2016 NAB Product Review: Monitors

In front of a climbing wall in the Atomos booth, Brooke Benton-Smith (R) explains the Atomos Ninja Flame to Jin Lee of Preco.As the Bard once said, “Displays the thing!” and at NAB Show 2016 monitors and displays provided windows into the souls of new technologies.

Atomos debuted their new HDR flagship Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame with a 1,500 nit/10-bit screen and 4K/60p over Quad- SDI recording capability. The seven-inch Atomos Flame Series monitor accurately displays 10 stops of the luminance detail of Log with 10 bit HDR Post Production color accuracy—the first time in a field monitor, according to the company.

Boland introduced large format versions of their BVB17 “Ultimate Production Monitor.” The new models, BVB42, BVB49 and BVB55, all feature true 10-bit panels (1.07 billion colors) and a full 10-bit path. The company also featured the 55-inch BVB55OLED with 200,000:1 contrast ratio.

Dolby showcased the latest in Dolby Vision- enabled consumer TVs including LG’s 2016 OLED TVs and Vizio’s 4K Ultra HD TVs. We also saw the company’s own flagship Super UHD TVs, the TCL X1, destined to debut in the fall.

Eizo demonstrated the ColorEdge CG318- 4K, a 31-inch monitor with DCI-4K (4096 x 2160) native resolution, designed for media and entertainment, cinema and broadcasting, 2D and 3D CGI, visual effects, compositing, and color grading.

Flanders Scientific introduced their BoxIO advanced color management device for on-set calibration. The 4K BoxIO has dual I/Os and supports 3D and 1D LUTs.

Fusion introduced its ORD-55, a 55-inch OLED 4K reference display system. It features Independent Processing Quad Mode Operation (IPQ), in which four individual processors provide independent control of all channels, offering flexibility previously unavailable in a quad display.

Ikan debuted the DH7 seven-inch monitor, featuring a 1920 x 1200 full HD Plus LCD panel and support for UHD 4K HDMI input and loopthrough output signals. Its five-inch brother, the DH5 is designed for small rigs and features sun visor, screen protector, screen wipe and USB port for software updates.

Ikegami introduced two new 4K monitors: the 31.1-inch broadcast quality HQLM-3120W, featuring a 10-bit, LED backlit, UHD LCD panel with 1450:1 contrast ratio, and the HQLM-3120WH, an alternate model with a special panel supporting high dynamic range.

JVCKENWOOD’s DT-N24F

Marshall Electronics’ V-R173-DLW Desktop/Rackmount Monitor

Planar’s UltraRes 84-inch pro LCD displayJVCKENWOOD unveiled the DT-N line of ProHD broadcast studio LCD monitors. Three of them—the 17.3- inch DT-N17F, 21.5-inch DT-N21F, and 23.8-inch DT-N24F—are designed for studio or field use. Three other monitors include the DT-X16H (15.6-inch), DT-X21H (21.5-inch), and DT-X24H (23.8-inch) models, each with full HD resolution 1920 x 1080 LCD panel.

Lilliput Electronics introduced a trio of monitors: the 7-inch Full HD model Q7 with SDI/HDMI cross conversion and 23.8-inch and 28-inch 4K UHD broadcast director monitors with metal carry on case. Each has 3G-SDI, four HDMI, DVI, VGA, and AV inputs.

Marshall Electronics showcased their new V-R173-DLW Desktop/Rackmount Monitor and Digital Analytics Workstation with a robust set of analytics tools packed into a 17.3- inch 1920 x 1080p LED-backlit display. A selectable quad-view mode simultaneously displays waveform, vectorscope, digital audio and live video preview.

Planar Systems introduced its Planar UltraRes Series, a line of 75-inch, 84-inch and 98-inch Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160) pro LCD displays for native 4K and upscaled content.

Plura Broadcast launched its Plura PBM-4K and the Plura LCM-4K Series, ranging from 24 to 84 inches. The Plura PBM-4K series supports SMPTE 2036-1, 2 x 12G/3G/HD-SDI inputs with active loop, and the LCM-4K Series handles up to 3840 x 2160 resolutions. The Plura PHB series of 7-inch and 9-inch screens feature high brightness for outdoor use.

SEETEC debuted its 17.3- inch SEETEC P173-9HSD monitor, which supports multiple inputs including HDMI, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, DVI, YPbPr, Audio (L/R), Video. The P173-9HSD also features an intuitive operating system with built-in professional tools such as waveform, vector scope, audio level, meters, histogram, focus assist, exposure and false color.

SmallHD has integreated its hallmark technologies into new full-size 17-inch, 24-inch and 32-inch production monitors. Each offers up to 2,000 nits brightness, an intuitive operating system, HDR compatibility, 1920 x 1080 resolution, 8- and 10-bit IPS LCD panel with 4up signal view, up to 5,000:1 contrast ratio, and integrated LUT support.

Sony debuted the TRIMASTER PVM-X550, a 55-inch OLED panel with 12-bit signal processing that they say is perfect for client viewing. Also new, the EL PVM-X550, a quad-view OLED monitor, supports HDR through various Electro-Optical Transfer Functions (EOTF), such as S-Log3, SMPTE ST.2084 and Hybrid Log-Gamma, covering applications for both cinematography and broadcast.

TVLogic launched the LUM- 240G, a 24-inch, 10-bit native 3840 x 2160 reference monitor with 3G quad link and 6/12G single link input plus HDMI 2.0 for 4K 60p. It provides an ultra-wide color gamut up to DCI, 10-bit color, and includes 3D LUT import/export, HD 1:1 or full-screen up scaling function and TVLogic’s free color calibration utility.

Transvideo debuted StarliteRF, a 5-inch 3G-SDI touchscreen OLED wireless monitor/recorder with built-in receiver being delivered with the TitanHD2 transmitter. With a range of 600 feet/200 meters (LOS), StarliteRF can even be used for monitoring and recording aerial shots from drones.

ViewZ came with their ViewZ 50 UHD designed for professional security and mission-critical digital signage applications. The ViewZ 50 UHD supports Quad- Full-HD/4K resolution at 3840 X 2160 with MVA technology for extra wide viewing angle and high brightness of 400 nits from panels designed to run 24/7.

Wohler introduced the UHDM-4K-TT series monitor, providing a range of high-quality 4K output screens configurable in either Full 4K or Quad Full HD mode, providing versatility in a range of applications.