Does this unit do 16x9 via composite?

I have the Canon XHA1 and was considering the ikan V8000HD 8" TFT LCD Monitor which has the same native resolution but has component inputs at $795. At $500 less this is much more in my price range.

Yes it does. Just make sure you have it in 16x9 (normal) mode on the LCD menu. You can also switch to 4x3 and it will pillar box.

BTW, I just fed 16x9 through BNC to a switcher and then pass through a Canon ZR40 to computer and captured via Vegas live. Worked great. The only thing I had to do was switch to 16x9 on the media properties in vegas and it was 16x9. Reason I say this is it just depends on what aspect your viewing device/program is set to.

Great! My Canon can send anamorphic 16x9 composite out so it's off to Best Buy. Thanks.

I have the Canon A1 too... I mentioned in the post I sent it through the player....

Don't get a speeding ticket now!

Got it! (not the speeding ticket). I charged it and monitored my Canon A1 output. Well it isn't HD but it certainly is worth the $180.

Thanks to all.

urg
 

so the 820 is $165-175us. The 850, which is an identical model, but with pal instead of ntsc is over $300us. lame. anybody know of an 800x480 battery powered monitor that does ntsc and pal?

I have Adobe OnLocation and a laptop and for just straight up monitoring I find this to not be a good solution. There is a significant delay in the image that would make it impractical for a camera operator. For an engineer to check as it is recording maybe, but way too delayed for actually reacting to events as they happen live.

Well, UPS just delivered the Sony, but unfortunately I don't have access to my camera until I get home -- all I have here to play on it is an SD wedding video and a disc of 5MP stills.

I can say I'm severely underwhelmed by the picture, and in fact I was severely underwhelmed even by the Sony intro screen that comes on before you insert a disc. I wish I had a Pixar title lying around to see the best this might be capable of...

However, I'll keep hoping that an HD signal through composite will look much better...and I'll keep in mind that if this device makes focusing easier, than I guess that's all that's being asked of it -- I don't think anyone mentioned that they couldn't take their eyes off the display because it was so stunning, but I got the impression from Jerome's intial post that this screen was decidely pretty remarkable. Maybe I just haven't fed it anything decent yet, but I assumed that the built in intro screen would at least take full advantage of its capabilities.

I saw these in the Sony store yesterday, and yes, I too was underwhelmed by the image. The LCD was very fuzzy and unremarkable when compared to my wife's two year-old Dell laptop with a 15" LCD. I was hoping this device would be closer to the LCD on a new Nikon D3/D300, iPhone or even the EX1. Is this due to poor interlacing or just fuzzy. If anyone is worried about whether they have a bad unit, I can say that mine as well as all three of the Sony store demos have about the same image quality. I wasn't able to check focusing with my Sony EX1 because the connection didn't work, perhaps due to my cable attachment. In any case, even the Sony DVD player's LCD is fuzzy, if this monitor helps with focusing, it's still a winner.

For a $180 Portable DVD player, I think it is remarkable. I saw some DVD that had a bunch of trailers on it at best buy right before I bought 2 of them.

Either you guys are being too picky or something is wrong.

Anyrate, yes, it will help you with focusing... I'm not defending this item "guns a blazing" but perhaps being a little too picky?

Well, extremely preliminary testing (mediocre indoor lighting with various still objects in the room) with my camera leaves me feeling somewhat better about the picture -- particularly if you view it from a couple feet away, rather than close-up, where noise becomes more apparent.

I can't say for sure that this helps me focus any more accurately than using my viewfinder or flip-out LCD, but the size of the image does make it more comfortable.

But now my biggest issue is the 4:3 composite signal put out by my JVC HD200 -- so I'm not even using all of the Sony's screen real estate. And choosing the "Full" option on the Sony is no good, since that mode really looks pretty poor (not to mention that circles become ovals, etc.). It would be better if this thing weren't widescreen.

So going component out to a high quality ~7-8 inch LCD sounds better and better....except for the price.

So you are shooting 4:3 square on a nice HD camera?

If not, then have a look in your camera's menu and see what you can change about it. Aspect ratio or whatever. If circles become ovals, then it leaves me to think you are shooting 4:3 square.

I'm shooting in HDV, definitely. However, while the JVC's component outputs give 16:9 HD, the composite output is giving 4:3 SD. I'm going to post on the ProHD forum to confirm this, but I recently went through all the menus in the camera, and I don't remember seeing any setting having to do with the composite output.

This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that on the JVC, both the viewfinder and flip-out LCD panels are in fact 4:3 panels, with the image area letterboxed within it. But that fact may be unrelated...

In the end, if the JVC's composite out is fixed at 4:3, then this Sony solution becomes much less worthwhile, since you can't even use the full screen, as you end up with an image that's both letterboxed and pillarboxed.

I really like this monitor suggestion. Yes, I'm a little picky because I think the monitor should be as good as that on a $100 digital picture frame. Don't you think that this is the fuzziest LCD in the entire Sony store? Surely, this device will improve as Sony adds BluRay capability and a better LCD.

I bought one, but I haven't used it yet. I hope it will help my current problem which is critical focusing with a shallow DOF 35mm converter. (Sony EX1 + RedRock M2 + Nikon 50 or 85mm f/1.4 @ f2) My current best method is to use the EX1 "peaking" features that highlights the sharpest image features in blue. I'm using a small deodorant stick as it is has flat sides and it is compact. Then, I just take the stick out of the frame.

Someone on the ProHD forum just confirmed for me the JVC will only output 4:3 SD from the composite output.

So that makes the decision easy for me, and unfortunately this Sony will be taking a return trip to B&H. At least I don't have to forever wring my hands about its image quality...

Thanks though for the tip, Jerome -- the idea was definitely worth checking out...

That sucks that camera only outputs 4:3 through composite. And did you mention earlier that the LCD and VF was also 4:3? That is really hard for me to grasp why they did that to a HD camera.

Oh well... atleast you gave it a shot.

I don't see any fuzziness. Really. I mean, its not as crisp as my 1080 Aquos for my computer monitor, but its better than anything in that price range and even some more expensive smaller LCDs I've seen in use for live switchers.

With the 35mm converter, it should help you out alot. Please post your findings..

Jerome -- turns out my info was wrong, and the JVC can be set to output composite at 16:9, so now I just have to decide if the Sony's image is acceptable enough to me.

As far as the JVC's LCD and VF being 4:3, I can only guess they wanted to use existing parts and be cheap? It's readily acknowledged that these are great cameras, but their LCD and VF are extremely subpar in quality. The fact that they're 4:3 actually has the plus that a lot of the info display text remains in the "letterbox bars" and out of the image area. The main reason they suck is that they just don't look so great...

another brand?
 

So since sony bends you over if you want pal, i was looking around at other 800x480 dvd players that are more region/format friendly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882136168

I'm not endorsing newegg or anything, just using it as a reference. Has anybody seen one of these in person? If you are at a store that has one, would you mind giving it a quick glance to see if the screen is substantially worse than the sony?

also, it looks like it should be able to fold flat on itself... but i could be mistaken.

If you come across this or a different brand of 800x480 dvd, please give it a glance and see if it looks any good/is pal happy.

thanks a ton from down under!

Just want to clarify...
so if I"m shooting 1080 60i with my XH-A1, I can take the composite out of the camera into the composite in of this DVD player - and when I switch the DVD player to 16x9 mode I will be able to clearly view the entire frame, right?

THe composite output of the camera outputs anamorphic (when shooting in 1080 60) and the 16x9 mode on the DvD player "squishes" it to the correct aspect?

DO I have this correct??
Just want to confim, then I'm off to best buy!!!! - I got one of those gift cards too!!!

thanks

Yes. If you hooked the composite up to a 4:3 TV, it will be squished. If you hook it up to a 16:9 TV, it will be 16:9 (as long as you are shooting in widescreen...)

Looks like that may be a good candidate... would love to see these 2 side by side.

Jerome, I believe you mentioned in another post in this thread how you use a mini plug to BNC cable. I've searched high & low for one online & can't find a thing. Do you have any suggestions where I could check?

Right now I'm using a RCA to BNC adapter.

Aside from having one custom made (of course I could do it myself, but seems the older I get, the less solder savvy I've become... no patience), finding a source I could purchase from would be great.

Bill, I finally found the source! I used these guys a long time ago for something else...

http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_...ataName=BNC35C

They're relatively cheap and you can choose your length. I just ordered 2 and requested for right angle plugs. Hope they come through with it.

Thanks for that.

There are many choices, including the Coby, at BestBuy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&type=category

The AudioVox costs twice as much but has an interesting zoom feature. I would really have liked to see Sony adopt a focus zoom feature that would toggle on/off with a switch instead of a timer. Also, I wish Sony would allow a smaller auto focus zone or at the very least, a smaller focus rectangle that could be positioned by joystick control. It would be so much nicer to have that joystick button that's in the EX1 remote control on the the EX1 itself.

Unfortunately, both the Coby mentioned above and the AudioVox are available on-line only at BestBuy.com . There is also a Toshiba for $300 with a 10" display. Careful. A number of these models do not have the composite video input.

Q: Would this work/be adequate for pulling focus with a 35mm adapter on the hv20?
A: Yes.

EDIT. Missed answer in middle of thread. Thanks so much for pointing this out. I'm going to best buy tomorrow. Once again, DVI saves me money. Almost too good to be true.

Thanks to Jerome for starting this thread. The Sony portable DVD player with the 8" 800x480 LCD he suggested works marvelously for focusing. Even though we are quick to laugh at composite SD out, the 8" 800x480 screen easily matches the resolution on my Sony EX1. A +1 tweak of the Sony Hue was all that was needed to match the DVD LCD to my EX1. I turned the color all the way down on the LCD for Black&White monitoring while retaining color on the EX1 LCD. It is much easier to focus this way, and this blows away the internal B&W viewfinder feature. Fantastic.

A few notes on my EX1 with this DVD player. The menu display can be turned off on the video out (p. 103 of manual, Display Out=Off). A minor downside is that peaking stripes (and zebra stripes) aren't passed to the composite out regardless of the Display Out setting. A major downside is that the Expanded Focus function which doubles the size of the image is not passed to the composite out. Darn it.

I'll do some more searching for portable DVD players with larger LCDs. The largest I've seen is a 10.2" .

Gints, no problem! I just wanted to pass on the info to a solution to an "everlasting hunt". I'm glad you tried it and glad it works for you. Check out that link for the cables a couple posts up... I should be getting mine in first of the week.... no adapters needed!

Thanks for the cable link. My Sony's don't use a BNC connector, so I just use the provided A/V breakout cables and connect the female connectors on the camcorder and DVD player cables with an RCA gender changer plug.

Here is another candidate for about $280 : Toshiba SD-P2900, although its specs read the same as Toshiba SD-P101S Portable DVD Player . The former is 4 lbs while the latter is 2.8 lbs.

http://www.beachaudio.com/Toshiba/Sdp2900-p-100176.html

Not to rain on any parade, but I got a good look at this unit at best buy and thought the screen looked terrible. There was 5-6 different brands on display and they had the same DVD sampler playing in all of them and when it would go to the menu the text was barely legible the res was so low. I couldn't fathom trying to focus with this.

I trust all of your opinions and figure that maybe there are different batches of this thing floating around or something as there is no way you could mistake this for a "good" focusing unit?

I ended up buying an LG model that was on clearance. It stood out from all the rest and had the clearest picture. The text was clearly legible and it just seemed "hi-res" in comparison. It turns out (from online research) that this one model of LG is listed on their site as being a VGA screen. Every other model is not listed this way and it is obvious as they look very low quality.

In the store, the Sony that you are all raving about, is not even remotely high -res, especially in relation to the LG with a true VGA screen that looks amazing.

What gives? As I said earlier, this cannot be simply difference of opinion but maybe a different lot?

Thanks.

I never did buy one of these things, so I can't speak with authority, but the research I did revealed that the earlier model, the DVP-FX810, had a much lower resolution screen, as well as a nasty glare problem (the screen "looks like a mirror when the unit is turned off" according to one person). Both problems were addressed with the 820, supposedly, but the two models are cosmetically identical, could you guys be looking at the wrong one? I know a few places, Wal-Mart for one, are just getting these in stock now, and only had the 810 before.

I'm glad Jerome started this thread. My initial reaction to the FX820 Sony unit (note: there are two that are out there: FX810 and FX820), but after using it for a night, it does aid in focusing. I haven't walked into any stores other than Sony, so more research is in order. Thanks for the tip on the LG display. I mentioned a 10.2" Toshiba in an earlier thread that received excellent picture quality reviews.

I bet they are looking at the 810 and not the 820. The 810 IS much worse than the 820. The 810 was on display and I made the kid take the 820 out of the box so I could check it out... he did and even he saw the difference.

When all the people mention how bad the screen is, I thought they were just being too picky. But as it turns out, I just assumed that they checked the 820 because that is what I posted originally.

It would be great to see if the naysayers could in deed confirm if they saw the 810 or 820.

best buy is closed but I will try to get in and verify this week.
Thanks.

Jerome, I'm thankful that you started this thread. I think there is a better portable DVD player out there. I'll agree that the Sony FX820 player you suggested immensely improves focusing when comparing the excellent VGA 3.5" LCD on my Sony EX1 in normal (not "Expanded Focus") mode. The Sony EX1 doesn't send Expanded Focus mode to the Composite Video out, so both monitors are about the same in expanded mode. Yes, there is more flickering in the Sony FX820, and I suspect that it's circuitry adds this "noise" more than the composite output. It appears that the FX820 doesn't do deinterlacing, and its update rate is quite slow. This is what I see when I move my finger across the lens and watch the artifacts in the FX820.

Do you have a freaky-good FX820 that shows sharp text in DVD mode? The FX820 is quite fuzzy in DVD mode, but the Line In text appears sharp in LineIn mode. Isn't your much fuzzier than the text you see in Line In mode?

So, we're left looking for a better DVD player. I see some that are listed with Progressive modes, so perhaps this is the main improvement. The Memorex 10" device gets rave reviews, but it's listed as a film-like device which compresses highlights to deal with game console input. Do we want that? I think not. Some of the higher end portable DVD players have component inputs for XBox input.

I absolutely definitely have the 820 (it's sitting here in front of me)...and I remain unimpressed with the screen.

Not saying it might not be a help in focusing, but it's certainly not fun to look at...

Maybe I'm just too picky, or maybe they use different panels in different samples (just like Dell does with their monitors) -- though I can't imagine they'd have some units that look "great" and others that look poor.

Hi all:

I have been shooting my HV20 Letus Combo with a Polaroid DVD player I bought at Walmart about a year ago (PDM 0742). Has 4:3 and 16:9 modes, flips, and I was pretty satisfied with it, and could pull focus okay, I thought. You always have a "gap" range where you are guessing if you hit focus right on.

But then I shot a Panny HVX with a Netek 7 inch monitor on an 8 day shoot, and man, was that nice. I now am having issues in with my rig. I am wondering if this Sony is any better. They are both SD....

Just bought an 8 inch sony Fx811 at Sam's for 159. Screen looks great.

Could be different panels. I see interlace artifacts on a flickering screen. All of the FX820's at the Sony Store looked this way. I'll check some more players out at Target tonight. (Added) The Target in my area doesn't provide power supplies for any of the DVD players. They have a dozen portable DVD players, including a couple of 10" LCD models, in one aisle with a fake plastic scene in the LCD. The salesperson refused to deal with their lack of power. What a taunting crock. Well, I'll take my purchase

I'm guessing that the players labeled Progressive Scan are what we want. An LCD isn't interlaced by nature. Why would it flicker even if only alternate lines are updated every 1/30 second. Also, I'm not sure how my Sony EX1 will work with those larger DVD players with a 10" screen and component inputs.