Computer Monitor & Editing Keyboard Options

Standard systems are configured with a single 22" or 23" LCD monitor. Many can display "Full-HD" resolution (1920x1080). We can also supply multi-function HD TV/Monitors which have both PC inputs (VGA & DVI) as well as analogue composite/component and HDMI inputs, making them useful as dual purpose PC display & SD/HD video monitors. 

The system pictured below has such a configuration, where the left-hand screen is a regular computer monitor (for the user interface), but the right hand screen can either take a SD/HD component feed from the Matrox RT.X2 breakout box, an AV SCART feed from an external video source, or act as a second PC display to extend the desktop when not running Adobe Premiere.

Video editing software typically uses multiple windows to display the Timeline, Clip Library, Effects Info, etc, so in order to display a meaningful section of your project, along with all the interface buttons, you need a big monitor, or maybe two monitors. All our systems can be supplied with twin monitors. These are normally of the same size, but you can have different sizes if space/price is a consideration.

One of four i7 920 - RT.X2 LE editing systems supplied to Wyke 6th Form College, with dual 23" LCD PC & TV monitors

We often have used 14" & 20" professional monitors for viewing PAL (& NTSC) interlaced video in the Car Boot Sale. Also used editing keyboards.
 

Editing Keyboards Using keyboard shortcuts can speed up the use of any computer software, and video editing is no exception. Learning the keyboard shortcuts, however, can be a real chore, so many of us just don't bother. Which is fine for something you might only use occasionally, but if you edit for a living then working faster has definite financial benefits. Editing keyboards have the shortcut symbols engraved on the keycaps, which are colour-coded into functional groups. They also help to identify your "editing system" as something special, and not just another PC.

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Revised: 04 May, 2010