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Filed under: *VIDEO* •Editing •Hardware •

How AJA’s new Hi5-3G may fix your DreamColor connection

The 30-bit (10-bit per channel) HP DreamColor monitor is quite attractive for the price, yet quite demanding regarding the type of input signals it accepts, as I explained on page 2 of my article How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!. In order to have the color engine active (which is necessary to monitor in ITU-R BT.701 color space), the DreamColor demands that its input signal over HDMI be both RGB (not component) and progressive (not interlaced or even PsF). If your system doesn’t currently output RGB over HDMI… or if it does that, but doesn’t put out true progressive at the progressive framerate you are editing, then the US$690 Hi5-3G from AJA can help, since it can convert a component signal over HD-SDI (or even 3G-SDI) and deliver a real time RGB signal over HDMI. Specifically, the Hi5-3G can help if it receives a signal which is either true progressive or PsF, since it can easily convert PsF into true progressive… but it cannot do the same from a true interlaced signal. For that, you need a EXT-HDSDI-2-HDMIS from Gefen, which costs US$1299. For more details, see page 2 of the article called How to connect your HD evaluation monitor to your editing system properly: Let me count the ways!

In the coming weeks, I’ll be doing a full review of the HP DreamColor 30-bit monitor (10-bit per channel) and the Hi5-3G. Stay tuned.

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Alan:

I am still confused as to how I can might my twoer Mac to a Dreamcolor Display using the Aja Hi5-3G. My Mac (2 X 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon) is equipped with an ATI Radeon HD 4870 video card. It has one DVI and one Mini Display Port output. Can I connect the Aja Hi5-3G directly to this card, or will I need another card?

Lang

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  05/26  at  02:09 PM

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Alan:

Or do I really need the Aja Hi5-3G at all? The specs for the ATI Radeon 4870 video card says that it its DVI output supports 30-bit digital displays at resolutions up to 1920-1200. So why can’t I simply use a DVI to HDMI cable to connect a Dreamcolor Display?

Lang

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  05/26  at  02:13 PM

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Lang,

In order to activate the color engine in the DreamColor, the input must be both RGB and true progressive, as explained in the article.

Posted by Allan Tépper  on  05/26  at  02:23 PM

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On the Dreamcolor display with the AJA Hi5-3G it is capable of driving true 10 bits per color channel in,  we tested it with DVS Centaurus II with Customer codec that support at 1920 x 1080 @ 4:4:4 16 bit float.  StEM finally looks great in DCI-P3 gamut, compared what we saw on the Dreamcolor at NAB. 

Also tested the Sony BVM-L230 also showed what if could do with a this codec with direct feed from the DVS.  That is also one very nice monitor. 

For the MacBookPro or miniDisplayport enabled MacPro you can drive it with Mini Display Port to HDMI from MonoPrice.com or MiniDisplayPort to Display port cable from Circuit Assembly.com 4870 is capable in the silicon to do 10 bit per color channel out,  but have not received from apple if they support this in their driver.  I know the ATI Window and Linux driver do.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  06/10  at  09:39 PM

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