Reference Monitor Issue

I'm using a Sony PVM-14M4U with a Mac G4 / Final Cut / Firewire / Mini DV set-up. I find that the default settings are much darker than what I'm getting on NTSC TV sets.

What looks good on the Sony, is bright and washed out on an NTSC TV. This is a problem because I want to use the Sony as a reference for what will be ultimately played on an NTSC TV.

I hooked up a DVD player to the Sony and tossed in Braveheart to reference it and had to crank up the brightness to 75-80% of the total available, to get it to look right on the Sony. The DVD looks great on an NTSC TV, but is very dark on the Sony in default settings.

Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,

Paul Buhl
ACI Creative

What do your Final Cut color bars look like?

Michael Missett
Infinitive Pictures
North Branford, Ct

>I'm using a Sony PVM-14M4U with a Mac G4 / Final Cut / Firewire / Mini >DV set-up. I find that the default settings are much darker than what I'm >getting on NTSC TV sets.

Phil. Your post is an abject lesson on why waveform monitors are employed in professional video applications. Can you borrow one? (and someone who knows how to read it?) It will become blatantly obvious what the issue is with a "scope".

Its most likely a termination issue: Most likely the "bright, washed out" signal path was/is unterminated, or the "dark" signal path is/was double terminated. But without a "scope" who knows? Think of a waveform monitor as being like a speedometer in your car: Even experienced drivers misjudge the speed they are going unless they glance at the speedo. A "scope" provides the same reference.

Lew Comenetz
Video Engineer

>I'm using a Sony PVM-14M4U with a Mac G4 / Final Cut / Firewire / Mini >DV set-up.

Defaults on the PVM?

These are user presents that might be misaligned. Go to your presets and set to 0 and start from there. You really need SMPTE Bars with Pluge (Picture Line Up xxxxx) settings for an accurate brightness level adjustment. Walter Graff has an excellent how-to on his web site about this.

Darn it I can't find his web site, Help! Once you see it done it's really simple.

Also on the PVM's once you have SMPTE bars going to it allow the monitor to do a Auto-Color-Adjustment. This is in the user menu. PVM's do tend to have a greenish bias that needs to be tweaked out compared to the big brother BVM's.

Tom McDonnell
DP/Operator
New Orleans, La

Professional monitor set-up :

http://www.film-and-video.com/colorbars.html

Walter Graff
BlueSky, LLC
www.bluesky-web.com

> Professional monitor set-up:
> http://www.film-and-video.com/colorbars.html

Thank You Walter!

Tom McDonnell
DP/Operator
New Orleans, La

>I find that the default settings are much darker than what I'm getting on >NTSC TV sets.

Couple of things. I've always found that properly set up to bars, Sony PVMs always seem slightly crushed in the blacks when you're on picture. Having said that, what do you mean by NTSC sets? If you mean consumer sets, these will nearly always show more in the shadows, even if you've managed to set them "correctly". They almost never have dc restore circuits, and so will gray out in dark areas, especially if there's no 100% levels in the scene.

And, just like in the projector thread, everything is dependent on room illumination.

Steven Bradford
Phoenix AZ

Tom McDonnell writes:

>You really need SMPTE Bars with Pluge (Picture Line Up xxxxx)

xxxxx = "generating equipment"

Dan Drasin
Producer/DP
Marin County, CA

Here is a link to the new Kodak "Display Manager" System introduced at NAB:

http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/news/nab2004

breakthroughsP.shtml

"Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is also demonstrating the Kodak Display Manager System with its Lustre V2.0 system on both a monitor and a digital projector in its suite at the conference. The Kodak Display Manager System consists of a calibration tool and proprietary software that automatically adjusts images displayed on a computer monitor to simulate the film look. The Kodak Display Manager System and Kodak color science technology are also being shown in the Kodak booth."

John Pytlak
Eastman Kodak Company