color correcting on LCD monitor

Am going through a list of things to upgrade current set-up to a more "middle-end" of things. ie: new video card (Radeon x800, so Motion doesn't bog down so much), SATA drives (SVR duos look sweet), more ram (sooo much cheaper now!).

I haven't dealt with needing decks (except for DV, old 8mm, VHS, the usual suspects) because I digitize from Beta tapes to firewire drives somewhere else. So, I monitor A/V through a Datavideo DAC-10 to my audio monitors and NTSC monitor which works fine.

Now with high def, I'm stuck on the capture card question and monitoring video. Is a card really necessary in order to color correct when I can monitor HD on my Dell 24? (using apple F-12)

Since the signal is DVI out to my monitor, why is it necessary to go DVI to AJA, Matrox, or Decklink and then to the monitor? Is there a color conversion process or something that I'm missing? Have been reading lots of posts and threads, and I'm a little stumped here.

Now, the argument is, we need a good NTSC monitor, which I agree with for CRT sets, but, the future in TV with accompanying high def is plasma, LCD, DLP, and so on. Coupled with the fact so much product is being generated for non-broadcast media: in-house presentations, DVD, internet, trade shows, etc.

Yes, budget is a concern, and I am a Scotsman, so, you know how cheap we can be, but, I need to balance that with quality.

Do I have my head squarely planted, or???? If I do, please don't slap my hand too severely.

Thanks, all, and have a great weekend!

dual g-5, 2 gigs ram, Radeon 9600 card, PCI-X, FCP Studio updated to current versions

Cameron Young

Is a card really necessary in order to color correct when I can monitor HD on my Dell 24? (using apple F-12)

Digital Cinema Preview does not get you true colors. It is reference only. The image is darker and more saturated than what you'd see with the output from an MXO to the same monitor. Although you'll get better results to an Apple monitor...the Dell does fine.

If you capture all your footage via firewire, then you don't need a capture card. You just need a way to output that to a monitor to color correct. And you want it cheap. That is where the MXO comes in. It will output proper colors (it extracts YUV, audio and timecode from the DVI port) via DVI to an Apple Cinema Display...or a dell, I have tested that too and it looked darn good...and get you broadcast colors. This is due to the new PROC AMP they have in the software. You can adjust all the settings, and even get a BLUE ONLY signal for critical settings. The Apple monitor does a better job of matching my HD CRT, but the dell does a decent job as well.

The MXO also outputs HD SDI, Component and composite and audio so you can output to any format of deck...HD or downconverted SD.

If you get a capture card like the Decklink (same price as the MXO), you cannot connect that to the Apple monitor via DVI. You can to the Dell via component, but there is no PRO AMP to properly set up the monitor, so you'd then need a good HD LCD, and those go for $4,000US. SO the cheapest option is the Matrox MXO/Apple option.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Without going to deep, your computer monitor does not match the proper color space needed for proper color correction. It can also be argued that its not high enough quality as well. That being said, there are a number of options for sending a corrected true signal and calibrating a computer monitor to match 601/709 specs. I haven't used these options myslef, so maybe someone else can chime in. There's the HD Link by Blackmagic Design and the Matrox MXO for a couple options.

Andrew Balis
Lead Final Cut Pro Instructor
www.moviola.com

That's the piece of the puzzle I was missing! My overloaded, addled brain or something. Output of computer does NOT give true colors, thus the need for some kind of capture device. You've probably said the same thing in a thousand posts, Shane, but I just wasn't getting my brain wrapped around it. Plus, the MXO having a blue check? Nice. I didn't notice that item on the website.

Thanks very much!

Cameron Young