Monitor for use with HDW-F900

[Landon D. Parks]

Ok, Im weighing my options for an HD shoot, and I came across an interesting deal. I can pay $40/day for the 7" 16:9 Panasonic TC-7WMS1 or the $200/day 8.4" Panasonic HD 24p Monitor for the camera.

 

Will the cheaper 7" monitor work if the camera is in 24p mode? IT says the monitor is capable of only NTSC and PAL, But I didnt think NTSC or PAL had anything to do with 24p or 24psf.

 

And also it says it has a Composite input, but I cant find anywhere that the camera has a Composit output.... :unsure: :unsure: ;)

 

Thanks guys

[Markus Rave]

With the HDW900 you will either need a HD monitor that accepts HD input or you rent a Miranda converter that seems to be built for the HDW. Snugs in very nicely and downconverts the HD signal so you can use a "normal" monitor. I suggest renting a HD monitor since you are loosing detail while down converting. Plus a HD monitor will have a higher resolution. Your AC will be more happy most likely. And the director, and the makeup artist, and the costume designer they all will love you :-)

 

Markus

[Michael Nash]

It also depends what the final result of your movie will be -- standard def (like DVD) or 35mm blowup. The bigger the screen, the bigger the monitor you'll need. For a 35mm blowup, anything less than a 20" screen won't show you enough detail on set.

[Kevin Zanit]

It is important to have a proper monitor when using the 900.

 

You need an HD resolution capable monitor, and one that is big enough to let you know if you are having minor focus problems that you would not normally see without the large monitor.

 

I think anything less than 14" is being brave. I prefer the 24", but if you can?t afford it, then you can?t afford it.

 

Although the newer down-converters are decent, it still will not let you see the minor focus issues that you can encounter if your project will live in HD, or be projected.

 

An HD signal is not PAL or NTSC, it is HD. Thus you need an HD capable monitor, or a down-converter. Even the 24" HD monitor is actually a 60i system with a 3:2 pulldown card (if I am not mistaken); this is what causes the flicker one sees.

 

The 900 has component outs (YpBpR), are you sure it doesn?t take component in?

 

Do any of the monitors have HDSDI in? If so you could go that route.

 

 

Kevin Zanit

[David Mullen ASC]

The HD cameras have three analog BNC-outs (RBG) or a single HDSDI BNC-out -- but with the Sony F900, you need to have the HDCA-901 adaptor on the back of the camera to allow a single HDSDI cable out.

 

If you go to a standard def monitor, you need a downconverter. It would add the 3:2 pulldown necessary to show the 24PsF image on an NTSC monitor.

 

The big CRT HD monitors are multi-standard (they will even show PAL and NTSC) -- usually they display a 24PsF image as 48i, not 60i with a 3:2 pulldown.

 

I've shot an entire HD feature with only the 9" portable Sony HD CRT monitor -- but I don't recommend it. In that case, it was the film I made with Dale Launer where it was his own HD equipment (he also had a 6" onboard LCD monitor) and we had a crew consisting of 3 interns, so I probably couldn't have dealt with a large monitor even if I wanted to.

 

And for "A Foreign Affair", we only took a 14" HD monitor and a 9" NTSC monitor (with downconverter) to Russia with us because that's what the owner of the camera had.

 

But in general, the 20" or 24" HD monitor is sort of a must. You can't really catch back-focus problems that develop when using only the little monitors, so at least, I'd be checking the back-focus more often if I only had a small monitor.

[Elhanan Matos]

If money is a big concern for you then you should check out the E-Cinema EDP 100, It's a small shiny magic blue box that will convert an HDSDI signal to a DVI signal. This will let you connect your camera into a monitor with a DVI input. I think the box will only support the Apple 23'' and Sony 23'' flat panel LCD's.

 

The major advantages to using this system is:

 

1. Cost, the list price for the EDP-100 is about $7,000 (I think) a Sony or Apple display is about $2,000, that totals to about $9,000. The CRT monitor is roughly $28,000. I'm not sure how much it rents for, but I'm sure its less than the Sony 24 Inch CRT.

 

2. Size, it's much easier to carry around a flat panel LCD display, one person can easily carry it underneath their arm. The CRT will take 2 people to move around, or one big strong guy.

 

I'm not sure how many rental houses carry the EDP-100. But I was at Plus 8 Digital earlier today and I saw a stack of brochures for the thing, so I'll assume they have it.

 

More info on the EDP-100: http://www.ecinemasys.com/

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

For a decent CRT, consider the confusingly named GDM-FW900, which is a 24" Sony CRT computer monitor. They're discontinued now, although still hanging around in warehouses, but they're essentially a hi-def RGB studio monitor without the beam current calibration and sell for what a hi-def monitor rents for over a week. If there's an HD-SDI to DVI convertor, then a DVI to VGA convertor, it should be possible to run a GDM-FW900 as your principal hi-def camera monitor. I don't know about this, but it's also worth trying coupling the hi-def RGB outputs of a deck or camera directly to the HD15 VGA input using a BNC breakout. If the monitor is capable of scanning slowly enough (which I suspect it isn't) and if you can get hold of the right horizontal and vertical syncs (which might require some simple electronics) then you might be able to go direct.

 

Phil

[Markus Rave]

In my experience conversion to a computer monitor, repectively into a computer signal, looses lots of information in the conversion chain. Especially if you add up components. Plus you probably will get a time shifted signal that confuses everybody on the set.

Take a small HD monitor if money does not allow for more and check backfocus often. In the end, a lot of people work with you. I would not suggest risking all this work not renting a very important part of the chain like a HD monitor.

 

Markus

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

Depending on the standard of that DVI convertor, which I don't know about, that may be true. On the other hand, if you can couple it up directly, you won't be losing anything. Similarly there are DVI to VGA convertors which don't cost you more than a notional amount of information. I wouldn't write this off - I'd just be ready to pick components carefully.

 

Phil

[Michael Totten]

With the HDW900 you will either need a HD monitor that accepts HD input or you rent a Miranda converter that seems to be built for the HDW. Snugs in very nicely and downconverts the HD signal so you can use a "normal" monitor. I suggest renting a HD monitor since you are loosing detail while down converting. Plus a HD monitor will have a higher resolution. Your AC will be more happy most likely. And the director, and the makeup artist, and the costume designer they all will love you :-)

 

Markus

 

 

Hi-

 

I know you made this post like a year ago... I just happend upon it through Google. I'm looking at buying a Sony HDW900 24" monitor and am wondering if it'll handle Hi-Def viewing from a Varicam and/or the soon to be released Panasonic HVX-200?

 

You mentioned something about a downconvertor? Why would that be necessary? The resolution of the Sony is more than Hi-def. I must be missing part of the equation.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

[Guest Jim Murdoch]

Similarly there are DVI to VGA convertors which don't cost you more than a notional amount of information.

 

You can buy fully passive VGA to DVI (I) cables, which ignore the DVI's digital signals and simply connect its 5 analog signals to the appropriate VGA pins. There shouldn't be any information loss at all.