SHOOTOUT MONITORS SONY BVM-E250 Vs DOLBY PRM-4200
Mike Butler weighs up the pros and cons of two of the leading monitors on the market and fi nds that when it comes to choosing the right kit, bigger does sometimes mean better
Broadcast TECH
SONY BVM-E250 Panel OLED
Inputs and interfaces 3G-SDI x 2, HDMI x 1 standard input, option slot x 4 Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels Viewing angle 89° Screen size 24.5-inch Dimensions 577mm x 425mm x 149mm Colour space P3 (DCI), REC 709, SMPTE, EBU plus custom Price £21,000
S
ince Sony ceased production of its Grade 1 CRT monitors, many facilities
have felt compelled to hang on to them until a viable replacement becomes available. When Dolby introduced the PRM-4200, it
was hailed as the fi rst LCD monitor to offer true Grade 1 performance. Until the arrival of the Sony BVM-E250 OLED, it didn’t have much serious competition. “We’ve continued to use our Sony HD CRT
monitors – and we have the option of our Barco projectors if we need something bigger,” says Molinare head of grading Gareth Spens- ley. “We’ve not been convinced that either LCD or Plasma technology offers an alternative.” Evolutions operations director Owen Tyler concurs: “We’re still getting good service from our Sony CRT monitors, but we’re not wedded to them and we’ll probably replace them with the Sony OLED when the time comes.” At fi rst glance, it may not seem sensible to compare the two – at around £25,000, the
42 | Broadcast TECH | March/April 2012
DOLBY PRM-4200 Panel LCD
Inputs and interfaces 1.5G and 3G SDI x 2, single and dual link plus SMPTE 295M, 294M, 292M, 372M, 424M, 425M Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels Viewing angle 90° Screen size 42-inch Dimensions 991mm x 660mm x 381mm Colour space REC 709, SMPTE, EBU plus custom Price £25,000
Dolby PRM-4200 costs 20% more than the Sony. But for serious colourists, the issue is image quality and colour accuracy, not cost. Black-level performance is traditionally a weakness of LCD monitors but it is an area where Dolby makes great claims – and the blacks on the PRM-4200 are impressively dark. The overall image is both detailed and easy on the eye. Colourimetry is subjectively excellent and reports from users are that it’s very stable in use. “We’ve got four PRM- 4200s and they never need adjusting,” says MPC director of technology David Spilsbury. Off-axis viewing, another traditional weak-
ness of LCD monitors, is not a problem for the PRM-4200. Colour balance and contrast remain remarkably stable +/-45° or so away from square on. In comparison, Sony’s BVM- E250 immediately impresses with its vibrant and detailed pictures. OLED technology intrinsically offers excellent shadow resolu- tion and the E250 does not disappoint.
However, viewing angles are another story.
Sony claims +/-89°, but in reality colour bal- ance quickly deteriorates as you move off- axis, restricting the useful viewing angle to more like +/-20°.
Size is another major difference: the BVM- E250 is just 25 inches while the PRM-4200 is 42. Whether this matters depends on the envi- ronment in which it will be used: “You either need to view on a big enough monitor, or else be close enough to see if you’re introducing noise artefacts as you grade,” says Orange Coconut managing director Gary Hewson. It is a sentiment echoed by Spilsbury: “The
Sony simply isn’t big enough for our grading suites – it’s better suited as a Flame artist’s reference monitor”.
VERDICT The Dolby PRM-4200 beats the Sony BVM-E250 for viewing angles, and is its equal in shadow detail. If the price is affordable, and you have the space, it’s the one to go for.
www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52