External Monitor Question

[superman666]

Although i'm just a High School Student, i'm wondering if I should purchase an external monitor. I've been doing loads of editing for films and other projects (in and outside school) and i've been really making the most out of my MBP. I've already acquired Final Cut Express, and because i've been working with lots of HD footage i've gotten a massive External Harddrive (750gb).

Now i know the Apple Cinema screens are supposed to be really good, but they're REALLY expensive. All I want is an external screen to see how the final output to TV would look like, because when editing projects, the video in FCP looks alot different when on film. Should I just get a cheap one? Any recommendations? I have a TV relatively close to my computer, is there anyway to hook them up together?

Thanks alot

 

[AviationFan]

All I want is an external screen to see how the final output to TV would look like, because when editing projects, the video in FCP looks alot different when on film.

To really "see how the final output to TV would look like", you would need a broadcast monitor. I am afraid that the prices of such monitors, especially for HD, will make the Apple Cinema Displays look pretty affordable. The "low cost" solution to do this on a Mac has, for a while, been the Matrox MXO with an Apple or Dell 24" LCD.

Apart from that, as far as I know there is no real low-end solution that can really do what you have asked. Using the TV that you already have will show you how the video will look on just your TV - it is risky to optimize the picture that way, because the results may be very different when viewed on other TVs.

- Martin