Consumer LCD as Client Monitor

[Walter Biscardi]

The one question I have about ANY LCD monitor, how is it off-axis? Clients and editors are rarely seated precisely in the “hot spot” for LCD displays. I have yet to see a consumer LCD that is reasonably priced that has anything more than about a 30 degree (at best) good viewing angle.

The thing I like about the Panny Pro models (under $900 now for a 37″ model) is that they have practically a 180 degree viewing axis. That’s why we use them in all our suites for client monitors.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Chris Magid]

Walter. If you don’t mind. Lets explore this a bit further. Would be helpful for me to get your opinion.

1-Regarding LCD monitors. We use two professional varieties around here the Panasonic BT-LH1700W and JVC 24D. The panny is just OK off angle and is 720p. The JVC is horrible off angle but awesome on angle is a 1080p.

So. It seems that some consumer sets actually do as good or better of a job off angle. Of course with a 40 inch set the geometry is a little different with a larger “cone” of sweetness.

Other than I/O flexibility would you think there are any other caveats to using good consumer LCDs? Delay or sync issues due to processing versus the NLE timeline or professional monitor used by editor?

Do you think it is possible to get a consumer set close on color? Heck the Samsung has blue check.

2-I do love the Panasonic Pro Plasmas because of their I/O flexibility. And the price is right. However we sort of think we need to go 1080p because we can see delivering in that format soon. Most of our work for broadcast is 720p with some 1080i. But corporate guys and direct to DVD folks may start pushing for 1080p.

The smallest 1080p pro plasma is 50 inches, which is too big for the viewing distances in most of our suites (8 to 12 feet). 37 to 42 inch would be perfect.

So a few questions. How do you feel your plasmas handle 1080i sources? Ever view 1080/24p on them? Any artifacts due to scaling?

Any delay compared to the pro monitors? How do you feel about color calibration?

Some of these LCDs now claim contrast ratios and bit depth greater than the pro plasmas.

Any opinion on pro panels with 1024×768 resolution?

Thanks for your time.

Chris

chris magid
Renaissance Television & Film
http://www.gortvf.com

[Walter Biscardi]

[chris magid] “Other than I/O flexibility would you think there are any other caveats to using good consumer LCDs? Delay or sync issues due to processing versus the NLE timeline or professional monitor used by editor? “

I have never seen an LCD I would put in one of my edit suites except for TV Logic and the viewing angle is the primary reason we do not use them. There is no way to perfectly put the client on perfect axis at all times. Especially when you have 2 or more people in the room watching a project roll down.

The second reason we don’t use them is they can get dead pixels which are a huge irritant to anyone who has viewed one or more dead pixels on their display. This is true of pro displays and consumer displays. The last thing I want is for a bright blue dot to be somewhere on the screen while the client is trying to watch their image. A monitor can have between 7 and 21 dead pixels and still be considered a “good monitor” according to most warranties.

[chris magid] “So a few questions. How do you feel your plasmas handle 1080i sources? Ever view 1080/24p on them? Any artifacts due to scaling? “

Incredible for 1080i and 1080p. If they couldn’t display 1080i well, we could not use them for our broadcast HD work. You should see “Cars” and “Ratatouille” in BluRay on those displays. Like watching in true 3D the image is so sharp. 1080p just gets converted to 1080i and it looks amazing.

[chris magid] “Any delay compared to the pro monitors? How do you feel about color calibration? “

Yes, there is a delay in 1080i, so we set our Playback Offset in FCP for 2 frames and it’s fine. When playing off a BluRay there’s no delay.

We color calibrate the monitor off the Sony CRT Broadcast monitor and it’s so close that we turn off the Sony for final playbacks of all HD projects and only watch the Panny.

[chris magid] “Some of these LCDs now claim contrast ratios and bit depth greater than the pro plasmas. “

And most of those claims are incredibly exaggerated as an honest salesperson at a reputable store or a reputable VAR will tell you. There are ways to make those claims based on some ridiculous math and calculations that really don’t mean squat for image quality.

For color and viewing angle, I have seen nothing on the LCD side except for the TV Logics, that come close to a Plasma. As soon as we have the funds, I am replacing my Sony broadcast CRT’s with 24″ TV Logic LCD displays as our primary color grade monitors.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[David Roth weiss]

[chris magid] “So. It seems that some consumer sets actually do as good or better of a job off angle. Of course with a 40 inch set the geometry is a little different with a larger “cone” of sweetness.”

This has little to do with consumer sets vs professional sets. It’s plasma vs LCD. The technology is completely different. Plasma is an emissive technology, in which each pixel actually projects light out into the room, like a million tiny flashlights. That’s what makes plasma displays seem so bright and that’s what give them nearly a 180-degree viewing angle.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

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[Sean Oneil]

I think all the newest models have a complete 180 degree viewing angle. I’m looking at one right now and it’s viewable from any angle.

Sean

[Walter Biscardi]

[Sean ONeil] “I think all the newest models have a complete 180 degree viewing angle. I’m looking at one right now and it’s viewable from any angle.”

Can you tell me which model? I was just in Best Buy and didn’t see a single LCD I would consider having a perfect image from more than about 45 degress off center (if that much). They’re viewable from more extreme angles, but not with the perfect color clarity like a Plasma.

I’d like to go see which model you’re talking about. thanks.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Sean Oneil]

This one here:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8746422&type=product&id=1205537541429

Sean