Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 239)

Note: The Main option is available on single-display systems, but the remaining options
are available only if you have two or more displays.
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Main
Video is shown on the main computer display (that normally shows the menu bar for
applications). This option is available at all times, regardless of how many displays you
have connected. Video presented on the main display is always shown in full-screen mode
and scaled to fit the display in at least one dimension. If the aspect ratio of the video
signal and the computer display do not match, the video on the display is letterboxed
(black on top and bottom) or pillarboxed (black on sides) as necessary. This is identical
to full-screen mode on a second display.
• Pro: You can use this format on single-display systems, such as a portable computer
editing system.
• Con: The normal computer interface is covered by the Digital Cinema Desktop Preview
display, so you can’t see Final Cut Pro when you choose to view full-screen video this
way.
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview
The video is shown at its normal scale (there is a 1:1 relationship between pixels in your
video and pixels on the display). However, if the video pixel dimensions are larger than
the dimensions of the display, the video is scaled to fit the display.
• Pro: The video always maintains proper aspect ratio and does not exhibit scaling artifacts
due to magnification.
• Con: Some formats, especially SD formats, may look very small when displayed on large
computer displays.
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Full-Screen
The video is scaled to maximize its size on the display. If the aspect ratio of the video
signal and the computer display do not match, the video on the display is letterboxed
(black on top and bottom) or pillarboxed (black on sides) as necessary. For example, 16:9
video shown on a 4:3 display is scaled until the width of the video matches the width of
the display, and the top and bottom are letterboxed.
• Pro: This format gives you the biggest picture possible and maintains the proper aspect
ratio.
• Con: Scaling artifacts may be noticeable when viewed up close.
Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Raw
This mode shows your video data with as little processing as possible—there is no scaling
or pixel aspect ratio correction. For example, a 720p frame (1280 x 720) shown in RAW
mode on an 800 x 600 display only shows 800 x 600 pixels of the image. This can be useful
for engineering evaluations of the image.
• Pro: More accurate assessments of video quality can be made.
239 Chapter 14 External Video Monitoring