Pardon me if this questions has been answered...I was wondering about the possibility of using a Powerbook as a monitoring device. The idea is that it is much easier to move a laptop than a 20CRT. The Powerbook then doubles as a place to dump the footage from the P2 cards as they fill up. I can see some issues with fan noise. Any thoughts?

For accuracy, you need an NTSC monitor. What looks good on a computer screen doesn't necessarily translate to a monitor. Lots of people use the 9" Sony that's switchable between 4:3 and 16:9; you don't need a 20" monitor in the field.

I don't know that this would work for DVCPro, but for regular DV see:

http://www.bensoftware.com/btvpro.html

It isn't a studio monitor, but it's cheap shareware and works very well in both window and full screen modes. It will also record DV to the hard drive. Can the HVX send DV25 via firewire when it's in HD mode?

Can the HVX send DV25 via firewire when it's in HD mode?
Hmm, don't know. It would normally send DVCPRO-HD out the firewire port. I don't recall if they said if there'd be a DV on-the-fly downconversion or not.

Thomas, are you sold on the idea of using a Powerbook? Because if you don't *have* to have it be a Mac, then you should look into DV Rack from Serious Magic. It does what you're asking for on a laptop, it's an incredibly handy and useful program, and they've just added a high-def HDV option pack to it. They're now exploring making it DVCPRO-HD compatible. But it doesn't run on a Mac and may never run on a Mac, because it relies heavily on Windows DirectShow technology.

For accuracy, you need an NTSC monitor. What looks good on a computer screen doesn't necessarily translate to a monitor. Lots of people use the 9" Sony that's switchable between 4:3 and 16:9; you don't need a 20" monitor in the field.

I don't think I explained myself that well...

I agree regarding SD but with HD, unless you have a real HD monitor in the field, you are not getting an accurate picture anyway, no?

My idea was in relation to shooting HD with the HVX-200 on P2 cards.There has been a lot of criticism of the workflow, need for a smart device like a a Firestoreor a laptop. A lot of people have been saying that it is not practical to carry a laptop in the field, but if it doubled as a monitor...

Tom

I believe you are looking for somthing like Dv Rack. I too am looking for such software for use on a Powerbook but can't find it. Dv Rack only works on windows based systems.

http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrack.cfm

I believe you are looking for somthing like Dv Rack. I too am looking for such software for use on a Powerbook but can't find it. Dv Rack only works on windows based systems.

http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrack.cfm

I suppose that is the issue then: you need some sort of software on the Powerbook to use it as a monitor.
I believe that this is part of what they use on Reel Stream, where they use the Powerbook as a monitor. It seems to include other monitoring tools, such as histograms, etc.

has made me look seriously at buying a PC laptop. It's a weakness in the Mac video production world that something like DV Rack has not been made for Mac!

How about this program?
http://www.evological.com/videoscope.html

That's pretty good, but I doubt it does HD. It is useful for DV though.

May be useful for content that has already been captured.

captures content .... I'm not sure if serves the same purpose as DV Rack?

Powerbooks have a display calibration built in that allows you to tweak and calibrate the image of the lcd...one of the options is NTSC it adjusts for gamma and everything, I think there is even a profile and you dont have to calibrate.