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When Cinemon hit beta, it got our attention. Now, with version 1.0 released, it’s no longer just “one to watch”—it’s one to use. Developed by Ike Arias from CineSpices LLC, Cinemon 1.0 brings color pipeline analysis and signal correction to the iPad, in a package that aims to replace external monitors for on-the-go post-production work. For an introduction to what Cinemon is, check our past coverage: Cinemon 1.0: Correcting the Signal, Hardware for Cinemon et al., and the initial Beta for iPad and Mac. But here’s the news: it’s official, it’s final, and it’s still evolving—because Ike is already cooking up further improvements.

Waveform Monitoring

At the core of Cinemon’s toolset is its waveform monitor – this isn’t just a pretty graph—Cinemon’s waveform monitor lets you accurately interpret signal levels across formats. We haven’t tested HDR-workflows with a current gen iPad, but that is one of the next stops in our pipeline! Signal analysis is detailed, precise, and touch-responsive, leveraging the iPad’s display for maximum readability in mobile workflows.

Vectorscope with Color Pipeline Support

For those working on color critical projects, Cinemon’s Vectorscope helps verify color accuracy and pipeline consistency. The tool supports color pipeline analysis, meaning it can display and analyze signal data through your specific color grading and encoding setups. If your workflow includes multiple LUTs (Look-Up Tables) or custom transforms, Cinemon visualizes where color shifts happen—essential for spotting errors before delivery.

Signal Correction Tools

Cinemon isn’t just about analysis; it’s also about correcting signal issues. With tools designed for signal correction, users can identify and adjust color and exposure problems directly within their workflow. Cinemon focuses on signal correction in real time, making it ideal for quick on-set checks or post-production QC (Quality Control).

External Monitoring? Optional.

One of Cinemon’s design goals is to replace the need for external monitors in certain workflows. While it doesn’t aim to fully replicate studio-grade reference monitors, Cinemon offers an accurate, HDR-capable display environment on iPad, freeing colorists, DITs (Digital Imaging Technicians), and VFX supervisors from the desk—and from lugging around extra gear.

App Availability and Pricing

Cinemon 1.0 is available for iPad on the App Store. Pricing details are available via the official website at cinemon.app, where updates and developer insights are also published.

Future Development: It Doesn’t Stop Here

Ike Pius is already developing further features for Cinemon, with the app positioned as a must-watch tool for post-production professionals. The roadmap includes enhanced support for custom color pipelines, potential API integration, and expanded file format compatibility—although none of these features are live yet.

For Now: Field-Test Before Production

As always, test before deployment. While Cinemon 1.0 packs impressive features, its adoption in production pipelines should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Especially in color critical workflows, tools need to be stable, predictable, and integratable. That said, Cinemon is well on its way to becoming a staple for post-production artists seeking portable, accurate signal monitoring and correction tools—right from their iPads.

More at cinemon.app – where signal correction meets mobility.

The post Cinemon 1.0: Signal Correction Done Right first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

If you use a monitor and scopes for checking your signal on the set, you want to be sure that it looks the same as it’ll look when you are sitting down for post and open the recorded original footage, right? Unfortunately, the HDMI capture devices that don’t cost a small fortune are just barely precise enough to show Rec. 709, as you may have seen in our last episode Hardware for CineMon et. al. But log formats, the very flat Sony Slog3 in particular, need a lot of stretching by a LUT to preview the signal in Rec. 709. This will amplify the already not so small deviations enough to make them unusable. But in CineMon this can be cured with an input LUT. Let’s see how!

How bad is it?

Our best low-cost device from the last review, the Acasis VC-003, was showing considerably more contrasty and lighter pictures than the recorded signal, and the colours were too satured. So, we have to develop a correction LUT for this specific combination with the help of DaVinci Resolve (DR in short). For simplicity, we used a ColorChecker Video chart this time, by a company now called Calibrite (former X-Rite). It has fewer colour target patches than the chart in the other articles, but it’s far cheaper than DSC chart and quite wide spread in production.

Recording

We recorded the signal in Slog3 Cine with a Sony A7IV in 10 bit 4:2:2 with its highest bitrate in HEVC. Of course, we first made a manual white balance, but we exposed the chart according to the waveform in CineMon. Measuring a grey chart with a light meter might have been even more correct, but with the limited contrast of log it doesn’t matter that much. In CineMon there’s a function to grab a frame for reference, so we saved this as Slog3 without a LUT to compare with the recorded video.

Preparing in Davinci Resolve

In DR you just need to drop the camera clip and the still frame into a timeline and go to the Color page. To avoid any additional changes, we did not use automatic color management. You can simply use the same LUT you’d also use in CineMon to show Slog3 as Rec. 709. It may be by Sony, out of DR or from any other source, as long as it’s just a conversion LUT. Drop that LUT onto the camera original and save a Gallery still for reference. The still out of CineMon should be prepared with at least three nodes, since you need to adjust the picture ‚under‘ the Slog3 LUT.

Correcting in Davinci Resolve

Now go for a split screen with that reference and adjust the still from CineMon to match. Use the first node for exposure and contrast and the second for color.  You can use any tools in DR, like wheels or curves to your liking. Sorry, but you need to know your way around in DR, this is not meant to be a DR tutorial. We were able to match the reference out of the VC-003 pretty fast. Matching the Slog3 reference only needed a substantial correction of luminance and contrast, and minor reduction of saturation to around 40. A small shift of skin tones to the yellow side as seen in the corrected version is typical for these Sony cameras.

But when we tried the same for the SDI interface, colours were near impossible to match, even under the less aggressive log of BRAW. The SDI signal over that cheap interface, as already mentioned in the last article, would need a lot of fumbling with every single hue. Since it’ll remain as coarse and limited to 60p anyway, we can’t recommend that one. After all, cameras with only an SDI output belong to the higher end and should deserve better monitoring. Without having tested other SDI capture devices for an iPad, we can only recommend CineMon on a current Apple computer and a device like the Blackmagic UltraStudio Recorder 3G for such cameras.

Using the LUT in CineMon

Finally, switch off the Slog3 LUT in the last node, since we’ll add that in CineMon if desired, and export the grade as a 33 Point Cube. Import it with the Organizer tab to be used as an input calibration LUT. This will be applied directly to your signal input for correction, independently from the LUT you can apply to your display with the LUT tool (the tiny cube icon). The latter can be switched on or off at any time, and you can even freely decide if you want it applied only to the picture or the scopes too. With our VC-003 we got pretty close to a correct representation of the recorded signal from the Sony camera.

Latest News

CineMon 1.0 is nearing the final version to be published in the App Store. The author has recently reduced the machine load further and added the display of full screen scopes with the whole video shining through as set with the Opacity slider. Pricing will also be announced soon.

The post CineMon 1.0: Correcting the Signal first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

Sources which don’t need additional hardware are the built-in cameras of the iPad or the Mac. Plus, since until now CineMon only runs under MacOS Sequoia, you will immediately see your iPhone if it’s nearby. Then there are recent hybrid cameras like the Sony A7IV, which deliver a video stream via USB-C, albeit usually limited to HD and fixed frame rates. Other hybrid cameras have similar features. We got HD in 25 fps for PAL from the A7IV or 30 when set to NTSC, independent of the frame rate in the camera. But there’s a catch: you can’t record at the same time, and camera profiles like log don’t work. Obviously, such cameras don’t have the computing power to do it all at the same time.

Computer Load

Thunderbolt Interfaces

For any other sources than streaming cameras you need an interface, because simple adapter cables from USB-C to HDMI are for screens only, not for input. One of the best for a decent price is the small, but sturdy UltraStudio Recorder 3G by Blackmagic Design. It offers both SDI and HDMI inputs, and can transfer uncompressed signals up to 4:2:2 in 10 bit at 60 fps, or even RGB 4:4:4 in 12 bit at frame rates up to 30 fps. But it’ll only work with the laptop via Thunderbolt and up to 2K resolution (from SDI input). Yes, there are iPads with Thunderbolt too, but until now there’s no software support by Blackmagic.

Using an iPad

Apple’s iPads are quite popular with professional videographers for their great image quality. Some even tend to give them to important clients to make sure that they see the intended picture. They can’t be calibrated, but the reference mode in recent models is getting quite close to Rec. 709 or HDR Rec. 2020. Unfortunately, third-party developers may still need to do some more work on HDR, which is visually stunning on the tablets too. For an iPad with USB-C you’ll have to look at one of the numerous solutions primarily aiming at game capture, if you don’t want to invest in an AJA U-TAP device, which cost over 600 € each for only one kind of input. 

There are very cheap devices for HDMI sources starting at 12 €, all the way up to brand products like Elgato for well over 100€, the latter claiming UHD processing up to 30p. You can even find a no-name (they don’t even care to invent one) with SDI for about 55€. This one will need an active adapter from USB-3.0 A to USB-C, aka OTG, but you can also use a hub. For about 150 € (plus taxes) you can get the AVMatrix UC2018, which offers both SD and HDMI input and claims to transfer YUY2. It weighs over 200 grams, though. We didn’t have this device for testing.

And then, there’s a Chinese brand called Acasis, which earned itself a decent reputation with NVMe enclosures, RAIDs and hubs combined with some storage. This company is also making capture devices, which are not easily found in Europe. Albeit on Ebay they have their own shop: acasis-official-store. We tested the small HD33 model for only 25 €, and the more recent VC-003 for around 35 €. Please note that all of these devices are shipping from China, so you’ll need to pay VAT on import. 

Both models offer the same connections, looping their HDMI input through to an output for other monitors or recorders, and they have an USB-C connector on the other side. So, they need no separate power supply or adapters, other than devices with USB-3.0 type A. Three tiny blue LEDs inform you of the presence of a signal. They are light and small enough to tape them to an iPad with some Velcro and connect with a short U-shaped USB-C cable. We tested both of these devices. BTW, all devices deliver color bars when there is no input signal.

The main questions are: how much do you need to pay for quality, and how bad are cheap solutions? It’s hard to find any solid reviews for the purpose at hand, since most tests on the internet are aimed at gamers. But CineMon is supposed to be a measuring device, so your adapters better be precise or the whole arrangement would be pretty useless. We tested with a DSC chart, white balance fixed on grey, and both a Sony A7IV and a Blackmagic UMP 4.6K with log signals.

Right from the start, our cheap capture devices for HDMI had difficulties getting the frame rate right. Both HDMI versions could only handle up to 30 fps, independent of our feed in 30, 50 or 60 fps. But they were advertised as 60p, which obviously just means you can feed that, not that you’ll get it through. Our SDI model, OTOH, showed everything as 60p, regardless of the input frame rate. It even has an active HDMI output, but a video monitor didn’t synchronise to that, while computer monitors did and also detected 60p.

The standard used for USB is called UVC (USB Video Class), and UAC for the audio counterpart. Initially mainly developed for webcams, it now includes quality levels up to uncompressed YUV 4:2:2 (aka YUY2). Many adapters are not constructed for lossless transfer, they use compression and may also degrade the signal substantially. The meagre Chinese manuals (if any) don’t tell much about such detail, but usually this is M-JPEG (Motion JPEG) compression, an outdated and quite inefficient method with pretty bad color sampling at 4:2:0 (aka NV12).  

Signal Quality

Such compression shows clearly in CineMon. The scopes look coarse already when being fed Rec. 709 from a camera with an internal display LUT or recording straight Rec. 709. But things get worse when feeding a log signal, in particular a very flat one like Sony SLog3. CineMon is offering options to add an input LUT and a display LUT separately, and you can even choose if it’s added before or after the scopes. Weaknesses in signal transfer will get exaggerated by the LUT conversion to Rec. 709. While the image still looks acceptable with a display LUT, the scopes tell a different story. If a device can only process the signal in compressed 4:2:0, both waveform and vectorscope are very discontinuous, the display of a color chart in the vectorscope is so coarse that you can hardly read the information, even at maximum trace intensity. 

But recently the developer has added the functionality to control the settings for the hardware devices from CineMon, which we have not yet found in competing software. If set to YUY2, you’ll also see deviations in luminance, contrast and color fidelity clearly, but you may add a correction LUT to the incoming signal.

The cheapest device tested needs an active adapter. We used one that is extremely small, but still offers an USB-C socket on the side, so you can input power or connect external storage. This device was a surprise at first view, since it actually seemed to let us switch to 422. But this didn’t work reliably, and it normally fell back to 5 fps when trying. Latency with NV12 is around 3 frames, but we can’t recommend it, since color in particular is off in the yellow/green region, even influencing skin tone.

The HD33 by Acasis seems to have the same chip inside. It can also be switched to YUY2, but then resorts to 5 fps only. Waveform is not too far off, colors are slightly too satured, but at least hues are close. The Macrosilicon VC-003 finally can handle 25, 30, or 60 fps in YUY2 pretty well out of the Sony A7IV. This camera is actually sending NTSC frequencies as 29.97 or 59.94, and 24p as 23.98. The interface doesn’t use the latter, you’ll get a picture, but only at one of the other frame rates. Latency is just a tad over 1 frame for 25 or 30 fps.

The SDI model is looping out an HDMI signal that doesn’t sync properly on video monitors, though it does on computers. While color bars generated by both HDMI devices are exactly at 100% targets, the ones from this model are between, higher than 75%, but under 100. The device outputs only 30 or 60p with latency of 4 frames. It can’t be switched to YUY2, so the signal is very coarse und vectors hardly readable. The picture is lighter, more contrasty and overly saturated for some colors.

What’s Missing?

Until now, playback of video files is limited to H.264, H.265, and ProRes, while Windows users may miss DNxHD/HR support. You can already control playback with the space bar, hopefully the developer will support JKL and single frame by arrow keys too. While many apps for the iPad may be somehow running on laptops with Apple silicon too, operation of CineMon has been well adapted for such use, so we have no doubt there’s more to come. NDI is already planned as an alternative to capture devices, as are video recording and more scopes.

Competition?

We have already reviewed Nobe OmniScope, which is very deep in its functionality, but primarily aiming at post-production. It is priced at up to 400 US$ for the Pro version and covers all kinds of video quality controls. OmniScope is complex and needs solid knowledge of video technology and nomenclature. It works even on older Macs and PCs too, but not on an iPad. This is the only other software we have tested extensively.

Video Assist by Auron Studios is iPad only and is aiming at similar use cases as CineMon.The price is 180,- € or 150 US$, depending on your App Store. It does video recording (which is planned for CineMon too) and recording can be triggered automatically when the camera is recording. Since trigger signals via HDMI don’t come across USB-C capture, it is analysing the status information of most high-end cameras to start recording. This changes the use case, though, since all recordings will contain status information too. Instead of a clean feed, you are going to record dailies with all the information burnt in.

CamX by Touchbits is free and has quite a few positive reviews. It is limited to HD and can record, including corrections to the image. HDMI Monitor – Orion by Lux Optics is from the makers of the highly respected photo app Halide. There are no reviews yet, neither for UVC Capture – HDMI Monitor by Kenneth Kao, which claims to support the reference mode and recording up to 4K.

Recommendations

For professional use, a base model Mac mini M4 with a ViewSonic VP16-OLED will cost less than one thousand US$ (some more in Europe). Together with an UltraStudio Recorder 3G and CineMon it is a viable solution for monitoring on set. For semi-professional use with any camera that offers an output by HDMI, an iPad with USB-C can be a very useful solution. 

Even a cheap capture device can suffice for PAL, if you find one with the right electronics inside. The mid-level Acasis VC-003 is decent, even for log sources, but also small and light enough for an iPad. These avoid additional adapters and work really well with CineMon if you add your own correction LUT, which we’ll explain in our next article. Given the short lifespan of models from Chinese production, you may need to test a few samples with your specific camera, though. 

The post Hardware for CineMon (et. al.) first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

We had a close look at the public beta, which should be close to general release.

Instruments and Features

CineMon is offering all the features you’d expect from a full featured monitor, like Grids, Center Mark, Safe Areas, Framing/Blanking, Flip/Flop/Rotate, anamorphic De-squeeze, Focus Peaking, and Zebras. All of these are highly configurable, e. g. separate Zebras can be freely adjusted for a lower and upper limit in different colors. De-Squeeze has not only all the usual ratios, but is also freely adjustable with a slider.

False Color allows the choice of a few versions from high-end cameras, but you can also define your own with unlimited flexibility. These can be saved in the program or exported, to be used by others with the same software. The same applies to complete presets for your own needs in CineMon, both of such settings are saved and read as .json files. Individual presets are indispensable in the light of such impressive flexibility of the toolset.

Dual Spot Meter

A unique feature is the dual spot meter in photometric EV values. This tool allows you to check middle grey at 0 EV or measure the contrast ratio of specific zones by placing a second spot. It works with gamma 2.4 (for Rec. 709) or with log profiles, which are pretty much complete for all manufacturers, from Arri to Sony. They are integrated and can be chosen directly in the software, while LUTs have to be imported first.

Another photometric tool based on log video input is an exposure slider. If you expose to the right (ETTR) to reduce noise, you can use this to see how your footage will look like when corrected in post. This is particularly useful with some hybrid cameras, like older Sonys, which force you into overexposure when shooting log (SLog2 in particular).

These image adjustments will also simulate changes to contrast or saturation. Of course you can also use LUTs. They should come as .cube files with 33 point lattices, and they can be used as input LUTs or as display LUTs. On the iPad, you can compare looks by swiping between your presets.

The built-in organizer allows renaming or rearranging presets in the list, which also applies to LUTs or false color versions. If a setting has been changed from the saved status, it’ll show in orange. The context menu will give you the option to revert, to save the new status or duplicate under a new name.

If needed for a busy scene with much detail, focus peaking can show edges only. Framing is optionally shown with dimmed look-around blanking areas. Overlaying a freeze from a live source or a loaded still supports precise placement of the camera or objects.

Or you choose a reference frame to match exposure, contrast, color, etc. with the camera settings for the current scene. The CineMon video scopes will process the mixed frame in this case. The difference mode, with a user-defined contrasting color, will immediately show if something has changed in a scene. This will help to spot a missing or misplaced object immediately.

Color Key Preview

Color key preview is not a full quality chroma keyer, but a real-time preview over a checkerboard or background still you have read in. It helps in spotting uneven lighting of the background color or adapting the foreground lighting to the planned environment. It’s even good enough to show problem areas to wardrobe or make-up artists. You can find a video showing all the tools here: cinemon.app

As you may have expected, CineMon has professional scopes, which can be placed and arranged freely, even with adjustable transparency as an overly to the live feed. They adapt to vertical video, but can also be switched to be shown fullscreen. You’ll find a histogram, waveform, and vectorscope with all the usual features and options. If compared with the scopes in DaVinci Resolve with the help of a video read in, they also look very precise. But, obviously, this raises the big question:

How precise is the incoming signal?

If you are using a MacBook, precision interfaces are coming from Blackmagic or from AJA, and they work as expected. But those from Blackmagic need Thunderbolt and don’t work with an iPad, and those from AJA may cost as much as the iPad itself. So, next we’ll look at alternative solutions.

The post CineMon 1.0 (Beta) for iPad and Mac first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.