What video card do you have? John

Fdooman,
you need a dual out monitor card for 2 monitors, or separate PCI/AGP card for duals. 1 card with 2 outs is best. On the low end, the Matrox G450, you really don't need a good vid card for video work. Even a pair of S3 cards *work* but there are other considerations, such as setting gamma, etc.
Set these up with your monitors, usually monitor 1 is to the left and 2 is to the right. Most systems, but not all, set up the NTSC/broadcast monitor to the right, for a total of 3 monitors on the desk.
Use the Firewire out of your computer, feeding (preferably) a converter box, but a camera with pass thru works fine too. The camera feeds the broadcast monitor, preferably with the Svideo out but composite will do.
You don't indicate what kind of NTSC monitor you have. The new Sony monitors have a firewire connector built directly in.
Ifyou are asking this question perchance of using a video card for video preview from the Vegas external monitor output, or using a composite out from a regular video card, give it up. It will look terrible.

Thank you everyone. I’m on NTSC system I have 2, 17 inches CTX monitors and also I have
Canopus ADVC100 converter box. My Video card is EVGA dual head GeForce FX 5200, 256MB DDR with TV out.
This question is for Mr. Spot about fireWire monitor. Since I have not purchased the extern monitor and I was Thinking of regular TV monitor with S video input because of price. But if the result is going to be bad what Kind do you recommend? I would thank you for your help.

Regular TV monitors have been debated, and just by answering this, you'll see this thread grow exponentially.
I don't believe in ever using a standard 'Walmart' type monitor, because of the lack of resolution. I just did a review of the JVC TMA101GU, which sells for around 400.00. It has 16 x9, 4;3, and the only necessity missing is overscan capability. 300 lines of resolution, and it's pretty darn good for the price range it's in. In fact, for the price range, nothing competes.
Standard television monitors shift with power, black levels are inconsistent depending on the rest of the signal, color response is non-linear, and whites are usually very hot. But, there are those that say they can do broadcast video on a cheap monitor like a Walmart special. I can only ask that they share with the world what they've done for PBS, cable, or any other non-community television broadcast. If colors are shifted or off, no reputable station will air them.
So, make your own call. A good monitor starts at arond 400.00 and finishes around 3 grand for a high end, reasonable monitor. You can spend more, but working in DV, there is little need to. Sub 1K will get you a very nice monitor.
Almost all have Svideo, (y/c) composite, and some have component in at the upper ranges. Svid or composite will be fine for DV work, but I'd use Svid if you have that option. Everything will look great with a good monitor and the gear you've already stated you have.

Spot.... Thank you so much for your help.

The only thing I'd say for the Walmart monitor is if you've got a good studio monitor maybe it's not a bad idea to have an el cheapo one as well. Only to check how it's going to look to the average viewer.
I don't have the budget for a decent monitor at the moment and I only use my very cheap 'TV' monitor as a final check that it'll look OK on anything.

I don't know if it's still common practice but I now sound studios used to have a set of precision monitor speakers AND a pair of typical car radio speakers for much the same reason.

Agreed. We have our high end Sony, and we have our 99.99 cheapo. One above the other. This gives a view of the range of what people will see. But no matter how hard we work at getting elcheapo to look good, it's a far cry from the middle priced broadcast monitor. It's not even remotely debatable, 600 lines of resolution vs 300 is a whopping diff. For Christmas, I'm hoping to afford one of their new 800 lines, Firewire in monitors. (nearly 2K)

Do you think I should stay with EVGA dual head GeForce FX 5200, 256MB DDR with TV out
since is still in unopen box or buy Matrox G450 since I'm not a gamer and I see everyone talking good about Matrox.

I couldn't comment with authority. Matrox makes a great card, TV out on any AGP or PCI card is a waste of time from my perspective. But there are those that don't care about crappy quality, and whatever looks good for them. Gaming tools don't benefit video editors, unless you are doing 3D authoring. Then you'll benefit from *some* gaming cards. OGL is more important, if you are dealing with Boris or Commotion Pro. And the Matrox 550 has OGL support.

Douglas - does the OGL support on the G550 have to be "enabled"?

I have one, and I remember when I tried the Boris Red demo, it reported that Open GL was not supported.

You know, I dunno. I'm not at the studio, so can't look on my desktop, but I assure you that OGL is supported in Red. That's what the GL in RedGL is for.

Hey DSE,
Is this a great deal or a misprint?
http://www.spytown.com//jvc27colccmo.html
Thanks,
Randy

It's 550 lines of resolution on a 27" monitor. That would still look pretty horrendous. You'll find most don't ever go beyond a 19", we edit everything on a 13 or 10. You'd need double the resolution on a 27", not to mention the rest of the mess that you'll run into with the powersupplies on these low end monitors. Still, this is better than the average walmart monitor....but not a whole lot.

>>It's 550 lines of resolution on a 27" monitor<<
Please excuse my ignorance here Spot, but I guess I don't understand the concept...apparently it is based on a per capita kinda thing. As in, it is 550 lines for the whole display, not just per square inch, pixel or whatever, there must be some formula here..ie 300 lines of resolution on a 10" monitor = pro and 550 lines of resolution on a 27" = well...Wal-mart. BTW, I'm using a 19" RCA purchased at Wal-Mart.
I do some TV work (local commercials and a weekly TV magazine show) that airs on a couple of podunk (a CBS affiliate out of Amarillo TX and a PBS in parts of NM) networks, but I did have one producer who doesn't use me anymore. My concern is that it's because my work is sub-standard, but they just don't want to tell me why (for whatever reason). It seems I'm a big fish in a little pond but I wanna be a whopper in that pond : )
My question is, can you point me to a source that could educate me further in my quest please sir?
BTW, thanks for hanging out with us guppies Spot!
Randy

Well....first know that some professional monitors exceed 1000 lines in a 10" screen. More lines = better resolution and a better view of what's happening, and a clearer picture. Just like you'd never run a recording studio on a pair of Auratones or cheap computer speakers, same goes for doing video. You can't fix what you can't see, just like you can't fix what you can't hear due to bad reproductive tools.
Cheap TV's will smudge colors, or smear them, bloom them, etc. Due to poor power supplies, they can have color shift over the course of an editing session. The more horizontal resolution available in an image, the better off you are, because it provides greater detail. For me, I can't imagine trying to edit vid in seriousness on a 27" screen. I rough work on hotel TV's, usually the cheapest found anywhere, and can never color correct on these 19" junk boxes. I can do it if I calibrate, but even then it's a crap shoot, and will change as the box gets hotter or when the guy next door turns on his hair dryer.
You won't see macro blocking on a cheap tv because of the fuzziness, same goes for a good monitor plugged into a normal computer vid card's composite output.
One thing you CAN do to test monitors fairly easily, is to burn a variety of test media from the Vegas generated media library, and then take the DVD to the rental house or retailer that sells monitors. Take it to Walmart or whereever and play it there. They'll usually let you do that. Make sure you have some idea of what's on the DVD first, but you'll QUICKLY see the difference, not just in overall calibration, because that can be adjusted. What can't be adjusted is the clarity of the display. Notice how on a cheap set, colors bloom and transect, some are more visible than others. Notice how certain colors 'buzz' on one display, but not on another? Look at the convergence lines, you'll need to make your own or download them as Vegas doesn't offer this feature, or better still, take the Pirates of the Carribean DVD with you, and run the test media found on the Setup menu. You'll immediately know the why's and why nots of having a good vs cheap monitor.
A monitor is your window to the final product. Without a good monitor, it's like driving with a foggy windshield. You can see what's on the road, but not totally clearly, and certainly not with a confidence in driving superfast. Having a poor monitor is much like that.

> "OGL is supported in Red. That's what the GL in RedGL is for."

Yeah - it's just that when I opened the Boris demo it told me that my video card (G550) didn't support Open GL.

Peter

Thanks Spot again for all your help. At this time I had no choice but to get Toshiba with S video input. cost me about $159.00 and It is 14". For now is working good but for sure I'm going to get the Studio type. Picture looks very good Since I used Sony DCR-VX2000 but when I want to move frame by frame Picture gets shaky on Toshiba.