mounted on top of every Panavsion camera used in Hollywood.
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

Sorry to go off topic but how do you integrate one of these bad boys into your NLE suite?
Thanks,
Ronin
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

you need either a NLE card or use your camera to go computer > firewire > Camera > RCA > monitor.
 
Re: Portable monitor recommendations

I use a JVC TM-H1375SU 13", with S-video coming out of my JVC SR-VS30 deck. The deck has Firewire, so it plays nice with FCP 4. So that's G5 --> deck --> monitor.

The only detraction to the monitor is the lack of component input, but on the other hand it was under $500 at B&H, has 750 lines, is 16:9 switchable, and has underscan.
 
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