Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/137897
Panasonic's 31-inch BT-4LH310 offers 4096x2160 pixel resolution. The IPS LCD monitor is designed for post and on-set work. PANASONIC At NAB Panasonic (www.panasonic.com/broadcast) unveiled the BT-4LH310, a 31-inch 4096x2160 pixel resolution IPS LCD monitor for field monitoring; video village viewing of 4K cameras and devices with I/Os as well as viewing of dailies; and editing, dailies and screenings at post production facilities. The 10-bit panel, which will available this fall, is "true native 4K resolution, not consumer 4K, which is 'double HD,' " says Steve Cooperman, product manager for P2 HD and production displays. The monitor also bears the Panasonic "production tough" designation with a "well constructed aluminum chassis" that holds up to the challenges of working in the field. An LED backlight also promotes outdoor use. The full-featured BT-4LH310 includes versatile hardware connections for mounting on stands and walls, built-in waveform and vectorscope, and four 3G inputs. It offers 178-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angles to permit multiple simultaneous viewers. In addition, "The monitor covers more than 96 percent of the DCI-P3 color space — that's pretty big; you want a wide color space to assess the quality of the images," Cooperman explains. "It can accurately display Rec 709 too." Cooperman believes the new monitor will "open up more rooms to real 4K" at a cost that post houses can afford. "A lot of facilities have been using expensive DLP projectors for 4K display. They won't get rid of those rooms, but with the BT-4LH310 they'll be opening up new revenue opportunities, while still maintaining HD/2K capabilities." Panasonic plans to continue to sell HD monitors and showed an HD OLED monitor in a technology demo at NAB. "We've been pretty dominant in the HD production monitor market for years," Cooperman notes. "But we think our 4K monitors will also be very popular." TVLOGIC TVLogic USA (www.tvlogicusa.com) introduced a prototype of its new 30-inch DCI 4K monitor at NAB. With 4096x2160 pixel resolution, 10-bit color depth and Rec 709 and DCI color gamut support, it's slated to ship at the end of the year. TVLogic also has a 56-inch 4K monitor with 3840x2160 pixel resolution for industrial and broadcast applications. "We see the new 30-inch 4K used in two areas," says Wes Donahue, director of sales and marketing. "One is on-set, with feeds directly off the camera to preview LUTs and monitor off 4K cameras in realtime. The second is in post production, because the monitor is capable of reproducing color gamut at almost 100 percent of DCI and 100 percent of Rec 709. It has a considerably wider color gamut than other 4K LCD monitors, so we feel it will be deemed acceptable for color-critical work. In fact, the biggest difference from the competition is the quality of the panel's color charchar acteristics. There are other 4096-size monitors available now, but nothing has the overall color gamut and contrast of this panel." The challenge for all manufacturers of 4K displays will be "how to notch up quality without making the displays too costly for users," he notes. "At NAB we kept hearing people say there was cool stuff out there but it was too expensive. People don't want to pay $30,000 for a 30-inch 4K monitor. In HD post production, they've gotten by with plasmas and saved a ton on capital expenditures. So 4K will be about finding the magic price point where the professional consumer says, 'I've gotta have it!'" SONY Sony Electronics' OLED monitor technology took a 4K turn at NAB, where the manufacturer (www.sony.com/professional) displayed its 56-inch QFHD OLED monitor and presented a technology demonstration of a 30-inch true 4K OLED prototype. The 56-inch display has 3840x2160 pixel resolution and will be available later this summer. The 30-inch monitor boasts true 4096x2160 4K resolution and is slated for release in 2014. Both panels offer wide viewing angles, low color shift and accurate signal reproduction for 4K content. At NAB, Sony also showcased updates to its current pro OLED product line, with dramatically improved viewing angles for the BVME, BVM-F and PVM Series monitors. New feature sets, including closed Sony's updated BVM-E250A OLED monitor is said to offer dramatically improved viewing angles. www.postmagazine.com Post • June 2013 29