Production Monitor

[Glenn Chan]

If Glenn says you can find a good 9" field monitor that will work for post then I would trust him over me. He clearly knows more on this subject.

Hmm, I was just assuming you could use the field monitor in post too. I don't see any reason why you couldn't.

If you need a monitor only for studio use, then the studio monitors are cheaper/bigger/better resolution. But studio monitors are heavy to lug around and can't run off battery power. If I could only afford one, I'd just get the field monitor. Shooting your footage well means you need to do less in post (and fixing things in post is generally a lot less time-effective).

Is there another alternative? something that would give good res and picture/color, etc., that I could use in post and in the field?

That is definitely a good idea. You might want to bring your camera along with a miniDV tape with a resolution test pattern on it.
To make such a pattern, just use a text generator in FCP with text at various small sizes..
Or you can use the XL2 to shoot a physical test pattern, which you can print out from http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/re...x.html#EIA1956. Use a laser printer to do that.

2- Alternatives:

Black and white CRTs, by design, have higher resolution for the same size as color CRTs. Many camera viewfinders are black and white for this reason (because a color viewfinder wouldn't be very sharp). For the old XL1 it was possible to get a better viewfinder upgrade, which was really pricey.
Of course, these devices don't show colors.

Color broadcast monitors are the best for monitoring the colors. Consumer CRTs are a bad idea as they typically have a number of cheats to make the picture look "better" and brighter. They also don't have useful functions like underscan or blue only (for calibration).

Studio monitors: Already discussed.

LCDs: I have little experience with these.
There are consumer LCDs, which aren't very good.
There are professional LCDs, which are fairly expensive due to low volume (compared to CRT field monitors).
Resolution-wise, I'm not sure how good they are.
Color/picture-wise, they may be suspect.

I think a CRT field monitor is your best bet and that the resolution is better than the specs suggest (the specs are pretty meaningless anyways).

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Thanks Glenn. I agree with you, two birds with one stone, it's only that they are pretty expensive.

[Harikrishnan Ponnurangam]

Glenn,

Please explain me the steps to convert the camera as convertor to display it the edit in production monitors.

regards,
Hari

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Hi Hari,

The camcorder has both firewire and rca connections, so you take your firewire cable that comes with the XL2 connect to the camcorder and then connect to your processor. Then connect the rca cable, red, yellow and white to the camcorder and the other end to the production monitor. In this way, your camcorder acts as a converter.

To Everyone: I still am concerned about how well this processor will work with FCP. I will not be using Motion on this computer, just basic editing and I assume that it will work much better than FCP 3.0? I have an external maxtor 160gig drive, 1 gig of ram and an internal 80 gig drive, operating on an IMac...newish one.

I'm nervous about this purchase, since I've been a Premiere user for a number of years.......

[Eric Brown]

Originally Posted by Lucinda Luvaas

Hate to keep pestering you both, but is there another less expensive alternative for the production monitors? As I mentioned, I purchased a portable dvd player and plugged that into my XL2, but the image looked horrid and it isn't much help. I don't want to purchase an on camera monitor because I want to use it for both post and on site work.

Is there another alternative? something that would give good res and picture/color, etc., that I could use in post and in the field?

Thanks so much for your imput, your a big help!

Lucinda

Hey, Lucinda

I think we had a thread going about something similar to this a few weeks back (few months?) at that time I said I was going to buy the JVC TMH-150CGU. I did and am absolutely floored by the resolution.
It shows me just how incredibly clean an image my XL2 produces.
I think B&H has it for $509.00.
It's a chunk of change, but if your doing studio or field work, I guarantee you this, you'll never be out of focus again.

[Lucinda Luvaas]

This one looks great Eric! I'll probably get it...so you're really happy with it?

[Eric Brown]

Very happy. I've bought a lot of equipment this year (too much, sometimes it's easy to get sucked in) But I'll say, next to my XL2, this has been one of my happiest purchases.
I just finished shooting a couple of scenes for my short over the last two nights and confirmed my happiness ten fold.
If you get it, you'll see what I'm taking about!

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Thanks for the answer Eric.

Two more questions: do you use it as a field monitor as well as post production at your editing bay? It's pretty heavy....

Second question: have you heard anything about the Sony
PVM14L1? It has 600 instead of the 750 lines of res that the JVC has, but it's 13 inches, so I would assume a bit lighter.

Does it make much difference?

I need something I can use while shooting and editing.

Thanks again for your advice.

Lucinda

[Eric Brown]

Originally Posted by Lucinda Luvaas

Thanks for the answer Eric.

Two more questions: do you use it as a field monitor as well as post production at your editing bay? It's pretty heavy....

Second question: have you heard anything about the Sony
PVM14L1? It has 600 instead of the 750 lines of res that the JVC has, but it's 13 inches, so I would assume a bit lighter.

Does it make much difference?

I need something I can use while shooting and editing.

Thanks again for your advice.

Lucinda

Lucinda, sorry it's taken so long to get back. You've probably already bought a monitor by now! I haven't any knowledge of the Sony so I can't give you an opnion on it. I'm sure it's a fine monitor.
Right now I have the JVC pulling duty as a field monitor.
Once my film wraps it will be seeing time in the editing room. And yes, it is kind of heavy. But I can't rave enough about it.
Good luck.

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Eric,

No, I didn't buy the monitor yet..it will be hopefully an Xmas gift!

I tend to want the jvc, but I still am torn about whether to get the varizoom 7" that mounts on the XL2, or the jvc. I was told that I shouldn't use the VariZoom for post because the res isn't good enough, but I'm concerned about the weight of the jvc and the sony...what do you think? I'm sorry to be so precious about this, but I do torture myself about these purchases, wanting to make sure I get the right thing. I do need a monitor for both field and post. I have, an older tv for my G4 and want to get a good monitor for this I Mac.

Help me again Eric!

Lucinda

[Eric Brown]

Originally Posted by Lucinda Luvaas

Eric,

No, I didn't buy the monitor yet..it will be hopefully an Xmas gift!

I tend to want the jvc, but I still am torn about whether to get the varizoom 7" that mounts on the XL2, or the jvc. I was told that I shouldn't use the VariZoom for post because the res isn't good enough, but I'm concerned about the weight of the jvc and the sony...what do you think? I'm sorry to be so precious about this, but I do torture myself about these purchases, wanting to make sure I get the right thing. I do need a monitor for both field and post. I have, an older tv for my G4 and want to get a good monitor for this I Mac.

Help me again Eric!

Lucinda

Oops. Okay, once again answering these questions waaay too late. Sorry, Lucinda. I think, ultimately, if you are doing narative stuff. Meaning you have your shots planned out, staging, blocking, etc, the JVC or Sony is the way to go. Period.
I say this because when you are shooting something that qualifies as a "controlled shooting environment"" you can tether the camera to the monitor via a BNC cable (or s-video, but get BNC if possible) and you know (for the most part) what you will be getting into concerning camera movement and settings so to tether it to a monitor is no hassle.
On the other hand...if you plan to do run and gun stuff, sports, weddings, etc. The field monitor is obviously not always going to be optimal in that environment. An LCD like the Varizoom is the way to go.
So.. the run and gun stuff can call for more of needing both types of monitors (LCD for the field the CRT for post) and for narrative just the CRT (in most cases, obviously a LCD would work well in a long, quickly paced steadicam shot)
I bought a Varizoom and have found that I am not at all using it for my narative work.
I operate the camera and use the EVF for framing only. I have a buddy sit at the monitor and lend an eye for critical framing.
Hope this helps...and...if you do do run and gun. I am selling the Varizoom!

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Eric,

Thanks for getting back to me however late! my husband just ordered the JVC from bandh and I'm excited. Except I don't know what BNC is, I've only used the RCA cables......if you get this soon let me know.

Lucinda

P.S. what are you selling the Varizoom for? I probably can't get it now, but I'm curious. I did decide that I primarily need the monitor for not impromtu work, but the opposite, so this will work really well, the JVC I mean, for both post and in the field.

I want to thank-you again for your expertise. And, good luck with everything!

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Eric,

One more thing...the JVC monitor you recommended doesn't come with BNC cables....does it?

Lucinda

[Eric Brown]

Originally Posted by Lucinda Luvaas

Eric,

One more thing...the JVC monitor you recommended doesn't come with BNC cables....does it?

Lucinda

Ah! I am actually answering quickly on this one! BNC cable is going to give you the best picture quality over S-video. It has other benefits as well that someone here reading this may be more knowledgeable in pointing out. It's also inexpensive and you can order it from practically any online video supplier as, no, you will not receive it with the monitor.
You can use S-video cable, though, which is available darn near everywhere, and it will work well enough.
As for the Varizoom, I've been mulling it over and have had a slight change of heart.
I'm not sure if I may eventually use it when I get in to doing frelance video stuff for people. (everything I do now is strictly personal projects).
I figured it was time to start making money with my equipment.
Good luck and let us know how you like the monitor!

[Lucinda Luvaas]

Eric,

Thanks, and I read about the BNC cables, not sure whether I can use them with the XL2, I'll have to check, but if I can I will. It does come with cables tho' doesn't it? I think I read it does. I certainly will let you know what I think of it.

If I were you, I wouldn't get rid of the Varizoom monitor. You may have need for it down the road. Is the resolution on it good in your opinion? I think I may have mentioned to you before that I bought a portable dvd player for a shoot I was doing in downtown LA and the thing was awful!!! in terms of the resolution and color....that was a wasted purchase. Is the Varizoom better? I know it has higher res...but what do you think of it?

Lucinda