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CineMonitor HD SBL 1000 nits


luis castro

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Got a chance to look at this today, it's quite nice. You have the option of adding on digital bubble, adjustable framelines and a waveform/vectorscope.

 

The adjustable lines are not to be confused with marker lines which is included in the base model but the add on lets you adjust the lines save up to three different markings and color them as well as shade or completely black out, outside the lines. The bubble level has what seemed like 10 different types of bubble levels but none of which can be moved from their place on the screen. It's on the bottom when in fullscreen mode and when shooting in 16X9 or anamorphic they are in the black area below the picture.

 

For all pro owners and people who have the lemo connection for the monitor, you can run the same lemo in which will carry power and standard def video but unfortunately there is no easy solution for HD-SDI which you are still forced to run a cable from the camera directly to the monitor. Not the fault of the monitor just the fickleness of running HD-SDI through a rig.

 

All in all a very nice monitor, but I do wish it was cheaper. But hey, it's a quality product so you get what you pay for.

 

Josh Harrison

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Hi Guys

 

I honestly feel a lot of companies charge what they do because they can and we'll pay! <_< When I can buy a 50" Plasma TV/monitor for my home with all the HD bells and whistles for about half that, someone is going to have to go a long way to convince me I'm getting what I paid for with this monitor.

 

For me as an operator, it's not like I really need a production quality monitor like that used for video village image control or pulling focus, that's not my department or worry. As long as I can see accurately what I'm shooting in the worst of lighting conditions and it's super reliable, then that's my main concerns taken care of.

 

I've been in the TV industry almost 30 years as everything from a gopher to Technical Producer/Director and my film experience is limited to some 16mm shooting. Maybe for film it's different, could someone could give me their thoughts.

 

Anyway, as soon as I sell my DVCPRO50 camera I'm buying a 8.4" Boland HD for around $3500 which will do me nicely and I'll be laughing all the way to the bank. Better me than them! Just my two centavos worth. :)

 

Cheers

Norbert

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Let's say Panasonic makes 100.000 of it's consumer 50" Monitors for $3000 and Transvideo makes only 200 to 300 Units. They still have to spent a lot of time and money on R&D.

 

Think about it.

 

Jens

 

 

Hi Jens :)

 

I may be wrong but my technical experience tells me that in this digital age, real R&D is the domain of the big boys. I'm sure relatively little companies like Transvideo usually take commercially available hardware/software etc. and custom package it to suit their purpose. As an example, I have a Glidecam L7-PRO monitor I bought for $700 and too late found out it was just a rebadged version of another non-pro name company that sold theirs for $400.

 

Why such a disparity in prices between the Transvideo and the Boland for example? It's not like we're talking Ford compared to Ferrari here either. They are both high end pro quality monitors that have very much the same specs and capabilities so where does double the cost come in?

 

Sorry, I'm still not convinced. <_<

 

Cheers

Norbert

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Transvideo has spent time and money putting together a very steadicam friendly monitor. It has a lemo input adjustable framelines digital bubble and hi-brightness, not to mention I can pick up the phone and get somebody who knows me and the item I bought from them. I kinda doubt you will get this from Boland, but I could be wrong. I think Jens was onto the real reason though, Boland can mass sell their monitors and transvideo will likely sell a few hundred, but certainly not thousands of this monitor.

 

Joshua Harrison

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Transvideo is first class. Marrianne in L.A. has been really great in taking care of my account. No B.S. or wishful thinking.

 

$8,000 is not expensive for a critical component for Steadicam. Green screens run double that amount.

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Transvideo has spent time and money putting together a very steadicam friendly monitor. It has a lemo input adjustable framelines digital bubble and hi-brightness, not to mention I can pick up the phone and get somebody who knows me and the item I bought from them. I kinda doubt you will get this from Boland, but I could be wrong. I think Jens was onto the real reason though, Boland can mass sell their monitors and transvideo will likely sell a few hundred, but certainly not thousands of this monitor.

 

Joshua Harrison

 

 

I don't doubt the Transvideo system is top notch and that their customer service is fantastic. That being said, I have only purchased one Boland monitor but they treat me like I'm their biggest account. I have Mike's home and cell number and he doesnt mind when I call him super early. They have been very quick to make modifications and adjustments to my monitor to make it more steadicam friendly and at 1400 nits and only 3000 dollars it's a great piece of equipment. It does not have a frame line generator or an electronic level but in terms of picture quality it is frickin sweet.

 

my 2 cents.

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Not that I am trying to add fuel to the fire here but I have nothing but great things to say about the Tiffen UltraBrite2. Rob Orf separated the electronics from the heat eliminating the Fan issue that the original Ultra had along with fixing initial power cable size issues with strong power draw. My U2 system has been working flawless for nearly a year and believe me it has been put through the paces from westerns to sandy beaches in the Bahamas, salt water splash as well as 25 mph sandy winds at Dumont Dunes last month.

 

Last year I tired to get Boland to send me a DEMO monitor and I had a very, very hard time trying to get the customer service person to get back with me and after 2 weeks of trying I finally gave up. I have heard others ops had the same issues with them. Perhaps it was just bad timing as I do understand being busy... but as a potential customer I expect a call back within a week. I never did hear back from them.

 

I am sure the TransVideo system Neal and Joshua speaks of ROCKS as most of their gear does. I would like to see that myself...hopefully at CineGear.

 

One thing that you all need to realize (perhaps you do-but in case you don't) is that once you pipe HD down your post and into a monitor you will no longer be able to have an on screen Level or framelines. Nobody is doing a Level with HD GFX overlaid (that I know of). Unless I am reading your post wrong and the TransVideo system does have HD lvl and framelines. If not then those only work when NTSC is piped into the monitor. Please advise us on this subject???

 

TIffen worked on it for a long time then decided the R&D was not worth it (at least at this time). I talked to Bubb and he said he had no plans of doing an HD overlay either. My point to this is that even though I have an HD UltraBrite2 monitor, even on HD shoots I use it 97% of the time with an NTSC signal because I love having my on screen level. I only use an HD signal on HD shoots when an Assistant really needs to see focus clearly....and that is very rare because most of the assistants I work with pull by eye. BUT...I love the UltraBrite because it is large, very easy to see in direct sunlight (1400 nits I think), what is not to like.?.

 

I am not trying to just promote GB's and Jerry's gear here but I gotta tell you it is a great monitor and they have backed it with great customer service. Rob Orf has gone way beyond the call of duty for me. It is not like the old days. They really take good care of me.

 

I would say before you spend the money on a TransVideo go by Tiffen with your rig and demo a UB2 monitor. I am not sure of the price of the monitor by itself but I think it is around that same price of the Transvideo. And it does come with Frame Lines, etc. Also has Lemo connectors as well as 4 pin XLR and many others. I think you can power this thing about 4 different ways, BACKLIGHT Brightness dial on the monitor (actual turn knob), tally lights, PIP, image flip, mirror, assignable hot buttons, etc. The list goes on and on. This thing rocks!

 

BTW- The way Tiffen has gotten around the HD overlay on screen level for High Def is they added an LED light system just under the monitor so that when I do have HD into the system I still have a level indicator but it is not on screen. Quite clever and it does work well. It takes some getting used to but does work.

 

Good Luck making your monitor decisions...

 

Steve Fracol

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Hey Steve,

am I wrong ? But isn't the new Tiffen Monitor basically a Boland re packaged? They sure look alike only the Boland doesn't have all the bells and whistles.

 

Oh and I hear your becoming a fixture in LA . . .? True?

 

Talk to you soon,

 

BTW, did your wife ever get those curtains she was wanting? . . .LOL . . .

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