Premium Members Charles Papert Posted December 9, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Any news on that proposed playback function? And how about any former green-screen lovers who have finally been won over by this monitor, who have (presumably) put them side by side and tested them together under all types of daylight? please speak up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members chris fawcett Posted December 9, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Nope, but here are the preliminary specs on that transmitter: HD SDI 422 10 bits up to 1080 60i HD SDI 444 10 bits up to 24 fps (maybe 12 bits) SD SDI 270 Mb Composite PAL/NTSC 2 Channel Audio Embedded SDI or Analogue Balanced 10-36 V + Battery Operation + some other 'slightly secret' functions. Will keep you updated on that. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members John Morrison Posted December 9, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Chris, you seem to be the man in the 'know' how come the 8" monitor (most practical size imo) is not superbrite? if it was I'd buy one tomorrow. I know you don't work for transvideo but they have never ever replied to one of my E mails! Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members chris fawcett Posted December 9, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Hi John, I find the 8" too big. I don't like 'hunting' around a large screen. I like the compactness of the 6" but a range of sizes seems like a good idea. I'm surprised about the mails. It seems out of character for Transvideo not to answer. I'll ask Jacques the next time I see him if you like. All the best, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Delacoux Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 John, I have no trace of contact from you in our system. Which email address have you used? Please email me directly to jd@transvideo.fr Regarding your question, it is true that there is no SuperBright version of the 8''. This monitor is a studio version with wide color gamuts but lower brightness. The specific product for the Seadicam is the CineMonitorHD6SBL. Following users feedback it is realy the right size. It seems more comfortable to span on a 6" than on the 8". All the best, Jacques you seem to be the man in the 'know' how come the 8" monitor (most practical size imo) is not superbrite? if it was I'd buy one tomorrow. I know you don't work for transvideo but they have never ever replied to one of my E mails! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted December 10, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Jacques: Anything you can tell us about the built-in recorder function? I'm pursuing other options and it would be nice to not have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Delacoux Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 Charles, We just started to work on the project. It will be for 2009, I cannot tell yu exactely when. Maybe IBC2009. If you have specific needs, tell us. All the best Jacques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted December 12, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 Hi Jacques: Of course everyone has different needs/wants, but for me: I'd want the simplest interface that requires the least amount of menus possible, hopefully none for this function. Given that once the monitor is dialed in for a particular shooting environment (i.e. framelines set, brightness level set) I'd want the recorder component front and center. Front-panel access to record, pause, forward and reverse. The DVD protocol where each additional press of the forward or reverse key would ramp up the speed in various increments would be good. On-screen indicator of function in current use. Ability to step backwards or forwards through clips, but don't need a separate screen that shows clip names, just an OSD that shows total number of clips and current clip i.e. "25/28". When in pause mode, forward and reverse function as frame advance or slow advance. I personally don't need to save clips externally so I don't need removable media, but I'm sure that some people would like that function so an SD card slot might fit the bill. Barring that a mini-USB port that allows one to mount the monitor onto a computer to download clips would be helpful. If dedicated "tape transport" keys are not possible due to real estate, perhaps a soft key approach where the buttons used for other functions become repurposed for the recorder mode, and the bottom of the screen indicates these functions (or they are simply silk-screened above the other functions). A LANC control port might be nice for those who have outboard controllers. Speaking of which, interface with the Preston would be great for triggering record and stop although I am curious about those who have done this; how do you cable between the top and bottom of your rig for this? Maybe a bluetooth trigger (exotic)! As to recording quality, it would be ideal with an HD monitor to be able to deliver HD playback--a little visible compression is not going to be a deal-breaker but I would rather see a drop in resolution than overly compressed images, especially if it screws up the motion cadence. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Delacoux Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Charkes, Thank you for your kind help. We are working on the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jason Torbitt Posted January 20, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Oh my word. All I can say is - if you don't own one of these Transvideo Cinemonitor HD6 SBL's yet - buy one. It is out of this world. I don't even know where to begin with a write-up of it. Highlights for me are the various styles / positions of the Electronic Level, the on-screen Tally (fantastic - absolutely fantastic), the flexible Framelines and Borders; the Memory function - it just goes on and on. The sheer quality of the LCD panel is mind-boggling. And the fact that it's capable of HD-SDI / SDI, and all the functions including the digital level are HD compatible, then this monitor, quite simply, does it all. It is just amazing. This week I'm using it as my Steadicam monitor. Next week I'm doing an HD drama and will be using it off the rig too - so a nice opportunity to fully test out the waveform / histogram / vectorscope. I can't say enough about how good it is - I'm blown away by it. How so many features can be crammed into such a small space, and how it can be so Steadicam friendly is quite incredible. Great work from Transvideo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members chris fawcett Posted January 21, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Glad you like it. BTW, it's tough as hell too. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Manyluk Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Question for all: Does anyone know where one of these marvelous monitors can be rented in North America (or preferably Canada?). That is, the new HD version (of course). Thanks, Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted January 23, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I just borrowed this monitor for a few days from Transvideo as a trial, and overall I too enjoyed it. I've had backup LCD monitors for my TB6 for years, but naturally those have always represented compromise in one way or another in brightness, contrast, viewability etc. even as they added color to the mix. Now that I seem to be doing at least as much HD as film, with months of HD in front of me, I've been thinking it's time to try a more serious monitor that represents a minimal compromise with added resolution. The main observation that I had was that while the green screen requires a sort of mental translation where you take the information and "imagine" it on a movie screen, the Cinemonitor delivers a picture that is much closer to the final product. Even though I've been making that translation for many years now, it was a pleasant discovery to have that step removed and I felt more connected to the frame. While it didn't come up during the few days I had the monitor, I'm sure having color information would be helpful in specific situations where one has to identify a background element etc. The controls were easy enough to figure out; I didn't have time to pore through the manual and thus had some remaining questions (is it possible to program the level calibration into a preset for easy access, for instance?) The case was indeed sturdy and the buttons and menu dial had a positive feel. I used the monitor for exteriors only and as expected, had more viewability issues than I do with the green screen but not nearly as much as I have had with other LCD's. There were certain times when the sun was whacking me or the reflections of hot background (white building etc) were pretty rough which required playing with the tilt of the monitor to find the least objectionable angle. To this end I am strongly recommending that the unit have an optional yoke with tension locks that allow it to be panned and tilted around its CG without having to loosen and tighten thumbscrews, which will make last minute adjustments much easier. This incidentally would also be welcome if the unit was used as an onboard monitor, so that it could be flipped around as needed without having to hassle with the Noga arm or similar. Off-axis viewing was quite good but there were still instances where I had bad spots during a shot. Overall, if my green screen was a 10, this was something like a 7 or 8 for viewability (which is a major improvement from any other LCD's I've tried over the years, which I wouldn't have given more than a 4 or 5). However the added resolution in HD mode as well as the accurate color rendition was a whole new advantage and thus I now feel like I am missing out a bit having gone back to the green screen. Still though, my first shot back was on the Griptrix ATV on the beach where I had to track the subject from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock (counter-clockwise pan), and by the end the sun was beating hard on the face of the monitor. The TB6 was struggling but still delivering enough of the goods to get through the shot--I'm not positive the Cinemonitor would have held up under this punishment. While I was hoping that when the time came, I'd be able to simply replace the green screen, now I'm feeling like I'd be safer having both for a while until I felt fully confident that the LCD could handle every situation. I'd still love to see a head-to-head shootout of the various daylight LCD's out there at the moment--anyone want to organize one on a nice sunny day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Manyluk Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Does anyone have Transvideo's North American (or better yet Canadian) contact information? All my google searches keep coming up with their international website which refuses to load. I'm running a macbook pro with all current software, so it shouldn't be a handshake issue. Thanks, Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Manyluk Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Got the address. They said they're website was down for a few hours for maintenance. Thanks! Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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