Monitor Recommendations for HD Editing

[Jeremy Gadd]

Hi. I am looking to upgrade my main monitor and am looking at 2 choices within my sub £500 budget:

• Acer EB321HQUAwidp or:
• BenQ PD3200Q

In the UK there is quite a difference of about £200 between these and I'm personally steering in the direction of the BenQ as I can see more reviews of it in relation to editing, but if the Acer at £200 less is any good it's worth considering. Has anyone used ether of these with Premiere? I'd be keen to get views from you.

The key issues for me are: Colour accuracy & Size (32" or larger). No interest in gaming.

I emphasise that at the moment I am editing HD NOT 4K. I know there are decent 4K monitors but I have read some issues about scaling with Premiere and I don't think I'd consider 4K at the moment.

I'm open to suggestions about other monitors, but I am trying to avoid overthinking!

I also use Lightroom and Photoshop a lot.

[GermanTV · Accepted solution]

I have two 4K 27'' Monitors (Asus PB27UQ) though I'm only HD editing. No scaling issues at all and no other issues as well. I always edited on "HD" Monitors until I saw a friend editing HD on a 4K monitor. The all around look of the programs is just more pleasing to the eye. Normally I'm not the one who has to have the newest technology but this was something I was immediately drawn to.

Coloraccuracy is nothing which depents on the monitor in the first place but more on color calibration with a corresponding tool for this task like Datacolor Spyder5PRO (something you can borrow from a friend but would also be a good investment if you're a bit more into editing and design). Sure a good monitor will help with it and more exepensive ones even come with built in tools like this but unlike you're colorgrading for big-budget-projects you will be fine with the suggested solution.

[R Neil Haugen]

GermanTV has a good response, the only thing I'd change is the idea the monitor doesn't matter for calibration. The main thing to be aware of in monitor specs is the amount of sRGB that the monitor can support. A monitor that's only showing say 85% of sRGB is not going to be that useful even after calibration. A monitor that not only supports the entire sRGB space and say most of one of the larger spaces will be able (typically) to be better after calibration.

With any computer monitor, though ... it's a good idea to calibrate then do a test output and check that output on someone's full broadcast setup, or see if a local tv station will take a look at it for a moment.

Neil

[GermanTV]

Thanks for the addition, Neil! Good point to check back ones output on someones's full broadcast setup.

[Jeremy Gadd]

Yes, if you're fortunate enough to know someone that has one

[Jim_Simon]

1. Buying a 4K monitor has nothing do with the resolution of your source material.  The only point and purpose of such a large resolution monitor is to have LOTS of room on screen.  That's a good thing, even if your editing DV.  The caveat is that screen items will be pretty small at such a high resolution, so you need a good size screen.  I recommend nothing less than 32" for 4K.

2. I think Jamie LaJeune has it right in the following thread from the Blackmagic forums.  He's talking about Resolve, but the idea holds true for all NLEs.  The upshot is "Don't grade in the GUI.  Run SDI out to a calibrated monitor so that you can first be certain that your signal is right."

Blackmagic Forum • View topic - Rec 709 & sRGB

[Jeremy Gadd]

Ok, thanks. On point 1, I hear what you are saying. Yes, a large screen at the moment is just for me to be able to see a lot more detail of what I am editing. I have just tried an experiment using my whopping 43" LG 4K TV as a computer monitor and was quite pleased with it as the detail was great. The issue I had with it was that it gave me neck ache as it's just a bit too big. Also, I would need a curved one at that size as the edges were hard to see. There is a 43" LG 4K monitor going online for around £650 but as I would like to add a better reference monitor too the £££s all add up. The BENQ 32" (HD) monitor I can get for £425. The 4K version is £350 dearer, so I am struggling to justify it.

On point 2 to clarify, my current set up is this:

* Adobe Premiere with dual PC monitors running via Blackmagicdesign Decklink Mini into a Sony 32" HD TV (HDMI) for external reference for grading. So, in other words, I don't grade in the GUI. This set up works fine for me now, but I'd like to be able to afford a calibrated external monitor. I haven't yet found one at an affordable price for myself as a solo worker. Would something like the BMD Smartview monitors be good for this? Link here: Blackmagic Design: SmartView

[Jim_Simon]

I'm just not familiar with those SmartViews.

But your current setup is good, as long as that Sony has been calibrated.  There are test patters and instructions that will allow you to do the work yourself, and there are companies that can do a more professional level calibration.  The idea is to have the best setup you can afford.  The closer you get to the ideal setup, the easier and better the work will be.

[Billy from Consett]

Slightly off topic, but in reply to the correct answer post - I've a 28" AOC U2879vF 4k monitor (3840 x 2160) which I bought to edit 4k with, but found with Adobe Premiere, it is completely unusable due to not being able to see the fonts in the text boxes. Windows 10 is fine  - Microsoft have sorted their scaling - but Premiere CS6 totally unworkable. For CS6 it was a waste of £300. It's now my second monitor and I run HD or 4K editing from a 24" jobby.

[Jim_Simon]

You should never use Windows Display Scaling.  Leave it at 100% always.

28" is just too small for 4K resolution.  Send it back and pick up at least a 32".  Or get a different 28" at 1440 native resolution.

[GermanTV]

Jim_Simon  schrieb

You should never use Windows Display Scaling.  Leave it at 100% always.

Can you explain why?

[Billy from Consett]

As I said Jim, I now use a smaller monitor. I'm certainly not throwing away more cash trying get Premiere CS6 to run with a 4k resolution screen - it's seems to be situation that Adobe has chosen not to help with. I realise that I'd probably need a 50" TV to see the fonts. My loyalty to Adobe since v5.1 has now ceased.