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Cheap Broadcast Monitor

C

Chaos123x

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 8, 2008
1,698
34
I'm looking for a cheap broadcast monitor, used is cool.

I am looking for a 4:3 CRT with a 16:9 mode, a Blue Gun to calibrate it with color bars, and at least be 12' -21' inches.

Sony's are my first pick.


Looking to pay $250-$500

Anyone know of any deals? I need it for my editing suite.


Only need S-video (Y/C) for input.
 
SD monitors are definitely tougher to come by now... you might be able to find some used Sony's on craigslist/ebay.

I looked at this JVC for a while before deciding to go with an HD monitor instead (JVC V20L1U). It fits all of your criteria.
 
After looking for a long time I decided not to go with a Sony, they were a little to high for a nice one.

I just ordered the JVC TMH-150CGU I got a sweet deal on Amazon. (about $100 cheaper then Beards & Hats)

I don't think I will get a HD Monitor all to soon, if I need one I can get that matrox converter for my Cinema Display, plus the monitor I just ordered can take HD signals and down convert them with a add-on card.


But thanks! :D
 
I have the JVC TMH-150CGU at home and it's a decent monitor for what it is.

bigbossbmb,
How do you like your JVC? I use the DT-V24L1D at work and I'm kinda 'meh' towards it. I have no real complaints about the HD image quality, but the viewing angle is sucktacular (things shift a lot even if you are just slightly off angle) and the adjustment knobs on the front aren't very good so I couldn't fine tune the calibration how I wanted to. I'm feeding it an HD-SDI signal, btw.


Lethal
 
I like it...

I wanted to go really budget-minded at home, so I went with the non-SDI version and I'm feeding component through a BM Intensity Pro. A very accurate HD signal/monitoring for <$1250 (can't really be beat pricewise). Most of the HD footage I work with is 720p, so going with the 20" isn't really an issue.

We have the 24L1DU and 24L3DU at work and they look exactly the same as my 20L1U (although having the waveform on the 3DU is a fantastic upgrade). The JVC's are definitely not perfect, but I find them a lot better than the comparable Panasonic/Sony LCDs. Without going up to the eCinema/TV Logic level, the JVC is really the best option.
 
Yeah the JVC (Standard Def) I just bought is for home use too.

I use Sony monitors at work, but I heard good things about the JVC one and it's cheap.


Not sure when I will get a HD monitor, I think I can wait till at least Mac Pros have blu-ray and DVD Studio Pro has blu-ray authoring. Any of my HD stuff is for web or SD DVD.

If I got a big broadcast project I would just rent the stuff, cause some decks and monitors cost more than a house, and I am poor.

If you did get a HD monitor how do you check signals made for 1080i 720P 1080P? Do you need a different monitor for each? how does that work?
 
Quick question.

I was going to use a Canopus ADVC110 from my mac to monitor with a S-video cable.

Would this be best way? (I didn't order the component card yet)

Or is there a better way?

Would have to run HDV footage through my camera or will FCP convert the video to something the ADVC110 can use? (SD DV)
 
Assuming your Mac is fast enough to do the down-convert on the fly you can monitor HDV via FW as DV, but there is no way to get an HDV signal out of the Mac w/o additional hardware like a Matrox MXO, AJA or Blackmagic card.


Lethal
 
Well I just got my JVC monitor and hooked it all up.

I am using a Canopus ADVC110 firewire breakout box hooked to my Mac Pro with S-video out to the monitor.

The images look great, set it up with color bars to make sure it is all set for color correction and what not.

It works with FCP, Photoshop After Effects and more.

I was super happy! :D


But then I tried to use it with Apple Color...... Clicked to the settings to change the Video Out from disabled to Apple NTSC DV out.

It was all greyed out, it would not let me choose any video out not even desktop preview.

I learn later that COLOR can not use Firewire out and I have to buy a 1000K Plus AJA or Decklink Video card to get it to work.

What a major kick in the balls.

I hate the video business everything is setup to suck every last dollar from you and nobody wants to pay anybody anything. :mad:
 
you don't need a $1k+ card... the intensity pro will work.

Chaos123x said:
I hate the video business everything is setup to suck every last dollar from you and nobody wants to pay anybody anything. :mad:
Click to expand...

what does this have to do with anything? you didn't realize the limitations of Color before making a purchase. that isn't other people's fault.
 
It takes money to make money. And, hey, if all this stuff was dirt cheap everyone would be doing it. Oh, it is dirt cheap and everyone is doing it which is why the lowest end of the market is clogged w/grinders (crappy clients who want the world for $1.50 and never pay on time) and wannabe's on the family computer undercutting professionals in between bouts of WoW and downloading the latest cracked version of AE.

But that's a rant for another day.;)


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
It takes money to make money. And, hey, if all this stuff was dirt cheap everyone would be doing it. Oh, it is dirt cheap and everyone is doing it which is why the lowest end of the market is clogged w/grinders (crappy clients who want the world for $1.50 and never pay on time) and wannabe's on the family computer undercutting professionals in between bouts of WoW and downloading the latest cracked version of AE.

But that's a rant for another day.;)


Lethal
Click to expand...

Dude, I'm over at work right now... you made my night. too true...
 
Everything is setup so if you buy one thing you need a million other things that all cost thousands of dollars each.

Most clients think that all this stuff is free and will even argue about paying for a little mini-dv tape.

I guess every industry is like this though, just try to screw the other guy as hard as you possibly can. But I am not a big fan of capitalism in the first place. I just want to make videos and have fun while living somewhat comfortably.


As for COLOR that is just one big mess of a program, it looks like they took a App made by a studio for in house use only and put it on the street. It looks allot like some strange early 90's linux program or something. The UI is just god awful worst then anything on Windows 3.1. I know this is a powerful program and all, but when it was Final Touch charging the big bucks, didn't the customers complain? All the same comments can be applied to Apple Shake.

There are rumors of Apple making Shake with a Apple Ui (Phenomenon) so hopefully that comes out, and maybe FCS 3 will update Color with a nicer Ui. You think programs for artists would a little better design in the first place though.

I could only really seeing using Color on independent films or some slick TV commercials, other than that it is a bit too convoluted to use for corporate videos or other industrial stuff that pays the bills (unless your not in a hurry to color correct).

Although I don't think that the NO DV out is supposed to be like that, I bet it's a bug, unfinished, or intentionally left out because of some strange Steve Jobs thinking.


Apple tried to tell me, when I got FCS2 that you could not send a project from FCP directly to compressor and use a cluster to render (it would crash). But a few updates later it works like a charm, it was a bug not a design choice, but they told it was a design choice.


RANT over.
 
BTW I have been in this video biz for more than 15 years and I never seem to be making any money.

I think it's because I look really young. (most people think I am 17-18)

Things are allot cheaper nowdays then when I started with my S-VHS camera and 3/4 Umatic tape-tape editing system. But others things are more expensive.

But if it was not for my weekend gig at Abc News I would be living on the streets or working at Mickey Dees.
 
No offense but if you have been a working professional for 15 years and you can't make any money something isn't right. There is a great article over at CreativeCOW called Clients or Grinders. Grinders, the people that complain about a $5 DV tape, will never make you any money. Ever. You've got to move up the food chain to clients that have a better understanding of service, value, and quality. The clients expect more, which means you've got to deliver more, but they'll pay more (current economic crisis has changed things a bit obviously). In order to help get these better clients you might have to invest more into your business than you do now.

W/regards to Color, is the GUI sexy? No. Is it pragmatic? Yes. I couldn't care less about the type face or that the dialog boxes don't look like Mac dialog boxes. There are a hundred other real problems I'd rather Apple fix first. The problem w/working w/interlaced footage is probably my personal #1 right now. I use Color on a half hour, weekly TV show and I get about 12-16 hours to prep the FCP sequence (typically around 200 shots), transcode it from HDV into DVCPro HD, color correct, export, and lay it back down in the final FCP sequence. Although getting footage into Color can be a PITA building the same grades in FCP would be even more convoluted as it would require multiple instances of the 3-Way CC, RGB limit, and Proc Amp filters, clips layered on top of each other and 8-point garbage mattes. Been there, done that, don't really feel like doing it again. Also, using a mouse w/Color kinda blows. Using a Wacom tablet is better. Using a hardware control panel is where it's at. It's like the difference between using the KB/M to control the virtual keyboard in Garage Band and attaching a real keyboard up to your computer. Unfortunately hardware control panels are a bit pricey (the budget model I have at work cost $5k).

W/regards to Phenomenon. That's an unfounded rumor from '06 saying the software would be out in '08 and Apple building a true Shake successor from the ground up would be the most monumental undertaking of its kind at Apple. I'm not holding my breath.


Lethal
 
Nice article.

Now for some more ranting......

Although after really thinking about it, 99% of the people I have dealt with were grinders.

Only working for TV stations have I ever been paid really well. :D

Working freelance for other local Production Companies is just the worst, although you get to be more creative, the pay is awful. :(
It's so annoying working for someone who does not even know what firewire is or what a CCD is, while their charging clients $750 an hour to edit and asking me to work for peanuts to do the actual editing work. They know nothing about making a video, they just know how to put the screws to everyone.

I mean every ad on Mandy or Craigslist is NO/Low pay and must have RED One Camera with uncompressed editing workstation, no pay but you get credit and experience. WTF?

I know every trick in the book, if I ever wanted to be a douche I guess I could do it too, there are tons of extremely talented college kids ready to work for next to nothing. But I am not like that.


Working with Corporate people is pretty nice and they pay what you ask, it's just hard to meet people like that, let alone one that wants a video.

Everyone I meet are con artists, schisters, scammers, dreamers with bad ideas, and just plain cheap stingy people.

Now I can see these people coming a mile a way, I just don't see anybody else.

I's more cost effective to turn these jobs down because in the long run you lose money.

I think I should just get into doing just my own stuff and try selling the special interests videos I produce. Worst comes to worst I don't make any money, but ya know I don't care anymore. I just want to have fun and live comfortably.
 
-DH said:
Move to Cuba or mainland China ... you won't have to compete there.

-DH
Click to expand...

Well they are Capitalist too in there own way.

But I get what your saying.

But just because I am not a big fan of capitalism does not mean I am a big of communism.

Thats like saying if I hate Apples I must love oranges. Not True.

Or if I love Macs I must hate PC's.......... ok sorta true. :p
 
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