Sunday, April 11, 2010

iDisplay - Wireless Client Viewing on Shoots

When I first saw the iPad, I thought it was pretty cool, but essentially an oversized iPhone. It wasn't until I was chatting with a friend who was a bit in the know, that I realized that it could be used as a second screen with my laptop, on shoots in either the studio, or on location, and that sold me.

The application to use is iDisplay, which is pretty slick. Below is an example of how it can be used for wireless viewing by the client, while the laptop and camera are tethered






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Often I take the laptop digital workstation on shoots and have a 30" monitor next to the workstation but that means that the client is peering over my shoulder, or the shoulder of my digital tech. Instead, the client (and their client in many cases) can be away from the shoot, and watching the images as they are coming in.

The downside is that there is a bit of lag-time, but not too much. If you're shooting fast and furious, it may not be the best, but if you are shooting at a more deliberate pace, it would be no problem at all. The only other downside is that while the monitor is set to vertical only, the current version of the software doesn't allow you to rotate the iPad, so horizontal images are only viewable vertically, meaning they show up smaller (but still full image area), within the iPad when viewed vertically. The company tells me that the next version should allow you to hold the iPad horizontally to view horizontal images using the full screen of the iPad too. for $4.99 on iTunes, it's a small price to pay for this functionality!

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4 comments:

Luann said...

Okay, now that's just plain cool.

AdvRdr said...

The first real productive use for an iPad that I've seen. Well done John

Anonymous said...

Before you all jump into this, be aware that iDisplay is getting very mixed reviews at the moment. It is completely dependent on the speed of your network, so for best results you'll want to have your iPad and host computer on an 802.11n network that isn't too busy. Current reviews also tend to say it feels like alpha or beta software, but I guess that means it's only going to get better and will probably end up being awesome eventually.

I've used other, similarly VNC-based solutions to show one Mac's display on another Mac's monitor and have a fair idea how this probably works, and I'll bet there is a lag indeed. Disclaimer: I haven't actually used it yet, nor do I have an iPad yet...

Gizmodo's iDisplay review
http://gizmodo.com/5508816/review-idisplay-turns-your-ipad-into-a-second-monitor

neil mackenzie said...

Do you remember the time you didn't need a computer/screen to take photos!! The another toy to carry in your camera bag.

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