Understanding Sony's monitor model names?

[Jack Kelly]

Hi there,

I'm looking for a 2nd hand Sony BVM monitor. There are quite a few on the 2nd hand market but my problem is that I can't decipher Sony's model numbers. Please can someone help explain? For example, is the 9045 the replacement to the 9044? Are the first two digits in the name always the diagonal measurement (e.g. the 9044 is a 9" monitor).

Is there any way to find out roughly what vintage the monitor is from the model name?

Many thanks,
Jack

[Jack Kelly]

There are a couple of PDFs which give some details on Sony's line of BVM monitors:

http://www.sony.com.au/objects/pdf/BVMSERIES_PAL3.pdf

http://www.sony.com.au/objects/pdf/p...bvm_series.pdf

And here's a web page with details of a few of Sony's older BVM monitors:

http://www.sony.com.au/catalog/produ...=arch&term=bvm

[Jack Kelly]

A few bits of information gleamed from the PDFs linked to above:

There are three "class" of BVM monitor: E, F and G. E is the highest quality. The "class" of BVM monitor is given in the model name like: BVM-14F5E

Within each class, there are two types of monitor: "display units" and "stand-alone monitors". I think "display units" can only be adjusted with the aid of an add-on controller. Therefore I want a "stand-alone monitor" or perhaps a "display unit" with the "control unit" installed. To quote the PDF:

"Display units can be controlled by optional BKM-10R
and BKM-11R Control Units. The BKM-10R can be
mounted in a 19-inch EIA standard rack, but can also
be attached to any of the 20-inch displays for standalone
operation."

Some model numbers:

20-inch display units
BVM-20E1E/20E1A More than 1,000 TV lines
BVM-20F1E/20F1A 900 TV lines
BVM-20G1E/20G1A 800 TV lines

14-inch display units
BVM-14E1E/14E1A 900 TV lines
BVM-14F1E/14F1A 800 TV lines
BVM-14G1E/14G1A 800 TV lines

14-inch stand-alone monitors
BVM-14E5E/14E5A 900 TV lines
BVM-14F5E/14F5A 800 TV lines
BVM-14G5E/14G5A 800 TV lines

I think all the above models came out around 1998. I think the next version was the "BVM-D series" with model number like BVM-D14F5E. I think the most recent incarnation of the BVM series is the "BVM-A series" with model numbers like BVM-A14F5M. The BVM-D series and the BVM-A series monitors includes some monitors which accept HD signals.

More information about the BVM-A series:

http://assets.sonybiz.net/doc/bv/X/B...ries(brch).pdf

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowP...B&category=BVM

I think the oldest BVM monitors have model names like BVM-1410P. Here are the specs for the BVM-1410P:

http://www.broadcaststore.com/pdf/model/5286/5286.pdf

(I currently have a BVM-1410P that I got from eBay a few years ago for £150. It works OK and I've graded a few short films on it. It's starting to really show its age now. It does some very odd things every now and then. I can't find any dates on it but I suspect it dates back the the 1980s or maybe even the 70s. Time to upgrade!)

[Jack Kelly]

No I'll do some research on Sony's range of PVM monitors...

(I was originally thinking of getting a BVM monitor. I could just about afford a BVM-14F5E. But then it occurred to me that for the same price I could get a good PVM monitor and also a hardware waveform and vectorscope... although I must admit that I'm not certain I need hardware scopes as "Color Finesse", "Color" and "Scratch" all have good scopes)

Some random quotes pulled from Creative Video's website:

"The PVM-14L4 (EBU phosphors) is a 14-inch compact video monitor that was newly designed to replace the current well-known PVM-14M4E monitor. The PVM-14L4 incorporates a HR Trinitron"

"The PVM-14L3 (P22 phosphors) is a 14-inch compact video monitor which incorporates a Trinitron CRT that achieves a high resolution of 600 TV lines. The PVM-14L3 is a cost effective v .."

Some details of the PVM-14M4E:

"HR Trinitron CRT assures a high resolution of 800 TV lines, accepts component (Y/R-Y/B-Y), RGB, Y/C and composite signals, on screen menu for adjustment/operation, switchable aspect ratio (4:3 and 16:9) Optional component serial digital iterface kits BKM-101C (video)/102 (audio) available"

Here's a PDF detailing the PVM-14M2MDE - I think this monitor is primarily for medical use, not for critical video colour correction.

The xxM4E models have 800 lines of resolution and use EBU phosphors. The xxM2E have 600 lines and uses P-22 phosphors. Both monitors came out around 1997.

Specs for the 14L4:

http://www.expandore.com/product/Son...or/PVM14L4.htm

The 14L4 uses EBU phosphors. The 14L3 uses P-22 phosphors. Both came out around 2001.

After lots of looking around on the web, I've decided the best bang per buck is probably a 2nd hand PVM 14L4 so that's what I'm going to try to buy.