new 2000nit 7" monitor under $1k

[Marc Wielage]

I'm very skeptical that a display at this price range could be calibratable and deliver believable pictures.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

From Portkeys on Twitter: "Hi sir,only rebuild a software could support to set a hotkeys to toggle the fan On/Off,sorry for the inconvenience��"

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

I have this since last year, model BM7 - It states 1700 Nits on the specs, the monitor was hardly 1100 nITS MEASURED.

so certainly the 2000 Nits isnt valid, still a good deal for its price even at 1000 Nits but makes you wonder about all the faulse info.

Other than that it works fine for the last year with no problem. But dont expect anything close to even 1100 Nits at max back light and its pretty obvious on the video posted above. At the highest setting the monitor doesnt look bright for a day outdoors itlooks rather like a 1000 Nits , Ive seen 2000 Nits monitors and they look much brighter. Lol.

Other than that it works fine.

 

[Curtis boggs]

I tested the BM-7 next to a SmallHD 702 bright that they advertise as 1,000nit

The BM-7 was considerably brighter and was easily viewable in mid day sun.
Haven't "measured" what the brightness is but I can tell you it's much brighter then
the Smallhd Bright.

As for color, it's OK. but you can't expect killer color from something like this.
As long as it's close that it's doesn't drive the focus puller crazy.
On budgeted projects who would use a little 7" monitor for a color correct display
for DIT or director? Come on guys, gotta get real about what this is.

C

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

I tested the BM-7 next to a SmallHD 702 bright that they advertise as 1,000nit

The BM-7 was considerably brighter and was easily viewable in mid day sun.
Haven't "measured" what the brightness is but I can tell you it's much brighter then
the Smallhd Bright.

As for color, it's OK. but you can't expect killer color from something like this.
As long as it's close that it's doesn't drive the focus puller crazy.
On budgeted projects who would use a little 7" monitor for a color correct display
for DIT or director? Come on guys, gotta get real about what this is.

C

Probably the 702 isnt 1000Nits either spot on , most arent it would be close to 950 Nits , so if the BM7 is anything around 1100 Nits it will certainly look much brighter as you say. We measured it many times and the difference from the stated 1700 Nits is very big it was always around 1100 Nits. So unless that was a faulty unit its certainly wrong specs and definatly 2000Nits is out of the question. As you said colors were ok , with just faded blacks but either than that its ok to work with and at this price certainly a bargain.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Probably the 702 isnt 1000Nits either spot on , most arent it would be close to 950 Nits , so if the BM7 is anything around 1100 Nits it will certainly look much brighter as you say. We measured it many times and the difference from the stated 1700 Nits is very big it was always around 1100 Nits. So unless that was a faulty unit its certainly wrong specs and definatly 2000Nits is out of the question. As you said colors were ok , with just faded blacks but either than that its ok to work with and at this price certainly a bargain.

Apparently the old one had issues...the new ones I guess don't and are actually rated at the 2k knits. We'll see

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

Apparently the old one had issues...the new ones I guess don't and are actually rated at the 2k knits. We'll see

Aha if that is the case , then even better. The monitor its self is a steal even at 1100 Nits so if its 2k confirmed I will get one more ha.

do you have one? or tested one? cheers

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Aha if that is the case , then even better. The monitor its self is a steal even at 1100 Nits so if its 2k confirmed I will get one more ha.

do you have one? or tested one? cheers

Arriving this week.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Arriving this week.

Any news?

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Any news?

Yea..this sucker is BRIGHT! I'm working with them on adding some options via firmware update..particularly to fix the fan noise. So they are adding a low fan setting that will keep the monitor cool enough at a reduced brightness for indoor work. Ran 12+ hours straight at around 500 nits brightness, and the fan is a heck of a lot quieter. Obviously, when you go outside, fan noise really isn't an issue.

Also having them add anamorphic support (dial in 1.33, 1.5 or 2x modes within the monitor). Also having them adjust the menu a bit. But yea...for the price, you get a killer monitor with insane build quality.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Yea..this sucker is BRIGHT! I'm working with them on adding some options via firmware update..particularly to fix the fan noise. So they are adding a low fan setting that will keep the monitor cool enough at a reduced brightness for indoor work. Ran 12+ hours straight at around 500 nits brightness, and the fan is a heck of a lot quieter. Obviously, when you go outside, fan noise really isn't an issue.

Also having them add anamorphic support (dial in 1.33, 1.5 or 2x modes within the monitor). Also having them adjust the menu a bit. But yea...for the price, you get a killer monitor with insane build quality.

Thanks for the valuable infos. What kind of a portabrace type of bag do you use? I wonder with those fans what exhaust we need.

Do you work with Portkeys or Ikan for the software update? Or are both the same company?

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

Yea..this sucker is BRIGHT! I'm working with them on adding some options via firmware update..particularly to fix the fan noise. So they are adding a low fan setting that will keep the monitor cool enough at a reduced brightness for indoor work. Ran 12+ hours straight at around 500 nits brightness, and the fan is a heck of a lot quieter. Obviously, when you go outside, fan noise really isn't an issue.

Also having them add anamorphic support (dial in 1.33, 1.5 or 2x modes within the monitor). Also having them adjust the menu a bit. But yea...for the price, you get a killer monitor with insane build quality.

Can you measure it and tell us how many nits bright is this? compare to the specs statement? cheers

 

[Grayson Austin]

I got the Ikan version of this monitor fairly recently. The brightness is not the real issue. Viewability in direct sun is. The screen does not have very good anti glare properties and that is what kills an image. Without excellent anti glare coating, Nits rating means nothing. No monitor can beat the sun when it comes to raw brightness. Unless something has changed radically between the Ikan version from earlier this year and this monitor, I don’t consider it truly sunlight viewable. If you can post some photos or video with full sun falling directly on the screen as well as some photos with the actual reflection of sun and sky, that would be helpful to judge it fairly.
Grayson Grant Austin, SOC

 

[Patrick Tresch]

I got the Ikan version of this monitor fairly recently. The brightness is not the real issue. Viewability in direct sun is. The screen does not have very good anti glare properties and that is what kills an image. Without excellent anti glare coating, Nits rating means nothing. No monitor can beat the sun when it comes to raw brightness. Unless something has changed radically between the Ikan version from earlier this year and this monitor, I don’t consider it truly sunlight viewable. If you can post some photos or video with full sun falling directly on the screen as well as some photos with the actual reflection of sun and sky, that would be helpful to judge it fairly.
Grayson Grant Austin, SOC

Does an antiglare filter do the trick?

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

I got the Ikan version of this monitor fairly recently. The brightness is not the real issue. Viewability in direct sun is. The screen does not have very good anti glare properties and that is what kills an image. Without excellent anti glare coating, Nits rating means nothing. No monitor can beat the sun when it comes to raw brightness. Unless something has changed radically between the Ikan version from earlier this year and this monitor, I don’t consider it truly sunlight viewable. If you can post some photos or video with full sun falling directly on the screen as well as some photos with the actual reflection of sun and sky, that would be helpful to judge it fairly.
Grayson Grant Austin, SOC

there is no antiglare of any short in mine, but it does makes a difference with higher or lower Nits actually. You can play with the angle of the viewing and do other tricks , I have a few low nits and higher both with out antiglate and the difference is day and night. Of course antiglate is something that matters a lot but even with out try and view an under 1k Nits comparing to a 2k Nits. It a huge difference. Didnt know that Ikan makes this version as well. probably a chinese company that sells to various makers and on its own. who knows. All I know is that mine was rated 1700 Nits and was hardly over 1000N so not exacty close to specs. I also have a mail from the company saying that they will look at the case and maybe exchange this ...but I cant be bothered to go throu this cause i dont really need it. Its a good to have cheep secondary screen bought just for testing .

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Hello,

Anyone using it ? How is the fan noise? Usuable? Thanks

Pat

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Hello,

Anyone using it ? How is the fan noise? Usuable? Thanks

Pat

I've been testing the PortaKeys monitor for a bit now and here are my thoughts.

The fan noise is abysmal. Horribly loud. They have just released a firmware update to combat that so when you have it at studio level brightness, the fan is much quieter, but it's a high bright monitor, and is supposed to be used in high brightness settings. The fan is even too loud for outside work IMO.

The screen is hyper-reflective too, which means in direct sunlight, you can't even really tell is a 2k nit monitor. So it's really hard to see.

Also, there is no scaling at all...so depending on your feed from the camera, your image may or may not fill the entire monitor.

No anamorphic support.

I know others are using this monitor and may have different opinions, but I wanted to let you all know my thoughts/perceptions. I think it's definitely a budget alternative, but you get what you pay for in this case. The issues I have can't really be addressed via firmware (at least to my knowledge)

 

[Curtis boggs]

i would say the brightness and reflectivness of the portkeys isnt an issue from my tests,
as you can witness in the video.

theres a firmware update that the fan speed follows the brightness setting.

i just shot a narrative short in a house with this monitor in the same room with no issue from sound.

 

[constantine Tirintzis]

i would say the brightness and reflectivness of the portkeys isnt an issue from my tests,
as you can witness in the video.

theres a firmware update that the fan speed follows the brightness setting.

i just shot a narrative short in a house with this monitor in the same room with no issue from sound.[/QUOT

Im quessing here that its a case of how lucky anyone is buying this product. For example mine lucks only in the stated Nits that are considerably below the statement. But I can hardly hear the fan. Chris seems to have some very loud noise issues and high brightness though he hasnt yet stated if he actually measured the brightness. Usually with low quality products that go out on the cheap the QC is very poor so you might get a 60% product of a 80% product or a 100% product if you are lucky.That is probably explains the difference in between oppinions given on the same product. Still very cheap for a day bright.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Im quessing here that its a case of how lucky anyone is buying this product. For example mine lucks only in the stated Nits that are considerably below the statement. But I can hardly hear the fan. Chris seems to have some very loud noise issues and high brightness though he hasnt yet stated if he actually measured the brightness. Usually with low quality products that go out on the cheap the QC is very poor so you might get a 60% product of a 80% product or a 100% product if you are lucky.That is probably explains the difference in between oppinions given on the same product. Still very cheap for a day bright.

Hello Constantine,

Are you speaking about the Portkey monitor (or the BM7)? Do you have a Portkey?

Pat