Why does a Red Rocket need a "third" monitor ??

[George D.]

As time has gone by and I have been editing with the aid of my two monitors on my Windows7 PC, I have worked with the programs, like Adobe PPCS on the left monitor and watched the results on the right monitor.

I just bought a used Red Rocket and understand that to use it I need a "third" monitor. What in the world for? Does that mean I can't see the results of my editing, etc, on the right side monitor anymore or what?

Which monitor displays the Adobe programs on then, and which monitor displays the end result of my work?

Would it have been better to just buy a high end video card rather than the Red Rocket?

Was the Red Rocket built and designed ONLY for professional editors using R3D footage?

I'm very confused. I don't get it.

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

 

[Stacey Spears]

Why do you need a 3rd monitor? When I used a RR with SCRATCH, I only had two displays. The desktop display that showed the SCRATCH UI and then the SDI output to the reference monitor.

 

[George D.]

What's a SCRATCH ?

Thanks,

George

 

[Keith Putnam]

Why do you need a 3rd monitor? When I used a RR with SCRATCH, I only had two displays. The desktop display that showed the SCRATCH UI and then the SDI output to the reference monitor.

From George's description it sounds like he is using two computer monitors rather than a computer monitor and a professional video monitor. The "third" monitor he is referring to would, I presume, be a professional video monitor.

 

[George D.]

No, that is NOT what I was referring too. Is it a MUST to have a "professional" video monitor with a Red Rocket?

Thanks,

George

 

[Johnny Friday]

No, that is NOT what I was referring too. Is it a MUST to have a "professional" video monitor with a Red Rocket?

Thanks,

George

No it is NOT A MUST. but if you are color grading, then you might consdier one. If only transcoding and viewing within RCX; FCPx, PrPro and other NLE's, you will see performance increases using the Red Rocket, BUT not with Dragon 6k footage as it required the Rocketx Card.

The SDI's you see there are to send i think a 10 or 12 bit signal out to a monitor with SDI input. I use an FSI monitor with a dual SDI to single SDI converter for my 3g FSI monitor when doing any color work, but the rocket will give you performance enhancements without any monitor hooked into the SDI outputs.

 

[Keith Putnam]

What's a SCRATCH ?

Thanks,

George

Scratch is an advanced color grading software application used by many professional colorists. There's a free version called ScratchPLAY you can download if you want to try it out.

 

[George D.]

Are you saying that I don't "actually" need to plug any monitor into the Red Rocket AT ALL ?

I'm not using Dragon equipment, so that is not a consideration.

What I'm trying to find out is, if I have a third monitor for the Red Rocket, what advantage will it be? Am I going to see the same image as my second monitor but better quality?

If I use the left monitor for programs and editing, the right monitor for displaying the results, then what am I looking at in the third, Red Rocket monitor?

I'm still confused

about the whole monitor thing.

.

 

[George D.]

No it is NOT A MUST. but if you are color grading, then you might consdier one. If only transcoding and viewing within RCX; FCPx, PrPro and other NLE's, you will see performance increases using the Red Rocket, BUT not with Dragon 6k footage as it required the Rocketx Card.

The SDI's you see there are to send i think a 10 or 12 bit signal out to a monitor with SDI input. I use an FSI monitor with a dual SDI to single SDI converter for my 3g FSI monitor when doing any color work, but the rocket will give you performance enhancements without any monitor hooked into the SDI outputs.

Are you saying that I don't "actually" need to plug any monitor into the Red Rocket AT ALL ?

I'm not using Dragon equipment, so that is not a consideration.

What I'm trying to find out is, if I have a third monitor for the Red Rocket, what advantage will it be? Am I going to see the same image as my second monitor but better quality?

If I use the left monitor for programs and editing, the right monitor for displaying the results, then what am I looking at in the third, Red Rocket monitor?

I'm still confused about the whole monitor thing.

 

[Jake Wilganowski]

Viewing something on a computer monitor and a broadcast monitor are 2 different things using 2 different color spaces. A proper grading monitor is what is standard for color correction, fed through sdi out of your editing system. If your asking "WHY", there's way too much to go into there for me to type and I'll let someone else take that one...

 

[George D.]

Viewing something on a computer monitor and a broadcast monitor are 2 different things using 2 different color spaces. A proper grading monitor is what is standard for color correction, fed through sdi out of your editing system. If your asking "WHY", there's way too much to go into there for me to type and I'll let someone else take that one...

Considering my extremely low budget, could you suggest a good, but inexpensive Broadcast Grading Monitor?

Thanks,

George

 

[Stacey Spears]

Are you saying that I don't "actually" need to plug any monitor into the Red Rocket AT ALL ?
​

That is correct, you do not need to use the monitor output on the RR card. In fact, I have never used it. Software like SCRATCH, Resolve, Adobe (P Pro) and FCP X (Not an all inclusive list of apps) all take advantage of the RR and then use their own monitoring outputs.

 

[Nick Morrison]

George, most computer monitors are not "calibrated" or color accurate. This is why most color grading workflows have a calibrated monitor in their signal chain (via BNC/SDI).

You can have as many computer monitors as you like (a question of personal preference) - but if you'd like to have an accurate sense of what your looking at in RCX, you may want to attach a calibrated monitor (say a Flanders) to your card.

 

[Eric Santiago]

According to review this one might be a decent SDI Grading monitor.

Of course I bought this for field use but Im sure Ill use it in the studio

Decent price too compared to the FSI and Eizo I use at work.

 

[Keith Putnam]

Flanders Scientific's "entry-level" monitor, the AM210, is 21" and goes for $1,995. http://www.shopfsi.com/AM210-p/am210.htm

TVLogic has an 18" model which sells for $1,975 at B&H. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1141619-REG/tvlogic_lvm_182w_a_18_5_sd_hd_3g_sdi_ips.html

Those might sound expensive until you consider that the monitors most DITs use on major features or network TV shows tend to cost between $3,000-$6,000 and the monitors you'll find in top-end grading suites will set you back $15,000-$25,000.

 

[Enrique Blein]

A third monitor would be for the best possible viewing experience (i.e. professional color grading monitor). It is not a MUST

 

[Eric Santiago]

Keep in mind that its useless to get a 4K monitor for your RED ROCKET since it only spits out 2K/HD.

Get a decent 10bit LCD there are a few cheap options out there.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Considering my extremely low budget, could you suggest a good, but inexpensive Broadcast Grading Monitor?

The sad reality is that real Grade 1 broadcast monitors that are good are not inexpensive, and the monitors that are inexpensive are not good. It's interesting to note that grading monitors (or projectors) is not a business either Red or Blackmagic Design has gotten into. Yet.