Portable DVD player as monitor?
 

Hey everyone I recently for Christmas recieved a portable dvd player with
a/v inputs and I was thinking that maybe I could use it as a monitor so I can flip my 35 adapter shot while filming. Has anyone ever used one of theshe for this? I'd imagine it would work good but I still have to find an av cable that doesnt have hte metal thing surrounding the prong for stability. Has anyone used these for monitors?

I guess those could actually work quite well but the only concern is resolution, which tends to be pretty poor on those deals. Which model do you have?

I use a 8.5" widescreen mintek for general use. at 480x234 res, its strictly for framing only. i could easily flip it to use with a 35mm adapter. to connect it to my camera, i just coupled the composite out cable from the camera to the composite in cable into the dvd player.

Nice idea. Next shoot I'm trying it.

I've used 480x234 LCD, 800x480 LCD, and DVD player of unknown rez. All 7.2". The DVD player and the 480x234 are larger than the flipout LCD on any camcorder so they do help, but the 800x480 helps the most.

Well I have a Polariod 7" 16:9 display but the resolution doesnt seem to good on it. I think though it will still work well for framing my shots since I have a really hard time shooting upside down. Im going to try it as soon as I find the proper cables.

For framing it helps a lot. For focusing, it helps, but not as much. :)

Just got my $190 LCD off ebay. Not as sharp as I'd hoped for, but definately sharp.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7-TOU...26293461QQrdZ1

I was just looking on ebay for one of these :) Wanted to use one to help finding focus while using a Letus35a.

Ben please post reviews on that lcd when you get a chance. 2 things holding me back on getting it: a) Its from HongKong b) 200:1 Contrast Ratio. Thats about half the brightnest when comparing to an Apple iBook laptop.

Mark, I'll be sure to test it outside, both to see how sharp it can get (the noise I'm getting from the GL2 indoors in low light makes it blurry) and to see how well the screen is visible in sunlight.

What kind of video IN connectors those have Ben?
That rez at 1024 x 768 is not so bad for the price.

Don't forget that the maximum resolution is not the native resolution. These LCDs max out at either 640x480 for the 4:3 models and 800X480 for 16:9. Many of these monitors are at a lesser resolution. Be careful in reading the specifications.

That's almost certainly an 800x480 that supports a max res. of 1024x768

VGA is 1024x768. S-video, which I obviously use, is definately not by the looks of it. More like 800x460 or whatever 16:9 is.

i used a govideo 7" on some interviews i did. Worked well, but not for focusing OR color adjustments. But it did work


Bryon <><

What could be used for focusing then ?
Isn't a 7" lcd better for focusing than the lcd of the camera itself which is usually only between 2-4"?

I'm planning to buy one of these as well.

how much power do those screens consume? Are they usable with batteries? (When shooting outside I'll use batteries...)

An 800x480 7" screen is almost 1:1 pixel mapping for 16:9 SD video at 876x480 (square pixels). This makes it much more suitable for focus pulling given the usual 7" screen res which is far less.

The principle is the same for example as running a computer LCD at anything lower than its native resolution. Doing this results in a decrease in sharpness as the display is scaled across the available pixels.

If I recall correctly, the HVX's focus assist works by magnifying part of the frame to a 1:1 pixel mapping on its display....which by reports sounds more effective than just a larger LCD.

Dennis is right. Or in other words, not all 7" screens are equal. It's all about the rez.

I went from a... what was it, something like 480x234 screen, to a 800x480, and there was a clear improvement. Both were 7". I have a portable DVD player, a GoVideo 7" unit, perhaps the same model as mentioned above, and I tried that with my DVX100A and it didn't seem like a 800x480 screen to me.

The 800x480 screen I bought is discontinued for some bizarre reason or I'd have posted about it. So the community will have to keep searching for another solution. I will too, for when it breaks!

I wouldn't be concerned about finding a monitor that has image flip. I'd just flip the monitor. I've tried it both ways and I don't see a downside to either way. You can say all you want about how you think an upside down LCD is not for you, but you're only shooting yourself in the foot if you haven't seen it in person and realized it's only a matter of some tiny letters silkscreened onto the frame in Taiwan.

Update?
 

So has a decent DVD player or other type of standalone monitor with good resolution been found? There has to be something out there with around 800x400 resolution that can be rigged to work as a field monitor (flipped or unflipped).

Any thoughts?

http://www.mp3playerstore.com/stuff_...l/IN-700VG.htm

16:9, 800x480.

They are cheap, a bit better than a 7" LCD, and they also have a VGA input. I have one of these and will be posting a test shortly comparing it to the Marshall HD. I'll also be piping in HD via a component HD to VGA adapter to the cheap adapter. If you're just looking for framing (and if you crank sharpness, focus assist) the cheap LCD will work. I've got it mounted upside down here.

Hey, Dennis. Nice to see you over here at DVInfo. You've been very helpful to me as of late at the Cinevate forums.

That's really a nice deal! I recenlty paid $200 for a terrible 5.6" TFT display for my church. It's good for framing only.

I'd love to see the comparrison between the Marshall and this one. It should help people to know the difference between a professional display and one of these less expensive solutions. I'm not seeing the part that helped you mount it though. And how did you get it upside down?

Thanks very much.

Chad, the LCD has a mount plate in the back. I'm just using a small ball head similar to this : http://www.adorama.com/NVBHC5.html I re-tapped the mount nut that came with the 7" LCD to 1/4" 20 to match the ball head thread.

This part interfaces between the camera shoe, and the ball head: http://www.equipmentemporium.com/MicSupport.htm (look for Mic Mount Adapter)

Regardless of which monitor you use, Marshall or otherwise, you still need to figure out a mount. The marshall has a 1/4" 20 threaded plate that can be affixed to any side. This makes inverted mount a snap using the same mount as I'm using for the cheap LCD.

Thanks Dennis. It turns out that for some reason the text on that mic adapter page is the same color as the background in Safari. All I saw were the pictures and was a little confused. I pasted it into Word and can read it now.

So you "re-tapped" to 1/4" 20? What exactly does this mean and how would I do it? I'm quite new to creating alternative solutions to camera gear like this.

Also, what component to VGA adapter did you get? Did you see a big improvement in going through component?

Thanks again.

I've got an Audiovox D-2010 portable DVD player, 10.2" 16:9 screen. The specs in its manual say it's got a resolution of 800x480; it says nothing about its being maximum or native resolution. Would I be safe assuming that this refers to its native resolution?

And in case I am, has anybody had a good experience using this resolution for focusing in particular?

H.

I just posted a test of a 7" 800x480 res unit vs the Marshall "HD" monitor: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=82348