monitor for CS5 use at DVinfo.net

Bruce Watson · June 7th, 2010, 12:53 PM

My old NEC SpectraView hardware calibrated monitor (CRT no less) is dying a slow and painful death. I'm about ready to replace it.

I've got two major uses for the monitor. One is still photography editing using Photoshop. The other is NLE work with Premiere. Both will be CS5 in another week or so.

I've got way more experience with Photoshop than I do with Premier. For Photoshop I'd likely go for a 24" or 26" monitor that's easy to calibrate. Something like the NEC Display Solutions MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV or maybe the EIZO ColorEdge CG243W.

I'm currently working Premiere off a laptop. My main complaints are that the laptop screen is too small (of course) and that it's not color calibrated so I don't really know what I'm getting, especially from a contrast and saturation standpoint. I want to take some of the guessing out of my NLE workflow.

I'd like some suggestions please. What monitor setups work best for Premiere? Where do you think the "sweet spot" is in the compromise between Premiere and Photoshop use?

Edit: I guess what I'm worried about is that the monitor won't be fast enough for video. If it's too slow it will make dealing with motion somewhat painful I'm thinking. But maybe not. IDK, that's why I'm asking for some knowledgeable input.

Manuel Lopez · June 7th, 2010, 02:29 PM

Look at this: Nec PA241w NEC Display Solutions PA241W-BK

Steve Kalle · June 7th, 2010, 03:12 PM

Eizo CG243W plus a Displayport capable graphics card. The Displayport will give you real 10 bit color with Photoshop, assuming you are editing images or video 10bit or above.

I love my CG243W, and finally have a displayport graphics card (FX 3800). Any of the lower-end nvidia Quadro cards should still provide 10bit from the displayport.

The one thing I have had to get used to is the greater dynamic range compared to my Dell Ultrasharp next to it. Where the Dell crushed blacks, the Eizo is able to display them very well. Editing my XDCAM EX video, I realized that the contrast from my EX1 is more than enough.

Last I checked, Adorama had the lowest price, but I purchased thru Abel Cine and they matched the price.

Peter Manojlovic · June 7th, 2010, 07:27 PM

Steve.....

Do you, or know anybody, that has spanned displays with one card, and monitor out, with say your NVidia card?

I'm asking because my Matrox card allows for monitoring, and my ATI card allows for spanned display. But if in the future i dump the Matrox card, i'll need to know how i can still keep the same configuration. (Spanned display + output monitor)..

Thanx..

Bruce Watson · June 9th, 2010, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manuel Lopez

Look at this: Nec PA241w NEC Display Solutions PA241W-BK

Good point. Must be new. Pretty darn fast for an IPS panel. One would think it would do fine for NLE work with CS5.

So that's my current favorite. Anyone else want to comment I'd love to hear it.

Steve Kalle · June 9th, 2010, 10:22 PM

That LCD is nice if you only need to edit/print photos but video is an entirely different animal. The reason the Eizo is targeted towards both photography and video markets is its capability of switching from calibrated settings for photos to presets for video. Premiere does not use color profiles so being able to select Rec 709 or SMPTE-c greatly helps. Editing photos usually requires a much lower contrast then video does so calibrating for photos won't work for editing video.

Ben Moore · June 10th, 2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Manojlovic

Steve.....

Do you, or know anybody, that has spanned displays with one card, and monitor out, with say your NVidia card?

I'm asking because my Matrox card allows for monitoring, and my ATI card allows for spanned display. But if in the future i dump the Matrox card, i'll need to know how i can still keep the same configuration. (Spanned display + output monitor)..

Thanx..

The new NVIDIA cards, the 470 & 480 have 2 DVI's and one HDMI output on them. It should work for your needs, right now Im using the 470 with one monitor for Premiere and the HDMI out as my display monitor and it works great. Im sure the software/drivers would allow you to span Premiere accross 2 monitors while using the HDMI as you video display.

Ben

Bruce Watson · June 10th, 2010, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kalle

That LCD is nice if you only need to edit/print photos but video is an entirely different animal. The reason the Eizo is targeted towards both photography and video markets is its capability of switching from calibrated settings for photos to presets for video. Premiere does not use color profiles so being able to select Rec 709 or SMPTE-c greatly helps. Editing photos usually requires a much lower contrast then video does so calibrating for photos won't work for editing video.

Any other suggestions other than the Eizo then? Because you're talking about more or less what I want -- WYSIWYG. With photo it's a calibrated and linearized monitor. With video it's SMPTE-c, Rec 709, etc. So what other monitors do both?

I'm running out of space, both desk and room. Dual monitors isn't going to be possible, but one larger one is. So I need one monitor to handle both workflows.

Manuel Lopez · June 14th, 2010, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kalle

That LCD is nice if you only need to edit/print photos but video is an entirely different animal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Watson

I'm running out of space, both desk and room. Dual monitors isn't going to be possible, but one larger one is. So I need one monitor to handle both workflows.

The Nec PA241W monitor is not only for photo/graphic, also it is suitable for video work: suport video frecuencies (720*480, 720p, 1980p) at 50/60 Hz, and REC 709, DCI (digital cinema) presets. See on manual (pag. 17).

Another monitor for video is the Eizo Foris: EIZO / FlexScan FX2431

Kevin Currie · June 15th, 2010, 02:56 AM

Any suggestions in the $200-350 range? For those of us who can't afford a $1000 monitor.
OR
What specs should I be looking for when I'm looking for a new monitor? (for video editing)

Harm Millaard · June 15th, 2010, 08:52 AM

PVA (or IPS, but possibly outside your budget).

John Hewat · June 19th, 2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Moore

The new NVIDIA cards, the 470 & 480 have 2 DVI's and one HDMI output on them. It should work for your needs, right now Im using the 470 with one monitor for Premiere and the HDMI out as my display monitor and it works great. Im sure the software/drivers would allow you to span Premiere accross 2 monitors while using the HDMI as you video display.

Ben

Can someone confirm this? I have a 480 but as far as I'm aware, it is still a Dual Head card, so it will only support a maximum of 2 monitors. I use a Triple Head 2 Go to split the output of 1 DVI to spread across 1 and sometimes 3 22" 1680x1050 monitors, and the second DVI as the full screen 24" monitor at 1920x1080. It works wonderfully.

My 1920x1080 monitor is just a regular LCD TV. I selected this primarily because all of my business Has a final product that will be viewed pretty much exclusively on home televisions. So I decided that that was what I needed to calibrate for. I get that my display does not match others' displays, but didn't see the expense of a particularly good display as being relevant unless my projects were going to be broadcast. Am I wrong?

Greg Clark · June 19th, 2010, 08:21 PM

1920x1200 monitors are superior in my opinion and are more versatile.

Steve Kalle · June 20th, 2010, 02:12 AM

Yes John, you are correct. Only 1 nvidia card I know of is capable of more than 2 monitor outputs at the same time (brand new GTX 465 from Palit).

Andrew Clark · June 30th, 2010, 01:27 AM

Another possibility for your monitor needs:

HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display overview - HP Small & Medium Business products

June 7th, 2010, 12:53 PM	#1
Bruce Watson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 710	monitor for CS5 use My old NEC SpectraView hardware calibrated monitor (CRT no less) is dying a slow and painful death. I'm about ready to replace it. I've got two major uses for the monitor. One is still photography editing using Photoshop. The other is NLE work with Premiere. Both will be CS5 in another week or so. I've got way more experience with Photoshop than I do with Premier. For Photoshop I'd likely go for a 24" or 26" monitor that's easy to calibrate. Something like the NEC Display Solutions MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV or maybe the EIZO ColorEdge CG243W. I'm currently working Premiere off a laptop. My main complaints are that the laptop screen is too small (of course) and that it's not color calibrated so I don't really know what I'm getting, especially from a contrast and saturation standpoint. I want to take some of the guessing out of my NLE workflow. I'd like some suggestions please. What monitor setups work best for Premiere? Where do you think the "sweet spot" is in the compromise between Premiere and Photoshop use? Edit: I guess what I'm worried about is that the monitor won't be fast enough for video. If it's too slow it will make dealing with motion somewhat painful I'm thinking. But maybe not. IDK, that's why I'm asking for some knowledgeable input. Last edited by Bruce Watson; June 7th, 2010 at 03:10 PM.

June 7th, 2010, 02:29 PM	#2
Manuel Lopez Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Spain Posts: 40	Look at this: Nec PA241w NEC Display Solutions PA241W-BK __________________ http://digitalfrozen.com/

June 7th, 2010, 03:12 PM	#3
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	Eizo CG243W plus a Displayport capable graphics card. The Displayport will give you real 10 bit color with Photoshop, assuming you are editing images or video 10bit or above. I love my CG243W, and finally have a displayport graphics card (FX 3800). Any of the lower-end nvidia Quadro cards should still provide 10bit from the displayport. The one thing I have had to get used to is the greater dynamic range compared to my Dell Ultrasharp next to it. Where the Dell crushed blacks, the Eizo is able to display them very well. Editing my XDCAM EX video, I realized that the contrast from my EX1 is more than enough. Last I checked, Adorama had the lowest price, but I purchased thru Abel Cine and they matched the price.

June 7th, 2010, 07:27 PM	#4
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	Steve..... Do you, or know anybody, that has spanned displays with one card, and monitor out, with say your NVidia card? I'm asking because my Matrox card allows for monitoring, and my ATI card allows for spanned display. But if in the future i dump the Matrox card, i'll need to know how i can still keep the same configuration. (Spanned display + output monitor).. Thanx..

June 9th, 2010, 10:22 PM	#6
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	That LCD is nice if you only need to edit/print photos but video is an entirely different animal. The reason the Eizo is targeted towards both photography and video markets is its capability of switching from calibrated settings for photos to presets for video. Premiere does not use color profiles so being able to select Rec 709 or SMPTE-c greatly helps. Editing photos usually requires a much lower contrast then video does so calibrating for photos won't work for editing video.

June 15th, 2010, 02:56 AM	#10
Kevin Currie Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 85	Any suggestions in the $200-350 range? For those of us who can't afford a $1000 monitor. OR What specs should I be looking for when I'm looking for a new monitor? (for video editing)

June 15th, 2010, 08:52 AM	#11
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	PVA (or IPS, but possibly outside your budget).

June 19th, 2010, 08:21 PM	#13
Greg Clark Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Surprise Arizona Posts: 297	1920x1200 monitors are superior in my opinion and are more versatile.

June 20th, 2010, 02:12 AM	#14
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	Yes John, you are correct. Only 1 nvidia card I know of is capable of more than 2 monitor outputs at the same time (brand new GTX 465 from Palit).

June 30th, 2010, 01:27 AM	#15
Andrew Clark Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 477	Another possibility for your monitor needs: HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display overview - HP Small & Medium Business products