Video Devices PIX-E7 7” 4K Monitor / Recorder

The Video Devices PIX-E Series includes camera-mounted recording monitors. The 1920x1200 7" PIX-E7 LCD Monitor/Recorder features a full suite of precision monitoring tools, SDI and HDMI I/O, plus the ability to record 4K and Apple ProRes 4444 XQ edit-ready files to affordable mSATA-based SpeedDrives.

Bigger, Bolder Picture

Discerning cinematographers and videographers need high-resolution, color-accurate, sunlight-viewable monitoring with a wide angle of view. The PIX-E Series monitors excel in all those aspects with their IPS, 500 nit, 1920x1200 7" LCD displays. It includes a capacitive touch screen for maximum light transmission and minimal reflection. With 500 nit brightness and 179° angle of view, its 7-inch, 1920x1200, 323 ppi IPS display ensures accurate monitoring of clarity and color depth, even in bright sunlight.

Full Range of Recording Capabilities

The PIX-E7 offers the full range of Apple® ProRes codecs from Proxy to 4444 XQ. The latter is a 12-bit codec designed to preserve the detail in wide dynamic range imagery captured by today's high performance digital image sensors. PIX-E7 can record 4K up to 30 fps, UHD up to 30 fps and 1080p or 720p up to 120 fps.

The PIX-E7 is also capable of recording H.264, a codec which offers a good balance between compression and quality to reach low data rates and small file sizes, perfect for web streaming, email, and faster file uploads. Like ProRes, H.264 may be recorded to the SpeedDrive, if chosen as the primary codec. Otherwise, end users can enable the monitor's dual codec recording capability, where ProRes is recorded to the SpeedDrive and H.264 is simultaneously recorded to an SD card. While recording 4K in ProRes, the monitor will automatically scale the 4K to 1080p for recording H.264, thereby reducing its file size even further.

If a LUT is active, it will be baked into the recorded H.264 file, but will not impact ProRes recordings. This is ideal for when you want to simultaneously record a full dynamic range, log-encoded ProRes master file for the edit suite and a REC709 H.264 file suitable for normal viewing.

More Connections, Greater Flexibility

Like its 5-inch predecessor, the PIX-E7 also offers BNC connections for SDI In and Out as well as input and output connections for HDMI. What sets the PIX-E7 apart is a second SDI In and another BNC connection for LTC In. Additionally, its left side panel features a GPIO port for tally light and remote control workflows.

PIX-Assist Monitoring Tools & Scopes

The PIX-E7 offers multiple scopes and tools to deliver your professional monitoring needs.

• Four Way View
• Waveform Monitor
• Vectorscope
• Histogram
• TapZoom (see more detail below)
• Peaking
• Zebras
• False Color
• Frame Markers
• LUTs (Built-in, Custom)
• Anamorphic Desqueeze

TapZoom

It's never been faster to zoom in and check focus. TapZoom provides instant 2x or 4x zoom to where you tap on the touchscreen. Tap again to zoom out. Once zoomed in, tap on the screen in the direction of a moving subject to keep it centered. This is an ideal tool for quickly checking focus when an actor lands short or overruns a mark.

Video Assist Playback Tools

The PIX-E7 offers key playback functionality, including the ability to add, delete, and locate to cue markers, and create a custom playlist, loop playback of individual recordings, regions or playlists. Unique to the PIX-E7, an SDI In button is an added feature that toggles between SDI inputs 1 and 2 for quickly comparing camera framing, color balance and exposure between two cameras.

SpeedDrive Recording and File Delivery

The PIX-E7 records to the affordable and innovative, super fast SpeedDrive, an industry standard mSATA drive within a custom-designed enclosure. The SpeedDrive, which plugs directly into the PIX-E, doubles as a USB 3.0 thumb drive for very high speed offload to any computer without the need for a special cable or drive docking station.

(2) SpeedDrive options are available, a 240 GB SpeedDrive and an Enclosure-Only version that allows the user to choose and easily fit any size of mSATA drive. mSATA drives are available in sizes ranging from 128 GB to 1 TB.

Accepts SD cards in the SD Card Slot.

Best-of-Both-Worlds User Interface

Some functions are better controlled via touchscreen and others by real buttons. PIX-E7 incorporates both types of control. The touchscreen is best used when interacting directly with a specific area of the displayed image such as zooming in to a point of interest with TapZoom.

Buttons allow the operator to locate a control without looking and instant tactile response leaves no doubt a function has been activated. Button control is well suited to commands such as 'Record' where failure to activate can be catastrophic.

Mechanical Construction and Powering

With their compact, die-cast metal chassis, nutted connectors, and an LCD protected by scratch-resistant and optically-bonded Gorilla Glass 2, the PIX-E7 field recording monitors are designed to withstand the most extreme and demanding production environments. The PIX-E7 is powered by external DC (10-34V) or your dual L-mount Sony batteries with powering seamlessly switching from one source to another should one become depleted or removed.

Camera Integration

SmallHD has provided a list of PIX-E Supported Cameras, including ARRI, Blackmagic, Canon, Leica, Panasonic, and Sony.

Plus, SmallHD offers these helpful quick-reference resources for configuring your on-board monitor with specific cameras:

4K Output from Sony a7S

4K Output from Sony PXW-FS7

S-Log Output from Sony PXW-FS7

4K Output from Panasonic GH4