Help to connect a preview monitor

Spot|DSE wrote on 4/14/2006, 12:38 PM

Here is a tutorial that will help you see how to do it.
You *don't* want to be using an output from your video card to an NTSC montior, it's not accurate.

Jayster wrote on 4/14/2006, 12:39 PM

DSE was quicker (and better) in his post than I was, so I'm deleting most of mine.

You can get one of those digital converters for a cost that is comparable to the price of one of those video cards that would have done what you'd need.

If television is your target for the videos, then you really want to use a TV for your previews. Lots of postings will show that tuning the color for a computer monitor can result in dissappointment when viewed on a TV. DSE's tutorial will give you what you need to know...

jvincent wrote on 4/14/2006, 3:26 PM

Many thanks to all.
What i want to do is to burn my montage on dvd (or VCD) to play it on TV, and i would like to have a preview the nearest possible of the final result.
I'm little new in video and i don't know what is the better solution, i tried to understand some threads speaking about this (Windows monitor vs Video Monitor & lcd vs cathodic) in this forum but i have no experience in this domain.... I will go to the link you gave me. Any other informations are welcome. Thx again.
VINCENT

craftech wrote on 4/15/2006, 4:36 AM

Don't you have a camera with firewire and a firewire card in your computer? Go through that to a monitor.

John

jvincent wrote on 4/15/2006, 10:52 AM

Hi Craftech,
I have no camera for the moment, i'm little new in video and begin only to be equiped. camera firewire cards can do this ?
I will go to a video vendor to have more informations about video hardwares, i know sound configurations but video is realy new for me.
Thx.
Vncent

GregFlowers wrote on 4/15/2006, 2:15 PM

Here is just the basic idea of what you will need and how it will work. You will need a DV camera with a firewire (1934) connector. I believe all DV and digital 8 cameras have firewire although some HI 8 analog cameras may not. The firewire connector acts as both an input and and output. It will both send and receive video footage from the camera to your computer.

You will also need a computer with a compiaint firewire connector. If one does not come buit-in then you can add one cheaply (<$20).

You will need an NTSC TV that is properly calibrated so you know the video looks exactly like it is suppossed to. There are several ways to calibrate a TV. I use the Avia guide to home theater dvd. There are several others. Even the TXH Optimizer that comes with THX dvds has basic video calibration.

You will connect the firewire from your camera to your computer. You will also connect the video (or S-video) output from your camera to your calibrated tv, just like when you play your video on tv.

Right above the Vegas preview window there is a button that looks like a TV that will say "Preview on external monitor" when you hold the cursor over it. Make sure that "OHCI IEEE 1394/DV" is selected in the Options>>Preferences>>Preview Device tab.

If all is correct then when you hit the "Preview on external monitor" button whatever was in the Preview Window will be seen on the tv. Note that this is a video only preview. The sound will still come out
of the computer. It is not relayed over the firewire during an external preview. This can sometimes cause sync issues when previewing on an external monitor. This does not mean they are out of sync in the clip itself.

Hopefully this will give you a basic understanding of how viewing video from Vegas to a regular tv will work and what you will need to correctly do it.

craftech wrote on 4/16/2006, 6:41 PM

Greg gave you great advice.

Forget the JVC monitor for now. For what it costs you could start buying some of the other much more important stuff Greg mentioned. After you get the other stuff start with a decent television for previewing (plenty of guides on how to get the most out of them). After you are all set up you can think about spending the extra money (if there is any) on a monitor like that.

John

GlennChan wrote on 4/16/2006, 9:13 PM

DVD calibration disks may not necessarily work that well if you are feeding the monitor/TV with a consumer DV device (i.e. a camcorder). Most North American DV camcorders put black level at 0 IRE instead of 7.5 IRE. DVD players put black level at 7.5 IRE. This basically means that the calibration on your monitor/TV can be off if you use a calibration DVD.

see this tutorial for black level calibration instructions at the bottom.

2- In my experience, consumer monitors do a lot of weird things with the image... but they will show things that won't show up on a computer monitor (i.e. overscan, interlace flicker, field order, etc.).

rs170a wrote on 4/17/2006, 3:29 AM

Glenn, that really should read "Some DVD players put black level at 7.5 IRE".
There's a thread on videohelp.com titled IRE settings
that went into issue this at great length.

craftech wrote on 4/17/2006, 5:58 AM

Glenn,

As the overall picture level changes in most consumer TV displays they don't tend to hold black levels constant. The black level varies with the brightness of the rest of the content. Thus the DC Restoration as it is called is not consistent from set to set. The black ends up lighter during dark scenes than in lighter scenes. It is arguable as to whether that is a good or bad thing. Perfect DC restoration (as in a professional monitor) may not be a good thing or practical thing as it relates to television displays.

The Avia disc solves that problem by displaying a pattern with a "moderate" picture level. The black level test pattern consists of black bars with a half gray pattern that results in a compromise black level setting that should satisfy most viewers. For projectors and displays that clamp better but may have some light scatter they give you the option of using a higher or lower APL test pattern if you so choose.

Many DVD players give you an "Enhanced Black" option which is a 0 IRE output to the TV. The Avia test patterns display black and nearly black patterns which allow for both IRE levels. As long as you set the TV to display black as true black (whether 0 or 7.5 IRE) you are fine. With 0 IRE you get a larger dynamic range (0 to 100 IRE). If your set allows it you can calibrate it to remember levels for each type of input. "IF" your set allows it. Safe bet is to use 7.5 IRE but you do have options in many cases as long as you keep it straight when you set it up and as IÉï.ùd IF your set allows it.

John

jvincent wrote on 4/17/2006, 11:22 PM

Hello,
Many thanks to all to take time to help me. I will do some search with all the informations you gave me.
Thanks again.... Great forum !
VINCENT

GlennChan wrote on 4/18/2006, 12:19 AM

rs170a:
That's really interesting... I always assumed that DVD players output digital black level at 7.5 IRE correctly. It looks like I'm wrong.

crafttech:
The black level varying with APL (average picture level; that's what the Avia disc calls it right?) is worth mentioning, although unrelated to the 7.5 IRE setup issue.

What I was originally getting at is that the DVD-based calibration discs will only work if the D-->A converters in the DVD player does the same thing as your DV device.
As the videohelp.com thread shows, DVD players are all over the place. My note of caution about that thread: there is a lot of confusing information about 7.5 IRE setup out there!! Some of the information in that thread is probably wrong.