Don't forget about the scopes! Those will give oyu a better idea of what's being output. Why? Because all TV's are different in color. Even TV's fram the same brand. Here's a couple rules of thumb that will help you out:

1) when making titles/text/etc. Don't go above an RGB value of 200 (R<200, G<200, B<200). It will look "bleading" on the TV.

2)Your computer will look darker then your TV. That's normal.

3) Read the manual/use the help file. It WILL save you lots of time!

Enjoy Vegas!

The camera will make a good transcoder for firewire. Most of them allow you to hook up a TV or VCR via S-Video or Composite outputs and will output the transcoded signal through that.

Always use the external monitor for your editing and insert a VCR in the path if you plan to make VHS copies. You will have to have the VCR turned on while you edit in order to do this, but if you run a rendered test loop, you can make a VHS test copy and then go around and play it on other TV's. If you are doing color correction, this is especially important.

Another thing to watch out for is that after you follow a good tutorial on calibrating an external monitor, you may STILL end up with video that looks bad on other people's TV's because THEY don't have properly calibrated TV's.
Most manufacturer's default settings have the brightness and contrast (picture control) up too high. You will have to do some ballpark exerimentation in addition to using the scopes to come up with a good average.

The Panasonic "may" lean a little toward the reds, so be aware of that as you run your tests.

John

I think I found a solution to adding TV for external viewing during my editing. I'm trying not to overwork my camcorder, and would prefer not to use it as an aid in previewing to TV via analog circuit. The product is made by ADS technologies. It's called the " TV Elite XGA ". Basically, it's an external box and gets connected to your PC, and TV gets connected to the box. Sounds easy enough for me, so much to learn, whewww. Price varies on internet from $69.22USD on up & supports PAL. Would appreciate your input tremendously.
joe

I know this isn't exactly on topic of your initial post, however when I was starting out I found that titles were hard to master no matter what kind of video monitor you had to look at.

As the HappyFriar mentioned above there are certain things you can do to mathematicly know how to keep an image pleasing on a TV. Friar said to keep everything below 200, however technicaly you should be able to go as high as 235 on the upper end. On the lower end (black) you have to stop at 16 for the R, G, and B channels.

In other words, 235,235,235 on the computer translates to pure white in NTSC and 16,16,16 translates to pure black in NTSC. There is one other consideration and that is when you are trying to create pure read you will get better results if you stay under 200 because of the way NTSC transmits the color information.

But anyway, when you do get your TV running this might help you to make sure it is set to the rest of the worldhttp://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm. And the "Free Library" link on the same page is full of cool information.

Hope this helps in your new video editing endevors.

JBJones

Joe, does this device connect to a firewire port or to the video card's 15 pin monitor output? If it's the latter then it won't really help you any. External previewing is through the firewire port.

There are several devices available that you can use in place of your camcorder. Canopus makes a box called the ADVC-100 that converts NTSC and PAL analog to DV and DV to analog. It's a bit pricey at $300 list (maybe $240 street). It does have lots of uses that you might appreciate though.

As far as overworking your camcorder, this isn't really much of a concern. It won't be running a tape. It only needs to have the power on. Without any parts moving it really isn't working the camera much at all.

I have used the ADS box for a number of years and it sits between your video monitor and the PC vid out, and then connects to both the monitor and your TV. Cool tool for this. I run mine to the living room TV for my audience previews and the kids Power Point Presentations. The display is not great on text and OS Windows. Cheiworks solution is the best way to go. Good Luck, John

Would the ADS Pyro a/v converter give you the same result as the ADVC-100 you mentioned at $169?
thanks joe...

Would the ADS Pyro a/v converter give you the same result as the ADVC-100 you mentioned at $169?
thanks joe...