Tired of messing with black setup. What to buy?

I am always struggling with black levels and DVD production.

I shoot HDV and edit in FCP and output directly to DVD in standard def.

What do I need to get this sorted out?

What do I reference?

When I was in audio post I bought $1000.00 set of dourrogh meters to see exactly what was up.

Is there anything like that that would help me get a standard set up for my production workflow.

You already have what you need in FCP. Scopes. Learn where your blacks need to be to export correctly. Also - calibrate your monitors.

Ian

I have calibrated my monitor to the supplied bars and tones in Final Cut.
Do these bars represent Final Cut's digital reference points or standard NTSC with 7.5 ire black setup?

I see other bars and tones stating the are true ntsc setup on the web.

Should I use the bars included with FCP to calibrate my monitor?
Or Should I add setup to final cut's bars to calibrate my monitor?

Since I am not outputting to analog and staying in the computer going direct to DVD what is the proper workflow?

Sorry I have had a hard time wrapping my brain around this.