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Possible to use computer LCD display for field monitor w/HVX200 or RED?
Hi, I worked on a production with the HVX200 a couple years ago where we used a 24″+ Dell LCD monitor with component-in for preview on-set. It looked fantastic for the director/client/talent/managers, with a very sharp image for focus and general lighting preview.
Now, I’ve got a shoot coming up, and I have mostly done editing for the last year or two, so I just wanted to make sure I get this right. The producer is trying to line up either a RED or an HVX, and I’m curious if something to the effect of the Dell 2408WFP or S2409W would work. The 2408WFP appears to have component and HDMI, which to me indicates it would work with both the HVX or RED (depending on which we get), while the S2409W only has HDMI (and is significantly cheaper), making it an okay choice if we go RED, no? Am I correct in the assumption that these connections would even work with these cameras, in the first place?
The reason I’m asking about computer displays is to kill multiple birds with one stone. I am responsible for both shooting and editing the pieces, and will be setting up out of state for the short edit (which will be on a MacBook Pro), and an external display would come in handy for the timeline, or video playback preview, without having to rent a monitor for the duration of the week of editing on top of a week of shooting. So, if we bought one display for $600, used it for the shoot and the edit, and then sold it on eBay, wouldn’t that make a boatload more sense for the production than renting an HD field monitor at around $200 a day?
Thanks, and let me know if there are any other displays that would be better/you may have used!
If you care to take a peek, here are the two displays I mentioned above:
https://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-6272https://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=320-7345&redirect=1
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3 Replies
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Hi Joel,
If you shoot HD with a proper HD Camera, you should use an HD Monitor in the field. Why cutting on a control instrument, which gives you control over focus and colour, which I assume are important features? If you change lenses for examle, you need a proper HD SDI link for check on focus. I would definitely go for an HD monitoring. The workflow you have experienced, sounds good, but is probabla down to a lot of testing beforehand.
Two things:
If you have got time, experience and testing performance, you can save some bucks.
If your field conditions get worse or you haven’t got time it’s silly to experiment.Rainer
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I have two Dell 2408WFP monitors for my FCP system, and while they are great price/performance for desktop monitors, I have to say that they are awful video monitors. Just for kicks I hooked up component HD out of my HPX-500 and nothing looked ‘good’ at any resolution, with a very very noisy image, lousy blacks, and iffy colors.
For the shoot, a computer monitor would likely be fine for viewing general action and cropping, and you could probably use it to confirm focus to an extent, but certainly do not trust anything like that for color/levels.
Editing would be the same, with no quality external monitor to accurately view the image I’d certainly feel like I was crossing my fingers that what I see is anything near what the end-users will see.
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Video Photographer / Avid & Final Cut Editor -
Thanks, guys. I called the folks I worked with who had used the Dell display on that one shoot, and they confirmed what you said… they have moved on to the HPX, in addition to HD-SDI with an actual HD monitor; back then they were just transitioning into the whole P2/HD world.
The shoot I had used a computer display on was more documentary-style, and we only used the monitor for general preview on a few shots out of the hundreds. The upcoming pieces will be more critical, shot for shot (being narrative), and I’m thinking we’ll definitely fork out the dough and preview things properly.
Thanks a lot for your help!
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