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1325 Review
38 Karma

Review on πŸ–₯️ Rackmountable Dual 8-inch LCD Monitors by Blackmagic Design Smartview Duo by Jordan Weakland

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great little SD-SDI or HD-SDI monitor

I've had my eye on the Blackmagic Smartview Duo for a long time and have finally seen some of these in action at another facility. It moved me enough to get three of my own. First, not every screen is HD resolution. Actual resolution is probably much closer to SD, but you won't be tracking critical content on an 8-inch screen. In this case, the video looks great and is generally accurate. The control panel of the PC/MAC software allows you to adjust the color of the image. and brightness to the screen, or you can link the two together if you want both screens to be the same. Screens can get VERY bright. I ended up dialing back up to 30%. network, you can even set them all up at the same time, okay. The monitor features a GPI-triggered DB9 scoring system, where you can simultaneously get RGB or any combination of colors with a GPI-triggered scoring. I used red to indicate operator graphics are on air when the video switcher is connected to this source (requires use of GPO or tally outputs on the video switcher and appropriate cables). The monitor supports all currently used SDI and HD-SDI resolutions and frames through-connection tariffs. Ethernet loop-through is also good, allowing you to daisy chain all your Smartview monitors without having to use multiple Ethernet connections to the switch. This is very useful in terms of cabling, as you save a lot of cables by only using one ethernet connection to your monitor. You can even plug it back into your computer. The only real downside I can think of is the lack of a power switch or power control. You have to physically unplug it to turn it off. I run mine 24/7 but plan to hook it up to a power timer or IP controlled power switch (Ubiquity mPower). I would like Blackmagic to add a firmware update that will allow you to either manage ethernet power or turn off power if the source is lost.

Pros
  • Video monitors
Cons
  • Available in white only