obvious (possibly dumb) question…LCD vs. Cinema Display

[Shane Ross]

[todd reid] “I’m using a Samsung SyncMaster 940mv LCD TV/Monitor through my DVI output to monitor my P2 1080i footage and it works like a champ and looks good.
Am I seeing true HD?”

No. The only way to see true HD is via a capture card. Something like the Matrox MXO helps, but you really need a 24″ monitor for this. It works best in conjunction with the Apple 23″ display. Designed to work with that particular LCD.

[todd reid] “How much better would a 30″ Cinema Display look?”

Don’t know…I haven’t seen the Samsung monitor, much less a side by side comparison.

[todd reid] “Should I spend the $1,800 on that or elsewhere, like more SATA drives & a better art tablet?”

For $1900 you can get the MXO and an Apple Cinema Display. But it all depends on what you need. Do you need to see true broadcast colors? If so, this is the combination for you. If not, then get more drives if you need them.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Alan Okey]

[Shane Ross] “Do you need to see true broadcast colors? If so, this is the combination for you.”

I think it’s debatable whether or not Apple Cinema Displays show “true broadcast colors.” HD broadcast is ITU709, and as far as I know the only low-cost (under $20K) LCD or plasma displays that claim accurate ITU709 reproduction are Panasonic’s recently released Professional 1080p displays.

The Cinema Displays are SWAP certified, but that’s a print-centric designation, not a video-centric designation.

Anyone have any detailed info on this?

[Sean Oneil]

Like the good man said, Desktop Cinema Output is not a true broadcast video output. You need a Blackmagic card with HDMI output and use an HDMI to DVI adapter ($5 at monoprice dot com). Or get a regular Kona or Blackmagic card w/ HD-SDI out (so you can connect to VTRs) and also get the Blackmagic HDLink or AJA’s equivalent (forget what its called). Or just get the Matrox thing which is probably your best bet.

[todd reid] “I’m using a Samsung SyncMaster 940mv LCD TV/Monitor through my DVI output to monitor my P2 1080i footage and it works like a champ and looks good.
Am I seeing true HD?”
No. That monitor is 1400×900. 1080i is 1920×1080. Even though it will accept 1080i signals, it scales it down to 1400×900. You don’t want that in a professional environment. You can use it for 720p footage though.[todd reid] “How much better would a 30″ Cinema Display look?”

Waste of money for your case. A 30″ from either Apple or Samsung is 2560 x 1600. So a “true HD” image will only show up in the middle of it with large black borders surrounding it. Pointless unless you work with 2K footage or you use it as your desktop display.

You want the 23″ which is 1920×1200. You can get the Apple one, or one of the countless others:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020+1309821328&name=24%22

Sean