SmallHD has just unveiled its latest high-end 4K production monitor, the SmallHD OLED 27. As the name suggests, it features an OLED panel, but of course that’s not all. It also offers true 10-bit color accuracy, 4K UltraHD resolution, 550 nits of brightness, and all the connections you’d expect from a high-end display. Price? $11,999.
A few weeks ago, SmallHD (a Vitec company) introduced the Cine 18, a 4K daylight-viewable production monitor. Now, on opening day of NAB 2022, the company unveiled the OLED 27 monitor.
This new model is aimed at professional productions and, according to the press release, can be used for HDR monitoring on set, but it will also fit nicely in a post-production suite. Let’s take a closer look.
SmallHD OLED 27
The panel of the SmallHD OLED 27 offers a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, a 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 UltraHD), true 10-bit colors and a brightness of up to 550nits with a dynamic range of 12.3 f-stops. It is surrounded by usual SmallHD high quality engineering, namely a rugged unibody chassis with plenty of connectivity options. The whole thing is powered by SmallHD’s own PageOS 4.
Mastering Color
From the fundamental principles of manipulating color and contrast, to the latest HDR workflows, professional colorist Ollie Kenchington provides a complete guide and deconstructs the art and science of color grading.
On the rear panel we find an I/O section with eight SDI ports: 4x 12G-SDI in, 4x 12G-SDI out and two HDMI 2.0 ports (in/out). The unit is powered via an XLR mini-plug and provides two additional 2-pin power outputs for connecting accessories such as wireless receivers. A SD card slot is also present.
A hot-swap battery plate (V-Mount or Gold Mount) can also be used to power the OLED 27 – you have to purchase it additionally, though. Finally, the SmallHD OLED 27 offers 4 threads for standard VESA mounting and a dovetail rail for easy mounting of additional accessories.
Specifications
Here’s a full list of specifications of the new SmallHD OLED 27 production monitor:
- Contrast Ratio: >1,000,000:1
- Screen Size: 26.9in / 68.3cm
- Bit Depth: True 10-bit
- Color: 110% DCI-P3 / 135% Rec. 709
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- Brightness: Up to 550nits
Since the 550nits might be a bit low for use in bright sunlight, some kind of sunhood is probably a good idea if you’re using this monitor outside a studio environment.
Software (PageOS 4) features include the usual tools such as false color, focus assist and peaking and pixel zoom but also sport things like:
- Color Pipe HDR color-rendering
- Waveform
- Vectorscope
- Monitor Calibration Wizard
- Livegrade integration
Since PageOS 5 seems to be just around the corner, the feature set will be significantly enhanced very soon, once it’s available for the OLED 27. More information can be found in the SmallHD blog post.
Pricing
As the SmallHD OLED 27 is clearly aimed at higher-end productions and post production houses, this monitor is not exactly cheap: $11,999. But it sports a true 10-Bit HDR OLED panel (not 8+2 FRC), professional I/O, and all the other pro features.
Note: B&H currently lists the OLED 27 for $13,499.10 (10% off the regular price of $14,999) and while the 10% discount can also be found on SmallHD’s website, the $3,000 price difference remains unclear to us. Perhaps the prices will be updated soon (and hopefully SmallHD’s price is the correct one here).
Link: SmallHD
What do you think? Would you buy such a panel? What do you use for monitoring in your studio? Share your experiences in the comments below!
