Good alternatives to Mac Displays

[Walter Biscardi]

If you do a Search on this forum you’ll find a lot of discussions about displays and monitors. We run the Dell WFP 2407 and it’s a great alternative to Apple Cinema Displays.

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

STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow!

Read my Blog!

[David Smith]

I also use a Dell, the older 2405, and love it. It’s less expensive than the ACD and besides the DVI input also offers composite, component and Y/C inputs, which are handy for monitoring other sources.

Regards,
David

[Nate Stephens]

Walter,

Just, what is the specs necessary for a good edit or location monitor. I have read all the posting and threads on the FCP and HVX200 forums. Everybody have there favorites, deep blacks, crisp whites, oops that has green in the mids.. Other than visual personal preference, what is the specs for a good one.

I have used a 23″ Apple for 4 years and love it. But the thought of bouncing around a 1,000 dollar monitor on a production cart makes me nervous. The Westinghouse L2410NM that was just delivered yesterday for $380 (tax and title) is way prettier than I thought possible. I plugged it into my MacBook Pro 2.4 via VGA and had pretty sweet 1080-60i chroma key playing in minutes. You can see the edges. His white shirt did not flare. His urban skin tones looked great, right down to the detail in his jacket.

To check it out further I played back “Flushed Away” my current favorite. The detail in that animation was in your face.. so I watched the whole thing again. The built in speakers are more than usable too.

So what are the hard core specs for a good production monitor… money, bragging rights on how expensive it is… connections … this Westinghouse has SVHS, composite, HD component, HDMI, VGA, audio in and out… I haven’t tried them all yet. Or is it size, this is 24 inches 1920 x1200 rez, contrast 700, 5ms response time, a viewing angle of 170×160, brightness is 450nits….

Yes, I understand that you want to trust the salesman who swears this monitor is the best for editing and it is a deal at $8k, (cash 7.5k) But I like just the facts, the bare ugly facts.

Cause I know that it is the unsung monitors and gear that nobody trusts or have heard of that are out performing their more expensive kin. And isn’t this the knowledge that gives us small shops the edge against world.

So what are the specs. Is their a standard test?

[Jeremy Newmark]

Jay,

We picked up 4 Gateway FPD2485W monitors last year for 2 of our edit suites. We found them for $400 a piece. They have been great. They are packed with inputs, VGA, DVI, S-Video, Composite, 2 different sets of component inputs and 4 usb ports. With so many good options out there, there is no need to spend the money on Apple displays when you can get better monitors for less money.

best regards,

jeremy

[Mathieu Marano]

There is the 26 inch NEC display
https://www.necdisplay.com/Products/Product/?product=1713e080-c8e3-4aab-9447-73dacb301b84

which is the same as the LaCie but 1000$ less

there is also EIZO
cg241w
https://www.eizo.com/products/graphics/cg241w/index.asp

which is the one shipping with Lustre, Smoke and Flame stations

Mathieu Marano
online editor – motion graphics – Post-prod director
Directeur technique de post-production
Le Bureau de post production

Administrator of the Montreal Final Cut User Group
http://www.finalcutmtl.org

[Sean Oneil]

These 24″ displays are puny. Check out the 37″ Westinghouse. If you have a desk that can accommodate it (should be 4-5ft. away from you) then you’ll never go back.

Sean

[Ryan Mast]

What do you all think about display calibrators, like the Spyder or Huey? Does that adequately compensate for cheap displays?

I heard once that there really isn’t much difference between most LCD’s, just the calibration circuitry and the brand name on the case. Any truth to that?

[David Roth weiss]

[Nate Stephens] “The Westinghouse L2410NM that was just delivered yesterday for $380 (tax and title) is way prettier than I thought possible. I plugged it into my MacBook Pro 2.4 via VGA and had pretty sweet 1080-60i chroma key playing in minutes. You can see the edges. His white shirt did not flare. His urban skin tones looked great, right down to the detail in his jacket.”

I liked what you said and just researched this model thoroughly. I’m sure it will service you just fine, but for the record it does have a few flaws according to a very comprehensive review on the Extreme Tech website at https://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2141603,00.asp.

They said: “There is no DVI input. The display comes with a VGA cable, and if you want to hook it up to your PC via a digital connection, you have to use a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor and HDMI cable, which just adds to the cost.”

They also said: “the display quality of the L2410NM is what we would describe as “reasonable.” It has some flaws in dark areas in both color and brightness tracking, and some small uniformity quibbles where the left edge’s darkest values are a bit brighter than the rest of the display. You don’t really see that with your naked eye, but the color and lost dark detail are noticeable if you know what you’re looking for. On the other hand, it’s an exceptionally bright display and has an excellent contrast ratio. We measured 963:1 across a 9-point ANSI checkerboard pattern, with a poor 64% dark uniformity but a fantastic 90% bright uniformity. The positives of high contrast and brightness may balance out the negatives of the mostly correctable dark detail and color problems for some users.”

I hope I haven’t ruined your new toy for you…

David

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

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[David Roth weiss]

[Ryan Mast] “I heard once that there really isn’t much difference between most LCD’s, just the calibration circuitry and the brand name on the case. Any truth to that?”

The panels themselves are all built by just four or five manufacturers in Japan, Korea and China. The circuitry runs the gamut from poor to very good. Better do your research before commiting your hard earned money…

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

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Jay Brown]

Thanks for all the advice in this potential mine field

It seems the Dell are a good bet for the money, albeit a bit bright by quite a few reviews. I was impressed with a company offering a zero tolerance to dead pixels on these monitors

It also seems that Eizo come high in alot of peoples estimations – if you have the cash (which at the mo, i dont and its above my requirements)

The Apple dead pixel policy or vagueness of is a worry from what I have read although i didnt think think twice on that when buying this mac book on which i now type ;O)

So thanks for giving a editing newbie a foot up when cash REALLY does matter.