Need to add SETUP to view DV on NTSC monitor?

[Jeff Carpenter]

From everything I know I think it depends on the camcorder…in other words, setup DOES have to be added but I believe most camcorders already do it themselves. But others might not? There’s the problem…it becomes very difficult to really KNOW if it is or not. The cheaper the camcorder the less chance you’ll have that this is mentioned in the user manual.

I’ve known higher end DV decks to have this as an on/off feature in the menu. THEN you can be certain sinc you’ve set it. But if it’s not a choice in the camercorder then you really can’t be sure unless you find it documented somewhere for that model or you hook it up to some other equipment that lets you test it.

[Mitchji]

Hi Thax,

Check here:
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/video_levels_nattress.html

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Robert Broussard]

Yes, IMHO, it is required.

Also, last I checked you needed a DSR-1500 deck or better in the Sony line to get one to Add Setup… Sadly most decks and camcorders do not provide this feature.

FWIW,

Robert

[Graeme Nattress]

It’s not necessary by any means to add setup to analogue DV monitoring. You must always calibrate your monitor to your deck or camera, and tha will take care of things. Basically, the deck, if it adds setup, will add a voltage to the analogue signal, which the monitor will remove to get it’s black levels black on the CRT. If you don’t add it in the deck, you just calibrate the brightness control (more accurately described as black level) to not remove what you didn’t add – end result, is that the calibrated image would be identical.

Graeme

– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP

[Mitchji]

Hi Graeme,

Zero to 100 IRE is better because there is more dynamic range in the picture. The problem is that North American NTCS uses 7.5 to 100.

Most DV equipment outputs black as zero IRE. Its more difficult to do it accurately but you can calibrate your monitor to match, so I can see how that would work.

But then what happens when your material is played back with equipment that (correctly) adds set up?

What happpens when its played back on a properly calibrated monitor?

On the other hand if you optimize the picture for 7.5 IRE black what happens when its played back on monitor that is set up for HD, which I believe uses 9 IRe for black?

Thanks!

Mitch

[Graeme Nattress]

I’ts not more difficult to calibrate a monitor to a zero IRE analogue signal. The Japanese have no problem, and Europeans never have an issue.

If you calibrate your monitor to a 0IRE signal and use that as a reference for making a DV master, that DV master, if played back on a deck that adds setup, to a monitor calibrated for setup, will look identically good. As long as you’re calibrated you’re fine. It’s not as if you make and master an NTSC TV show in Japan, it suddenly looks wrong in North America because we still, stupidly, add setup on our analogue signals. As long as you’re calibrated, you’re calibrated!

HD uses no setup. Digital video uses no setup.

Graeme

– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Graeme Nattress] “As long as you’re calibrated you’re fine. It’s not as if you make and master an NTSC TV show in Japan, it suddenly looks wrong in North America because we still, stupidly, add setup on our analogue signals. As long as you’re calibrated, you’re calibrated!

HD uses no setup. Digital video uses no setup.”

Thank goodness.

I’ve been shooting digital and using NTSC monitors for years.
Never needed to “add setup” just for the MONITOR.
It makes no sense.