NTSC/PAL monitor or larger cheaper TV

[Dwight Flynn]

I need some advice. I have a 13 inch NTSC/PAL Monitor which I want to use for field viewing. I was wondering if I should get another monitor for editing purposes or should I get a flat screen television, which I can get at 27 incles for about $300. The cost savings are obvious, but am I trading too much in the resolution area. The best I have seen so far on a normal television is 750 lines of resolution using its component inputs. Note I will be editing dv and hdv (1280x720).

Thanks

[Glenn Chan]

The NTSC monitor is very useful for color accuracy. Consumer TVs won't do that. If you intend to do color correction, you really really need a NTSC monitor.

2- Lines of resolution specs are usually fudged. I wouldn't trust any of them, even if they come from the same manufacturer. For example, Sony's camera specs distort reality.

If you have TVs in front of you with test charts running through them, then that's great.

3- Why not get a smaller NTSC/PAL monitor for field use? Or you could get a small HDTV you could calibrate if color accuracy is not critical.

[Dwight Flynn]

Maybe it would be better to reverse the situation. Meaning use a small tv for field monitoring and keep the ntsc monitor I currently have for post editing.

[Glenn Chan]

If you want to go really cheap you can try grabbing a Commodore monitor off eBay. With a Svideo-2RCA adapter (male male), it will accept a Y/C input which is neat.

cablewholesale.com for the adapter cable if shipping and customs and brokerage fees don't kill you.

I have tried this before, but unfortunately I think I soldered (or hotwired) the cable wrong. It's probably a better to buy the adapter. It should work.

Otherwise go for a small TV that you can lug around easy and that you can calibrate (i.e. it has manual controls for brightness, contrast, saturation, hue/chroma phase). Get a blue gel too... many posts on this, although one good way to get the right kind of gel is to buy a color correction book.

[Dwight Flynn]

Ok, but is there a phosphorous tube tv out there that will do the job. You know one that actually has 750 lines of resolution and will give me proper control over the color adjustment if and when needed.

[Mike Rehmus]

I don't think you can calibrate a small television unless it has the means to defeat the automatic circuitry. The low-cost units don't have this.

Furthermore, the stability of the power supply in these units is very poor which means the color will wander all over the place during use.

I wouldn't want to lug a 27" television out into the field unless I had some very large and compliant PAs.

At least look at the industrial televisions built by JVC, Panasonic, and Sony. They have somewhat better controls and power suppies. They are under the $300 budget.

[Dwight Flynn]

Mike, does your comments also apply to the LCD televisions in terms of their appropriateness, specs and usability.

Regards

[Mike Rehmus]

In a word, yes.

I have a nice 19" HD LCD monitor from Samsung. It isn't nearly as nice as my 14" Panasonic broadcast monitor for color quality, image quality, etc. And the Panasonic doesn't have much of a problem with off-axis viewing as does the Samsung.

I'd bet that the smaller LCD display panels meant for on-camera work don't use a regulated power supply and as the battery voltage droops under use, their brightness and color temperature changes.

I use one of the 8" Sony field monitors for critical applications (or to get the Director away from my cameras) It too is much better than the LCD display. For one thing, I know the power supplies including the high-voltage supply are regulated.

Used, these Sony monitors are under $400. Mine has been beat up, dropped, modified, and it still keeps working well.