Boland Viewport 8.4 Day Bright Monitor. DHD84aDB

[Frederic Chamberland]

Hi all,

 

Just received my Boland monitor, if anyone is interested in that monitor, here is what you have to know before buying.

 

The monitor only takes 11-13 volts, so I had a voltage regulator put in the box by David Hable at crampedattic. (300$).

 

The 8 pin Lemo for PRO owners was also added for 100$.

 

Also, the new monitors don't have the on-off switch to shut the internal fans. That means you will have to also get that done (add an external switch) because sound will be a problem, there are 2 small fans on top of the monitor. I first taught the on-off option was now in the on-screen menu but no, fans are on and running all the time. And since the manual is not up to date and states that there is a switch to turn them off, I have to send it back to David to take care of it.

 

I will report on it's quality when I get a chance. It does look promising , the matte screen is superb and I can't wait to try it in daylight. I'm sure I'll get hooked real fast on the screen size and colors...

 

As always, David as been a great resource into solving all the problems rapidly. I even went thru him to buy the monitor, less hassle and he has direct contacts with Boland.

 

Fly in color

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

Hummingbirds are nice......no problems there ;)

 

 

Lumavec

[Mike McGowan SOC]

The fan noise thing is interesting. I've had mine at 4'7" on a crying actress and knowbody said a word. I couldn't even hear it. In fact, the only way I know it's working is if I hold my ear next to it... I wonder If I have the same fan that you have???

 

You will be really impressed with the sun thing. I've had mine facing the blazing sun in the Bahamas, on a white sandy beach and still could see really well.

 

Congrats on your purchase.

[Frederic Chamberland]

there are two small fans on top of the casing and that is the first thing I noticed when I powered the thing. It can't be possible to have the same fans. It reminds me of the first generation of the Cinemonitor from Transvideo that had the same kind of fan.

 

Your review of the Boland , Mike, was among the ones I remembered when I was looking at new HD monitors.

 

And I will try the monitor no later than tonight (with a 435, I guess the fans won't be a problem...). I'll at least check how it balances with my setup.

 

Cheers.

[Arnaud Keil]

Hello guys,

 

First day out with my brand new Boland 8.4 under a bright sun.

Thanks to the 1400 nits, that was working really well.

I used it with a simple digibeta and the picture was razor sharp even using the composite input.

Directly bought at the Us factory, it took only 3 days to cross the ocean.

Thanks to Mike McGowan for the good advice.

[Mike McGowan SOC]

Glad you like it! Not sure what kind of rig you have but for the PRO, they make a really cool monitor arm add on that moves the monitor about 4 inches away from the post. This helps a lot with balance and it puts it in a better viewing spot.

 

Anybody have any new thoughts on the fan noise? I have yet to have it make any noticable noise.

 

mm.

[Brant S. Fagan SOC]

Gents--

 

I also have a latest version Boland at my place.

 

The fans (2) are mounted at the top of the monitor case and draw air up through the case to provide enhanced cooling of the components. This unit has a "low" and "high" switch which only provides "bad" and "worse" sound levels.

 

Last night, I had an extensive conversation with Sarah Ott at Boland about the issues which we Steadicam operators face. The major issues discussed were the fans and the mounting options.

 

She understood the fan noise issue and is speaking with the tech boys today.

 

On the mounting issue, I relayed our concerns about threaded holes on the sides of the case to allow for yoke based mounts. She explained that would be no problem since most video assist guys would like that as well.

 

So when these concerns are met, I would say they have a killer product and something every Steadicam operator should consider.

 

I will have some pics later in the week of this setup on both of my sleds.

 

Best,

 

 

Brant

[Jess Haas SOC]

The monitor only takes 11-13 volts, so I had a voltage regulator put in the box by David Hable at crampedattic. (300$).

Brant, did you ask them about this? If it won't run off my AB batteries which are around 16 volts when full then that would be problematic.

 

I am hoping to get one of these monitors in the not too distant future but will need most of these problems taken care of before I am willing to buy it.

 

~Jess

[Arnaud Keil]

For steadicam use, you have to order the optional 9-36V DC input and a battery plate if you wish your monitor being powered by itself.

[Brant S. Fagan SOC]

Jess--

 

I told them what I was going to power the unit with BEFORE they would even think of letting me demo a unit.

 

I have run the 8.4 with full, hot Hytron 140 batteries and have not had a problem.

 

I also would not choose to add a battery to the rear of the unit for power since I prefer a lighter weight monitor and longer support rods to improve visibility, shed weight (compared to a CRT), and of course, maintain dynamic balance.

 

Best,

 

Brant

[Mike McGowan SOC]

I had them put the AB plate on the back of my 8.4 as I sometimes use it not on my steadicam (on my hypercam car rig) and want to power it independently. It works great with a one year old Hytron 50. On the PRO I had no problem powering it with the Hytron 50 in the front position on the sled. I did not have any special modifications relating to voltage done to the monitor.

[Rogerhaugen]

Hi!

 

I got mine two month ago. Had the same issue with the fan. Sent it back and they added a switch for low and high fan. Great service there, and they did it fast.

Don´t know why they have the high mode because I will never use it. The fan still makes a little bit of sound on low mode, but as long as the sound department doesn´t know about it, they can´t hear it.

 

Its a great monitor and works very well outside. These days I am doing a drama as Dp, and my focus puller uses it as a focus assist. Its

sharp and also nice to use operating with. Its a bit heavy and big on top of the hpx 3000 so we put it on a c-stand next to the camera.

Will post some pics later.

 

Regards

Roger Haugen

[Rick Drapkin]

Just curious, but is this monitor ntsc and hd or just ntsc/pal? what was the price ? thanks again, Rick

[Mike McGowan SOC]

hey rick! i havn't tested it yet but from what i understand it does both or rather every possible type of video signal known to man although through the pro post it will only run sd. the monitor is 3 grand plus the extra 100 bucks for the pro cable adaptor................

 

back to the fan, when i got mine (and when david kimelman got his i think) they didnt even have fans. i used mine for a good 6 months before they put the fan in. i shoot mostly in florida and never had a heat problem.

[Charles Papert]

So Jens brought up the Hummingbird at the beginning of this thread, and while that comment was ignored (perhaps to keep this thread purely about the Boland), I'd love to hear if anyone has put these two monitors side by side. Actually, what I would love to see is a side-by-side objective evaluation of these plus the daylight Transvideo, Marshall and whatever else is out there at this point. Cinegear was not particular helpful in this regard, I was hoping to see lots of choices. Maybe this is something that we can put together via the Steadicam Guild, SOC or another banner and get the manufacturers to pony up...? It's certainly a timely concern as I think a lot of us are considering migrating to LCD once it becomes as viewable as the green screens (some will say it's already at this point, but it's always best to judge for oneself). I'm sort of picturing a line on monitors mounted on something like a rolling rotisserie where you can tilt them all simultaneously, spin the whole thing for different angles to the sun etc.