Interview with Greg Staten on the HP DreamColor Monitor
By Julien Lasseur
When I picked HP DreamColor Solutions Architect Greg Staten up from LAX, it came to my attention that he was only in LA for a few hours. He had come to LA specifically for this interview! We rushed back to the office, where Kevin, Jose and Brad were finishing with the set-up, and dove straight into the interview. The thing I remember most about Greg was his passion and his nerdiness, and I mean that in a great way. Like many of us filmmakers who obsess over certain pieces of gear or technology, Greg is equally dedicated to producing a great monitor. He’s fascinated with what his clients are doing with HP’s products, and he’s always looking for improvements. When I asked him what he liked most about his job, he said that it was seeing the excitement and the possibilities clients have over these monitors.
After finishing the interview, we had a little time left before Greg’s flight, so the whole crew, Greg and I sat down for Saturday lunch at Father’s Office. I just want to conclude with a thank you to Greg for taking the time to do an interview with us. Thanks to my crew for coming out on a Saturday and thanks to HV for providing the resources for this little project!
Greg talks about the development of the HP DreamColor Monitor from real world experiences, like watching Shane and his needs in the dust and dirt of shooting Act of Valor.
Credits
Julien Lasseur – Director
Kevin Anderson – Camera Operator, Grip
Jose De Los Angeles – Camera Operator, Gaffer
Brad Flick – Sound
Kathryn Lang – Editor
Buy the HP DreamColor Monitor:
B&H – amazon.com – eBay
It would be a great monitor if it had HD/SDI inputs and outputs and was a bit more rugged. Not really meant for location film production until it has professional inputs and outputs, HDMI is too wonky.
True, even the HDMI on my TV set is not trust-worthy (and I hardly change the plugs on that one). So SDI is a must, aside from HDMI (since some cameras only provide these ports).
But I also hope HP will re-invent the category and give us camera monitors – big and small – that will help you solve problems on set. For example, a custom 2:35 to 1 aspect ratio setting, so you can gauge how composition needs to change when shooting 1080p (but want to edit at 1920×816).
I am curious about this HP Dreamcolor monitor. It seems like an excellent value. I understand it nails the colorspace for DSLR video, which is great, but the thing holding me back from pulling the trigger is how well it works with the Canon C series cameras as well as some of the emerging 2K and beyond cameras.
We shoot most of our material with DSLRs, but also rent other cameras for about 30% jobs we’re shooting where DSLR’s fall short.
I’m curious about this http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/04/01/lenovo-announces-thinkvision-lt3053p-that-covers-99percent-of-adobergb-gamut could it replace the dream color?
The real question is how much of the REC709 color space would the Lenovo cover? As far as bit depth, color accuracy and black levels the Dreamcolor is a must. It would be great to see an on camera monitoring solution capable of this color resolution. SmallHD their new OLED DP7 that can compete for sure.
Shane, have you found anything else comparable to the Dreamcolor? Or have a lead on anything new coming from HP in this category?
Arthur Bishop, The Flanders CM 170 studio monitor is rocking. I have started to use this in the field now. Bigger price tag, but a great monitor. I love the DP-7 OLED. Its rec 709 LUT is banging.
Shane, The Flanders CM 171 has some impressive specs, but you’re right big price jump. The native HD-SDI IO might be where it makes the value. Thanks!