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HD monitor possibilities with AE on a budget – any thoughts?
Hi,
I’m looking for a good HD video monitoring setup for After Effects.
I use CS4 64 with a pretty beefy PC. I don’t do a great deal of TV, and this is a first step for me into HD monitoring so I’m looking to not overkill it and go all the way.I definitely two monitors for computer work, this would be a third for just video preview mainly out of after effects.
Have looked into using DVI or HDMI out of a consumer graphics card into a consumer grade panasonic HD TV, but have found scattered complaints about frame rate issues and 8-bit outputs.
So it looks like the only solution is component out with a separate graphics card. Something even like a $1,000 blackmagic plus a $2,200 pro would be pretty rich for my blood. Again very little of my work is broadcasting at this point. But a good amount is displayed on TV’s, so I would like to have a monitoring option.
I have also heard complaints about people having isuues with external monitors, AE, and windows XP64.
Any thoughts? Seems like a lot of people are in my situation and can’t find a solution to this quagmire.
Thanks,
Terry Hahin
Designer and Editor
terryhahin.com -
6 Replies
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Take a look at the Blackmagic Intensity or Intensity-Pro,
they’re quite cheap!
I have one running quite a while now.
Used XP64 and now on Windows7-64 connected to a Philips HD LCD.
Running FullHD 8bit 25fps without a problem !cya,
Jan
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I’ve had pretty good luck with the FSI LM-1760W monitor – I think it was about 2K…
You could use something like a Matrox MXO2 mini…and push out through HDMI, I do that occasionally for FCP and AE previews in a client’s office…it looks pretty good.
-Jason
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Cool,
thanks for your 2cents on this guys. These are both good options.Jan:
The blackmagic intensity and consumer grade HDTV runs about 1k for 8bit through HDMI. Not too shabby for a starter option. How does it look to your eyes? Much gradient / color banding with the 8-bit output through regular HDMI?Jason:
I’m checking out the matrox mini and it seems like a good product. Runs about 800 it seems, and seems very easy a mobile like you said for client work in other offices. Quick question, the matrox mini boasts 10-bit playback through HDMI, but I was under the impression that all HDMI input/output is 8-bit? Am I mistaken?Regardless, thanks for your two cents!
Terry Hahin
Designer and Editor
terryhahin.com -
[Terry Hahin] “Runs about 800 it seems,”
That is for the Max option…which allows you to transcode (only through compressor I believe) h264 faster than real time.
The standard I/O mini box runs around 450
As far as HDMI and 8-bit…I have no idea, that is WELL out of my knowledge base!
-Jason
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[Terry Hahin] “The blackmagic intensity and consumer grade HDTV runs about 1k for 8bit through HDMI. Not too shabby for a starter option. How does it look to your eyes? Much gradient / color banding with the 8-bit output through regular HDMI?”
banding ? sure there’s banding 😉
– it’s a bugdget solution
– is it wrong to see banding ?
keep in mind that -if you have the perfect setup,
so you can view 16 or even 32bit you won’t see any banding.
but once your file leaves your computer, the problems will arise.
– DVD’s are 8 bit
– Digital from cable company to Client at home is 8 bit
– Consumer grade LCD-panels are 8 bitso, you’d better avoid banding to start with and see how the customer gets to see it.
Calibrating your setup is more important than viewing in 10 bit.Before i start a project i’ll always ask what the final product will be…
… and it’s never a high-end reference monitor.>as far as I remember, DVI was 8 bit and HDMIv1.3 extended to 16 bit sRGB
cya,
Jan
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Cool,
thanks for your input Jan. I think your method sounds like the way to go, especially as a starter for HD monitoring.Thanks for all your help on this. Cheers!
Terry Hahin
Designer and Editor
terryhahin.com
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