Consumer video monitors versus broadcast monitors – Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual
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Part III
Setting Up Your Editing System
You need to match your computer’s output video format to your monitor’s input
format. Some combinations are not possible without purchasing additional equipment.
For example, if your video interface only has an SDI video output, and your video
monitor only has an NTSC composite input, you cannot connect the two directly. In this
case, you can:
 Purchase a monitor that supports SDI video input
 Purchase an SDI-to-composite converter
 Use a VTR that has an SDI input and composite output and supports converting
between input and output signals (this solution is often used with DV decks, when
FireWire DV input is converted to analog composite output)
 Purchase and install a video interface that supports composite output in addition to
SDI output
Note: You can enable the Digital Cinema Desktop Preview option on your computer
display to preview your video, but this won’t show proper broadcast colors or interlaced
video. For more information, see “
Using Digital Cinema Desktop Preview
Consumer Video Monitors Versus Broadcast Monitors
Throughout the Final Cut Pro 5 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 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 “