At the BVE Expo in London the new premium SmallHD 503 UltraBright daylight view-able monitor was on display. It has a 2200nit 10-bit display with wide viewing angles and a durable milled aluminium chassis.
It has twin SDI inputs, a SDI out and HDMI in and out. Power can be supplied via a LEMO connector, or via a range of dedicated power plates for various batteries that connects directly to the back of the monitor. In a nice touch the use of a special connector on the back plate means that there are no dangling power cables when running on battery power.
The screen is self has a resolution of 1920×1080 and is optically bonded for better performance. It is also capable of HDR Preview. Gorilla glass is used to protect the screen from accidental damage. In my brief time playing with it I found the display to be very clear with excellent viewing angles. It is certainly a step up from the current 502 that I use. Menus are controlled in a similar way to other recent SmallHD models, but with the addition of large programmable buttons on the front.
Priced at $2499 (Introductory price $2199 until March 31st 2017) it is a premium product that should be well suited to camera top, gimbal and Steadicam use. It competes directly with established models from the likes from Transvideo and TVLogic.
The current 501 and 502 models remain available for those wanting cheaper alternatives.
Also announced today is a premium 7 inch display, the 703 UltraBright. It has a resolution of 1920×1080 and a claimed brightness of 2500nits. Like the 503 it is an optically bonded display with Gorilla glass front. Again there are extra hardware controls on the front offering direct access to different features.
Price is set at $2599 (with a $500 discount from now until March 31).
You can find out more about both monitors on the SmallHD website.
