New lcd monitor from smallhd

[Roberto Lequeux]

Are there battery plates with a cable coming out of them that mount onto the receiving battery plates? That would be an easy fix and the monitor sounds extremely light anyway, a little thin plate wouldn't do much.

 

[David Wilson]

We received our DP1 yesterday - haven't had so much time to put it though its paces but so far so good. The image seems quite good and definitely bright enough for our uses. The menus are cropped a bit as has been noted but hopefully that is fixable.

Our primary use for this monitor will be for focus and it seems excellent for that purpose thus far.

I suspect it would be quite easy to power the DP1 from a D-tap coming from a Red brick which we will likely do. The DP1 battery charges at 17V but the battery puts out and the monitor wants to see 12V.

 

[Dale Backus]

Hello all:

Wanted to pop in and address a few things. Sorry it's been a while, last i checked there was nothing and then the flurry of launching and handling customer support has kept me busy.

The batteries: if there was any impression that a single battery would last all day that was a simple miscommunication. The SmallHD battery has had reports of working from 1.5 hours all the way to 3.5 hours. Its highly dependent on how you use it. The LOWEST i've seen it work for is 2 hours nonstop with the scaler working hard as it could the entire time (ingesting 1080p video). Just make sure the monitor isn't needlessly on and you'll be able to stretch it for a good while.

Also, the battery was designed to have a charge time similar to the drain time. The batteries charge in 2 hours, and take about 2 hours to drain. These aren't official stats, but are close. So in theory if you keep one plugged in all the time and one on the monitor powered all the time you should have endless power.

Secondly: we are developing support for the RED power output. The AUX out on the RED isn't regulated and the DP1 needs regulated power to run. A device to fix this is currently in production. ETA 1-2 months.

Thirdly: The DP1 CAN and WILl display the full menus. If you purchased your DP1 from July 1st to present, there is a custom RED scale option as well as a custom RED overscan option. Used together (or the overscan option separately) the DP1 displays the RED image in the correct aspect ratio with all the menus very well. A video tutorial showing this in detail will be posted tomorrow night at the latest. If you feel daring, plug in your RED and start toying around with the overscan settings, and you'll quickly learn how that works. If anything goes wrong, just hit the RESET button in that menu. If things to REALLY wrong, hit the "MEM-RECALL" button in the second menu of the main menu. (just look around you'll see it)

Hope this helps, let me know if there are other questions. Thanks

Dale

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

Whomever said this wouldn't beat a Carrion based on the inputs has to remember that the horizontal resolution of the Carrion is only 1024 while this new monitor is a full 1280 for full 720p display... big number to take into account.

But could someone please explain to me what the differences between HD-SDI and HDMI are? I bet they are important ones, at least that is what I remember... but I don't remember the details about it.

Did someone post what the brightness is for the DP1? I find it very odd that it isn't listed on the website...

 

[Robert Horwell]

Hello all:

Wanted to pop in and address a few things. Sorry it's been a while, last i checked there was nothing and then the flurry of launching and handling customer support has kept me busy.

The batteries: if there was any impression that a single battery would last all day that was a simple miscommunication. The SmallHD battery has had reports of working from 1.5 hours all the way to 3.5 hours. Its highly dependent on how you use it. The LOWEST i've seen it work for is 2 hours nonstop with the scaler working hard as it could the entire time (ingesting 1080p video). Just make sure the monitor isn't needlessly on and you'll be able to stretch it for a good while.

Also, the battery was designed to have a charge time similar to the drain time. The batteries charge in 2 hours, and take about 2 hours to drain. These aren't official stats, but are close. So in theory if you keep one plugged in all the time and one on the monitor powered all the time you should have endless power.

Secondly: we are developing support for the RED power output. The AUX out on the RED isn't regulated and the DP1 needs regulated power to run. A device to fix this is currently in production. ETA 1-2 months.

Thirdly: The DP1 CAN and WILl display the full menus. If you purchased your DP1 from July 1st to present, there is a custom RED scale option as well as a custom RED overscan option. Used together (or the overscan option separately) the DP1 displays the RED image in the correct aspect ratio with all the menus very well. A video tutorial showing this in detail will be posted tomorrow night at the latest. If you feel daring, plug in your RED and start toying around with the overscan settings, and you'll quickly learn how that works. If anything goes wrong, just hit the RESET button in that menu. If things to REALLY wrong, hit the "MEM-RECALL" button in the second menu of the main menu. (just look around you'll see it)

Hope this helps, let me know if there are other questions. Thanks

Dale

Hi Dale, thanks for the reply. Let my first state i am very happy with the monitor. And if anyone is thinking of buying one but is holding off, they shouldn't think twice, for the quality of the kit and the performance it is a no brainer, buy one now you won't regret it. Compared to the RED monitor ( not the RED PRO as i haven't worked with it ) the smallhd is far superior, so bang for buck it's spot on.

Will there be an option for people with the first batch of monitors to have the auto RED function.

On the battery front i saw data originally that suggested that one battery would run the camera for about 3 hrs plus, which is why i bought 3 of them to cover me for a full day.

cheers.

 

[Frank Weeks]

But could someone please explain to me what the differences between HD-SDI and HDMI are?

Bottom line Roberto. Quality and detail. But for this screen (720P) I'm not sure how important it is. Both produce outstanding results. The HD-SDI offers BNC connectors that are more secure but for the on camera application (what I believe most are looking for) HDMI should work well.

I am curious about the brightness issue.

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

Ok, thanks. So I guess some additional detail. I have worked with my HVX using component and got good enough image on a Carrion to focus properly so I can only imagine this 1280 monitor being significantly better, especially with the HDMI. Of course the HVX only resolves 960 lines hehe, but this monitor still has more resolution than Red's Pro 7" which is also 1024 horizontal. And less than half the price. So I think we are on the same boat Frank, waiting to hear about the brightness.

Could someone who's got one tell us how it looks out on a sunny day at noon while using their sun-shade? The finish on the screen can have a tremendous impact as well so while we wait for the specs from Dale it would be very useful to get some real world impressions.

And finally, is there any sort of way to make the HDMI lock? I'd be happy with a hook next to the socket to I can get inventive with some of these: http://www.zelkas.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/goodybeads.jpg or these http://www.soundkit.co.uk/acatalog/1sk-stuff-bongo_ties.jpg

Then again it might be hard to find a balance between putting too much strain on the socket or not enough to make it worth wile. And that is if you can even get them to hook on the cable connector at all. I know a few mixers that use them for their XLRs and they work like a charm. Don't be threatened by the way they look.

 

[M Hsu]

just got mine. for the money, it's pretty nifty. I haven't tried it with my red yet as it's out on a shoot, but it works nicely with my canon 5dmkII.

potential issues: (none of which are actual issues, but I'm a worst case scenario kind of guy)

1. the battery charges with a mini usb plug. it does NOT take usb voltage. Both the charger with a mini usb plug and the battery with a mini usb input are an accident waiting to happen to an uninformed assistant.

2. the battery bracket is plastic and seems fragile. Time will tell. Of course, my RED battery has popped out at least twice too.

3. the sunhood is held in place by elastic tension and it would be easy to slingshot the whole screen while stretching it in place. Also it's easy to drag the poles across the screen potentially scratching it unless you have a screen protector in place. Once it's on, it's very solid and useful, it's just a bit dodgy getting it there.

for the money, a lot of pixels and a pretty decent screen. glossy screen surface, but the sunhood pretty much fixes that. UPDATE: I just tested it outside in the bright sunlight and it's workable, but it definitely does reflect. I'm going to look into a matte screen protector for it.

I like it a lot. Considering the price it seems to be in a class by itself.

small hd guys: I would happily pay a little more for a metal battery bracket. of course the battery is so light I imagine I'll just gaff tape it to the back anyways.

it's a new price point for small monitors! pretty cool.

update: just noticed, some pretty cool scaling options for red menus and anamorphic support and custom options for cropping. There is some artifacting around fine details when used on the 5dmkII but the 5dmkII outputs a 1080i preview signal, (when previewing photos) so being able to use it at all is pretty cool. I did find that turning down the sharpness helps with the artifacting although I've also noticed some odd color banding, particularly in how the blacks seem to crush. Once again, I haven't tested this on the red yet.

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

for the money, a lot of pixels and a pretty decent screen. glossy screen surface, but the sunhood pretty much fixes that. UPDATE: I just tested it outside in the bright sunlight and it's workable, but it definitely does reflect. I'm going to look into a matte screen protector for it.

OUCH... that hurts... glossy? That's not good...

It should be a simple fix for them if they find a different material that doesn't add much cost.

Are you guys planning on changing this in the future? This is a big selling point for me, and I am sure many others. While it sounds like the monitor is still a great deal it would definitely have a BIG impact on many if it weren't glossy... (and many not so polite pros will straight out trash it for it). It might be something simple to change in the production line after what should be not that much R&D. I hope you understand the concern and that there is something simple for you guys to fix this issue.

 

[scott_h]

I was one of the early Small HD monitor purchasers and overall I love the monitor. However, I do not see any of the menu items even after scaling down the overscan. I only see green bars where the menus and information should be. Is there a setting on the monitor that I am missing? or do I have a defective monitor? I am using the HDMI cable out from the camera to the monitor. The timecode and the framing bars are the only information that is being passed to the monitor thats in tact. Also, is there a setting to flip the screen so that you can mount the monitor so that the connectors can be on the bottom rather than on the top? In my warped brain, it seems like there should be a function or setting in the menu to flip the video image so that this can be done. Just curious on that last one. btw, if anyone has pictures of their Small HD monitor that shows all the menus and GUI information, could you post it? Dale's original images must have been lost when the reduser site crashed a month or so ago. Thanks!

-Scott

 

[e h jones]

overscan and batteries issue

overscan and batteries issue

we've had serious issues already with the batteries on the SmallHD as we bought two to do a rotation and thus have power all day. One has died after barely a week of working, it will not hold a charge at all. and we are unable to shoot all day any more on the single battery. But even when it was working correctly they would die in the middle of shots, made extra work for camera assistants, and got me a dirty looks by a pissed DOP.
I wanted to just use this as the sole monitor but have twice had to pull out a red LCD to cover these issues, and had one person tell me they will not use it until the power issue is solved.
If I was to buy this again knowing what i know now the 12 v into red power cable is the deal breaker. once that is done this will be a great unit in terms of its power usage.

second the overscan. I got the numbers to input from a SmallHD rep but only half of the needed info showed up. Ive emailed dale here and at small HD and have yet to hear back on that. I found this strange as when I asked the first time he was prompt in getting back to me, but once we have those number or if some else does please post and i will do that if i get those numbers first.
what this means is that with the correct over scan numbers you can see all red camera data including histro, and other info.
better yet would be a tutorial on a red camera set up on their site as I'm sure red users are going to be a large customer base once these issues have been addressed.
Lastly, let me say i like the monitor but can't recommend it until these are addressed. Once these issues are addressed i would give a full endorsement.

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

we've had serious issues already with the batteries on the SmallHD as we bought two to do a rotation and thus have power all day. One has died after barely a week of working, it will not hold a charge at all. and we are unable to shoot all day any more on the single battery. But even when it was working correctly they would die in the middle of shots, made extra work for camera assistants, and got me a dirty looks by a pissed DOP.
I wanted to just use this as the sole monitor but have twice had to pull out a red LCD to cover these issues, and had one person tell me they will not use it until the power issue is solved.
If I was to buy this again knowing what i know now the 12 v into red power cable is the deal breaker. once that is done this will be a great unit in terms of its power usage.

second the overscan. I got the numbers to input from a SmallHD rep but only half of the needed info showed up. Ive emailed dale here and at small HD and have yet to hear back on that. I found this strange as when I asked the first time he was prompt in getting back to me, but once we have those number or if some else does please post and i will do that if i get those numbers first.
what this means is that with the correct over scan numbers you can see all red camera data including histro, and other info.
better yet would be a tutorial on a red camera set up on their site as I'm sure red users are going to be a large customer base once these issues have been addressed.
Lastly, let me say i like the monitor but can't recommend it until these are addressed. Once these issues are addressed i would give a full endorsement.

Let's hope they are focusing 100% of their resources on solving these. If they were trying to keep up with demand instead I would see it as a bad move.

Please let us know where these fixes are at or an ETA for them please. If you fix both of these I will certainly buy one for myself.

But to be clear, in case I am misunderstanding something regarding power... I want mine to work as a wireless monitoring solution besides its on-camera functionality. So I guess I need the option to either feed it power with an XLR cable, or with a Red power cable if I can also have a Red Brick somehow feeding it. Small batteries are an ok solution, but only if they are solid, and last ~3hs or more. If there are ANY issues with small batteries I would GLADLY slap on a big 'ol Anton Bauer, and the Camera Dept would gladly work off the same bricks powering the cameras.

 

[e h jones]

smallhd issues

smallhd issues

you can get third party batteries as well that are larger but provide longer power. i wanted to just use the smallHD ones as there compact and i was more interested in a stop gap till the red cable was ready.
but that being said, we've ended up using it on other systems so I'm realizing it has more uses then just the red camera. We will be getting additional third party batteries and maybe one more small hd battery as well to rent it out by itself.

 

[e h jones]

battery issue

battery issue

by the way they are sending a replacement so its all good for that battery issue for now.

 

[Shawn Nelson]

any further updates? for true 720p seems like a great deal

 

[Lars Steenhoff]

I simply love the clean lines of this monitor!

 

[puntociego]

how can you use 2 small HD monitors on the red, Wich output?

 

[Scott Miller]

I just ordered the SmallHD...now how do you attach it?

What Red or ET or other product do you use to hang this off the Red or your rails? looking for ideas or better yet, ideas iwth pictures!

And I am going with the Tekkeon MP3450 (or a pair of them) for powering the SmallHD.

 

[jawafilms]

Intrested in buying

Intrested in buying

Hi friends
I am planning to buy a DP 1 from small Hd
can any of its user guide me should I buy this thing as an alternative to
Red Lcd.. The reason obvious that it cost less and promise more.. Please suggest.. Also how much time it requires to order and ship.. any wait period

 

[Scott Miller]

I got mine within 3 days of placing the order. Well packaged and they were very quick to answering questions before shipping. In fact, I used their online request @ about 11pm PST, and got an answer about 1 hour later, from a live human in NC @ 2am EST!

Now, I have not setup my camera, and other than running thru the menus, can not make any comments on the monitor or image quality. But others have said they were happy, especially @ the price point they come in at.