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Apple Cinema HD display for video color correction in FCP 6?
Hello Everyone…
I wanted to know what opinions were on using an Apple Cinema HD display for video color correction in FCP 6…
I need to do color correction on my film, and have access to said a monitor… Can anyone tell me if this would be a good choice? Any issues I should be aware of?
Many thanks,
Samah -
6 Replies
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Everyone has their own opinion. Computer monitors are just that. They do not produce the same colors as a NTSC Monitor. A cheap TV from Best Buy will do in your case. Do not cheat yourself on quality.
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Thanks for your reply.
Hmm… It seems to me though that as I shot on HD, so I think in this case, the HD cinema display is better than an NTSC monitor, because it is at least HD. What do you think about that? I’m just trying to see if it would be at least accurate enough to have a sense for what the film wil loo like projected…
Any other thoughts are appreciated.
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[SamahCinema] ” It seems to me though that as I shot on HD, so I think in this case, the HD cinema display is better than an NTSC monitor, because it is at least HD”
Nope, a HD computer monitor is only HD in the since that it has HD resolution. Computer monitors are not built the same as a TV, and there for do not react the same to video.
Computer monitors are built for computers, not for video. Yes people use them for that, but they are still not built for that. At the same time TV’s are not built to be used as computer monitors. Hook a TV up to a computer, even a HDTV and it will not look as sharp as a computer monitor will.
For proper color correcting you need to use a calibrated video monitor. And you cannot just hook those up to the graphics card on the computer, because graphics cards are built to run computer monitors, and they do not output color properly for accurate color correction.
Most people will use a Video IN/OUT card like a AJA Kona card, and will attach a calibrated video monitor.
An alternative that you may want to look into is a Matron MXO. It takes the signal that comes out of the graphics card on the computer and converts it into a color accurate picture that can be displayed on a HD computer monitor.
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That was a very thorough response. Thank you.
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Yes, as ZRB noted, you cannot get accurate color on a computer LCD monitor without something like the Matrox MXO. And the MXO gets you darn close to the quality you’d see on an HD CRT. With the ability to calibrate the MXO to color bars, you get pretty accurate color.
The Decklink HD link does this too, but you first need a Decklink HD card to connect this too. So the MXO is the cheaper option.
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The DVI out from your Mac to a well calibrated ACD will get you very close to a regular monitor. MXO is a luxury, not a necessity. Still, there’s no substitute for an NTSC monitor.
Have a wonderful day.
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