Matte screen protector - 503, 703, Boland

[RonBaldwin]

Been playing around with some monitor and screen matte comparisons over the last year or so — mainly the Small HD 503,  703, and the Boland. 

I’ll post some pics and a video or two which might show advantages of one over the other. Funny to note that just when I thought I found a clear winner the environment would change and suddenly I found myself preferring the other! Moral of the story? Have 15 monitors. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by RonBaldwin

[RonBaldwin]

Here are some older pics comparing the crap matte screen protector from Small HD (I think they may have a better one now?) to the same monitor with the Nushield Day View (also from Small HD). 

[RonBaldwin]

Never was a fan of matte screens because they tend to fall apart with direct sun hits — well, most (all?) LCD’s kinda turn to poop with or without the matte but the loss of image is longer and more of the frame with the matte.

Here is an example of that with the same screen protectors as shown above

[RonBaldwin]

As much as I steered away from matte screens over the years, I was impressed with how they get rid of distracting reflections. Clearly the 503 is brighter but the less powerful Boland is much easier to see.

Edited June 29, 2020 by RonBaldwin

[RonBaldwin]

How can I not post this?! The framerate is often weird with tubes so can sometimes be tough to photograph for iPhones but you can see what’s happening. The 503 is at 100%...the TB6 is at most around 70% — completely blown out on the video but to the eye there was no comparison and it could be viewed at the same intensity at any angle. 

[henry Landgrebe]

Hi Ron,

This a great post. Which one in your expert opinion is the best to anti glare to get. I have a transvideo 8 inch. I would be very interested .

 

many thanks

Henry

[RonBaldwin]

11 hours ago, henry Landgrebe said:

Hi Ron,

This a great post. Which one in your expert opinion is the best to anti glare to get. I have a transvideo 8 inch. I would be very interested .

 

many thanks

Henry

Thanks Henry — I am certainly no expert...just a guy with too much time on his hands and who misses being able to actually see an image in the daylight.

 

I think the best overall for me would be the MXT — cuts unwanted reflections of bright overcast sky, overhead frames, silks and lights that can really be a pain with a shiny screen. However from what I can tell any matte screen turns to doo-doo with direct hits from the sun. The sun’s reflection even getting close to the edge of the screen with start to whiteout the whole frame!

 

 That being said, doesn’t the transvideo have some pretty sweet coatings? Perhaps not since you are asking.

 

here is another video showing the MXT (medium matte on the left) and the MXH (lighter matte on the right). I left the center open to really see what happens with a shiny vs matte with a direct hit

[henry Landgrebe]

Ron

That is interesting. Yes the newer Transvideo's have an inverted Matrix that gives good viewing in direct sun. Unfortunately I have an older one and as I ve been in lock down I have been experimenting with regular off the shelf anti glare coverings to try and help.

 

So despite the MTX washing out with a direct hit do you still have it on your monitor or not?

Thanks for your advice Ron.

Take it easy

Henry

[RonBaldwin]

I applied a different one on each of my monitors  (2 503’s and a 703) so I can swap them out as try in different situations. I think the MXT looks like the one I’ll settle on, though I still wanna try in a real world situation. 

[henry Landgrebe]

Ron

How it going?

Ive got a week on the beach next week with ether rig so im gonna order MXT . Been looking into swapping my Transvideo to Small HD 703 . Its definitely the way forward. Don't suppose you have a spare one you want to sell with a yoke?

Really just wanted to Thank you for advice.

Fly safe.

All the best.

Henry

[Mark Karavite]

Hey Ron,

Great post, thanks for taking the time to play with this.  In your opinion, what is better viewing for reflections and bright sky, 703 with MXT, or the Boland?

I currently have the older Boland (with no image invert of LUTS).  I'm either going to buy the new Boland with those missing features, or a smallHD 703.  Looking at your video comparisons, the Boland seems to have less distracting reflections, but with the AR coating and the brighter 703, is that a a better option in your opinion?

Thanks & stay safe,

Mark

[Devan Clarke-Sheward]

Hey Ron, How are you getting on with these screen protectors? had a chance to test them in different scenarios and find the best yet?

Im looking for a screen protector for my 503 (as a low mode monitor) and the descriptions by Small HD aren't very detailed;

"The Ultra Matte is flatter/less glossy screen then the Pro K, the Pro K is also slightly warmer than the Ultra Matte. The NuShield DayVue is a better option if you shoot in sunny outdoors, similar to an ND filter that is slightly warm as well."

Thanks!