Video distribution amp – suggestions?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Barend Onneweer] “I’d like to add a consumer grade TV set to the setup, to get some feedback on what the picture will look like on a less accurate (and more average) screen.”

There IS no such thing.
Out of 95 “average” TV screens 100 of them will look different 🙂

By this I mean many consumers “ADJUST” their sets frequently (“if its on the remote control, USE it”) and, (just as bad) many with really AWFUL settings… DON’T!
And, as the sets age, they change and NEED adjustment.

By hooking up an “average” TV monitor to your system, you will only be seeing what THAT “average” TV monitor happens to look like at the moment.

That’s why we try to use the “ideal” monitor and adjust the image to be “RIGHT” under the best conditions.

Besides, what action would you take if the “Pro monitor” looked great, but the “average monitor” looked a bit red and fuzzy?
I hope you’d adjust the “average monitor” to better match the “Pro monitor”… and we’re back to square one.

I suppose that if you use a monitor with less rez than the pro set to judge font size it would be a bit useful, but once you determine that number, you then KNOW it.

This “worst case” monitor is very common in audio because being able to hear a mix thru small speakers at lower levels (if radio is the ultimate use) CAN be valuable (but judging color-match and chroma-levels for broladcast are a different story).

[Todd Gillespie]

Hi Barend,
Although Thax is correct, I’ve set up and seen a lot of suites that include a consumer monitor. Although the colors will be off, it’s still a reference for clients to see what it ‘can’ look like on a normal TV. I’ve haven’t had any problem routing audio to sync.

I’m surprised that you need the converter. The decklink doesn’t have a composite out?

We use a JVC S-video switcher for our edit suites, it works fine and is around $500. I don’t think they make them anymore…
But once you start needing to convert from component to composite, it gets pricey. If you can’t use a composite signal or S-video, then, I’d go with the Laird.

Good Luck,

Todd at UCSB
Television Production