Any Suggestions For a Good Monitor??

[Ray & Paula]

Hi,
I would like to know what monitor that you have had great luck with in regards to color, real time, etc. for video editing. I'm mainly interested in one that's either 19" or 20." I have looked at Dell monitors on line, but it seems that everyone has a negative statement in their reviews on each one. I realize that is usually the case with any thing, therefore I would like to get some good suggestions from you experienced folks that use theirs for video editing. Your suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks, Ray

[redwudz]

The first thing you might want to consider is who makes the LCD display. Most times, it's not the monitor manufacturer. I like the Samsung displays myself. Not sure who makes the Dell displays. The 19" size is a happy medium, but the 17" displays work the same, depends on how you want it to look. I prefer dual displays, myself. It gives you enough room to have your video full screen on one and your controls on the other. DVI is also preferred.

If you are into serious editing, you might also consider how and if you want to calibrate your display so you end up with 'What you see is What you get'. You might also add a TV type video monitor so you can view the 'TV final version' if your end product is designed to play on a TV, then you will have that reference. Computer video is not the same as 'TV' video.

But we have video pros on our site that might give you better info.

[Faustus]

Samsung and if not Samsung and you gotta go cheaper then Acer.

But serously though Samsung.

[Ray & Paula]

Hi Guy's,
I'd like to add that I do want a two monitor system. I have never owned one of the newer flat screen LCD monitors, therfore I don't know how they are plugged in to the computer or for that matter to each other.
Are they daisy chained by means of usb or firewire?
I have a Sony DCR-VX2100 and a Sony HDR-HC7. As you know, one is 4:3 with the other being HD 16:9. With that being said, a couple other questions come to mind;
1)Can these LCD monitors be set up for either aspect ratio?
2)In your opinion, would you go for a widescreen or standard version?
I know I ask a lot of questions, but your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks again, Ray

[edDV]

Be aware as said above that it is very difficult to calibrate a computer monitor to match the look at a TV and if you do, your monitor will look off for desktop work.

I use a 22" wide Samsung 226BW LCD and a 4:3 19" Viewsonic LCD to the side for misc tasks but video monitoring is done over IEEE-1394 to a Canopus ADVC-100* then S-Video to a HDTV CRT Monitor**. I use the TV to monitor video levels, colorimetery and interlace issues. I adjust the TV to the Belle Nuit color bar reference for levels. You just can't do that off a computer monitor with proper TV gamma and black performance.

There are LCD monitor displays designed as Pro TV monitors but these are expensive

* An IEEE-1394 camcorder can also be used but for NTSC the monitor needs custom calibration for zero IRE blacks.

** Sony Vegas also supports DVI-D monitoring to a broadcast quality LCD monitor. A normal home LCD-TV can be substitued if one is on a budget.

[redwudz]

Dual monitors can be either VGA or DVI most commonly. Quite a few video cards can run two monitors. If you get one with dual DVI out, you just plug in two DVI monitors. If it has one DVI and one VGA, many come with a DVI>VGA adapter to give you two VGA outputs. Then you would use VGA monitors. I'd probably go for wide screen monitors.

I would look for a dual DVI card and use DVI input monitors. It's easy enough to set them up.

They also make fairly expensive dual monitor cards, like some of the Matrox cards. But I've had no problems with regular two output video cards.

Here's an example of a cheap ($40US) card with dual DVI, so it's not hard to find one for a reasonable price: (But I would pay a bit more than that. )

[SCDVD]

From a practical point of view, is there any apparent difference between a DVI and a VGA monitor connection? I know digital via DVI is newer, better, etc. But relatively speaking, how obvious is the difference? If someone had a video board and monitor each with a VGA and DVI connection, would there be a perceptible difference if first one and then the other connection was used?

[aedipuss]

i'd give quite a bit for decent vga monitors to return. they are not only faster responding but more pleasing to the eye. mine eye anyway. trying to play any fps game on my current 2ms samsung is headache inducing. i really liked my old 21 inch sony 200lb beast.....

dvi may be more accurate/sharp.

[usually_quiet]

:) Hi Guy's,
2)In your opinion, would you go for a widescreen or standard version?
:oops: I know I ask a lot of questions, but your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks again, Ray

I have been looking at LCD monitors too in case my 7-year-old CRT monitor suddenly dies.

Check your video card's specs against the monitor to see if it supports the native resolution of the widescreen monitor you want. If, like me, you have an older computer, you may need a new graphics card just for the image on a widescreen monitor to display correctly. Some new monitors I looked at have both a VGA connector and a DVI connector, and some have only DVI, so as others have stated, that may also require you to buy a new video card.

Often the widescreen monitors were a little less expensive than a standard one of comparable size. Assuming you are not a gamer, it may be possible to buy a decent replacement graphics card and a widescreen monitor for close to the same price as a standard monitor.

[edDV]

With my 1680x1050 Samsung 226BW LCD I see improved small type sharpness with the DVI-D connection and the default Samsung "Natural Color Pro 1.0" ICM profile for color management. VGA calibration and sharpness are less accurate.

That said, it doesn't automatically match my printer for WYSIWYG photos without further calibration. Video gamma and black level performance are very different vs. my HDTV monitor calibrated to the Vegas generated SMPTE color bar and other video test signals from the DV timeline.

In other words, monitor sharpness for small type, color match for printing and color match for video are three separate issues. Video color judgement should be made from a video monitor display not a computer display.

[redwudz]

I did use a setup with one DVI LCD monitor and one VGA LCD monitor in a dual monitor setup. They were older 15" monitors and of different brands, so no fair comparison. But they looked about the same to me. I suspect larger monitors would have better performance with DVI.

VGA is a analog format, while DVI-D is digital, the same as the computer. In theory, eliminating the digital to analog conversion should result in better quality. But I'm sure a lot depends on the video card and the monitors, and the calibration and settings of each.

I've been happy with my wide screen 22" monitor. It did take a while to sort out the proper settings and get the OS to keep them. The OS tended to want to reset them when there was a problem to a 4:3 format. The newest ATI driver seems to correct it to the monitors native 1680 X 1050 display. The 'resetting' was resolved once I was able to install the correct monitor driver.

Once you try a wide screen monitor, you may be 'sold' on the format. The Windows desktop adapts to it easily. Most modern video is closer to 16:9 than 4:3 anyway.

[MJA]

Hi,
I would like to know what monitor that you have had great luck with in regards to color, real time, etc. for video editing. I'm mainly interested in one that's either 19" or 20." I have looked at Dell monitors on line, but it seems that everyone has a negative statement in their reviews on each one. I realize that is usually the case with any thing, therefore I would like to get some good suggestions from you experienced folks that use theirs for video editing. Your suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks, Ray

http://www.techbargains.com/cheaplcdmonitor.cfm


what ever you buy don't get anything less than 20" bigger is better when it comes to monitors

[ahhaa]

I'll just throw in a wild card here-
Polaroid's LCD flat screen TVs have VGA inputs (and I believe there is a HDMI>DVI adapter mentioned in their manual as well).
I'm happy with mine so far, and I think this feature is available up to 32" models. Other manufacturers may have this feature too. Might be good for gaming?:]

[Faustus]

what ever you buy don't get anything less than 20" bigger is better when it comes to monitors

I couldn't be more happy with my 19"wide screen. Looks fine and its native rez isn't so high that I need a super computer to run games at it.

[Ray&Paula]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies! I believe that I'll go for two 24" monitors. I am a little confused as to which type to look for LCD, VGA, DVI. As of right now I believe that I would need to make sure that both are DVI along with a dual head graphics card for DVI. I have read several places that an NTSC monitor will not render digital images correctly. Upon looking at some LCD monitors in my area, I have noticed some giving off neon looking colors. This is one of the main reasons I turned to you guys for your expertise in finding the correct make and model as well as setup. I don't want a monitor that will stretch any of my 4:3 footage if using a widescreen monitor, therefore I need to make sure that both aspects of 4:3 and 16:9 is switchable. I'm not against a widescreen or standard monitor; I just want a couple that will give me the best true picture in both aspect worlds.
Thanks again, and your input is very much appreciated. Ray

[Faustus]

The one thing to remember is if you are doing something in Windows then WINDOWS controls the aspect ratios and you'll be fine.

The execption to this has been Games that are pre wide screen and go full screen often get stretched.

Otherwise I've never had an issue with a Windows App streteching to the wrong aspect ratio

[vcdlover]

I have a Samsung 24" 245BW calibrated with Spider2 Express. I'm very happy with it. I mainly use it for video and photo editing. I had it on sale last year for $320. I think the normal price is around $500 now.

[edDV]

I second Samsung for the wide 24" LCD. These are on good price at Costco. It will be a computer monitor and have all the computer monitor issues displaying video correctly. You might want to consider an LCD-TV* for monitor 2. I can be driven DVI-HDMI or VGA as a computer monitor plus process video with correct gamma and black levels. It would also accept analog video inputs and function as a digital TV.

At a minimum I'd consider a Samsung Series 4 (1080p with DNle+ processor). These come as small as 22" but the sweet spot maybe 26" or 37" if you move it back.
http://www.abt.com/product/34263.html?source=froogle
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/features.do?group=televisions&type=televisio...LN26A450C1DXZA
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/features.do?group=televisions&type=televisio...LN37A550P3FXZA

If you are a serious editing pro, or doing film transfer you would go with a professional LCD video monitor like one of these.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/2199/Monitors_LCD_Monitors.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&sb=bs%2Cupper%28d...t=Submit+Query
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&sb=bs%2Cupper%28d...t=Submit+Query

[MJA]

im not sure what the guys think about this monitor

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=AA72964&CartID=done&nextloc=

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBarga...82E16824155056

[edDV]

You would need to feed it 720p or 1080p because such a monitor usually has no deinterlacing processor. That load is passed to the computer display card.

For TV use you are better off getting an LCD-TV. An LCD-TV will usually add...

- dynanic contrast
- deintelacing and inverse telecine image processor
- aspect ratio control
- scaling and processing for SD 480i/480p and analog inputs
- digital and analog tuners
- a simple stereo to AC-3 surround audio system
- PC port for computer connection

Worth the added cost.

-

[Ray&Paula]

Ahhh.... Thanks to all of you for the great input. I'll keep on board for more! I totally agree, a TV would be best for monitoring color for the final output. Thanks again, Ray