Color to external monitor
by KeyDesignz
on
Feb 1, 2008 at 2:34:55 am
Ok, I am new to working with color and my question involves how to monitor from color to an external standard def tv. I know it is not the best setup, but it is better than trusting my 20" apple display, it represents a standard def CRT TV in what I think is a common scenario for my clients. Currently, I display through firewire to my camera (Sony PD170P) yes, I still work in standard def, to a TV through composite cables.
My question is - Is there any simple way to monitor from color as I can't figure out how to display on the TV. My only other thought was to purchase a 23" Apple HD Monitor and a Matrox MXO.
Dual 2.3GHZ Power Mac G5
2.5GB Ram
128 MB Graphics Card - Dual Link DVI Out.
2 x 20" Apple Monitors.
Re: Color to external monitor by walter biscardi on Feb 1, 2008 at 3:23:43 am
[KeyDesignz]"My question is - Is there any simple way to monitor from color as I can't figure out how to display on the TV. My only other thought was to purchase a 23" Apple HD Monitor and a Matrox MXO."
Only the AJA Io HD works for firewire output for Color and only in SD.
I understand the Matrox MXO works, but we do not have one in the shop so I can't tell you how good or reliable it is.
The simple way to monitor from Color is to pick up a an AJA Kona board. Any will work.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.
Re: Color to external monitor by Jamie Kehoe on Feb 1, 2008 at 3:52:54 am
With the AJA Kona 3 Card, is it possible to output to a monitor in HD directly from the card straight from Color? I am wondering what is the best and cheapest method of outputting straight from color in real time and being able to monitor the results.
G5 Dual 2.3GHZ
2.5GB DDR SDRAM 400MHZ
Mac OS 10.5.1
2 x 20" Apple Cinema Display
128MB ATI Graphics
Re: Color to external monitor by Uli Plank on Feb 1, 2008 at 8:15:35 am
Yes, with a KONA or a BlackMagic it's possible to output straight to the monitor, you can even leave the RGB conversion to such cards which will make the processing load a tad easier.
The MXO works fine now, but ypu'll loose the ability to display a quarter sceen with scopes on one and full HD on the other monitor.
Plus, both KONA and BM can work as ingest cards too – might need it some day…
Regards,
Uli
Director of the Institute of Media Research (IMF) at Braunschweig University of Arts
Re: Color to external monitor by walter biscardi on Feb 1, 2008 at 11:50:58 am
[Jamie Kehoe]"With the AJA Kona 3 Card, is it possible to output to a monitor in HD directly from the card straight from Color? I am wondering what is the best and cheapest method of outputting straight from color in real time and being able to monitor the results."
Yes, that's what it is designed for, in addition to capturing footage.
One really nice advantage to the Kona 3 is the on-board downconversion from HD to SD. You can monitor your HD output via one output and switch a 2nd output to SD. You can literally view what your project looks like in both HD and SD simultaneously with two monitors.
If ALL you need to do is view footage, the Kona LHe will work just fine and it's a lower cost. If you want the ability to capture / edit with multiple formats easier, then the Kona 3 has more options.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.
Re: Color to external monitor by Alan Okey on Feb 1, 2008 at 3:38:41 pm
[walter biscardi]"[Jamie Kehoe] "With the AJA Kona 3 Card, is it possible to output to a monitor in HD directly from the card straight from Color? I am wondering what is the best and cheapest method of outputting straight from color in real time and being able to monitor the results."
Yes, that's what it is designed for, in addition to capturing footage."
There is a caveat: don't expect realtime playback from Color, especially with HD. Even on the best available hardware, you probably won't see 720p/60 or 1080i/30 play back in realtime, especially if you're working at floating point bit depth. It's not a dealbreaker for most people, but just realize that it won't play back full frame rate HD like Final Cut Pro.
Re: Color to external monitor by Andrew Huebscher on Feb 3, 2008 at 11:00:04 pm
[walter biscardi]"You don't even get this internally on your computer screens. It's always a proxy playback, but it is sufficient to see what your scene will look like."
I would be careful, however, not to judge the way noise looks without having proper 24/25/30 fps playback. I've been burned several times because of secondary noise or artifacts generated in the Color FX room that didn't show themselves on the 16fps playback I was getting in Color. It wasn't until the rendered footage played in FCP that I saw it. Fortunately, it's quite easy to jump back to color, fix the shot, re-render, and FCP finds the new render and re-links it.
