View Full Version : Vegas preview to HDTV


Ian Stark
May 24th, 2011, 12:52 PM
I have two graphics cards - one drives two 23" monitors. At the moment, the other is driving a third monitor on which I drop things like scopes, time at cursor (enlarged), project media bins etc. The second graphics card has an HDMI output and I am toying with the idea of using it as my preview monitor, connected to a moderately priced HDTV. I'm trying to recover some real estate at my workstation and the JVC production monitor is a prime target.

Questions:

1. Would I have to output the video stream to the Windows Secondary Display. If so, will the preview be as I see it on my standard PC monitors now or would it be as I see it on the JVC? If the former then I don't want to proceed.

2. Is it as simple as 'plug it in'?

Sorry for these barely-Vegas questions. If this should be in a different forum perhaps Edward or Chris could redirect it? Thanks.

Gerald Webb
May 25th, 2011, 10:22 AM
Sorry if you raced back here expecting a great answer Ian... cause I dont know, lol.
But I would like to know, as I have been toying with a similar thing, 2 monitors via video card with a HDMI out of my Blackmagic card to a HD TV for CC.
Would the output be the same as the secondary monitor through Vegas- Use colour managment- SRGB 16-235? Then there is no point, apart from screen real estate.
or
Would it be a more "real" indication of what we see when actually played on a DVD player through a HDTV?

Robin Davies-Rollinson
May 25th, 2011, 01:59 PM
I've tried it with my Blackmagic card and all you get is another copy of the onscreen display, ie. You can select the level of preview (best, auto etc)

Gerald Webb
May 26th, 2011, 12:09 AM
Robin, is this with the HDMI out of the Blackmagic card and then in options in Vegas selecting the card and applying colour management?
Are you saying you just get a copy of the preview monitor?

Robin Davies-Rollinson
May 26th, 2011, 01:28 AM
I'd need to take another look at the options Gerald.
All I did was connect up an LCD TV to the HDMI cable out of the BM card and get a picture.
I noticed that if I changed the preview settings for the preview pane, it showed the same changes on the TV.
I really don't know what other options there might be to change these monitoring settings.

Ian Stark
May 26th, 2011, 05:49 AM
>>>Would it be a more "real" indication of what we see when actually played on a DVD player through a HDTV? <<<

That's exactly what I am looking to determine - you worded it better. If it's the same as I would see on my regular pc monitor then I wouldn't bother.

And Gerald, . . . . yes. I rushed to a pc when I read your email on my iphone!

David Jimerson
May 30th, 2011, 08:29 AM
If you're going for standard DVD, I'd color-correct it based on what you see on a standard-definition PAL monitor. That's the standard that a DVD player will respond best to whatever you're actually watching it on.

If you try to calibrate for an HDTV instead of a standard PAL TV, you may end up with nasty surprises, because nothing involved with standard DVD -- the compression scheme, the DVD player, etc. -- has any idea you intend to watch it on an HDTV. Just do the best you can on a properly-calibrated PAL monitor and it will give you the best results on an HDTV, too.

Graham Bernard
May 30th, 2011, 01:19 PM
Just do the best you can on a properly-calibrated PAL monitor and it will give you the best results on an HDTV, too.

That's what I kinda discerned/figured too. Looks great to me.

Grazie

Ian Stark
May 30th, 2011, 01:48 PM
Is that advice true for previewing over firewire as well, i.e you should not use an HD monitor for colour correcting if your target is SD DVD?

David Jimerson
May 30th, 2011, 02:29 PM
The method of output to the screen doesn't matter.

Ian Stark
May 31st, 2011, 01:23 PM
Then I will continue to output over firewire to my JVC PAL monitor, even if it takes up more room than any other single piece of kit I own!

Thanks for the advice.