External Rec709 Broadcast monitors that no one ever mentions

Hi all,

I'm doing more and more work for TV and have accepted that I need to get a proper REC709 broadcast reference monitor that I can use via Ultrastudio in Resolve and Premiere/AE. It's not really worth me getting a Flanders scientific, so I'm looking for cheaper alternatives that still have the features of a proper broadcast monitor (as opposed to a computer monitor).

I've noticed that there are a few monitors out there that seem to be extremely cheap, that no one seems to be mentioning, and there are 0 reviews or mentions of people using these online, which seems kind of weird.

One of these is:
Seetec LUT215

And another:
Konvision KVM-2250W

Also Neway and Swit (less so) seems to make monitors that are extremely affordable.

Anyone got another thoughts on these cheaper alternatives? I don't need my setup to be a 1000% accurate professional high end post house situation.

Hi all,

I'm doing more and more work for TV and have accepted that I need to get a proper REC709 broadcast reference monitor that I can use via Ultrastudio in Resolve and Premiere/AE. It's not really worth me getting a Flanders scientific, so I'm looking for cheaper alternatives that still have the features of a proper broadcast monitor (as opposed to a computer monitor).

I've noticed that there are a few monitors out there that no one seems to be mentioning, and there are 0 reviews or mentions of people using these online, which seems kind of weird.

One of these is:
Seetec LUT215

And another:
Konvision KVM-2250W

Anyone got another thoughts on these cheaper alternatives? I don't need my setup to be a 1000% accurate professional high end post house situation.

Is there a particular reason why people should be talking about the monitors you listed?

Get an I/O device by BM, a probe and calibrate an LG monitor. PM me if you need more info.

PM me if you need more info.

It may be of interest for others too

I guess my original question was related to the price of these monitors. Another company making v cheap broadcast monitors is Neway. These and the Seetec options are like $500-$1000 for something that claims to do roughly the same thing as a Flanders or Sony broadcast monitor.

Seems too good to be true, that is all.

I understand that I can output via Ultrastudio etc to a regular high quality monitor that is properly calibrated, but it's not the same as going into a proper broadcast monitor...is it? Or maybe it is?

See here and use DeepL for translation:
http://www.davinci-resolve-forum.de/pdf ... html#PDF/1

(flip 2 or 3 pages forward)

See here and use DeepL for translation:

(flip 2 or 3 pages forward)

This looks great but the text is rasterized....

These and the Seetec options are like $500-$1000 for something that claims to do roughly the same thing as a Flanders or Sony broadcast monitor.

Both those monitors are 8bit only panels - this is the main reason why they are much cheaper than proper reference grading monitors. Whilst if they can be calibrated reasonably it does not prevent you using them for grading and they could be much better than many consumer pc screens, there are some definite limitations in not having a true 10bit panel, for such work. They are really grade 3/2 monitors designed for other uses including offline editing monitors.

Correct. But if you work for TV, you can get away with it as long as TV is broadcasting 8 bit anyway.

You can buy single articles here:
https://www.digitalproduction.com/ausga ... n-02-2021/

Correct. But if you work for TV, you can get away with it as long as TV is broadcasting 8 bit anyway.

Not if your reference grading for broadcast. Even if your 8 bit monitor doesn't show any banding artefacts, for example, you can't be confident that they will not show up in any other end user TV, which are mostly now 8+2 FRC - TV broadcasting is mostly therefore 10 bit now. Most source cameras are also at least 10bit. It is also not possible to see a truly accurate depiction of colour too.

Yes, if you are doing professional work regularly, there is no way around proper monitoring. But I was under the impression that Louis was looking for a cheaper solution.

Regarding my article, I just noticed that the link doesn't offer it any more. So, PM me if you need it.
BTW, he series was written during lockdown and rather aimed at online presentations and not TV.

Regarding banding, IMHO it's the other way around. If you see banding on an 8 bit monitor, you can't be sure if it's really your grading stressing the source or if it's just the display.

Yes, if you are doing professional work regularly, there is no way around proper monitoring. But I was under the impression that Louis was looking for a cheaper solution.

Then I think he'd be better off spending just a little bit more for say and Eizo 247x and getting a true 10 bit panel.

Regarding banding, IMHO it's the other way around. If you see banding on an 8 bit monitor, you can't be sure if it's really your grading stressing the source or if it's just the display.

All the more reason you need to grade on a 10bit panel ideally. Confidence and accuracy are reference requirements, no?

@Steve: I fully agree with you regarding a proper monitor.

@Louis:
If you are regularly working in a professional environment, you should get that Eizo Steve recommended.

They are cheaper than FSI and far better than the cheap ones you referenced. Those Chinese cheapos come with big promises, but are normally not that much better than a well-calibrated LG computer screen. One problem is not being true 10 bit and the other one is uniformity.
If you can read German (or want to go to DeepL), I can recommend the articles by my colleague Michael Radeck in Digital Production. He is a very respected specialist here, working for big post production houses and regularly measuring displays with his Klein K-10 probe.

Thanks all this is really helpful – I'll post here when I find a monitor! I'm most keen on the Konvision options as they have a lot of the features of traditional broadcast monitors, looks like there are some 10 bit options.