The new Mac Pro: Which screen?

[PatrickV]

Hi there,

 

I'm about to switch to a brand new Mac Pro for my video editing work.

My current system has problems with editing my Panasonic GH4's 4K footage.

 

The question is:

 

Which screen is the best option for me (<€1.500) ? I heard about some affordable 4K screens (like the Samsung UHD 28'' monitor), but they might have some teething troubles.  What about the Apple Thunderbolt display? (although it is not a 4K monitor).

 

What would you guys do? Cheers!

[Turboguard]

I can't help you pick a screen but I can tell you that I've been editing 4K footage on my Macbook Pro 15" Retina display. And I don't believe the Retina displays are 4K but more like 2.5K (someone right me if I'm wrong). But yeah, I have had ZERO problems with coloring/editing so far.

[varicam]

Right. 15" rMBP is only 2880 x 1800.

[leeys]

To be honest, I'm not sure a 4K screen is going to be of any use when editing unless you're on multiple monitors and editing at full res - the toolbars will eat into the resolution anyway.

[andy lee]

I was down at Media City in Salford UK ( BBC and ITV's  new home) editing there , some of the edit suits have jumped on the Polaroid 4k 50 inch TV  as it is affordable and lashed at on the end of the edit system as a final check monitor - yes its TV not strictly a monitor but very useful to have if your laptop is only 2.5k edit on that then check it on the big (its huge!!) Polaroid

[PatrickV]

Thanks for the input, guys.

 

The Polaroid screen seems to be a nice investment for the future. I am not going to work with multiple monitors like leeys mentioned, so a 2,5K screen might be the best option. Is the Apple 27'' Thunderbolt screen the best option in that case? Or are there other (Apple) screens on the market which are interesting too?

[varicam]

Apple displays are too expensive.   Dell have some nice high resolution monitors (not 4K). But I heard that some graphics professionals prefer NEC monitors. Those are expensive as well.

[letchhausen]

I don't like the Apple Thunderbolt displays because it's like looking into a mirror. I tried some of the well regarded Dell's last year when I had a project that necessitated I replace my monitor. I ended up with an NEC which I got on sale so it ended up being cheaper than the Apple display. My only gripe was that after purchasing it I found that I needed the NEC calibration tool as it didn't support my Colormunki. So that added another $250 to the price which made it more expensive than the Apple at that point. But it's a great monitor. If I were going to do it now I would check out the HP Dreamcolor Z27x which Black Magic recommends for Resolve. But it's more than either the NEC or the Apple.

[dahlfors]

I recommend having a read of monitor reviews at http://tftcentral.co.uk

 

There's quite a few displays 27" with fairly highres out now. The Dell U2713H might be worthy to take a look at. Quite a few other manufacturers make 27" displays out of the same LCD panel that is used in that one, if I remember correctly it is the same one as in the Apple 27".

 

There's also rumors that Apple will release a 4k display later this year. Might/might not be true, so might be worthy to check macrumors.com a bit before you buy.

[Zatara]

If the sRGB color space is all you need, check out the LG 34UM95 -- it's a 3440x1440 extra wide 34" screen, covers 99% of the sRGB color space, and supports internal LUTs w/ colorimeter (i1Display Pro works fine).  It's also ~10 bit color (8bit + FRC).  Attaches natively to the Mac Pro via thunderbolt.  At just under 1K USD, it's about the same price as the Apple Thunderbolt Display, and a far better value.

 

The z27x is also worth considering if you don't need full 4K support: native 10-bit color, better calibrated contrast, scaled support for 4K, and more color spaces (e.g. Rec 709, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3).  

 

I've used both, and though the z27x beats out the LG panel to panel, the LG is still more than capable for editing in the sRGB space (say if your content is only going up online), and the extra width is really great, particularly for FCPX.  Some users have reported some backlight bleed (I noticed a bit in the bottom corners, but nothing so bad as to interfere with editing work).

 

I've also heard good things about the NEC PA272.

 

Remember, though, that the Mac Pro doesn't natively support 10-bit displays under OSX -- for hyper critical color work, you'll need an adapter to sit between your Mac and monitor (e.g. Blackmagic Ultra Studio).  You can, however, view 10-bit color under Windows.