Monitor questions for video/photo editing

[tinpanalley]

Now for video editing I don't really know but I doubt black levels are WORST in a computer monitor than in a modern day TV.

They are worse because on a piece of crap TN monitor you have no idea the degree to which your shadows are actually as dark as you'd like them to be. Video editing for levels is almost impossible when you don't know exactly what the image looks like because of a screen that can change the way it looks just by tilting it.

Velis...
"From what you said in this thread you're obviously not doing this professionally." - I can't imagine why my needing help and looking genuinely for answers, AND I might add doing so after having done lots of research which is exactly the kind of thing people get mad at when forum questions come from people who are too lazy to help themselves, I can't imagine why this angers you so much that you need to be put me down. Does it really offend you that much? Are my questions and comments so unbearably ignorant that you feel the need to insult rather than help or even better, to simply not reply?

I'm not usually in the habit of defending myself because I don't care one way or the other what people think about me but I've been an independent filmmaker for ten years, I've worked on 6 films of my own, 16 films with other people doing post production sound, color correction, editing, and performing several other functions and I know exactly what professional work is. That comment was serving no purpose other than to make yourself sound smart. Funny how those kind of comments usually do a fantastic job of giving quite the opposite effect of what was intended.

"I have no idea why blacks are so important to you" - Did I ask for an analysis of my aesthetics? How relevant is that comment? Again, just to try to put me down and make me seem ignorant.

"nor why...you see shifts in black levels just by tilting your head" - Really? You're saying that in your obviously more professional opinion than mine you've never stood in front of an LCD monitor and noticed how much worse the blacks look than on a CRT monitor? You've NEVER noticed that? Is it REALLY that crazy for me to be concerned about black levels shifting as you move from side to side in front of the monitor? I guess everyone else is crazy too then because EVERY single review I read does a THOROUGH breakdown of how the monitor in question handles blacks and how easy it is to see the dark levels and colors shift as the screen tilts and spins.

I love coming across people who wanna put others in their place from high on their stoop of supreme knowledge because they're almost always more interested in putting people down than answering a question. But, it must be a heavy burden to feel that every time you see someone that insults your infallible intelligence, you owe it to society to make sure they pay for their stupid comments like mine.

Thank you for all your comments, everyone. Including you, Velis. There was good feedback in your reply.

 

[dac7nco]

OP, do you care about dot pitch at all? Viewsonic has a 27" 1080p AMVA panel at the $500 mark. I've seen one in action, and it's incredible. You would want a VESA mount, as the stand is gigantic.

Daimon

Edit: you want $300. Try the 24" ASUS MVA with the circular base.

 

[tinpanalley]

I care about dot pitch but I'm not well versed enough in how dramatically a lower dot pitch affects price.
When you say the 24" Asus MVA are you referring to the one I mentioned?

Thanks!

 

[dac7nco]

When you say the 24" Asus MVA are you referring to the one I mentioned?

Yes, that's the one. Never seen one in the flesh, but I'd expect it to be pretty nice. Get it.

Dot-pitch doesn't affect price much IF you're scaling up (1080p roughly doubles in price from 21.5" to 27"). I tend to buy what my eyes can easily read without screwing with font-scaling. I'm good with 1680x1050 @ 22", 1920x1200 @ 24", or 2560x1600 @ 30" (barely). My friend has an AIO system with 1080p @ 21.5" and it's difficult.

Daimon

 

[tinpanalley]

There is nowhere I can go to see any of the DELLs that have been recommended in person and I can't justify buying one if I can't see it myself and play with the settings a bit.
I'll have to pass on those.

 

[dac7nco]

There is nowhere I can go to see any of the DELLs that have been recommended in person and I can't justify buying one if I can't see it myself and play with the settings a bit.
I'll have to pass on those.

You're ignoring the point of my post. There isn't a person on ATT to help you buy a Dell. Buy a 16/10 HP 24" IPS monitor and be done with it.

Edit: Or the ASUS on the cheap.

 

[tinpanalley]

Sorry, dude.. what's ATT?.. oh and that was more for the people recommending dells, not you.

 

[dac7nco]

By ATT i meant AnandTech Forum. I can't type ATF easily (I'm a gun-toting grease-eating sort). Get that ASUS, I've had my eye on it for some time.

Daimon

 

[tinpanalley]

Hahaha! Cool, dude. Thanks. Gonna go look at a few tomorrow at B and H, my shop of choice here in New York. I'll keep you posted.
You have any personal preference between IPS and MVA?

 

[dac7nco]

I prefer anything thats not: 1080 wide if you rotate it, not a TN panel.

Daimon

 

[C1]

Ended up buying ASUS PA246Q after a long ass time researching and ass scratching. (Probably because local Frys got five units in and didn want to buy something like an LCD via mail order.) Never wanted 16:9, but there was a time that I was getting desperate.

After using my 16:10 display now for a couple months, I have to say that my hunch was correct and that 16:9 is gotta be one of the biggest con jobs foisted on the public besides the banking crisis. As I told my wife, if you bought a 23" 1080, you would effectively get the same physical size 4:3 movie as my old DELL Ultrasharp 1800FP. In fact if you look at a DvD movie box/package, all it says is "widescreen" and there is an outstanding chance the movie isnt even exact 1080. I find/see absolutely no advantage to 16:9 and instead only myriad disadvantage, particularly for normal everyday office/industrial work.

 

[tinpanalley]

I guess the 16:9, 16:10 argument is subjective and based on personal opinion. I'd never watch a movie on my computer so I don't care what the ratio is. And when I'm editing video, I'm editing, I'm not caring what the aspect ratio of my monitor is. The image quality is way more important. But I hardly think, being a tech geek and hardcore traditionalist with respect to media both audio and video that 16:9 is any kind of con job. Just my opinion. Sure you get a bit more with 16:10 but is it so much more that it's worth ruling out 16:9 completely? I don't know. Of course, I'm speaking from no experience just my own impressions.

I've been happily using nothing but 4:3 CRTs for years. My current one is dying which is the only reason I am getting an LCD. If it were up to me I'd never use LCDs. But the amount of used CRT monitors in good condition is dwindling and there is a convenience to a lighter, smaller screen footprint-wise.

Anyway, I got the PA238Q. If I sense any "whine" or other problems, I can take it back but it seems the best all round for my budget and what I'm willing to take a gamble on.

What's funny to me is how passionate the discussion of monitors makes people. I've only ever seen this kind of intensity in arguments about hdd manufacturers. It's crazy.

 

[C1]

If you have to do some industrial strength work such as designing brochures and ads or managing CAD/CAM drawings or architectural engineering documents then "that little bit extra" looks and feels like a big deal. That's because it is.

And BTW, regarding any movies, if you in fact look at a DvD movie box/package,typically all it says is "widescreen" and there is an outstanding chance the movie wont even be exact 1920x1080.

 

[tinpanalley]

Well, not to get too picky but no DVD will be 1920 X 1080 cause NTSC DVD only goes as high as 720, but I know what you mean. Plus, filling the screen with a movie is irrelevant to me. I don't care how small the image of the movie is as long as its proper ratio is undisturbed. I see letterboxing as a benefit not a curse. It confirms to me that the proper ratio is being preserved and that the cinematographer's work is untarnished. I keep all my screens displaying beyond the TV safe area because I don't want some manufacturer arbitrarily deciding for me what the image boundaries should be. Many manufacturers go way beyond 5% or 10%.

With the extra size thing, I think people tend to focus only on height. I could, arguably make a screen that was the same height as your 16:10 monitor in inches and then expand the sides to make it 16:9. Would you still think your 16:10 was bigger if I turned it into an 16:9 ratio by adding more on the sides? Do you see what I mean? The layout of workspace and how "zoomed out" you're willing to be to make room is all that matters not the physical ratio of the monitor. I'd rather have a 4:3 monitor that was 50 inches in size than a 16:10 that was 14 inches in size. I'd just shrink the image on the 50 incher to look good to my eyes within those 50 inches diagonal. Do you see what I'm saying or do you think I'm nuts?

 

[C1]

Yes, I see what you mean. My seeming fanaticism may stem from all the crap I had to take from sales people during monitor search. Remember, I was coming from an old fashion 4:3 (5:4?) type display.

However, walk into the local industrial oriented DATEL ( http://www.datelsys.com/ ) computer store (they are also on the local radio talk show Saturdays - KFMB 760am) and they know exactly what Im talking about. They dont even carry 16:9s in their stores (rather carry 4:3 vs 16:9) and laugh in compliance when I refer to 16:9 as "the people's monitor" (like in USSR - this is what you will use - one size fits ALL).

My view is that there should be a choice of different ratios, but stores seem to only want to carry 16:9 and tell you because it is "the" movie standard which is shown to be that it is NOT plus most people dont even watch movies on their computer plus 16:9 actually seems to impede doing actual useful serious work on a computer.

It's gotta be part of dumbing down of the masses - so there (end of rant).

 

[cantholdanymore]

That is comparing two different screen sizes that will be at different price points