Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/137897
Monitors Dolby showed updates to its already successful PRM-4200 monitor at this year's NAB show. captioning, timecode, camera focus, WFM, vectorscope and audio, were also shown for the PVM and LDM-41 Series monitors. "The time is right to take OLED to the next level by incorporating 4K resolution," says Gary Mandle, senior product manager, professional displays. "High-quality, reference-grade OLED monitors are more important now than ever, especially when working with content shot at 4K or beyond. At this level of production, being off even by the slightest degree, in terms of color accuracy and reproduction, will be readily apparent to the viewer." Mandle notes that Sony's newest OLED products, the Trimaster EL "A" OLED series, "offer an improved panel for a 50 percent increase in viewing angle. These new monitors join the current line-up of Sony OLEDs, which are used for editing, dailies review, special effects, critical viewing and cinematic production. We've already implemented 4K technology into our professional display line, starting with the PVM-X300, which has a 30-inch 4K LCD panel. "Now when we begin to add 4K resolution into our professional OLED line, that increase in resolution will further complement the already proven characteristics of OLED technology: superb contrast, amazing clarity and accurate color reproduction." CANON At NAB, Canon USA (www.cinemaeos. usa.canon.com) displayed the most recent iteration of the development of its 30-inch 4K reference monitor prototype. "4K was the focus of our booth on the monitor side, although we have no plans to announce a production schedule, delivery or price yet," says Chuck Westfall, technical advisor, professional engineering and solutions division. 30 Post • June 2013 "We developed the reference monitor to match up with our 4K capture devices: the EOS C500 and EOS 1DC. The C500, espeespe cially, is very important to our overall 4K strategy. 4K capture is causing a paradigm shift in the industry — it's happening right in front of us." The 30-inch reference monitor prototype is a 10-bit IPS LCD panel with 4096x2560 pixel resoreso lution, which equates to a 16x10 aspect ratio. The viewing angle is set at 178 degrees top to botbot tom and left to right. A pair of prototypes was displayed alongside a large screen illuminated by a newly developed Barco 4K editing projector in a demonstration DI suite in the Canon booth. "We were very impressed to see how accurately our color matched a very expensive projector," Westfall says. "Resolution and brightness are always important, but accurate color and tonal gradation is absolutely critical at the technical level." He reports that Canon is working with organizations, such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are seeking to standardize a 4K workflow. Canon is currently engaged with ACES, an evolving industry standard for 4K color space. The reference monitor is targeted to the major studios and post houses in major markets as well as TV networks, which are "aggressively pushing the development of 4K production," with sports broadcasting driving the move toward the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. "We anticipate that the market for 4K monitors will expand rather healthily over the next several years," says Westfall. "Edit suites will want a couple of screens at eye level, and a 30-inch monitor is a good size for them." DOLBY Dolby (www.dolby.com) continues to upgrade its 42-inch PRM-4200 professional reference monitor, which launched at the end of 2010. "Regarded by many as way ahead of its time in performance and features, the PRM-4200 is constantly upgraded to meet evolving workflow needs," says Bill Admans, director of production and post production solutions at Dolby. Dolby was "not known as a company in the video space" when it introduced the PRM-4200, he notes, so "it was a very bold move in a heavily-saturated market." www.postmagazine.com Designed for color-critical work, the monitor has been used by David Fincher to monitor DI color remotely for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, Pixomondo and ILM for VFX for Star Trek Into Darkness. It was honored with an Emmy Award last year. "In less than two years we went from being unknown in monitors to recognized as the industry standard in reference monitors," Admans says. Manufactured and calibrated in Dolby's California facility, the PRM-4200 comes with three years of software updates included in the purchase price. New features include Apple iPad remote control, available free from the iTunes store; support of the ACES workflow with D60 preset native color space; and expanded color management capabilities with Nucoda 3D LUTs. Admans says the monitor also offers "high dynamic range capabilities." The monitor is calibrated to a peak brightness level of 600 nits when in the dynamic mode, instead of the usual 100 nits found in many reference monitors. On the service side, Dolby has responded to customers' concerns about the cost of calibration tools and trained staff by launching the Dolby Display Calibration Service for low-cost, on-site calibration by Dolby personnel, which "dramatically reduces cost of ownership" for clients, he reports. It's still "very early days for 4K technology at the moment," Admans says, but Dolby is "working actively" with 4K standards organizations. "We have an exciting road map of products planned for the next several years. We believe 4K customers will want the same high level of color accuracy, black levels and on-screen performance they enjoy today with our professional reference monitor." FLANDERS SCIENTIFIC Known as manufacturers of affordable professional broadcast monitors, Flanders Scientific (www.flandersscientific.com) unveiled five new models at NAB. "We cater specifically to the broadcast environment, high-end color suites, on-set production and editorial," says product manager Kris Merkel. "Our price sets us apart from a lot of the competition along with our professional feature sets, including vectorscope and VU meters across all inputs; monitoring modes for Sony Log, Canon Log and Blackmagic Film Log; CFE2 processing boards for advanced color management in Rec 709, SMPTE C, wide gamut, DCIP3 and EBU; continued on page 46