The Official Manhattan LCD HD Monitor Thread

jwing said:
Hi,
I recently purchased a Manhattan LCD (HD089C), but I have to say I'm a bit confused/disappointed. No matter what, I cannot seem to calibrate the monitor. Color bars on here are useless. Using component inputs, I get all of these dancing blue noise dots in shadowy areas that do not appear on the footage when I import it into FCP. It's very noisy. Also, it's not as sharp as I had anticipated; and when a character is centered, the focus is really sharp, but off to the side, they go soft, even if they are on the same focal plane. I thought this could be my adapter, but the footage also looks okay after I import it.

I'm using the 1:1 pixel ratio setting. I've heard so many rave reviews about this monitor, that I think it either could be a defective unit, or I just haven't figured out how to calibrate it correctly. I'm using an HVX200A, and I cannot seem to properly set it up using the in-camera color bar generator. Any suggestions?!
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Somehow I suspect either a user error, or your unit being faulty. With my HD109A being razor-sharp and noise-free, I trust the high standards Manhattan LCD is keeping with all their products.
 
I'm very happy with my HD109A monitor, powered from a Tekkeon battery, when using the tripod, and I'm going to keep it.

However, I need advise on which of the 2 new upcoming Manhattan models (the HD071A or HD8900) I should pick to mount on the left handle of my RedRock shoulder mount, as depicted below with and without my current HD109A (too big as you can see)...

The HD071A would fit better and handle easier with this rig, while the HD8900 would certainly give me a better picture to focus on.

Comments welcome!
 

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johnzo1995 said:
We might run a pre sale special on both or provide some coupons for forum members.
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I hope you do, I've been looking for a monitor for ages. I would have bought the ikan v5600 by now but adorama and b & h are out of stock of the sony battery deluxe kits.
 
John, that's a shame about the 89A being discontinued. I have one and it's an excellent monitor. What would be the main difference for the new HD071A? From the spec on your site it seems like the 71A would be less bright and is smaller as well, so it would be a downgrade?
 
i'd actually prefer a 5.9 inch monitor as I'd be lugging this thing around all day on my shoulder rig. The smaller and lighter, the better for me. Heck I'd love a 4 inch monitor with 800x480 res.
 
Huy Vu said:
John, that's a shame about the 89A being discontinued. I have one and it's an excellent monitor. What would be the main difference for the new HD071A? From the spec on your site it seems like the 71A would be less bright and is smaller as well, so it would be a downgrade?
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yes it is a shame but the manufacturer of our controller for that model changed the design of the board again without warning. This is the second time in 6 months it gets really expensive to re-design the case all the time. Anyway our hd089b uses the same lcd screen as the hd089a and has a more stable controller. Many people seem to want smaller anyway so we decided to go ahead with the 7.1 inch. it is 1024x600 and about 30% smaller. What we need is a manufacturer to come out with an lcd screen that is 7 inches 1280x768 and 400 nits that would be awesome but we can only dream...
 
Hey everyone

I just finished reading up on this thread and practically every other thread on this forum that has anything to do with monitors but I still need a bit of help. I've been having a rough time choosing a monitor to buy and I'm down to the wire now between the Manhattan HD089C and the SmallHD DP1. By what I've read, they both have the same pixel resolution, backlight nits, contrast ration, and are the same size. Now, the Manhattan has 1:1 pixel feature and the smallHD does not which gives the HD089C another point, putting it in the lead for me as of right now. I just need some help answering a couple of other questions from any HD089C or smallHD DP1 users. Let me start off by saying that I am very new to external monitors and have never used one and this is my first time purchasing one, so I apologize now if any of these questions are dumb:

1. I know that both these monitors are native 720 but what if I where to be shooting in 1080? Would it be possible to focus 1080 just from the resolution that both monitors offer or would I need 1:1 pixel mapping to achieve focus in 1080? Which again, out of the two, is only offered by the Manhattan HD089C.

2. I've read that the SmallHD is extremely accurate with color reproduction and calibration but I haven't found any info about the manhattan on this topic. Is it just a matter of simply taking the time to calibrate it? I just don't want to film something and see that the color is off in post from what I saw on the monitor during a shoot.

Thats all I can think off right now that is holding me up on my decision. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I am missing something about either monitor or if I have any information wrong please let me know. Like i said, all my info and opinions are based only on what I have found and read about both these monitors. Thanks for your time.

Johnny
 
Johnny Bueno said:
1. I know that both these monitors are native 720 but what if I where to be shooting in 1080? Would it be possible to focus 1080 just from the resolution that both monitors offer or would I need 1:1 pixel mapping to achieve focus in 1080? Which again, out of the two, is only offered by the Manhattan HD089C.
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You don't. I use a Manhattan 89 A which is less than 720p and usually gets perfect focus at 1080p. Of course my XH-A1 has a focus assist feature that translate to the LCD so I actually get a better than 720p resolution.

Johnny Bueno said:
2. I've read that the SmallHD is extremely accurate with color reproduction and calibration but I haven't found any info about the manhattan on this topic. Is it just a matter of simply taking the time to calibrate it? I just don't want to film something and see that the color is off in post from what I saw on the monitor during a shoot.
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In my experience you need to take claims of "extremely accurate color reproduction" with a grain of salt. It's impossible to have an LCD monitor that accurately represents brightness and color at this price range. It doesn't exist even at the professional level; you really need to go to CRT for something like that. I've calibrated my 89A more than half a dozen time with the correct method using blue gel, and John even calibrated it himself when I sent my monitor in to be serviced. My finding is that the monitor simply can't display the full dynamic range of the image that's being captured. If you dial it to what the brightness "should be" according to the bar, then it crushes your blacks level. Same thing with color reproduction, you can't pin your hopes on it; go to a CRT for that. From my couple of hours of experience with the SmallHD, the performance is similar. Both models display quite a bit of noise and microblocking in the black area.

One more thing I would note with the Manhattan 89A model is that performance degrades drastically when the camera is in SD mode. The image being output via component has dramatically crushed blacks, screwy color (representing red as purple for example) and i'm pretty sure it doesn't output 720 x 480 like it should be since the resultant image is way soft. Works great when outputing HD. This happened before and after I sent the monitor in for an upgraded screen so I'm pretty sure it's not just a defective unit.
 
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Hey guys, wanted to give everybody a update on our HD071A. We recently updated the panel, it is huge improvement with brightness, contrast, and color reproduction. Now its spec’d at 400 nits and 500:1 contrast. After measuring about 10 monitors, the average brightness is 393 nits, contrast is 505:1, color gamut 82% of REC 709 .
 
Power question: The HVX300 has a 12VDC, 1.5A, mini-XLR power tap on the back of the unit. Is that enough to power the HD8910 720p (single hd-sdi)?? Panasonic sells a power cable with a 4 pin XLR on one end and the mini-XLR on the other. If the HD8910 can be powered from the camera tap do you think that cable will work? Thanks!!
 
john50t said:
Power question: The HVX300 has a 12VDC, 1.5A, mini-XLR power tap on the back of the unit. Is that enough to power the HD8910 720p (single hd-sdi)?? Panasonic sells a power cable with a 4 pin XLR on one end and the mini-XLR on the other. If the HD8910 can be powered from the camera tap do you think that cable will work? Thanks!!
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The cable should work fine, however I'm concerned about the 1.5 A, it needs to be 2 A minimum. You can order the HD8910 with pana plate, at least you can share the batteries.
 
johnzo1995 said:
The cable should work fine, however I'm concerned about the 1.5 A, it needs to be 2 A minimum. You can order the HD8910 with pana plate, at least you can share the batteries.
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I'm trying to calibrate my Manhattan monitor, it was the DIY one if im not mistaken is the same as the 89A. How do I get to the hidden menu? I don't see a source button on my remote. I tried the input and 9-1-1, but that doesn't seem to be it.

Thanks.
 
Looking forward to adding this monitor to my package as well folks.
I'm wondering about powering the monitor.. It will rest at the front of my rig near the lens so weight is a big concern. I know that the monitor is very light...I use Switronix power supplies for my camera (XP-L90S, 14.4v) with a 2-Pin Power Tap connector. Switronix makes a 2Pin—to—MiniPlug cable designed to power the Firestore FS-100...I'm wondering if I will be able to power the Manhattan 8.9" LCD via this Switronix XP-L90S battery?
Any takers?

Charles Little
http://www.tatucreative.com
HPX170 w/Letus35 Elite & Nikon Primes
 
Looking forward to adding this monitor to my package as well folks.
I'm wondering about powering the monitor.. It will rest at the front of my rig near the lens so weight is a big concern. I know that the monitor is very light...I use Switronix power supplies for my camera (XP-L90S, 14.4v) with a 2-Pin Power Tap connector. Switronix makes a 2Pin—to—MiniPlug cable designed to power the Firestore FS-100...I'm wondering if I will be able to power the Manhattan 8.9" LCD via this Switronix XP-L90S battery? http://www.switronix.com/product_details.php?cmd=info&id=161
http://www.switronix.com/product_details.php?cmd=info&id=202

Any takers?

Charles Little
http://www.tatucreative.com
HPX170 w/Letus35 Elite & Nikon Primes
 
I'm trying to decide between HD071A and HD071A-S. The difference in pricing is about $145. My question is, what's the advantage of the Sony battery plate if I going to do something similar to Charles Little because I'm concerning about the weight being too concentrated at the front?
 
If you're powering off something else then there's no need for the Sony plate. But obviously if you're using it on a different camera without a power tap then having the plate there is a good option.
 
Thanks, Huy Vu. Now, I just have to come up with the money. However, I am also wondering, if I am not using the Sony power tap, what other power source is compatible with this monitor?
 
Lor said:
Thanks, Huy Vu. Now, I just have to come up with the money. However, I am also wondering, if I am not using the Sony power tap, what other power source is compatible with this monitor?
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Any 12v powersupply would work. I use a Tekkeon battery.
 
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