Monitor/TV with Firewire input? at DVinfo.net
DV Info Net

Go Back   DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > The View: Video Display Hardware and Software

The View: Video Display Hardware and Software
Video Monitors and Media Players for field or studio use (all display technologies).

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old July 8th, 2003, 05:32 PM   #1
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 2,222
Monitor/TV with Firewire input?

Hi,

I'm interested in the highest quality viewing experience driven by my camcorder. Basically, I watch the raw footage once after taping.

I'm interested in a TV that will take a Firewire input (from my camcorder output) and convert it to a progressive scan display. Some Mitsubishi rear projection TVs have this feature, but I'm not interested in their models. I'm guessing that some DVD recorders are able to take Firewire input and convert to component output as a thru function.

On another note, has anyone heard of a standalone Firewire -> DVI or a Firewire -> component output converter?
Gints Klimanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 8th, 2003, 08:21 PM   #2
Warden
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Clearwater, FL
Posts: 8,287
Yes, there are several on the market. Laird makes several models that I’ve used and the quality is excellent.
__________________
Jeff Donald
Carpe Diem




Search DVinfo.net for quick answers | Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors
Jeff Donald is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 9th, 2003, 01:58 PM   #3
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 2,222
I'd spring for something under $250. Most of these products are in the $1000-2000 range.
Gints Klimanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 9th, 2003, 02:35 PM   #4
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 2,898
Do regular NTSC field monitors have this option. I'd hate to buy a $2,000 NTSC editing monitor only to have to run the line thru my camera and out to the display as composit and/or S-video. UGH
Glen Elliott is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 9th, 2003, 04:04 PM   #5
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 1,933
With a MiniDV camera you won't get appreciable signal degradation when piping your analog output to your monitor through an S-Video cable--provided you use good S-Video cable and keep your cable runs to reasonable lengths (under 50 feet). Most NTSC field monitors do not have firewire input. Those that do, necessarily also have a decoder/DA chip, which is an expensive component that will drive up the cost of the monitor. Your real question should be, do you really have a good reason for doing the digital-to-analog conversion inside of your monitor rather than inside of your camera? Or are you just enamored with the romaniticized ideal of lossless transmission between your camera and your monitor?

Even on big Hollywood productions, the HD monitor is typically fed by analog cables. Good shielded component analog cables.
__________________
All the best,
Robert K S

Search DVinfo.net for quick answers | The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors
Robert Knecht Schmidt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 10th, 2003, 02:17 PM   #6
Major Player
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Belgium
Posts: 804
Datavideo ( see http://www.datavideo-tek.com/content/product_info/dvformatconverters/dac2/dac2_page.htm) has a good and cheap convertor for firewire>components and more.
Using S-video means the original DV signal is, after decompression also being encoded (NTSC or PAL) in de player and decoded in the monitor. These two extra steps are acceptable in NTSC, but in PAL the chroma components are degraded by the encoding/decoding steps resulting in at least vertical chroma bandwidth halving and vertical downshift by one line of the chroma components. B.t.w. I still don't understand (commercially) why the better DVD players and systems run on components and expensive DV players (DHR1000...) still stick on Y/C unless one pays for a pro vcr...
Andre De Clercq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 10th, 2003, 06:43 PM   #7
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Mays Landing, NJ
Posts: 11,787
Andre, I'm with you! Almost every TV and DVD player in the stores these days (even the cheap ones) have component video. That looks like a really interesting converter box, do you know where they can be purchased in the US and what they cost? Last time I looked, Promax sold some similar devices but they're pretty expensive.
Boyd Ostroff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 10th, 2003, 07:01 PM   #8
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 2,222
>Or are you just enamored with the romaniticized ideal of >lossless transmission between your camera and your monitor?

I just want my camcorder output to look as good during the preview sessions as the progressive scan version of the DVD I make with the same footage.
Gints Klimanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 10th, 2003, 07:06 PM   #9
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 2,222
The web page shows a distributor list:

http://www.datavideo-tek.com/navigation_frames/where_to_purchase/entire_frameset.htm
Gints Klimanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 10th, 2003, 07:19 PM   #10
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 2,222
From a Google search:

DAC-100 for $199 (DV <-> composite)
http://www.synchrotech.com/product-1394/analog-dv-converter_03.html#part-numbers

DAC-2 $699 (DV <-> component)
http://www.dvwarehouse.com/product_info.php/cPath/170_100/products_id/483

Who knows what the analog conversion looks like !?!? That's
why I'm more interested in a Firewire -> DVI converter. After seeing loads of ghosting on a Sony WEGA RPTV with Sony DVD player and seeing a $500 Denon with/Faroujda processing blur titles (blur on bottom and top but not center) on Sony WEGA tube TV, I find I really can't trust DVD player quality by name.

For the price of a DAC-2, one can probably land a DVD recorder
with firewire inputes, component outputs and thru function to do the conversion.
Gints Klimanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 11th, 2003, 03:00 AM   #11
Major Player
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Belgium
Posts: 804
Gints, don't forget that DVD recorders first convert the DV signal into MPEG2 and then output (in analog components) the decompressed MPEG2 signal(=degradation)
Andre De Clercq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 11th, 2003, 08:54 AM   #12
Major Player
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Belgium
Posts: 804
Gints do you mean DVI or SDI? DVI is normally computer interconnection to flat pannel stuff.
Andre De Clercq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 11th, 2003, 09:06 AM   #13
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 2,898
Hmm, maybe I am romaniticized with the idea of lossless transmission between my camera and monitor, more accuratly between my NLE and Monitor. So what your saying is it doesn't make a difference if it the signal runs via firewire to my camera then to my monitor via S-video. It just seems like so much is lost in the conversion to analog. But as you say it all get's changed to analog whether it be in-camera or in-monitor. But isn't there a better interface to do such a thing than standard S-video *Ack!*
Glen Elliott is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 11th, 2003, 09:31 AM   #14
Major Player
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 730
It has to go analogue somewhere, crt technology is not digital, well not in the last steps. Just like audio technology, it had to go analogue before it hits the amp, just the way it works.

Zac
Zac Stein is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 11th, 2003, 09:39 AM   #15
Major Player
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Belgium
Posts: 804
Ultimately the camera scene content is proportional (analog) and through the eye's retina it has to be interpreted as protortional again. Today a number of display technologies (plasma, DLP...) allow digital images to be displayed without the electrical signal ever being transformed into analog form...the eye(brains) does the job. Unfortunately digital throughout the chain doesn't mean there are no shortcommings anymore. Bandwidth stuff and grayscale(gamma) issues can be correct in these cases but all other effects still remain present (aliasing, blocking...)
Andre De Clercq is offline   Reply
Reply

DV Info Net refers all where-to-buy and where-to-rent questions exclusively to these trusted full line dealers and rental houses...

B&H Photo Video
(866) 521-7381
New York, NY USA

Scan Computers Int. Ltd.
+44 0871-472-4747
Bolton, Lancashire UK


DV Info Net also encourages you to support local businesses and buy from an authorized dealer in your neighborhood.
  You are here: DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > The View: Video Display Hardware and Software

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:43 PM.


DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network