I have always preferred the “sparkle” I see when viewing my images on a CRT monitor, but when I switched to HD, I went looking for an LCD alternative.

For the last eight months I have been using the LVM-170W monitor from TV Logic, both in the field, and in my editing suite. Moving over from my Sony CRT, I found that could get the TV logic monitor to pretty well match the “Sparkle” that I was getting with my CRT images.

The LVM-170W offers Multi-Format 2 Channel SDI signal support in 480i, 576i, 720p, 1035i, 1080i, 1080p, and 1080psf, so I was able to view anything that I put into the monitor.

I tested the LVM-170W on both PC and Mac systems. First on the Matrox AXIO PC based system, using two AMD dual- core Opteron 280 chips, then on the new dual quad - core MacPro machine with an AJA Kona HLe card and break out box. In both cases, I went into the LVM-170W via the SDI inputs.  The 3 BNC analog inputs were handy for interfacing my Beta deck and stand alone DVD burner/player for direct viewing while the DVI (I) was left unused.

The LVM-170W offers a native 720p resolution with 1:1 pixel mapping. For native 1080i, you need to step up to the 24-inch model.  The native 720p LCD resolution was perfect for viewing the 720pn 23.976 frame rate project in Final Cut Pro, and with the 16.7M 24 bit color and a viewing angle of 176 degrees this monitor also looks great from your client’s prospective.

Why is viewing angle important? Let me give you an example. After shooting a music video for the R&B rapper Methrone last week, he and his entourage dropped by for a view of the rough cut. With ten people trying to view the HD signal on a 17-inch monitor I’ll bet I used all 176 degrees of viewing angle, and everyone was happy.

If you are moving into HD production and need a reasonably priced monitor that you can trust, give the LVM-170W a try.

MSRP: $3495
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