Gavin Struers ASC Chooses Leader LV5 G/HD/SD-SDI Waveform and Picture Monitors

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Gavin Struthers ASC, one of Britains leading cinematographers, has invested in two Leader LV5333 multi-SDI waveform and picture monitors. The purchases were made from Thameside TV, based at Shepperton near Londons Heathrow airport. Originally chosen for use on the US television drama series Black Sails, the instruments now form a permanent part of his production system working alongside Arri Alexa, Sony F-55 and Red cameras.

After graduating from the National Film & Television School in Beaconsfield, Gavin Struthers became a documentary cameraman for the BBC before deciding to make a permanent move into drama and commercial cinematography, shooting on film and in high definition video. He was the DOP on the BBCs first ever 3D HD broadcast, shot on Panavisions Genesis camera system:

I first experienced the Leader LV5333 when working with DIT Steve Evans on Halo: Nightfall. The monitor was a huge help with the extensive day-for-night sequences in Iceland. It packs a lot of features into a very compact portable instrument. The LV5333 is very fast and easy to use which is vitally important whether you are shooting on location or in a studio. The integral CINELITE and CINEZONE modes are particularly useful. They assist me with very accurate control of relative exposure and overall luminance levels whilst ensuring that the resultant content conforms fully to broadcast standard signal parameters.

In addition, the LV5333 can be used to perform all the classic real-time waveform and vectorscope test and measurements. It incorporates a high quality 6.5 inch display screen which works extremely well even in the brightest outdoor conditions. CINELITE and CINEZONE can each be viewed full screen or as one of four simultaneous test images.

I frequently work with multiple cameras to give the director a choice of shooting angles. Using two LV5333 units gives me complete freedom of camera position.

The Leader LV5333 is a multi-SDI monitor designed for use in studios, technical areas or attached to a video camera-support tripod. The integral 6.5 inch XGA TFT LCD screen can also be used to display video signal waveform, vectorscope or the video image. CINELITE, CINEZONE, histogram, gamma display, gamut and level error display functions are included as standard.

Leaders CINELITE allows any three points on the picture to be selected. It then displays their f-stop numbers, percentage values and level values. The size of the measured point can be adjusted from a single pixel to the average value for 3 x 3 or 9 x 9 pixels.

CINEZONE uses the colour spectrum to represent luminance values on an otherwise normal and recognisable picture. It allows quick and easy confirmation of luminance levels without need for complicated waveform representations. Levels over the adjustable maximum are displayed in white, highlights in red, mid-greys in green, shadows in blue and levels under the adjustable minimum in black. This helps to confirm that the camera is actually delivering what is expected and, within just a minute or so of familiarisation, becomes more intuitive than the real-world picture.

Other features of the LV5333 include cable length, external timing display and field frequency deviation display. User-configurable multi-display combinations allow easy inspection of signal parameters. Full-screen displays can alternatively be selected to allow detailed review of specific elements. Up to eight channels of embedded audio can be displayed using bar level meters. SDI-embedded audio can be extracted and two user-selectable audio channels sent as AES/EBU to a BNC output; they can also be monitored via the headphone output.

The Leader LV5333 is compatible with over 20 HD-SDI/SD-SDI formats. It can be set to display YCbCr, YRGB, YGBR, GBR or RGB luminance waveform, colour vector, five-bar, surround-sound level, status or video source. Freeze mode allows comparison of different SDI input signals. Thumbnail picture display can be selected with other multi-display operating modes for easy source identification. Input format, colorimetry, black burst or tri-level external reference input are auto-sensed. Any line of the video signal can selected and displayed in waveform, vector or five-bar representations.

The display panel is framed on three sides by clearly labeled pushbutton function selectors, plus three rotary adjustment controls and a forward-facing USB interface, making theLV5330 exceptionally easy to control.

Additional features include signal status and protocol checks, user-settable error monitoring and detection, digital line-selection and menu control storage of 30 front-panel configurations. Screen shots, user-specific presets and software updates can be communicated via detachable USB memory. The instrument can be controlled from a local or remote PC via Ethernet. EIA608 closed-captions are supported.

The Leader LV5333 occupies a 215 x 128 x 63 mm housing and weighs 1.3 kg. It can be powered from battery or a universal mains adapter. Rear-panel connections include 3G/HD/SD SDI (A and B) input, external loop-through reference input, reclocked SDI signal output, digital audio output, remote control of preset selections, DC power input (XLR) and Ethernet remote control (supporting TELNET, FTP and SNMP).

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Leader Electronics Corporation

Since its establishment more than 60 years ago, Leader (www.leader.co.jp) has earned a worldwide reputation for designing and manufacturing some of the most reliable, practical and cost effective electronic instruments available. The products were originally developed for production testing and servicing. These are applications in which ease-of-use and highest reliability are essential. By expanding into a broad line of industrial and video instruments, Leader was able to add to these fundamental qualities a cost-performance ratio unequalled in the industry. M

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