What Video Pros Look for in Monitors
09/05/2013
Jim Waliser
Video professionals, by comparison, pay a premium for their critical evaluation reference monitors, which steer clear of video enhancing features in order to display the video accurately, warts and all. Unlike consumer displays, we want an accurate monitor not a pretty monitor, said colorist Patrick Inhofer.
As manufacturing of their trusted cathode ray tube reference monitors began to sunset a few years ago, video professionals found the available substitutes, LCD and plasma flat screen monitors, lacking.
CONSISTENT REPLICATION
TV Technology asked professionals from three different areas in the film and video industry about important features in their reference monitors. Our pros a director of photography, multicamera production technical director, and a pair of colorists, all were in agreement that a top-of-the-list feature in their reference monitors is consistency.
Coming in today, knowing it's going to look like it looked yesterday, knowing it's going to look like that again tomorrow, next week, six months from now, said Dan Judy, a colorist based on the West Coast. He said this consistency not only means that video is not only displayed accurately dayin and day-out on his own reference monitor, but it's also the same on my buddy's [monitor] across the hall, and for my other colorist buddy down the hall. We've got a consistent replication for the signal being displayed on each monitor.
Director of Photography Curtis Clark, ASC, and chairman of the ASC Technical Committee, noted that it's critical that reference monitors can be calibrated to known standards that are unambiguous, whether that be ITU Rec. 709, or DCI P3, depending on the circumstances. (Rec. 709 is for television display, DCI P3 is for cinema display.)
Accuracy is a word that Inhofer repeated over and over. A reference monitor must maintain accuracy along the gray scale, it must track accurately from black to white. The external monitor should be the most accurate, truthful display in our colorist room.
Freelance technical director, Jim Waliser, said if he could have only one reference monitor in a truck or studio, he thinks it ought to be made available to the camera shader. He's the one painting the cameras, he said.
Waliser said that a multicamera production control room environment has two other characteristics that are different than the other users contributing to this article.
The first is that control rooms now use multiscreen display technology to allow a number of smaller source monitors to be displayed on large flat screens, and that there are no really large screen reference-grade displays available, much less affordable.
The second factor is that a multitude of producers and their assistants, directors and their assistants, and others need to see that screen. We pretty much sit along a line that's perpendicular to the preferred, straight-on viewing angle. A wide viewing angle is a must that may trump an otherwise superior reference monitor solution.
HANDS OFF
To a lesser extent our, other users expressed the need for reference monitors to be viewed by more than one individual. If [my client, producer, director or whatever] has to sit in my skin to see what I'm seeing, it's no good for critical color, said colorist Judy. We have to be able to sit side-by-side and see the exact same color.
Portability is a feature that ranks unevenly. In the fixed environments of studio or remote truck control room, as well as a colorist's work station, there's little or no reason to move the reference monitor. Clark said that especially for his on-location shoots, a reference monitor that can quickly be moved to follow the production is critical.
Another feature that's less critical for some users than others is refresh rate on reference monitors. Where a colorist might be able to still a frame to do his color grading, TD Waliser said that especially for his sports remotes, you're doing motion here, and you don't want it to be all studdery and juddery. You want it to be smooth. So if the video that eventually is going to the home viewer is jerky leaving the truck, Waliser and his crew need to know about it and fix it on-site.
Clark said that once the reference monitor is set up and calibrated at the production site, be it in-studio or on-location, fingers need to stay off the controls. You can tweak the monitor to try to make the image look good on it, but then you're in a fool's paradise. It may look good right there, but it's not going to look good anywhere else.
He pointed out that using the reference monitor as just that a dead-on, calibrated reference has become even more important in high-end production because of the growing popularity of on-set look management. With such look management, parameters of the image capture are included as metadata in the recorded material. Clark asks, if that image information is based on judgments arrived at on an uncalibrated reference monitor, how do you translate that into the dailies? How do you translate that into the final color grading?
So what do our reference monitor users see in their crystal balls?
Waliser thinks OLED monitors seem to be the answer, but he's not seen any yet of a size that fits his purposes. He said mostly he's seeing LCD monitors in the remote trucks. Colorist Judy has found happiness with new plasma monitors. Colorist Inhofer likes OLEDs, but is looking for new models
LINK: | http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0110/what-video-pros-look-for-in-moni... |
See more stories from tvtechnology |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
17/05/2024
Meet the product manager
Muster Ngobi, product manager at LYNX Technik tells TVBEurope how the ever-evolving media industry provides a truly dynamic working environment By Matthew Corr...
17/05/2024
TV, Streaming Schedule for 2024 NFL Regular Season Is Released
NEW YORK As declines in linear TV viewing make the ongoing popularity of live sports, particularly football, central to financial success of the TV industry, th...
17/05/2024
Netflix Ad Tier Hits 40M Monthly Active Users
During Netflixs second Upfront presentation to advertisers, Amy Reinhard, Netflix's president of advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growt...
17/05/2024
Scripps Promotes Jeff Kiernan to VP, Local News
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has added to its leadership team for news by promoting Jeff Kiernan a veteran journalist and general manager of Scripps'...
17/05/2024
Survey: New Disney-Fox-WBD Sports Streamer May Hurt Pay TV Sub Counts
Top executives from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently insisted that their joint venture to launch the Venu Sports streaming bundle in the...
17/05/2024
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Debut Set Viewing Records
ESPN has announced that its coverage of Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut in the Indiana Fever versus the Connecticut Sun season opener was the most-watched WNBA g...
17/05/2024
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Brie Clayton May 16, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that Yoic...
17/05/2024
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vook, and Vancouver Film School
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vo...
17/05/2024
WBD Upfront Show Offers Peeks at House of the Dragon,' White Lotus,' Biden-Trump Debate
The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation took place Wednesday, May 15 at ...
17/05/2024
The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson Set To Perform on The Voice' Finale
Season 25 of The Voice wraps on NBC Tuesday, May 21, with performances from The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson, Lainey Wilson, Muni Long, Thomas Rhett and ...
17/05/2024
CNN Boss Mark Thompson's Plan Includes More News in More Categories on More Devices (Upfronts)
New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network d...
17/05/2024
Netflix To Launch In-House Advertising Tech Platform
Netflix, a newcomer to the advertising business, said it plans to launch an in-house advertising technology platform....
17/05/2024
Netflix Plots TV Takeover at Upfront Presentation
Netflix shared some programming projects at an upfront presentation in New York. Those include the basketball-themed comedy series Running Point, a Mindy Kaling...
17/05/2024
Plex Geek Week Sale Offers 20% Off Plex Lifetime Pass
Plex is offering movie and music collectors a 20% discount off its Lifetime Plex Pass as part of its Geek Week sale....
17/05/2024
GroupM Names Toby Jenner as President, GroupM Clients
Giant media buyer GroupM said it named Toby Jenner as global president, Group M Clients, a new position at the company....
17/05/2024
Clients of Independent Agencies Boost Programmatic Buying
Smaller advertisers are increasingly buying connected TV programmatically, according to a new report from FreeWheel, Comcast's ad-tech unit....
17/05/2024
TCLtvPlus Adds Streaming Music Channels From Vevo
TCLtvPlus, the streaming app on smart TVs made by TCL, has added live linear channel from music-video programmer Vevo....
17/05/2024
StackAdapt Adopts Data From Samba TV for Programmatic Campaigns
StackAdapt said it made a deal to integrate data from Samba TV into its programmatic advertising platform....
17/05/2024
May 16, 2024
Scripps Research chemist Donna Blackmond elected to the Royal Society of the U.K. Blackmond's wide-ranging work has shaped origin of life theories, our unde...
16/05/2024
Power Provokes Vital Questions About the Role of Police
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: Director Yance Ford introduces the Power premiere at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Shutterstock for Sundance F...
16/05/2024
Mental Health Matters: Embrace Self-Care With These Audiobook and Podcast Listens
May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time to recognize those living with ment...
16/05/2024
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB+) services to the Gold Coast
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB ) services to the Gold Coast 15 May, 2024 Media releases ABC and SBS today announced that audiences on the Gold Coast ...
16/05/2024
Clear-Com Communication Solutions Enhance Oregon State University's PRAx Building
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/05/2024
6 New Clearmountain's Domain Presets
Share this article width=32 height=32 data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg /> width=32 height=...
16/05/2024
Updated: Netflix to Stream Live Christmas Day NFL Games
In a major example of how large streaming services are successfully battling for lucrative sports rights, Netflix has announced that it has secured global right...
16/05/2024
ESPN, Fox, WBD Unveil Name for New Sports Streaming Service
LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK More than three months after announcing plans to launch a major new sports streaming service, ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery,...
16/05/2024
CTV/Streaming Top of Mind for Marketers in 2024
In a survey conducted late last year, marketing companies said their main focus for increasing advertising would be CTV/streaming. Generative AI, which was not ...
16/05/2024
CPB Issues More Grants for Next-Generation Warning
Three public radio and one public television outlet are the latest recipients of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to upgrade their emergency...
16/05/2024
A year in live HDR production
John Mailhot, senior vice president, product management at Imagine Communications, gives an insight into how HDR is impacting live production today, as well as ...
16/05/2024
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Expansion of its Sound Facilities
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Expansion of its Sound Faciliti...
16/05/2024
Telestream Taps Power of AI to Manage, Define Media Workflows
TV Tech recently sat down with Telestream CEO Rhonda Bassett-Spiers and CTO Simon Clark to discuss how the M&E industry is adapting the cloud, IP and AI to enha...
16/05/2024
1185 Films launches one stop shop' for industry talent
1185 Talent will include directors, editors, colourists, VFX artists and photographers By Jenny Priestley Published: May 16, 2024 1185 Talent will include...
16/05/2024
Updated: Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration
The administrators said they are focused on trading the business as a going concern while they assess options, including exploring the possibility of a sale By...
16/05/2024
AWS CEO Adam Selipsky steps down
Selipsky will leave the company on 3rd June, and will be succeeded by Matt Garman, a senior vice president who has overseen sales and marketing at AWS By Jenny...
16/05/2024
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Sound Facilities Expansion
Sony Pictures Post Production Services has announced that the final phase of a multi-year effort to expand and modernize its motion picture and television sound...
16/05/2024
CNN, ABC to Televise Two Presidential Debates
President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two televised debates, the first of which will be hosted by CNN on June 17....
16/05/2024
Disney+ Debuts First Concert Film to Stream with IMAX Enhanced Sound
BURBANK, Calif. and NEW YORK Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi, have announced that Queen Rock Montreal is now streaming ...
16/05/2024
WBD Unveils Advanced Advertising Features for Max
NEW YORK During its upfronts presentation, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a suite of new advanced ad products available on Max, that include shoppable ads, ad...
16/05/2024
iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tackling noise, and new tools for music streaming
iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tac...
16/05/2024
Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA
Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank...
16/05/2024
Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Came...
16/05/2024
Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking
Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking Levi Borland May 15, 2024 0 Comments Welcome to our comprehensive tutorial on planar track...
16/05/2024
CBC's CPL Teams Salamanders, Yard Gnomes One Week Away From Season Opener
The world of baseball at Capitol Broadcasting is about to expand like fireworks on a Friday night. The Holly Springs Salamanders will open their season at home...
16/05/2024
Blockgraph Adopted by tvbeat, Enabling Audience-Based Planning
Blockgraph said that its identity and data collaboration platform has been adopted by tvbeat, a provider of campaign planning technology for media companies....
16/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Nkosi is angry and accuses Shoki of keeping secrets from him
Tonight on House of Zwide: Nkosi is angry and accuses Shoki of keeping secrets f...
16/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Phakathi examines the CCTV coverage and questions Jaxon
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Phakathi examines the CCTV coverage and questions ...
16/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: A terrifying story pushes Dintle into making a life-altering decision
Tonight on Scandal: A terrifying story pushes Dintle into making a life-altering...
16/05/2024
VEON 1Q24 Trading Update: Accelerating USD Growth, Strong Operational Execution
16 May 2024 VEON 1Q24 Trading Update: Accelerating USD Growth, Strong Operational Execution Amsterdam, 16 May 2024 07:00AM CEST - VEON Q1 2024 Highlights Q1...