Production Monitor or Plasma

[Marc Rolph]

As somebody who just purchased and mounted a Panasonic Plasma in my editing suite…I’d have to say it’s not made for editing. There are all kinds of reasons, but I’d say mostly it’s not always color accurate and plasma’s do suffer from burn in, which could be an issue while editing. Get the Sony CRT while you can, you won’t be dissapointed. Then, when money is available, add the Plasma for other people. Think of yourself and your work first.

Marc Rolph
Producer/Director
Mississippi State University

“If you chase two rabbits, both will get away.”

[Sean Lander]

If you ever deliver product that will be viewed on a CRT then I think you must have a CRT as a production monitor.
Too many times I’ve seen field reversals go to air because the editor didn’t have an interlaced production monitor.
This happens especially when your mixing DV footage (Lower) WIth Uncompressed (Upper) in PAL.

Plus CRTs just look so much better.

[Chris Borjis]

I think at this moment if your doing SD and HD you should have both a CRT & some sort of flatscreen. Viewers in the home have both, with flatscreens growing in numbers every year.

But its really important to have a calibrated professional grade CRT and that cannot be emphasized enough. At least until flatscreen quality matures to the point it equals or surpasses crt’s for performance.

[Tom Ackroyd]

Sean – plasmas and LCDs display interlaced video just as CRTs do, but *only* if they are TVs, fed with video, not computer monitors fed with, er, not-video.

So field reversals should be picked up so long as viewing is done on a (ie any flavour of) TV, not a computer display.

Also, you say
“If you ever deliver product that will be viewed on a CRT then I think you must have a CRT as a production monitor.”

Does this mean if you know the material will *never* be viewed on a CRT that you should *not* use one?! Discuss!!

Tom Ackroyd

[Sean Lacanita]

Also, Sony has a line of LCD production monitors (LMD-) which they claim are replacement for their CRT production monitor line.

Is this still controversial?

[Chris Borjis]

I’d have to say it is. Field order issues can’t be solved or seen on flat panels.

I am so very depressed every time I see a commercial or some broadcast show that had reversed field order issues.

I also check every DVD I ever make for that as well. Sometimes the fields will reverse because of buggy software (like compressor2 used to do)

[Walter Biscardi]

[Ken Summerall] “I know that the Sony CRT is probably ideal but the plasma is good for the “WOW” factor. Which one should I get? Are the colors on the plasma going to be true enough to correct with? Help!”

I have both a Sony PVM20L5/1 Multi-Format CRT and a Panasonic 50″ professional plasma in our primary suite, along with a 14″ Sony CRT in our second suite. The plasma is calibrated almost identically to the Sony and we now use that monitor solely for client review and final review of any project. The Sony is used for Color Correction as it does feature SMPTE-C Phosphors, but the Panasonic is so true to that one, that I feel completely confident letting broadcast shows be reviewed on that screen.

If I had the choice of one or the other, it would be the CRT, but it would ONLY be a true Multiformat SD/HD CRT monitor with SMPTE-C Phosphors. The plasma is an outstanding second / review monitor, but it would not be a good primary monitor.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Director, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Sean Lander]

[Tom Ackroyd] “So field reversals should be picked up so long as viewing is done on a (ie any flavour of) TV, not a computer display.”
Well I’ll accept what your saying but my experience is that I have never seen it on an LCD.
The production facilities I work at ALL check their final programs on CRTs for this very reason.
Some have both types of monitors in their suites, generally Plasma is the client monitor and the CRT sits
next to the editor. OR they have one suite that has a proper Broadcast CRT and they check every
story on it because all suites are linked with X-San.

The other issue here is cost. If you want a BROADCAST quality LCD or Plasma it is going to cost you
quite a lot more than a Broadcast CRT. In Australia, I think the penetration of LCD and Plasma is still
under 20%. So I would wait. As production ramps up the LCD Plasmas will get significantly cheaper
in the next year or so.

my 2 cents

[Marc Rolph]

I agree with Walter (per usual.) My Panasonic plasma just about rightly matches my Sony broadcast monitor. But, I don’t really turn the plasma on except at the end of a long edit session to see the progress I’ve made, or when I’m showing the final product to the client.

We’re still in the stage of the big monitors, plasma and/or LCD, are for pomp and circumstance. Getting a traditional CRT broadcast monitor, now multi-format, to do your editing on should be everyone’s choice.

Marc Rolph
Producer/Director
Mississippi State University

“If you chase two rabbits, both will get away.”

[Ken Summerall]

Thanks for all of your input. It confirmed what I was thinking, but not what I was hoping for.

I guess a couple of Sony 20″ CRT’s will be the way to go. Anybody want to contribute?

Thanks Again

Ken Summerall