Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 221)

220 Part III Setting Up Your Editing System
Connecting Final Cut Pro to an External Video Monitor
For optimal real-time performance, your sequence or clip format should match the
format of your output device exactly, including video codec, image dimensions, and
frame rate. However, Final Cut Pro can output any video format to any video output
device as long as the frame rates of both match (the codec and image dimensions of
your clip or sequence do not have to match the format of your output device).
For example, you can preview a 720p30 HDV sequence via an NTSC DV FireWire device
connected to an external monitor. The output signal is letterboxed and downconverted
to NTSC video. You can also use a third-party interface to view any format supported by
Final Cut Pro—as long as the frame rate of your clip or sequence matches the frame
rate of your current output device.
Note: Output via HDV FireWire (native MPEG-2) is not supported for any format.
Consumer Video Monitors Versus Broadcast Monitors
Throughout the Final Cut Pro 6 User Manual, a distinction is made between “video
monitors” and “broadcast monitors.” This is to differentiate between cases when any
video monitor will do and cases when only a high-quality broadcast monitor is
appropriate for a given task.
In most cases, when you want to simply monitor your video signal as it will look to
the audience, any standard NTSC or PAL video monitor is appropriate, and there are
many inexpensive models to choose from. When performing critical tasks such as
color correction, however, you should use a high-resolution broadcast monitor that
can be properly calibrated to display your signal consistently and accurately.
Broadcast monitors offer manual control over every aspect of the video signal being
displayed, including brightness, chroma, phase, and contrast. Additionally, broadcast
monitors can often display different parts of the signal using modes such as blue only
(only the blue gun traces the screen; the green and red guns are turned off ),
underscan, and H/V delay. Without these controls to accurately calibrate your
broadcast monitor’s display with the signal being output from your computer, you
run the risk of making bad color correction decisions based on an inaccurate view of
your program’s picture.
For more information on how to use the controls on a broadcast monitor to calibrate
your video signal, see Volume III, Chapter 26, “Measuring and Setting Video Levels.”