Three Favorite Video Monitors for Live Production (Two on very special limited-time deals!)

One thing that I didn't comment on in the video, but can make a big difference on a display is what kind of processing the monitor does on the image. A good quality display will only do enough processing to make sure it is displaying the signal coming in as accurately as possible. With consumer televisions, and even some computer monitors, the processing that is done straight out of the box can really reduce image fidelity quite dramatically. The quality of the scaling varies wildly... ideally if a monitor has to do any scaling it's doing it in integer multiples of the original image -- so a 1920x1080 image can be displayed just fine on a 3840x2160 monitor. The reverse is true to some extent too, but if you're working in UHD you really should be using a proper UHD monitor. What you definitely want to avoid is monitors whose native resolution isn't 1920x1080 or 3840x2160. These days nearly all consumer televisions under 42 inches are roughly 720p... but it's often even worse than that, with the panel having a native resolution of something like 1366x768, so even 720p has to be scaled. And the scalers in budget televisions are pretty much awful. Too many times I've seen televisions and monitors that just completely destroy any detail in the image. You also have to watch out for sharpness (or detail) controls. If set too low, it actually softens the image, making it blurry. If it is set too high, the monitor adds additional false detail which actually makes the image look worse, emphasizing noise and adding ringing to edges. The perfect setting varies by model, but it's usually lower than you think it should be. Televisions almost always overdo this. And some models don't let you adjust the setting low enough to remove processing errors. On many televisions that are out there, they also will do frame interpolation to give additional smoothness to the motion in an image. This should really be avoided at all costs. There is no way to know what your image actually looks like when a TV is basically recreating what it thinks the image should look like rather than what it actually looks like. This processing also adds additional latency. This is a bad feature that should just die. Noise reduction is also best turned off if you can. Color (or Saturation) controls do have a proper setting, but without some calibration equipment it's impossible to dial in just by eye. Likewise with Tint or Hue controls. Most televisions, if they have any control over white balance at all, are usually limited to a couple of presets. If a display doesn't have a 6500K setting, the white balance is probably wrong and your perception of colors will be off. Most televisions have overscan turned on from the factory. And while most do let you turn that off, it's often buried in the menus and called something other than overscan. Look for "Just scan" or something similar. Not only does overscanning cut off the edges of your image, it also introduces scaling artifacts. Bottom line is, budget televisions should absolutely be avoided. And most budget computer monitors should also be avoided. They aren't doing you any favors in helping you to see what's going on with your production. And in many cases they'll "lie" to you about what is going on, leaving you in a situation where you make bad decisions about what needs to be adjusted. There are televisions out there that can do a decent job, but you'll be spending good money on them, and you'll have to be willing to take time to tweak all of their settings if you want the most accurate and faithful image you can get. If a television has a Filmmaker mode, you can start with that, but it's only that -- just a start. Televisions are designed to provide a "wow" factor for consumers, which usually means overly exaggerated colors, contrast, and sharpness, and other processing designed to catch the eye rather than accurately represent the signal they're being fed. In my opinion, and it's just that, aside from a handful of higher-end options, consumer televisions make poor production monitors. Computer monitors tend to do much better at that job. The least expensive line of televisions I've seen that can produce a picture with any degree of accuracy are the LG OLED models. They're fantastic, and can be adjusted to produce an extremely accurate image, but at a starting price of roughly $1000 for a 42 inch, they are expensive, and still need to be calibrated before you get the best image they're capable of delivering.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

colors look great. this is something I need to do for my setup.

ProArt displays are indeed impressive, and very adaptive to use cases. I had no idea on the Adobe promo, so thank you. I had assumed it was only for new users, like more promos.

Love the line: when working for others, you never know what you're gonna get. I think that should be a whole video topic. The stories we all could tell. It might actually be fun, especially if done from a technical standpoint.

Your inside studio is sure looking good Doug! Great exposure and lighting here. (sorry if I missed this from months ago... but just really stood out today!)

Very useful info, Doug! Great video. I've been using just a little Blackmagic 7" Video Assist for mobile monitor which is annoying since it's such a small display (and expensive). That ASUS monitor supporting 100% sRGB/REC709 is really good! Most monitors don't support 100%! Thanks for sharing about the Adobe CC subscription. Absolutely worth it. Do you have a link to the decimator you use? That's a super useful device! Really appreciate you sharing how you pack and carry your equipment. That fly pack you show off sometimes is sweet and it's cool to see a monitor bag that can carry 2 displays. Very cool! I have struggled trying to transport equipment in the past... its such a massive pain. It's the part I dread so much. lol

the assus proArt color reproduction is so perfect, I can see a color shift for the LG monitor, If I get the 4k 27inches of the ProArt, I am buying it. I am actually going to change my monitor but 27inches 4k will be my go.

I'd been running into the exact same issue with monitors not supporting 24 or 30fps, thanks so much for this. If someone needs a really inexpensive option, Vizio has a 24" TV for around $99 that has a lot of color and gamma adjustments and takes a wide range of frame rates. Not as good as the ASUS I'm sure, but half the cost if not doing critical color work. Thanks for all you do Doug.

Hi Doug thank you for all the wonderful information you provide to us. A couple of questions. Why would I choose to use the display port versus an HDMI port.

The Sony Trimaster EL is def a wicked monitor. I have one where I work and it is gorgeous. The ASUS looks capable, but I really need a monitor with the “blue only” feature so that I can calibrate with smpte bars in the field. Having said that, I’m going to get the ASUS and run some test signals through it, and see if it will work for me. Used Sony’s should be carefully scrutinized for burn-in!

Here's a rank amateur (with a Marketing degree) opinion, FWIW: I suspect most clients have no clue what format they want. Does a typical client even know the difference between 1080p 60FPS and 720i 24FPS? Does he or she care? Flexibility and accuracy have their place, but when you make a video for a client the key is to make people's skin tones look flattering, and if there's a product involved, get the item and package colors pretty close to right. The rest doesn't much matter. A system that makes a client think he or she and/or the product looks good is way better than one that's dead-on accurate. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but in any case I've helped your algorithm.

Good timing. A few day ago, Ty Turner from FlashFilm Academy had a short saying to not use inexpensive Production monitors. It was a short so a lot of information was left out and no monitors were suggested. He did mention SMALL HD. I have been very interested in finding a good monitor to use as Multi-View. I need to check color accuracy because I am matching color between Canon and Blackmagic. I was considering the BenQ DesignVue PD2705UA 4K 350Nit 10Bit 99% Rec 709 Anti Glare Matte. (Specs never seem to show supported frame rates on the larger monitors). Your Thoughts?

Hey Dough, Love your video great details, and very informative as usual! Does the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV 27" 16:9 Adaptive-Sync QHD IPS Monitor and the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV 27" 16:9 Adaptive-Sync QHD IPS Monitor models have the same features as the 24” you mentioned? Just in a large size, and with one model with HDR?

The ASUS PA247CV is on sale on a limited time deal on Amazon right now for $119.99 It's slow shipping not 2 day but still a good deal.

Hi Doug, Thanks for the video. Do you have any more videos on monitoring for live broadcasting? Is it just an eye test or should I be using scopes etc? Currently we are just using cheap Roku tvs attached to our atem. From what you were saying that’s not a great plan for success? Thanks

will you be attending InfoComm Las Vegas in a few weeks? If you have a meetup?

Hey Doug I've been following you for a while now and was wondering if you will be a Infocomm 2024 this year?

How is the image retention on these monitors? We have several Acer, ASUS, and LG monitors that all have pretty bad image retention if left on a high contrast image for even a minute. I believe they are all IPS panels. And they are not any of these models.

Lg C2 oled has 10ms of input lag.