Finally! External LCD Monitor Solution < $200

Jerome Cloninger · May 29th, 2008, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Stivala

Just want to clarify...
so if I"m shooting 1080 60i with my XH-A1, I can take the composite out of the camera into the composite in of this DVD player - and when I switch the DVD player to 16x9 mode I will be able to clearly view the entire frame, right?

THe composite output of the camera outputs anamorphic (when shooting in 1080 60) and the 16x9 mode on the DvD player "squishes" it to the correct aspect?

DO I have this correct??
Just want to confim, then I'm off to best buy!!!! - I got one of those gift cards too!!!

thanks

Yes. If you hooked the composite up to a 4:3 TV, it will be squished. If you hook it up to a 16:9 TV, it will be 16:9 (as long as you are shooting in widescreen...)

Jerome Cloninger · May 29th, 2008, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Dean

So since sony bends you over if you want pal, i was looking around at other 800x480 dvd players that are more region/format friendly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882136168

I'm not endorsing newegg or anything, just using it as a reference. Has anybody seen one of these in person? If you are at a store that has one, would you mind giving it a quick glance to see if the screen is substantially worse than the sony?

also, it looks like it should be able to fold flat on itself... but i could be mistaken.

If you come across this or a different brand of 800x480 dvd, please give it a glance and see if it looks any good/is pal happy.

thanks a ton from down under!

Looks like that may be a good candidate... would love to see these 2 side by side.

Bill Busby · May 29th, 2008, 04:12 PM

Jerome, I believe you mentioned in another post in this thread how you use a mini plug to BNC cable. I've searched high & low for one online & can't find a thing. Do you have any suggestions where I could check?

Right now I'm using a RCA to BNC adapter.

Aside from having one custom made (of course I could do it myself, but seems the older I get, the less solder savvy I've become... no patience), finding a source I could purchase from would be great.

Jerome Cloninger · May 29th, 2008, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Busby

Jerome, I believe you mentioned in another post in this thread how you use a mini plug to BNC cable. I've searched high & low for one online & can't find a thing. Do you have any suggestions where I could check?

Right now I'm using a RCA to BNC adapter.

Aside from having one custom made (of course I could do it myself, but seems the older I get, the less solder savvy I've become... no patience), finding a source I could purchase from would be great.

Bill, I finally found the source! I used these guys a long time ago for something else...

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_...ataName=BNC35C

They're relatively cheap and you can choose your length. I just ordered 2 and requested for right angle plugs. Hope they come through with it.

Bill Busby · May 29th, 2008, 07:55 PM

Thanks for that.

Gints Klimanis · May 30th, 2008, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Dean

So since sony bends you over if you want pal, i was looking around at other 800x480 dvd players that are more region/format friendly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882136168

There are many choices, including the Coby, at BestBuy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&type=category

The AudioVox costs twice as much but has an interesting zoom feature. I would really have liked to see Sony adopt a focus zoom feature that would toggle on/off with a switch instead of a timer. Also, I wish Sony would allow a smaller auto focus zone or at the very least, a smaller focus rectangle that could be positioned by joystick control. It would be so much nicer to have that joystick button that's in the EX1 remote control on the the EX1 itself.

Unfortunately, both the Coby mentioned above and the AudioVox are available on-line only at BestBuy.com . There is also a Toshiba for $300 with a 10" display. Careful. A number of these models do not have the composite video input.

Matt Buys · May 31st, 2008, 08:19 PM

Q: Would this work/be adequate for pulling focus with a 35mm adapter on the hv20?
A: Yes.

EDIT. Missed answer in middle of thread. Thanks so much for pointing this out. I'm going to best buy tomorrow. Once again, DVI saves me money. Almost too good to be true.

Gints Klimanis · May 31st, 2008, 08:47 PM

Thanks to Jerome for starting this thread. The Sony portable DVD player with the 8" 800x480 LCD he suggested works marvelously for focusing. Even though we are quick to laugh at composite SD out, the 8" 800x480 screen easily matches the resolution on my Sony EX1. A +1 tweak of the Sony Hue was all that was needed to match the DVD LCD to my EX1. I turned the color all the way down on the LCD for Black&White monitoring while retaining color on the EX1 LCD. It is much easier to focus this way, and this blows away the internal B&W viewfinder feature. Fantastic.

A few notes on my EX1 with this DVD player. The menu display can be turned off on the video out (p. 103 of manual, Display Out=Off). A minor downside is that peaking stripes (and zebra stripes) aren't passed to the composite out regardless of the Display Out setting. A major downside is that the Expanded Focus function which doubles the size of the image is not passed to the composite out. Darn it.

I'll do some more searching for portable DVD players with larger LCDs. The largest I've seen is a 10.2" .

Jerome Cloninger · May 31st, 2008, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gints Klimanis

Thanks to Jerome for starting this thread. The Sony portable DVD player with the 8" 800x480 LCD he suggested works marvelously for focusing. Even though we are quick to laugh at composite SD out...

Gints, no problem! I just wanted to pass on the info to a solution to an "everlasting hunt". I'm glad you tried it and glad it works for you. Check out that link for the cables a couple posts up... I should be getting mine in first of the week.... no adapters needed!

Gints Klimanis · May 31st, 2008, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerome Cloninger

Check out that link for the cables a couple posts up... I should be getting mine in first of the week.... no adapters needed!

Thanks for the cable link. My Sony's don't use a BNC connector, so I just use the provided A/V breakout cables and connect the female connectors on the camcorder and DVD player cables with an RCA gender changer plug.

Here is another candidate for about $280 : Toshiba SD-P2900, although its specs read the same as Toshiba SD-P101S Portable DVD Player . The former is 4 lbs while the latter is 2.8 lbs.

http://www.beachaudio.com/Toshiba/Sdp2900-p-100176.html

Marty Hudzik · June 1st, 2008, 10:40 AM

Not to rain on any parade, but I got a good look at this unit at best buy and thought the screen looked terrible. There was 5-6 different brands on display and they had the same DVD sampler playing in all of them and when it would go to the menu the text was barely legible the res was so low. I couldn't fathom trying to focus with this.

I trust all of your opinions and figure that maybe there are different batches of this thing floating around or something as there is no way you could mistake this for a "good" focusing unit?

I ended up buying an LG model that was on clearance. It stood out from all the rest and had the clearest picture. The text was clearly legible and it just seemed "hi-res" in comparison. It turns out (from online research) that this one model of LG is listed on their site as being a VGA screen. Every other model is not listed this way and it is obvious as they look very low quality.

In the store, the Sony that you are all raving about, is not even remotely high -res, especially in relation to the LG with a true VGA screen that looks amazing.

What gives? As I said earlier, this cannot be simply difference of opinion but maybe a different lot?

Thanks.

Robert Martens · June 1st, 2008, 11:09 AM

I never did buy one of these things, so I can't speak with authority, but the research I did revealed that the earlier model, the DVP-FX810, had a much lower resolution screen, as well as a nasty glare problem (the screen "looks like a mirror when the unit is turned off" according to one person). Both problems were addressed with the 820, supposedly, but the two models are cosmetically identical, could you guys be looking at the wrong one? I know a few places, Wal-Mart for one, are just getting these in stock now, and only had the 810 before.

Gints Klimanis · June 1st, 2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Hudzik

Not to rain on any parade, but I got a good look at this unit at best buy and thought the screen looked terrible. There was 5-6 different brands on display and they had the same DVD sampler playing in all of them and when it would go to the menu the text was barely legible the res was so low. I couldn't fathom trying to focus with this.

In the store, the Sony that you are all raving about, is not even remotely high -res, especially in relation to the LG with a true VGA screen that looks amazing.

I'm glad Jerome started this thread. My initial reaction to the FX820 Sony unit (note: there are two that are out there: FX810 and FX820), but after using it for a night, it does aid in focusing. I haven't walked into any stores other than Sony, so more research is in order. Thanks for the tip on the LG display. I mentioned a 10.2" Toshiba in an earlier thread that received excellent picture quality reviews.

Jerome Cloninger · June 1st, 2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Martens

I never did buy one of these things, so I can't speak with authority, but the research I did revealed that the earlier model, the DVP-FX810, had a much lower resolution screen, as well as a nasty glare problem (the screen "looks like a mirror when the unit is turned off" according to one person). Both problems were addressed with the 820, supposedly, but the two models are cosmetically identical, could you guys be looking at the wrong one? I know a few places, Wal-Mart for one, are just getting these in stock now, and only had the 810 before.

I bet they are looking at the 810 and not the 820. The 810 IS much worse than the 820. The 810 was on display and I made the kid take the 820 out of the box so I could check it out... he did and even he saw the difference.

When all the people mention how bad the screen is, I thought they were just being too picky. But as it turns out, I just assumed that they checked the 820 because that is what I posted originally.

It would be great to see if the naysayers could in deed confirm if they saw the 810 or 820.

Marty Hudzik · June 1st, 2008, 03:40 PM

best buy is closed but I will try to get in and verify this week.
Thanks.

May 31st, 2008, 08:19 PM	#67
Matt Buys Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 426	Q: Would this work/be adequate for pulling focus with a 35mm adapter on the hv20? A: Yes. EDIT. Missed answer in middle of thread. Thanks so much for pointing this out. I'm going to best buy tomorrow. Once again, DVI saves me money. Almost too good to be true. Last edited by Matt Buys; May 31st, 2008 at 08:25 PM. Reason: Existential reasons

May 29th, 2008, 04:12 PM	#63
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	Jerome, I believe you mentioned in another post in this thread how you use a mini plug to BNC cable. I've searched high & low for one online & can't find a thing. Do you have any suggestions where I could check? Right now I'm using a RCA to BNC adapter. Aside from having one custom made (of course I could do it myself, but seems the older I get, the less solder savvy I've become... no patience), finding a source I could purchase from would be great.

May 29th, 2008, 07:55 PM	#65
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	Thanks for that.

May 31st, 2008, 08:47 PM	#68
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	Thanks to Jerome for starting this thread. The Sony portable DVD player with the 8" 800x480 LCD he suggested works marvelously for focusing. Even though we are quick to laugh at composite SD out, the 8" 800x480 screen easily matches the resolution on my Sony EX1. A +1 tweak of the Sony Hue was all that was needed to match the DVD LCD to my EX1. I turned the color all the way down on the LCD for Black&White monitoring while retaining color on the EX1 LCD. It is much easier to focus this way, and this blows away the internal B&W viewfinder feature. Fantastic. A few notes on my EX1 with this DVD player. The menu display can be turned off on the video out (p. 103 of manual, Display Out=Off). A minor downside is that peaking stripes (and zebra stripes) aren't passed to the composite out regardless of the Display Out setting. A major downside is that the Expanded Focus function which doubles the size of the image is not passed to the composite out. Darn it. I'll do some more searching for portable DVD players with larger LCDs. The largest I've seen is a 10.2" .

June 1st, 2008, 10:40 AM	#71
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	Not to rain on any parade, but I got a good look at this unit at best buy and thought the screen looked terrible. There was 5-6 different brands on display and they had the same DVD sampler playing in all of them and when it would go to the menu the text was barely legible the res was so low. I couldn't fathom trying to focus with this. I trust all of your opinions and figure that maybe there are different batches of this thing floating around or something as there is no way you could mistake this for a "good" focusing unit? I ended up buying an LG model that was on clearance. It stood out from all the rest and had the clearest picture. The text was clearly legible and it just seemed "hi-res" in comparison. It turns out (from online research) that this one model of LG is listed on their site as being a VGA screen. Every other model is not listed this way and it is obvious as they look very low quality. In the store, the Sony that you are all raving about, is not even remotely high -res, especially in relation to the LG with a true VGA screen that looks amazing. What gives? As I said earlier, this cannot be simply difference of opinion but maybe a different lot? Thanks.

June 1st, 2008, 11:09 AM	#72
Robert Martens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 820	I never did buy one of these things, so I can't speak with authority, but the research I did revealed that the earlier model, the DVP-FX810, had a much lower resolution screen, as well as a nasty glare problem (the screen "looks like a mirror when the unit is turned off" according to one person). Both problems were addressed with the 820, supposedly, but the two models are cosmetically identical, could you guys be looking at the wrong one? I know a few places, Wal-Mart for one, are just getting these in stock now, and only had the 810 before.

June 1st, 2008, 03:40 PM	#75
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	best buy is closed but I will try to get in and verify this week. Thanks.