SmartScope Duo - BlackMagic Design

[Dan Kanes]

That's a lot of scoping for $995

http://m.bhphotovideo.com/mobile/detail?R=964124_REG&

 

[Marc Wielage]

Yep, I agree -- this is a "killer app" product that we've been waiting for for a long time. I think this will put a big dent in Tektronix sales, particularly with their $20,000+ scopes. In fairness to Tek, the accuracy of their scope is measurement grade, needed for precision manufacturing and other very demanding purposes. But I think for color-correction, a $995 hardware scope like this will be fine, assuming it's calibrated with a known source. And it's bound to react much, much faster than the software scopes built in to Resolve (or even the external Ultrascope).

 

[jake blackstone]

I saw it at NAB. They had one installed with each Resolve. Very good display and great functionality. The only drawback for me is it's rack mounted design. I wish there would be a box for it, so you could just plop it on your desk without worrying how to mount it.

 

[Paul Provost]

Why would it react faster than ultrascope?

 

[Adam Eden]

No gammut display so its useless. Tektronics have the patent for that

 

[M Most]

No gammut display so its useless. Tektronics have the patent for that

Useless for who? Every colorist I've ever known - including myself - uses a combination of parade, vector, and waveform displays almost exclusively. Some DI colorists also use a histogram. I don't know anyone who uses a gamut display other than a few online editors. Granted, this is the situation in Los Angeles, other parts of the world might be a bit different. But since about 80% or more of studio feature DI's are done in Los Angeles (or done by L.A. based talent) I think it's a rather valid observation.

 

[Adam Eden]

So M Most you grade TV commercials in XYZ and deliver that way? I don't think so. Again these scopes are no comparison to the Tektronics WFM 8000 series that i use every day. The easiest way to grade a primary is by using the double diamond gammut display. Unless you never grade to REC709 then maybe these scopes are OK. But the whole world is REC 709, and even if you work in DI at some stage the program will end up at REC 709 somewhere.

Gammut errors are a way of life when people push colours too hard and i see this everyday in my suite, from people who are not monitoring levels properly. I also see a lot of over compressed audio and the Tektronics box is a great way to measure LUFS.

I shouldn't complain otherwise i wouldn't have any work for fixing peoples F&*K ups, and its good bread and butter money for my junior staff.

 

[M Most]

So M Most you grade TV commercials in XYZ and deliver that way? ......Gammut errors are a way of life when people push colours too hard and i see this everyday in my suite, from people who are not monitoring levels properly. I also see a lot of over compressed audio and the Tektronics box is a great way to measure LUFS.

I don't grade anything these days because I'm not a colorist these days. I was simply reporting the way things are done in L.A. facilities, and the fact that they have been done this way for a long time. Gamut errors are, quite frankly, not that common in "normal" program material, and for the most part network deliverables - which is the primary place where this would be an issue - are made through a legalizer to avoid that very issue.

But I stand by my statement that there are very few colorists in L.A. that use the double diamond display. Or even understand it. Or, quite frankly, have even heard of it, since the most popular scope set in most of the color rooms is Omnitek......

 

[Marc Wielage]

I agree with Mr. Most. We don't use the double-diamond display, but I do keep my eye on a standard 100% vectorscope during laydown, and I apply clips when necessary to avoid letting any colors get out of gamut. I know many, many colorists (myself included) who can look at a calibrated monitor and immediately see problem areas without even having to check a scope. We know by gut. I have worked in a few rooms that have the big Tek scopes, and 90% of the time, nobody pays attention to the double-diamond display except for engineers in setup mode.

But it is very handy to have a legalizer (and/or a custom LUT) to fix this stuff when necessary, particularly for broadcast. Generally what I see is sessions 100% color-timed in Rec709, then we switch over to XYZ and view the material in D-Cinema color space with an appropriate LUT to make sure all is well. For P3 film outputs, we switch over again, apply a different translation LUT, and make adjustments if necessary. Every major American network TV show and studio film is done this way -- though some prefer to start in P3 and then do the other formats.

I personally don't see things pushed out of gamut per se, but I do sometimes see broadcast material that's clipped to hell, which is sometimes the specific look requested by producers, directors, and DPs. It's not my preference, but hey, the job of the colorist is to give the client what they want -- not necessarily what looks good.