Viewing RCx on a 2k monitor

[Mauro Andreini]

Hi guys,
I know this might sound a little immature for you “Old Sailors of the RED Seas” and please forgive my ignorance but to me this is a fairly important question as I don’t have a Red Rocket just as yet. (waiting to see the future developments on that score)

Will I obtain a respectable enough image for reasonable grading evaluations out of Redcine if I connect a good 2k+ Led monitor to any one of to my two GTX450 graphic cards ? (HDMI / DVI)
Beside speed of course!!

Thanks guys…you’re great!!

[Matt Ryan]

Without a Redrocket you will most likely have to view in 1/4 resolution for real time playback. So even if you view it on a 2K monitor your only getting a 1080p quality playback stretched to the 2K display. If you have a 12 core Mac Pro you should be able to play back at 1/2 res which would be 2K and fit your 2K display properly without being stretched.

RedcineX Pro is really a basic color correction app so it's basically a "Primary Grade." I'd recommend setting to full quality and grading on a single frame of the clip, then switch back to 1/4 res to view the real time playback with your corrections made...

I've been grading on my 30Inch Apple Cinema Display with great results.

[Mauro Andreini]

Without a Redrocket you will most likely have to view in 1/4 resolution for real time playback. So even if you view it on a 2K monitor your only getting a 1080p quality playback stretched to the 2K display. If you have a 12 core Mac Pro you should be able to play back at 1/2 res which would be 2K and fit your 2K display properly without being stretched.

RedcineX Pro is really a basic color correction app so it's basically a "Primary Grade." I'd recommend setting to full quality and grading on a single frame of the clip, then switch back to 1/4 res to view the real time playback with your corrections made...

I've been grading on my 30Inch Apple Cinema Display with great results.

Thanks Matt,

I’m aware of the speed problem as I said (beside speed) but I’m just concerned about definition for quality viewing.
Why would the image be only a 1080 if the monitor is capable of 2560 x 1600 ?
The graphics card also supports that definition. Should I not at least get that?
In full res. Of course!

I guess my question was really….how much of a better picture (NOT SPEED) would I get out of the Red rocket connected via the BOB to the same monitor instead of HDMI coming from the graphics card?

[Matt Ryan]

If your playing back the RED footage in 1/4 resolution you are only getting a 1080p image...It doesn't matter what resolution your monitor is. Full res =4k , 1/2 res =2K, 1/4 res= 1080p, 1/8 res =720p.

So even though your monitor is 2K, unless you are viewing in 1/2 res you will not get a 2K image. This will then mean if you view it in full screen, although it will fill the screen you are stretching(blowing up) a 1080p image to your monitors 2K resolution.

You will definitely get better results from a Redrocket since you can view it in full resolution =4k which will the be resized down to 2K (your monitors resolution) and will have a much sharper/vibrant look to it. So yes, there is a difference. Plus other than this benefit you can play back the footage in full res, real time without having to go down to 1/4 res for playback.

Heres a simple test for you to do so you can see the difference:
1. Open an R3D in RCX Pro and select full res, then view full screen (It can be just a still)
2. Now change the resolution to 1/2, then 1/4, then 1/8th and go full screen on each. Unless you have a 4K display, full and 1/2 res will look similar. Quality goes down after that. You will notice the image gets softer as you reduce the resolution...

[Mauro Andreini]

I am sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. (it’s probably got something to do with me being Italian)

I am very aware of the content of your comments.
My question is more related to the output of the graphics card vs. dedicated card like the Red rocket.
I can grade on a still and that would be 2k ..yes? That’s not a problem as long as the quality of the image is equal to that of the dedicated card. For now anyway…till I get the card.

[Matt Ryan]

If the still is being viewed in 1/2 res in full screen it will be 2k.

I am using the Apple Cinema Display 30 through my GT120 despite having a Red Rocket. I view in 1/2 res and therefore I am viewing a 2K image on a 2K monitor. When I switch over to Full resolution, I am viewing a 4K image output as 2K since that is all the graphics card and display can handle.

It would be the same for viewing out of the Redrocket except it isn't limited to 2K output like the typical graphics card (It can play back 4K res footage to a 4K display). But you will still only get a 2K image if your monitor's max resolution is 2K. In other words you do not need a Redrocket to view a 2K image on your 2K display.

Hope this helps.

[Mauro Andreini]

Yes Matt,
And thank you for your time, much appreciated! Happy Red filming!!