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monitoring
Just a quick one. Somebody told me recently that people are stop using broadcast monitors and instead are using computer monitors with DVI ports. Since I never used real broadcast monitor (not enough money, so I use plain TV 🙂 I wonder is that possible? Shouldn’t there be at least fields problem (as I understand computer monitors, the can’t show interlaced picture)?
One other thing: how should I calibrate my monitors (connected to my comp)? When I put bars on a timeline, I can’t say if i see them ok. Just don’t say ‘use a broadcast monitor’ 🙂
tnx
mMac Quad 2.5; OS 10.4.6; Final Cut Studio HD; Multibridge Extreme; Sony DVW-M2000P, Sony UVW-1800p, Sony HVR-M10E
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3 Replies
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[meeroo] “One other thing: how should I calibrate my monitors (connected to my comp)? When I put bars on a timeline, I can’t say if i see them ok. Just don’t say ‘use a broadcast monitor’ :)”
That’s one of the differences between a “TV” and broadcast monitor… the ability to switch it to a “calibration mode” so you can adjust the image USING the Bars.
Using a “cheap” computer monitor will be no better than using a “cheap” TV.
There’s a reason “broadcast monitors” cost more.
So I won’t TELL you… I’ll QUOTE you.
[meeroo] “…’use a broadcast monitor’ :)”
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[meeroo] “Just don’t say ‘use a broadcast monitor’ :)”
Posted in the “Broadcast Forum”……
[meeroo] “Since I never used real broadcast monitor (not enough money, so I use plain TV “
I’m not sure where you are, but in my little corner of the world, a broadcast monitor and a nice computer monitor with DVI port are about the same cost.
In fact, you can purchase a little 13 or 14″ Panasonic or Sony CRT Broadcast monitor for about 1/5 the cost of my new 30″ Mac display.I mean really, You own a DigiBeta and HD VTR, but you can’t afford a little broadcast monitor?
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If you’re looking for accurate monitoring, you’re looking at the following things:
A- Calibrating the monitor so it interprets the video signal correctly. On a broadcast monitor, you do this via color bars. With DVI, you don’t really need to do this since the connection is digital.
However, you do need to make sure that your NLE is displaying the colors correctly. With FCP (from what I vaguely remember), you can get different colors (in the viewer) between paused and playing.B- Calibrating the monitor so that it tracks grayscale well (i.e. black and white images don’t have color casts in them), is of the right gamma, and is of the right color temperature. The gain, bias, gamma controls in most (but not all) broadcast monitors do this. Calibration probes by Sony, Ikegami, Minolta automate this process. These controls aren’t going to fix everything… after a while, a CRT’s colors will get too whacked and should be replaced.
C- Color gamut differences. If no color management is in place (which is generally the case with video), then the color gamut is whatever the display’s natural color gamut is (for CRTs, this is determined by the phosphors). The ideal color gamut for HD is the one that corresponds to Rec. 709 primaries. I don’t believe there are any CRTs that do this… which is unfortunate.
There are LCDs which do Rec. 709 (i.e. there’s a menu setting between it and other color gamuts)… but lower-end ones like the Luma series LCDs only hit that color with a huge margin of error. IMO, the Luma series should be avoided for this an other reasons (i.e. even Sony recommends their CRT lines).
D- Image cheats. With computer monitors, I don’t think you have to worry about this.
With consumer CRTs (TVs), they do things like red push, scanning velocity modulation, flesh tone ‘correction’, and maybe some other things.
Broadcast monitors don’t do this stuff.
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