Hi there,
I'm in exactly this situation right now and was wondering if anyone could advise on the options (below) I've narrowed down to.
ContextI'm limited in space at the moment and as I still find myself finishing a lot of projects in HD 1080p due to editing both a mixture of UHD and HD footage within each project I'm just looking for an interim 1080p monitor as it will help save a bit of the budget for the filming side of my shopping list. Also at 24", there's no logic paying for 4k with such crammed pixels, with little visually discernible benefit. At the same time as saving, I'm making sure to squeeze the best quality out for my budget as I can and I've got a minimum spec I won't sacrifice on.
I'm trying to make sure this pipeline is future proofed for when I move to a larger 4k monitor in the near future though which has made this a bit of task. I've been researching tirelessly for a few months. The main issue which seems to thwart making that final choice, revolves around no DisplayPort port options on Decklink models. At the time of writing pretty desperate to buy in a Thunderbolt PCIe Chassis, decklink card and a monitor. It's more than overdue relative to the time I've put into reading reviews', spec sheets and endless forum discussions. But I need to be really sure on a couple of final decisions before I go on a spending spree to save expensive mistakes/false economies.
ProblemI'll get a either Decklink Mini Monitor 4k, Decklink Studio 4k or an Intensity Pro 4k. Analogue capture, DCI 4k and HDMI 2.0 will most influential in the final decision. I've been discussing with BM tech support about downscaling in software when there is no hardware downscaling from UHD to HD. Seems to have put that to bed in terms of any concerns. The problem that's got me stuck between a rock and hard place though is that all the cards all SDI and HDMI output or HDMI output only. This is causing a real headache on what are my two final options below:
BenQ SW240 - Pro's: Decent quality, internal LUT
Con's: 250 nits, 8bit+FRC (but can live with both)
but no 10 bit signal over HDMI (even though it's HDMI 1.4 and 10bit was introduced in HDMI 1.3)
Eizo Colour Edge CS2420Pros: True 10 bit, internal LUT
AND 10 bit over HDMI. (Least the spec sheet reads 1.07 billion colours on both Displayport and HDMI)
Cons: No Rec.709 - just sRGB
I threw out what seemed like the only other two viable 24" options: Eizo Colour Edge 2320 as it's no longer available and in this thread it said that it was 10 bit over Displayport only as well, and the HP DreamColour 24zx as it doesn't seem to be the same quality build under the hood as it's 27" big brother and many people here have spoken of a purple cast malfunction after prolonged use. Any other models are either too hobbyist or conversley, too high in price for a 24" HD model when I'll spend a lot more on a larger, higher end 4K spec in the mid-term future.
QuestionsI would have jumped on the Eizo if it had Rec.709. The difference between Rec.709 and sRGB seems really minimal, gamma 2.2 vs 2.4 is the only thing that stands out. Don't think that's a deal breaker for the level I work at. Is there anything I should be prudent about here regarding sRGB?
But before I potentially move on the Eizo, I wanted to ask for advice, particularly from the other posters in this thread on what the outcome was for them? Other questions I have based on the following I've read on these boards are:
1. If a monitor will genuinely do 10 bit over HDMI is this going to be okay outputting from the Decklink? I've read numerous criticisms about HDMI on the BM Deck links but not really how any such issues manifest particularly. Some have said to simply avoid HDMI and use SDI instead. If I could afford an SDI monitor right now though I'd be on easy street and wouldn't be writing this post.
2. It's been recommended on these boards to convert SDI to DisplayPort from a Decklink instead. But there are so few options for SDI to DP conversion. I could buy several monitors over for the price of some of these specialist converters. May as well buy a monitor with SDI connections if I could afford that much. The only option I could find at totally the other end of the cost scale is to take advantage of the fact I'm going to be using a 1080p monitor for now and buy a second hand BM HD Link Pro, the only affordable option I know of which has SDI in and DisplayPort out. But after going down another days long rabbit hole all I could conclude was that the driver software is no longer supported and doesn't works on recent version of Mac OSX
3. It's been mentioned above, to convert HDMI to DisplayPort from the Decklink? But if it were that simple and cost effective, why are users here so focussed on converting from SDI to DisplayPort at such trouble and expense?
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated as I've got to the stage where I'm too cautious to start shelling out on all the elements of my pipeline yet I desperately need to get set up.
Many thanks!