I am looking to purchase a few Sony GDM-FW900 displays. One will be my primary computer monitor, the other one I would like to use as a "Program Monitor". A Program Monitor in terms of HD video editing, which is where my question lies...

I am looking at purchasing the Blackmagic Design DeckLink HD Extreme capture card. The analog video output’s are "Component YUV/S-Video/Composite switchable between SD and HD in Component". I am trying to determine if/how to hook the Sony GDM-FW900 to this card.

I am getting the impression that the component output (RGB) of the card would simply plug into the RGB BNC connectors and the HD & VS inputs go unused. Is this the correct approach? If so, does anyone know what the HD & VD inputs are used for?

Carleton

P.S. The web site for the Blackmagic Design card is as follows, replace the astrics with periods. Because this is my first post, I cannot post URL;)

www*blackmagic-design*com/products/hd/techspecs/

I am looking at purchasing the Blackmagic Design DeckLink HD Extreme capture card. The analog video output’s are "Component YUV/S-Video/Composite switchable between SD and HD in Component". I am trying to determine if/how to hook the Sony GDM-FW900 to this card.

Hi Carleton,

The GDM-FW900 monitor only accepts VGA (RGBHV) video inputs. The H and V sync signals are required. So component video (YUV) will not work directly. However, a standard pc video card will drive it (as opposed to the Blackmagic).

If you need to feed it component video / YUV, there are some transcoders available. Check out curtpalme.com as one source.

There is a thread for this monitor at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1061724

Good luck! I use mine as an HDTV monitor and am very pleased.

rs232guy,

First off, I don't care if I use the 5BNC or the standard 15-pin VGA connector.

Based on what I am seeing at curtpalme.com, I don't need a transcoders, but a HDMI/DVI to RGB convertor like the HDfury and the Moome EXT-FULLHD, since I want to go from RGB to RGBHV. Correct?

My goal is not simply HD viewing, but HD editing where I am going to want some extra control, such as the gamma and contrast control given by the Moome EXT-FULLHD. Is that generally considered the better unit? Are there other units I should consider?

Carleton

I am using HDMI -> HDFury -> VGA (or BNC) to drive my FW900. It works great, and is easier than getting YUV component video into this monitor. You may want one of the gamma add-ons from curtpalme (or an outboard video processor like Lumagen or DVDO). The FW900 will display 720p and 1080i (which it probably thinks is 1920x540p). It will do 480p, but mine would hum audibly likely due to the low frequency of this resolution. A video processor can help with all of this - just drive it at a constant 1920x1080p and adjust the gamma, etc. on the VP, outputting HDMI through an HDFury.

The original HDFury (not the "2") does have the left shift problem, but the controls on the FW900 allow you to shift the image sufficiently to correct for this.

If you are serious about calibration and accuracy, you may also want to look into the WinDAS tweaks. I have not personally gone that far. The contrast and RGB individual gain/bias controls will do a lot, but there is no gamma control on the monitor.

The FW900 can be a great monitor, especially for the price. But all of them are old and of varying quality in today's market, and they are not the most user friendly boxes to set up for HD content. Check the main unofficial FW900 thread (linked in my previous post).

I am getting the impression that the component output (RGB) of the card would simply plug into the RGB BNC connectors and the HD & VS inputs go unused.

Based on what I am seeing at curtpalme.com, I don't need a transcoders, but a HDMI/DVI to RGB convertor like the HDfury and the Moome EXT-FULLHD, since I want to go from RGB to RGBHV. Correct?
I believe you're confusing analog YPrPb (incorrectly labeled as YUV on your card specs) with analog RGB. They're both technically "component" video formats, but we usually refer to YPrPb as "component video". Just because the YPrPb connectors are colored green, red, and blue doesn't mean they carry RGB signals. If you're looking to display the analog outputs from that capture card onto your Sony GDM-FW900, you need to go from YPrPb -> RGBHV and rs232guy is right that you need some transcoder-type device to do this. This device will need to:
1.) Strip the csync out of the Y; since in YPrPb signals, composite sync is present on the Y.
2.) Separate the Vertical and Horizontal Syncs out of the composite sync.
3.) Do the colorspace conversion from YPrPb to RGB. Mathematical values for the conversion will be different depending on whether the signal is Standard Definition or High Definition.

I know it looks like you're currently pursuing the method from the HDMI output (which I think is the better option), but I just wanted to clarify your thought process on the analog component video output.