Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual
Page 218
Chapter 16
External Video Monitoring
217
III
There are several settings you can choose:
 Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Main
 Digital Cinema Desktop Preview
 Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Full-Screen
 Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Raw
Note: The Main option is available on single-display systems, but the remaining options
are available only if you have two or more displays connected to AGP graphics cards.
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 monitors 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 monitor.
 Pro: You can use this format on single-display systems, such as a PowerBook
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 on 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 x 9 video shown on a 4 x 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.