HTDV and XL-H1 - Recommendation Requested

[Dan Keaton]

I have been shooting some general scenic footage with an XL-H1.

I have used 1081i60 mode exclusively so far.

I want to purchase an HTDV and/or a HDTV field monitor.

Wal-Mart has a Sanyo HTDV, 30", 1080i only CRT television for sale under $500.

While this is definitely not a field monitor, I thought it might be good enough to check my footage. Others have reported overscan issues.

I need help in deciding which HDTV or Field Monitor to purchase.

I need help in understanding the difference in 720p and 1080i, and will it make a difference in my case. I would like to purchase a 1080p, but the choices seem to be very limited. Also, finding a 720p CRT may be hard according to another HDTV site.

I would like to have a good CRT based HDTV field monitor, but there seems to be limited choices in this area also. JVC has a 17" HTDV CRT monitor, but I would perfer something larger.

Since CRT's seem to be going out of style, I will also consider an LCD based field monitor.

[Timothy R. Barksdale]

Hi Dan,

It seems like many of us are needing this item. After seeing the results I am less concerned about checking color in the field than others but I need great portability. The next shoot includes 2 major locations up the Napo river in Ecuador!

I'll have three Hd cameras including the XL-H1.

Tim

[Boyd Ostroff]

Seems like a 30" CRT monitor would be a monster to use in the field. I got rid of a 27" Sony WEGA which died last year and it weighed about 80lbs.

If you can accept an LCD screen you might look at the Gateway 21" which goes for $500 also. See the following: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72555

Every consumer monitor/tv which I've seen overscans unfortunately.

[Keith Gruchala]

The best options are from Panasonic- they make an 8" LCD and a 17" with built in waveform. Both can power off of Anton Bauer bricks and the 8" right off the camera- But you didn't mention your price range because these babies are in the $3500- $5000 range. Also you need to decide on studio vs. field monitor- anything over 17" is definitely not a field monitor anymore but a tudio beast. I purchased a Magnovox 17" flat screen LCD HDTV that has component HD in and yes it does cut the sides a bit, but since it powered through a 12v converter I chopped off the cord and wired it into an Anton bauer plate and now it's a battery powered 17" field monitor. I've also adapted some 7" LCD VGA monitors that actually have pixel for pixel display and automatic scaling so you get actually more acurate edge than the viewfinder- it's basically underscan and it runs off 12v also. I've had to do a lot of my own fabricating and soldering to make these for cheap so if you want something out of the box, yet portable and accurate and have the money- then the Panasonic units seem the best. Marshall makes one 7" unit that is component HD only and runs $1400 which is also 12V and has underscan. None of the LCD's can really be trusted much for exact color judgment I'm afraid.

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Boyd,

Thank you for the input.

Here is where I stand at this time.

My interest was peaked by the 30" CRT HDTV for $478 at Walmart.

So, I decided to purchase a HDTV. Since I was mainly shooting 1080i with the XL H1, I wanted a 1080i or 1080p HDTV. So, I did a lot of research and I decided on purchasing a 1080p set.

Well, it appeared that every set that I researched had some type of
trade-off. For example, one 1080p 60" Sony set was listed by a big box retailer as 1080p, but Sony said it wasn't, but their latest model was. But the latest model did not have some of the features that the previous model had, and the upgrade model wasn't going to be out for a while.

Then it was very hard to decide on the technology. The Sony SXRD's technology seemed great, but some users reportedly had "Green Blob" problems. A 61" DLP Samsung, side by side with the Sony, actually looked better with deeper blacks.

Then, at least with the research that I did, it appeared that most all HDTV sets do not show NTSC as good as a standard NTSC set. So, if I wanted good NTSC and good HDTV, then I needed two sets!

After spending days researching this, I decided to postpone the investment in a very good HDTV. Instead I just purchsed the low-end Sanyo set for $500 to tide me over until more channels are in HD.

The Sanyo set does overscan by quite a bit. I have not yet determined the exact proceedure to adjust the overscan. I did adjust the colors, brightness, and contrast to give a better picture.

Boyd, you are right, this Sanyo is not a field monitor, it is way too big and weights 114 pounds, but is nice for showing the final footage (except for the overscan issue).

So, now I am attempting to decide on a good HD broadcast field monitor.

[Sandor Bondorowsky]

Here is my two cents worth...

I come from the broadcast world, and what really matters in a reference monitor is color. The resolution isn't changing no matter what you do in the field, but color can, and will.

Not for "portable" use, but can still be great in the field solution:
Depending on budget, buy the best quality Sony CRT you can get, but don't go crazy, buy something like a Sony PVM14L5, or if you can afford it, get a BVM series monitor. Rather than go for the HD monitor, get the HD-SDI input card. Now you are looking at a digital signal from the camera, on an 800 plus line monitor, through really good electronics. that makes a great reference! You still get all your composition info, and excellent color telemetry, just shy a couple of lines. But you also save thousands.

For great semi-portable, i use the Marshall 17" HD-SDI LCD's.



S

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Sandor,

Thank you for your advice.

I am currently looking for a Sony CRT.