Panasonic GT25 OK as output monitor?

[Rob Ruffo]

Was thinking of adding another monitor here, and in terms of pro gear these are almost free, and seem to offer very accurate color.

Any opinions? Any other plasmas more adequate?

Thanks in advance to all.

 

[David Collard]

Get the one that has THX mode. It is pretty good with Rec.709. The VT series is more accurate and the 50" is around $1500 now.
Very cheap for an accurate monitor in THX mode.

 

[Rob Ruffo]

Thanks David! I will get the VT series. Where have you seen the 50" in Canada (Futureshop and others here don't seem to have it)? Did they ever make a 42?

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

You want the VT30 series now.

The GT30 is OK ... as is the ST30 on a budget ... but the lower end displays have poorer black rendition.

On the topic of Plasmas ... what about units to avoid?

I have a Samsung PNB550, 50" 1080p display. Actually a very good home entertainment panel for the money, but it sucks for post.

I also recommend something like the HD Link Pro, and using the SDI outputs of your i/o cards to drive any consumer display. You can then use professional calibration and apply LUT's to the display itself. (separate from any LUTs in your post workflow.) I plan on getting one before upgrading the panel. Especially as I'm hoping the Red projector is affordable to me ... thus obviating the need for a new Plasma entirely I hope!

 

[Rob Ruffo]

I did a side-by-side with the Vt25 by the Vt30 and the VT25 seemed much more accurate. We kept the VT25. I am told that after ISF certified calibration one can approach nearly perfect rec709 to the point where differences would not really be visible to a naked eye - so why care (after calibration) since they are thus obviously not enough to affect grade decisions if the colorist can't even see them. I can already see that its very close to our reference CRT in THX mode. You might get away with not calibrating it and it would not lead to horrible grading mistakes (although i don't recommend this, it's not a Flanders) I just wish they sold a 42 inch. I mean even if this were for home theatre use, not everybody has a gigantic McMansion in the burbs (nor would ever want one). For your average New York or Montreal or SanFrancisco (I coudl go on with other cities) condo, 50 is for many is uncomfortably big. Certainly in our grading suite it's not ideal.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

50 is for many is uncomfortably big. Certainly in our grading suite it's not ideal.

Depends on your work I suppose.

Editorial pacing seems to differ for me with different sized screens viewed from different distances.

If I'm working to theatrical scales, I need a projector, otherwise I select shot sizes that are too large, and I tend to pace my shots too quickly for the audience to scan properly. If you ever watch an episode of Star Trek in a theater and you see a "Kirk close" shot (aka Italian close) You'll feel the difference.

On the opposite end ... if I'm working for TV or Internet and I use a projector I pick shot sizes that are too small (i.e. wide) and pace my edits too slowly. As an example that epic wide of Lawrence alone on the sand dunes is a tiny picture of a dude you can barely make out that goes on for too long in widescreen on a 25" TV.

Flip that around ... that Kirk XCU looks dramatic on the TV, and in theaters the Lawrence wide shot looks absolutely epic.

I've picked 50" as a compromise on budget and working size. Its about 8 feet from my desk, and it looks in perspective roughly the same size as my 23" Apple Cinema Display. You'd think that edits done there would be the roughly the same as those I monitor on just a 24" display on my desk ... but they are different. I tend to focus more on details on the desktop display, and far more on the big picture on the plasma.

Most of my work is intended for theatrical display ... oh, it gets scene on the web and on SDTV, but its intended for theatrical. I actually want a larger display. I'm trying to hold out for the Red projector news at least ... I want 4K of course, but I also want a really large and accurate display.

No matter what though I also need a much smaller display to place 30-42" from my head on my desk. I'm hoping for a 4K 27-40" display on my desk... and for that application the smaller the better - I want a "retina display" but one that's just barely so, so I can lean in and pixel peep.

So ... don't be so quick to deride the larger screens - unless you are sitting very close, I think its very reasonable to use a larger display.

 

[Rob Ruffo]

I see your interesting point - most of what we do is for broadcast, so I suppose 50" is indeed a good average as that is what more and more viewers have at home (most popular screen size).

 

[Marc Wielage]

I see your interesting point - most of what we do is for broadcast, so I suppose 50" is indeed a good average as that is what more and more viewers have at home (most popular screen size).

50" also seems to be the standard size in a couple of dozen HD color-correction rooms I've seen in LA in the last year or so. It's a big difference than the 32" Sony CRTs they replaced, so it did require changing the room around, pushing the monitor back a little bit, and making some adjustments... but the clients love them.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

50" also seems to be the standard size in a couple of dozen HD color-correction rooms I've seen in LA in the last year or so. It's a big difference than the 32" Sony CRTs they replaced, so it did require changing the room around, pushing the monitor back a little bit, and making some adjustments... but the clients love them.

There is another interesting thing ... because my plasma also replaced a Sony 32" CRT.

One goal I had was to make certain that my new HD display showed SD materials at the same size or slightly larger than the CRT I replaced.

The vertical height of a 32" 4:3 CRT is just a bit less than the 50" HDTV. I think its equal to the height of a 47" HDTV.

16:9 and other widescreen materials are of course much much larger than the same material letterboxed on the CRT. And I too had to redecorate to accomodate the new setup.

 

[Steve Shaw]

If it helps, I have calibrated a lot of plasmas, and have been able to get them very accurate.

I obviously use LightSpace CMS and probe, with the generated LUT going into a HDlink Pro, or similar, LUT box to drive the monitor.

There is info about this on the Light Illusion website, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

One thing to remember is you have to 'work with' the power saving mode built into all plasmas - it is critical for calibration you understand this requirement.