Marianne Exbrayat

Daniel, I do not know the NIT rating on the 5". The factory specs do not state. I do not want to give a number that is not accurate. For the sake of comparison, I put it in the sun a few months ago next to an iphone and a Samsung Galaxy (most people know how they look in full sun) and the 5" is much better (by far). Please email me directly for prices. Marianne Exbrayat marianne@transvideointl.com

Hello all, There is no Transvideo 8" X-SBL at 2000 Nits. When people publish an 8" X-SBL at 2000 Nits it is actually 1500 Nits (or it is a 6"...). It is technically very difficult to "boost" the backlight output. You would see a noticeable increase in power draw (and heat being generated - not good). This would also result in shortening the lifetime of the backlight ( also not good). In our office we have less than 10% of 8" for 90% 6". Reversing the LCD: most body-rig operators like the monitor fairly flat or at a 45º angle. The X-SBL are assembled with this in mind. I would recommend to have the LCD reversed only if you shoot with the monitor upright. The 6" X-SBL actually has a 6" 16/9 HD image. The screen size is bigger than 6". I hope this is useful. Marianne Exbrayat marianne@transvideointl.com

Several Operators have recently purchased Transvideo 5" StarliteHD monitor/recorder for their sleds. Some use it on top of the main monitor as a return monitor/recorder. Others set it up near the batteries as a recorder and as a secondary monitor. With a viewing angle of 80º in all 4 directions the Operators sees the image when turning the head around. The 5" 16/9 StarliteHD weighs only 7 oz. We have made a bracket to mount it on top of the 6" or 8" Cinemonitors (all models). The bracket weighs 3 oz and includes a slide to position the 5" StarliteHD laterally above the 6" or 8" and preserve the left/right balance. The 5" sits exactly on top of the Cinemonitor without any gap in-between. The Built-in Recorder provides on the spot playback and peace of mind. Of course the StarliteHD includes a digital Horizon and is the perfect back-up to your main monitor. Mention this post to get your discount. Marianne Exbrayat, Transvideo International (California) marianne@transvideointl.com Tel: 1 818 985 4903

Thanks everyone for the posts about Transvideo X-SBLs. Keep in kind that both the 6" and 8" X-SBL come fully loaded (Horizon 1, Horizon 2 with inertia compensation and shock analyzer, new enhanced bonded glass). The only thing not included in the basic price is the remote for the Horizon2 (also called Horizon3), but the hardware is already in the X-SBL. We describe the X-SBL "Horizon3 ready". Size: our experience in North America is that for 50x 6" X-SBL ($4800 shipping from California) we sell 1x 8" X-SBL ($5200 shipping from California). The $400 price difference is not the determining factor. The 8" extra size also means more real estate for the wind to catch when shooting outdoor. In the meantime, we have both sizes in our office for people to check out. Best to all. Marianne Exbrayat, Transvideo International (California) marianne@transvideointl.com

Just to clarify the monitors native screen ratios: The 5" StarliteHD and 7" RainbowHD are both 16/9 native screens. The CinemonitorHD family has 4:3 screens, with the bottom used for Horizon, Voltage monitoring & alert, and anything else you might want there. If you do it all on a live TV, you can use the bottom part to display lens information (Cooke, Angenieux i/lens + Arri lens data from camera decoded from the SDI) including depth of field... The reason for staying with this shape is that we get a better performance from the screens than comparable 16/9 sizes. Not just from an optical performance pov but also from a ruggedness pov (max & mini temperatures etc...). You can shoot in full sun with your Cinemonitor in Death Valley mid-Summer and the monitor will be fine. It will start up immediately in extreme cold, while others will just not even turn on. We just do not want to deliver a monitor that will let you down in conditions that are not that unusual in the production world. The "extra room" of the Cinemonitors is at the bottom of the monitor, not on the sides where it would eat the scenery. We now modify a lot of Yokes to drop the Cinemonitors lower (below the rods) which also makes the bottom of the monitor disappear from sight if that is what one wants to do. Best to all, Marianne Exbrayat marianne@transvideointl.com

The 7" RainbowHD SBL records still frames only, the 5" StarliteHD records still & video. Some body-rig operators now put the 5" as a 2nd monitor on the top of the batteries as a recorder, but also for framing backward shots. On the 7", the default setting is REC709, but I highly recommend to set the monitor to LINEAR instead. It delivers much more details in the blacks and mid-tones. Marianne Exbrayat, Transvideo International (California) marianne@transvideointl.com

Celebrate the New Year! New Prices shipping from Los Angeles are: 6" Classic SBL (SuperBright) with Avenger/Horizon 1 = $3400. $3100 Special offer until until local stock is exhausted. 6" Evo3 SBL (SuperBright) with Avenger/Horizon 1= $3900. $3600 Special offer until until local stock is exhausted. 6" Evo3 X-SBL Enhanced with Avenger/Horizon 1and Advanced Horizon 2 / "horizon 3 ready" = $4800. 8" Evo3 X-SBL Enhanced with Avenger/Horizon 1and Advanced Horizon 2 / / "horizon 3 ready" = $5200. 7" 16/9 RainbowHD (SuperBright) with Avenger/Horizon 1 = $2900. $2600 Special offer until until local stock is exhausted. Marianne Exbrayat marianne@transvideointl.com. Tel: 818 985 4903

Photo of the FIZ Hand Unit in protective Hartware Holster:

Holster6Xm.pdfProtect your Preston FIZ control with the new rugged Hartware Holsters. Buy them at Cine Gear Expo, Paramount June 6 & 7. Transvideo International Booth # 59.

Transvideo International exhibits at Cine Gear Los Angeles this week-end (booth #59 near the food court). New 6" X-SBL Enhanced Evolution 3 New Remote Digital Horizon with inertia compensation New 5" StarliteHD OLED smart monitor 7" RainbowHD SuperBright. See you all at Cine Gear! We are proud to give prompt and friendly service to our Operators.

Of course the Cal-on-tap can be easily turned-off, so can the inertia compensation and shock analyzer. The idea is to provide the tools we are asked for, but also to allow Operators to turn them off at will. So you can use the Horizon2 with or without the "gyro", with or without Cal-on-Tap, with internal sensor or with external sensor. Or you can turn the Horizon off. Marianne

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Transvideo 6" Evolution3 X-SBL Enhanced monitor in our California office. The 6" Cinemonitor HD/SD Xtremely bright monitor is the brightest monitor available today with a backlight output of 2000 NITS. Of course it displays all HD standards. Transvideo anti-glare optical enhancement technology further reduces reflections and enhances contrast. The monitor can be set in 2 operating modes either for outdoor or indoor viewing. In Xtreme Bright mode, details in both the dark areas and highlights are maintained even in full sun without hood. Even when set in Xtreme bright mode, the power consumption remains very low (1.6Amp @ 12v). The basic price of the 6" CinemonitorHD X-SBL Evolution includes the Virtual Horizon2. The Virtual Horizon2 is the only electronic horizon featuring inertia/acceleration compensation and shock analyser. The sensitivity and direction are adjustable with 6 available renditions. The display can be moved anywhere on the screen. Inertia/shock compensation can be turned off. Transvideo new Cal-On-Tap is the fastest short-cut to zero calibrate the Horizon: once your rig is set, just tap on the screen or on the Transvideo logo. Cal-On-Tap can be turned off by the user. A complete family of Yokes, Bridges and Rods systems is available to fit most rigs. Contact us for a professional and friendly service! Marianne & Noel Tel: 818 985 4903 Marianne@Transvideointl.com Noel@Transvideointl.com

We are proud to announce the new ground-breaking version of Transvideo Virtual Horizon (for SD and HD video) namely: the Advanced Horizon. This new HD/SD Advanced Virtual Horizon features inertia & acceleration compensation, as well as a shock analyser. The Advanced Horizon indicator is not fooled by acceleration, sudden moves etc. Tel: 818 985 4903. marianne@transvideointl.com

Ron Baldwin: Marianne, are you saying that the monitors at your table were brighter than the one on the rotisserie? You should have brought it over for comparison. If you could have made the hd monitor brighter by changing format or other settings I'm sure we all wish you had. None here wish any ill on any product -- we just want to see a picture outside so we can do our jobs. We should be really doing stuff like this more often. -------- Ron, I am saying that the monitors on our table looked better than on the rotisserie (which still completely mystifies me). I did not check on other vendors table. I know that 1 or 2 vendors actually did not have a video source of their own, and I think (not sure) the 3rd table was fed by the rotisserie. The only reason why I brought our own video sources is that Charles had mentioned that we could most likely not pull video cables across the parking lot to the vendors table - for obvious safety concern. In any case, people are always welcome to come look at the monitors, bring your rig + camera if you wish, our patio is in full sun all day after 11 am, and if you are not L.A based we always offer a 1-week trial at no charge except shipping cost.

Jens: You are correct I did not see Charles post detailing the set-up from a day or 2 ago until last evening. The reason why I was absolutely convinced we got an up-converted signal is- as discussed with Charles last evening- that at the very beginning of the event several monitors did not get a signal (some monitors displayed "NO SYNC") at all and one of the person standing next to me said: "It must be the downconverter" and then opened the fabric that covered all the wiring to fix the prob. Obviously, this was not correct. I also discussed last evening some of the shots that made me think - totally in line with what I had just been told- that we were not looking at HD reso. And indeed Charles confirmed that these shots had "ultra-contrasty" video or "gamma were off". By the way there is a gamma adjustment on the Transvideo monitor. I do realize all the monitors got the same feed, and I felt there was something off with the signal on all the monitors. Again, I only saw the live camera for 3 or 4 seconds at my request, I never saw its feed again during the rest of the event.

Charles, The HD monitors on our table were fed with our HD generator and the SD monitors were fed with a small NTSC camera. NOT with the rotisserie. One could actually see the difference. The resolution charts on the HD monitors did look like HD and I commented about their quality to you. If we want to check footage from a film tap on the Transvideo HD monitor, let set the monitor to STD def and to B&W if it is a B&W film tap. I will not answer personal attacks. I think my comments are perfectly respectful of the work you put into this, I wish I would get the same.

Kris, First of all there is no doubt Charles did a lot of work to organize this, and I am very glad we supported his initiative. This test had never been done before. I think we should all learn from it and I hope it will get done again. But I also think it would reflect more what happens on set with a camera line-up. There might be a misunderstanding but I actually completely agree with you about the monitor angle and the CG. I think it is wonderful one can buy a $200 LCD or a $20000 green screen and anything in between. All Operators do not work in the same way, and each person will have different purchase criteria. And there are even trends per countries. Most people who will read this forum were not at the rotisserie. I think it is important for them to know the conditions of the test. If I remember correctly, the live feed was almost never turned on. There was a single SD player. Of course this allowed to see the same content (but the video level was constant and the speed fixed). The SD signal from the player went through an up-converter to the HD monitors. I just feel it is not relevant to judge a monitor that takes HD and SD signals by putting on it a std def up-converted signal. One can actually send a std def signal to the std def connector on the Transvideo monitor, then select STD DEF input with the press of 1 key on the front. If one views a B&W film tap, the monitor can be set to Std Def + B&W - one of the forum reader was writing it would be nice if the monitor did that - it does. With an HD camera, we feed the HD signal into the HD connector. Just like it is perfectly OK for operators to talk about how our monitors are, I see no harm in monitor manufacturers talking about the feed back we get from operators at large (in our case for the past 20 years).

This is just a general question not a reply to any specific posting: If Transvideo's competitors could make a monitor that is as good in the sun, with an image as good, a power consumption as low (1.1Amp at 12v), a machined aluminum housing with no holes and no fan, have their monitor with no delay like the Transvideo, have the monitor run frame sync with the camera like the Transvideo, have all the features of the Transvideo (Digital Horizon, adjustable color framelines and matting, exposure control, waveform, histogram, vectorscope), and with a service as good as Transvideo's, you would buy one. Then why not buy a Transvideo? If the only answer is the price, then consider this: you cannot get an ASC DP for the rate of a wedding photographer.

Congratulations to Charles for the work to organize, as well as to Camera Support for being such great hosts. Finally thanks to all the volunteers who helped. 3 points: 1/ The signal fed into the HD monitors was an SD signal up-converted to HD. The quality was really poor with muddy blacks and lack of resolution throughout the image. The Transvideo HD/SD monitors accept each signals on a different connector. Transvideo processes HD and SD completely differently. One would never on a film camera use an HD up-converter to feed HD to the Transvideo monitor. You would just take the NTSC/PAL from the film camera and put it in the NTSC/PAL input of the monitor. An HD camera will never output an HD signal as bad as the one we had out of the up-converter. I know in theory some rig operators only want to see framing, but the quality of the image will indeed affect our ability to recognize the content, and thus the framing. Despite all this, one could see a difference in image quality on the various LCDs. 2/ The images fed into the monitors were mostly pre-recorded. The video level was constant as well as the speed. This is quite different than having a camera hooked up and checking at various camera speeds and lens iris settings. There was actually a camera (standard def), but it was 10 ft away so that no-one could operate the camera and look at the monitors at the same time- The only true test I think, but it was never performed. 3/ Monitors flat: Operators throughout the years have set up he CRTs fairly flat, with the housing parallel to their legs . The reason being that CRTs are so deep that if set up differently, they will smack into things. There is no need to set up a 2" deep LCD parallel to the sky. The envelope of the LCD is so much smaller for a much bigger image. The operator will usually turn the LCD so that the screen faces him, not the sky. Overall we are glad to have taken part in this event, but feel it should be attempted again, with an HD camera as well a film camera set up side by side with equivalent lenses.

Just one more piece information: The Transvideo 6" HD SuperBright monitor that was at the rotisserie yesterday draws exactly 1.15Amp at 12v. That is to say that you can run this monitor with a Dionic 90 battery for 6.5 hours none stop at full brightness. The monitor accepts any voltage between 10v and 36v DC. I would be glad to read feedback from Transvideo 6"HD owners about the power consumption of their particular serial number. Anyone is welcome to stop by our office to check the power consumption of any of the monitors with have here. We will be glad to hook up the amp-meter for you.

Jens, Since you have already logged here today, I was expecting to first read the retraction you said you would post about the Transvideo 6" HD SuperBright being like a mirror. As everyone could see at the rotisserie, there is no reflections issue when the monitor is turned on with a video image. I have checked with the person with who you looked at the monitor at Cine Gear. For your information, you looked at a privately owned monitor, where the private owner decided to put an after market film on top of the Transvideo glass to prevent people from scratching the glass at the show. This film is not installed nor recommended by Transvideo as it is very reflective indeed. The Transvideo monitors are already protected by a glass, there is no need o protect the protection as it will affect the monitor's performance. The HD monitors have been out for 2 years, we have never had to change a glass because of scratches.

Jess, As you all know I've NEVER logged on this site or any other to discuss someone else equipment, but here I really have to jump in: I am a bit surprised we are still mentioning the Marshall for sun use. As most people noticed, two out of 3 of their monitors went down after warming up for 2 hours or so in the sun. One area of the matrix became completely black and it got bigger and bigger as the temperature rose. One f them actually had almost have of the matrix blackened. This is not a glitch in the electronics, this will only happen if he LCD matrix reaches temperatures above its specifications. If the monitor is left longer in the sun the matrix will be completely dead and even after cooling down, the pixels will no longer display an image in this area. It was not even hot yesterday: just 73F. In California we experience 90F and more all summer long. By the way similar things will happen in extremely cold temperatures.

Transvideo SuperBright prices: I do not know where the price difference of 5 to 6K between a Transvideo HD and another HD comes from but it is not accurate. Unless some HD monitors are now given away at $0. If we talk about Standard Def SuperBright, the Transvideo 6" Cine3ASB is in the $3000. If we talk about the HD+SD SuperBright the price range is $6K INCLUDING WAVEFORM YRGB, VECTORSCOPE, HISTOGRAM, EXPOSURE CONTROL, COLOR FRAMELINES AND MATTING. All these features work in both HD and SD def. Anyone has a monitor that can do that for less than 10K??? So at this price, the Transvideo HD SuperBright is the lowest price in its category. AND you can add the digital Horizon that works both in SD def and in HD for approx. $800. If anyone prefers buying 2 monitors of lesser quality for more money than a single higher end-one.... I do not get the logic. Marianne - transvideo International.

Scott, The Master film rig usually has a Hirose4 female on the CRT. We have this chassis connector in stock. Some have been modified with a Hirose6 or a Lemo8 chassis, and we also have these in stock. Yes I will be in the office next week, and of course you are welcome to bring your monitors with you (both the CRT and the Cine3). This way we can also check that you are all set-up as far as the brackets. We would need an hour to do the connector modif on your Cine3. Add another hour if you want us to upgrade the whole monitor to Cine3A as we like to make the electronic warm up before releasing the equipment. Bottom line is if you stop by before lunch and decide what you want to do, we can get it done while you grab lunch in the area. I am sending you a direct email about the specs comparisons. You can look at your monitor next to a Cine3A in the office when you stop by, so you will see the difference before/after the upgrade. Have a good week-end. Marianne - Transvideo International.

Hello Scott, I hope all is well with you. Cables: if you currently have a single cable for DC+video going to your green screen CRT, we will be happy to put the same connector on any Transvideo monitor you have or buy so you can use the same set of cables (and not spend a few hundred dollars additional in new cables). We do this connector modification at no charge. Digital level: The digital level from your sled is embedded into the std video signal, so that it will show up on any monitor. It is a whole different issue with an HD signal. If I remember correctly you have a 6" Cine3 monitor. I wanted to remind you that we can upgrade it for less than $1000 to a Cine3A with a brightness of 900 NITS. Let me know if you still have this monitor and I will send you the comparative specs between the Cine3 and Cine3A (there is a very noticeable difference). If you look for a 4" diagonal standard Def, the 4" Starlite Color SuperBright is a good choice. You can also order it with the Virtual Horizon built-in (Digital level). If you want to cover both standard def and high def shoots, I would suggest you to look at the 6" CinemonitorHD/SD Superbright. You can order it with the Virtual Horizon built-in (Digital level) that will work with both std def and HD signals. And it also has Framelines (that work both in STD Def and HD), and exposure monitoring, etc.... All these monitors are available in our office to look at. You are also welcome to borrow one for a few days to test on a shoot. Best, Marianne Exbrayat- Transvideo International