Arsenal chose the 4K Sony BVM-HX3110 to work alongside their fleet of BVM-HX310 monitors, pleased with the colour rendition, improved viewing angle and fast pixel response.
Arsenal FX Color in LA post-produces long-form content for broadcast television, streaming services, feature films and commercials. Faced with the continuous need to keep pace with the fast moving media and entertainment industry, the facility recognises the value of investing in equipment that is up to date and ready to adapt to new developments.
Recently, their team upgraded its reference monitoring equipment to the Sony BVM-HX3110 TRIMASTER HX, a 4K grading monitor chosen to help them handle the company’s diverse workload of increasingly complex media projects, and the need to maintain the quality of their output.
Monitoring Evolution
The Arsenal team has seen the role of monitors change and evolve over the years. They regard investing in devices like the HX3110 on projects as not only a cost of doing business, but also as a sign of their interest in client service and the priority they place on quality. They have acquired an inventory of Sony monitors over the past years.
After installing several BVM-X300 models earlier on and later adding several BVM-HX310s, Arsenal purchased the new monitor in early 2024. Since all of these models have the same colour gamut, owning and operating them together has made it fairly straightforward to keep looks consistent at the studio.
Demand for Customisation
Larry Field, managing partner and supervising colourist at Arsenal and editor Josh Baca work with O.T. Hight, a visual effects artist. Larry said, "Our combined expertise – colour, editing and VFX – illustrates the level of client engagement that we can reach in the studio. It means we can tailor our services to work effectively for the highly specialised projects coming in to the studio now, from across numerous genres of home and theatrical entertainment.
Their schedule of projects is larger, with a wider range of requirements for colour, conforming and visual effects. Projects are also underway over a longer period, compared to the past when Arsenal was were working mainly on network-based broadcast television projects and features without an upfront streaming component.
“We formerly had a rhythm and a fairly predictable delivery schedule with TV work,” said Josh who, as well as an editor, is partner and CTO at Arsenal. “Now we work on projects of six to 10 episodes that, in some cases, are treated more like a large feature film. They are more complex, require more time and as a result, are open longer. Plus, we’re creating multiple deliverables on everything – standard and high dynamic range, multiple nit levels, different colour spaces, formats and so on.
For a facility like Arsenal FX, the new HX3110 has a number of advantages over the X300 and HX310 in the BVM range that can help help Arsenal meet the more varied delivery requirements for streaming platforms, faster and more efficiently.
Colour Fidelity
As a 4K HDR master monitor, the BVM-HX3110 is designed for accurate colour fidelity. Typical peak luminance is increased to 4,000 cd/m² (or nits) while the deep blacks are retained. Professional colourists will be able to see the details, highlights and darker, more saturated colours, even in areas of the image where details may have been lost.
High luminance is important because of the effect today's home entertainment market has on the professional monitoring space. TV manufacturers are producing new models capable of displaying higher nit levels, while viewers themselves expect higher quality.
“The decision to grade a project entirely in HDR and view it only in HDR is becoming a stronger trend, where just a few years ago there weren't even enough qualified devices available to execute that type of project properly,” said Larry. “The streamers are really advancing the requirements for HDR, and we now have demand to hit 4,000 nits, where a year ago the conversation never went past 1,000 nits.”
Josh recalled a recent project for a streaming service that they were able to successfully complete on-time due to the HX3110. “That series is in the 4,000-nit realm. Because its finishing schedule and the monitor’s delivery coincided perfectly, it meant we were able to both use this new monitor and fulfill the requirements on a current project,” Josh said.
Viewing Angle and Pixel Response
A change in the optical display materials has expanded the practical viewing angle of the HX3110 at 45° to help a group of users carry out reviews together. This update also improves the viewing of transitions from 0 to 45° and beyond.
“The improved viewing angle really helps when you have a client or a DP, for example, sitting next to you during a session. If you hit something off axis where the colours and contrast are shifting, he or she may start questioning the quality of the colour correction. But now when someone is sitting next to you, the image will look the same as if they were looking straight at it.”
For users concerned with detail and clarity, such as those working in live sports and music productions, the BVM-HX3110’s high-speed pixel response can be activated with an optional license, which displays pan and tilt movements with less motion blur, and makes scrolling tickers easier to read. The combination of rapid video response and high brightness makes this display clearer than most available OLEDs.
The team at Arsenal has found that the monitor’s pixel response, reduced latency and simpler menu system have other workflow advantages. “We use the fast response license to review items like end credit scrolls and check for motion blur,” Josh said. “Also, the menu system is straightforward enough for artists to make changes to colour spaces or nit levels fairly easily, which is helpful when they need to swap between projects throughout the day.”
Confidence
Looking ahead, Arsenal FX Color anticipates further changes in monitoring, particularly in terms of grading at higher brightness levels and wider colour gamuts. Sony’s HX3110 monitor gives the team peace of mind knowing they have the tools required to handle most challenges. “Furthermore, clients should feel confident that we are making decisions based on the highest quality, most accurate display possible,” Larry said. “If there’s ever a project that we can’t take on, the reason won’t be about not having the right equipment.” pro.sony
