Hooking up external monitor...not working
by rich krysz
on
Aug 13, 2008 at 12:52:06 am
I can't get this to work. I purchased a Lowest Common Denominator TV to use as an external monitor. I have Final Cut Studio, a recent iMac, and consumer miniDV camera. When set to camera, ther is picture going to the tv...so tv to camera conneciton should be ok...i assume. But then i set it to VTR, I make setting in the Video/audio settings and nothing. I Refresh A/V settings, even restart FCP...still nothing. I'm thinking maybe there is something not set right with my miniDV cam. I really want this external monitor. Any way to fix this? Other set up I should consider? my consumer camera is a Sony Digital Handycam.
Re: Hooking up external monitor...not working by Shane Ross on Aug 13, 2008 at 1:33:10 am
Shane's Stock Answer #8: External Monitor Viewing
If you are working with DV, this is simple. First connect your computer to a camera or deck via firewire, Then connect the camera/deck to your TV/Monitor via RCA or S-Video.
Then start up your camera and tv, then open fcp.
Go to the View Menu, choose > External video > all frames
VIEW>Video playback should be Apple firewire NTSC (If you are using an NTSC set)
VIEW>Audio playback should be Audio follows Video
Techinially, this should send synched video to your TV
If for some reason you can't view your timeline on your external monitor, there are a few things to try:
1) Make sure that the camera/deck is connected and powered on BEFORE you open FCP.
2) In the Final Cut Pro menu select AUDIO/VIDEO Preferences and make sure your signal is being sent out thru Firewire DV.
3) Go to the menu and select VIEW>EXTERNAL>ALL FRAMES.
4) Click in the % box above the image and select FIT TO WINDOW.
5) Go to VIEW->refresh A/V devices
6) Make sure the Log & Capture window is closed
If you want it to play in both the canvas and the external monitor you need to go to the FINAL CUT PRO menu and select AUDIO/VIDIO settings and make sure MIRROR ON DESKTOP is selected under the PLAYBACK OUTPUT section.
If you are working with HDV footage, FCP 6 allows you to view this via firewire, but ONLY as downconverted DV. It won't look the best, but you can see it. To do this,
If you need to view any format other than DV at full resolution, then you need to look into capture cards. Several standard definition and high definition models are available from www.aja.com and www.decklink.com. With these options you'll need a proper monitor to view full broadcast colors, but all models allow for realtime standard definition downconvert, allowing you to view HD on an SD monitor.
The Matrox MXO is another option that is output only, but allows you to view your footage on an Apple Cinema Display at full broadcast quality.
