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Best Dual Monitors


Thomas Beach

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I'm considering a rack-mountable dual monitor and have seen primarily Marshall and Blackmagic Design systems as the go-to's out there. So I'm just wondering which monitor brands the group likes and why?  

 

I am especially interested in the Blackmagic Design Smart Duo given its price point of $495.00. Then there is the Marshall M-LYNX-702 V.3 at $800.00 and the M-LYNX-702W at $1250.00. If there are other brands or models recommended please feel free to do so. 

 

My needs are basically standard corporate/commercial work and low-budget indie features.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Tom

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I personally don’t like the black magic monitors. I feel like they are built poorly and when mine had an issue, it was a huge hassle and took months to have the warranty cover it. I wouldn’t do business with them just based off of that experience. But another thing is that they have limited input types, and do not tilt, whereas the marshalls are a lot more versatile and have menus that allow you to do different sorts of things and use different sources. Tilting is also a big deal for me because I mount them at the top of my cart, so I’m always looking slightly up. If you can’t tilt the monitors then you always have glare on them. 

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Thanks, guys. I too noted the non-tilt as a concern and the IP-only adjustments of the Blackmagic. But again, a great price point. But warranty troubles must also be  considered. And I know the Marshall's have been a longtime favorite of many mixers. I was completely unaware of the Feelworld D71 and family of monitors. Thanks! They look pretty darn good and offer twice the resolution.

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5 hours ago, Naga said:

I’m using Feelworld D71.

It has both SDI and HDMI input, 1280:800 panel, and the function to power on/ off separately.


Feelworld is a good bang for buck, my first ever monitor was a Feelworld. 

Lately been using a Lilliput A5 which I like. Also a bargain buy. 

But look out as well for secondhand older SmallHD monitors, I picked up an older SmallHD 7" for a song, and all of the SmallHD monitors have good reputations. 

2 hours ago, JonG said:

Tilting is also a big deal for me because I mount them at the top of my cart, so I’m always looking slightly up. If you can’t tilt the monitors then you always have glare on them. 


Someone has made them tilt:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackmagic-Design-Smartscope-Duo-4K-UHD-Rack-Mounted-Dual-6G-SDI-Monitors-HD-SDI/362670902934

 

And it seems like it should be easy enough to do, as there must be various after market accessories designed for rack mounted units to make them tilt?

 

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My Blackmagics tilt via a simple bracket Rastorder make. The Blackmagics are bang for buck and mine have lasted a few years and this is the 2nd cart they've lived on. That said they have their limitations. One thing I would recommend if you go the BM route is to use a patch bay for the BNC I/O as the BNC's are soldered straight to the mother board. thumbnail-4.jpeg

 

Cheers Nate.

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14 hours ago, Nate C said:

 One thing I would recommend if you go the BM route is to use a patch bay for the BNC I/O as the BNC's are soldered straight to the mother board. 

 

This was one of the reasons why I stated that they were poorly made. You need a patch pay and a bracket to get this thing to do what the Marshalls already do. And remember, they won’t be pleasant to deal with if it breaks under warranty, and probably won’t be if any help at all if it breaks afterwards. 

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On 6/6/2019 at 10:12 PM, Nate C said:

My Blackmagics tilt via a simple bracket Rastorder make. The Blackmagics are bang for buck and mine have lasted a few years and this is the 2nd cart they've lived on. That said they have their limitations. One thing I would recommend if you go the BM route is to use a patch bay for the BNC I/O as the BNC's are soldered straight to the mother board. thumbnail-4.jpeg

 

Cheers Nate.

 

Where did you get the sunshade/cover for the monitors? 

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  • 8 months later...
On 6/5/2019 at 7:46 PM, IronFilm said:


Feelworld is a good bang for buck, my first ever monitor was a Feelworld. 

Lately been using a Lilliput A5 which I like. Also a bargain buy. 

But look out as well for secondhand older SmallHD monitors, I picked up an older SmallHD 7" for a song, and all of the SmallHD monitors have good reputations. 


Someone has made them tilt:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackmagic-Design-Smartscope-Duo-4K-UHD-Rack-Mounted-Dual-6G-SDI-Monitors-HD-SDI/362670902934

 

And it seems like it should be easy enough to do, as there must be various after market accessories designed for rack mounted units to make them tilt?

 

That listing is no longer available.

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On 6/6/2019 at 10:12 PM, Nate C said:

 I would recommend if you go the BM route is to use a patch bay for the BNC I/O as the BNC's are soldered straight to the mother board.

 

That's the first thing I did when I got mine.

No solder patch bay:

 

image.pngimage.png

 

I mounted one of these onto the rear rack rail: https://www.pacrad.com/catalog/product/view/id/10093/s/middle-atlantic-3-8bnc4-ucp-module-with-four-3-8-bnc-punchouts/category/389/

And installed 4x BNC connectors that are permanently connected to the monitors with short coax cables: A-In / A-out / B-in / B-out. Can't remember exactly, but total cost probably around 50-75 bucks.

 

Is SmartDuo "the best" ? Probably not, but they work for me - most of the time. I'm not doing color correction or anything, just need the framing and whatever info I can get from set - TC, camera rolling or cut etc. Plus I got mine used for under $400 years ago, so I already got my money's worth.

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I used the Lilliput dual 7" rack-mount RM7028S and found them much more versatile and better image than the BlackMagic Duo.  For one thing

they have HDMI and SDI and Component and Composite inputs and front panel switches to control the monitor and switch inputs.  With the BM Duo you need a computer hooked to the LAN port running proprietary software to just adjust the display.  With the Lilliput, you can feed your laptop or mac mini into the HDMI input and switch between it  and the 3G SDI camera feeds using a front panel switch.  Here is the link:

Lilliput 7" on Amazon

Only slightly more expensive than the Blackmagic Duo screens

you may not need the tilt function since the Lilliput screens are HD IPS displays with good off-axis viewing.

 

 
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On 2/14/2020 at 5:58 PM, cmgoodin said:

Only slightly more expensive than the Blackmagic Duo screens


And considering that they offer way more options that somewhat offsets the price difference. 
This seems to be a good alternative should my BM smartviews ever break (currently they show absolutely no sign of that)

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