The Digital Video Information Network - View Single Post - Finally! External LCD Monitor Solution < $200

Andrew Kufahl · May 20th, 2008, 10:32 PM

Based on Jerome's review of this device I decided to go purchase one today, and I would have to agree with everything Jerome put in his review.

Going from the 3-inch horizontal LCD viewer on my Sony HVR-V1U to this 7-inch horizontal display is wonderful. I too was able to easily obtain accurate focus using this device.

Some additional comments/notes...

1) The display (both monitoring and playback) is a little grainy. It definitely isn't bad (by my standards), but if you are a stickler for "super sharp" then this probably isn't for you. As Jerome said, and I am saying it again too... I found focusing with this soooo easy!

2) This device connects via composite [RCA] connections. My Sony HVR-V1U doesn't have an RCA composite video connector, so I had to connect the specialized composite cable (the one that came with my video camera) to my video camera, then put a female-to-female [RCA] connector on that, then connect that to the cable coming out of this device. I'm not sure if that contributed to the grainy-ness or not. I don't necessarily like this method, but it is all I currently have available.

3) In support of Jerome's comment about matching colors... I too was able to come very close to matching the colors and brightness of the LCD viewer on my HVR-V1U.

4) The supplied [rechargeable] battery claims 6 hours of run-time. I haven't had it long enough to test that.

5) Playback via my video camera worked very easily. The quality of the image was no different than that while monitoring (slightly grainy). As a playback device I was pleased with it (it definitely beats having people huddle around the 3-inch viewer on the camera).

6) I'll more than likely need to create some kind of hood for this. I haven't tested it in sunny conditions yet, but I doubt it would be much different than direct sunlight on the LCD viewer.

7) I'm sure some of you already know this, so I'll say it for those that don't... The default output setting of the HVR-V1U simply sends the video to this device, not the on-screen information you see on your LCD viewer. But the HVR-V1U has a menu setting to direct the on-screen information to this device as well. One additional note to this though... when I enabled Peaking, the peaking colors did not get directed to this device... don't know why, it just didn't.

Overall I think this is pretty sweet, and the price was perfect (for me) as well. Not sure how I'm going to mount this device to my camera/tripod yet, but I'll cross that bridge some other time.

Thank you so much for the recommendation Jerome!
Andrew

P.S. I did take pictures of this device next to the LCD viewer on my video camera as a side-by-side comparison. However, I see that I don't have rights to attach images. So, if you have any interest in seeing the side-by-side let me know and I will email it to you.

May 20th, 2008, 10:32 PM	#10
Andrew Kufahl Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Menasha, WI Posts: 88	I took the bait... Based on Jerome's review of this device I decided to go purchase one today, and I would have to agree with everything Jerome put in his review. Going from the 3-inch horizontal LCD viewer on my Sony HVR-V1U to this 7-inch horizontal display is wonderful. I too was able to easily obtain accurate focus using this device. Some additional comments/notes... 1) The display (both monitoring and playback) is a little grainy. It definitely isn't bad (by my standards), but if you are a stickler for "super sharp" then this probably isn't for you. As Jerome said, and I am saying it again too... I found focusing with this soooo easy! 2) This device connects via composite [RCA] connections. My Sony HVR-V1U doesn't have an RCA composite video connector, so I had to connect the specialized composite cable (the one that came with my video camera) to my video camera, then put a female-to-female [RCA] connector on that, then connect that to the cable coming out of this device. I'm not sure if that contributed to the grainy-ness or not. I don't necessarily like this method, but it is all I currently have available. 3) In support of Jerome's comment about matching colors... I too was able to come very close to matching the colors and brightness of the LCD viewer on my HVR-V1U. 4) The supplied [rechargeable] battery claims 6 hours of run-time. I haven't had it long enough to test that. 5) Playback via my video camera worked very easily. The quality of the image was no different than that while monitoring (slightly grainy). As a playback device I was pleased with it (it definitely beats having people huddle around the 3-inch viewer on the camera). 6) I'll more than likely need to create some kind of hood for this. I haven't tested it in sunny conditions yet, but I doubt it would be much different than direct sunlight on the LCD viewer. 7) I'm sure some of you already know this, so I'll say it for those that don't... The default output setting of the HVR-V1U simply sends the video to this device, not the on-screen information you see on your LCD viewer. But the HVR-V1U has a menu setting to direct the on-screen information to this device as well. One additional note to this though... when I enabled Peaking, the peaking colors did not get directed to this device... don't know why, it just didn't. Overall I think this is pretty sweet, and the price was perfect (for me) as well. Not sure how I'm going to mount this device to my camera/tripod yet, but I'll cross that bridge some other time. Thank you so much for the recommendation Jerome! Andrew P.S. I did take pictures of this device next to the LCD viewer on my video camera as a side-by-side comparison. However, I see that I don't have rights to attach images. So, if you have any interest in seeing the side-by-side let me know and I will email it to you.