How to Display High-Quality Full-screen Video in Final Cut Pro

This tutorial shows three different ways to display video full-screen in Apple Final Cut Pro. The first uses a single monitor, the second uses two monitors, while the third connects two or three monitors to provide the most accurate color and image quality.

In the old days, if we wanted to monitor our video to see exactly what it would look like for color grading, we needed to buy an external video monitor. While video monitors are still necessary for HDR media, there are now computer monitors which will work very well as a grading monitor for SD and HD media.

A SIMPLE TRICK FOR SINGLE MONITORS

If all you have is the single monitor attached to your computer, you are not out of luck.

In the lower right corner of the Viewer is an icon with two arrows (see screen shot above). Click this to enlarge the Viewer to fill the frame and hide the rest of the interface.

Use keyboard shortcuts – like the J-K-L keys – for playback.

FULL-SCREEN SHORTCUT: Shift + Cmd + F.
To return to the interface, press ESC.

I have used this techniques for years and it works great.

A MOSTLY-SIMPLE TRICK FOR TWO MONITORS

If you have two monitors, two new icons appear in the top right corner of the FCP interface.

• Click the down chevron (right red arrow) and select Viewer.
• Then, click the overlapping monitor icon (left red arrow) to display the Viewer and video scopes on the second monitor.

Feel free to experiment with displaying the Timeline or Browser on the second monitor. Pick whichever screen layout works best for you.

• To display the video scopes, type Cmd + 7 or choose View > Show in Viewer > Video Scopes.
• To stack them vertically, uncheck the Vertical layout option in the View menu (top red arrow).
• To exit this display, click the overlapping monitors icon again.

NOTE: Click the View icon (top red arrow) to change the number and orientation of scopes on display. Drag one of the dividing lines (middle and bottom arrows) to change the size of the scopes.

A DETOUR TO SET COLOR SPACE

Both these first two techniques will work regardless of the resolution or color space accuracy of the monitor. But, if you need to trust the colors that the monitor is showing, you need to set its resolution and color space.

Recently, I purchased a BenQ PD2725 computer monitor to act as my color grading monitor. Why? Because it supports 100% of both sRGB and Rec. 709 color spaces. (Other monitors that meet these specs will also work.)  While I’m writing a review of this monitor separately, here’s how to use it as a color grading monitor.

NOTE: DataColor makes color calibration tools so you can verify the accuracy of monitor colors. If absolute, precise accuracy is critical, look into their Spyder series of calibrators.

• Open Apple menu > System Settings (System Preferences on older versions of the macOS).
• Click Displays.

My system currently includes a 16″ MacBook Pro (M1 Pro SoC), plus LG HDR 4K and BenQ PD2725 monitors. For this tutorial, I’ll switch the BenQ to be a video monitor.

NOTE: I’m not sure if this works when the monitor is connected via Thunderbolt. I know it works when the monitor is connected via HDMI or DisplayPort.

For best results, you need to change two settings:

• Monitor resolution
• Monitor color space

Monitor Resolution

• This must be set to a video resolution that either equals or exceeds the frame size of the project. For example, I was editing a 1600×900 project. When I set the screen resolution to 1600×900 this did not work. But setting the monitor resolution to either 1920×1080 or 3840×2160 (both standard video frame sizes) works perfectly.

• To change the monitor resolution, click the monitor icon at the top of the Display setting to select it. Then, right-click any of the text icons and choose Show List.

From the resolutions displayed, pick the one indicated by a red arrow that equals or exceeds your project. This is important. Choosing a non-standard frame size disables this feature. For video, there are four important horizontal resolutions:

• UHD: 3840 x 2160
• 1080: 1920 x 1080
• 1080 (vertical): 1080×1920
• 720: 1280 x 720

NOTE: 5K monitors would also support 4K (4096 x 2160) and 5K (5120 x 2700) resolutions.

Monitor color space.

• Click the Color Profile menu. Again, you are confronted with options.

If you principally edit vertical video, also rotate your monitor 90° by changing the Rotation setting (bottom red arrow). Most, but not all, monitors support physical rotation; their stands, however, may not.

These options vary by monitor. However, while the wording may change, choose:

• Rec. ITU-R BT.709-5 [Look for: Rec. 709]. Use this for editing SD & HD media.
• SMPTE RP 431-2-2007 DCI (P3) [Look for: DCI P3]. Use this to match a built-in Mac screen; i.e. a MacBook Pro or iMac.
• sRGB IEC61966-2.1 [Look for: sRGB]. Use this for photo editing and other Photoshop work.

Close the Display settings to automatically save your choices.

NOTE: After writing this I realized I was unclear on whether we need to set color space on both the Mac and the monitor, just the Mac, or just the monitor. I’ve contacted a couple of monitor vendors to learn more and will update this when I have more complete information.

ENABLE THE DISPLAY IN FINAL CUT

These last two steps are done inside Final Cut.

Go to Final Cut Pro > Settings > Playback and make sure the monitor appears in the A/V Output menu. If not, make sure the monitor is connected via HDMI or DisplayPort.

Finally, choose Window > A/V Output. When you do, the output of the Timeline will appear full screen (i.e. without video scopes) in the monitor. You’ll need to re-enable this setting each time you relaunch FCP.

NOTE: If A/V Output is gray, recheck the monitor resolution to assure that it equal to or larger than the size of your project and that it matches one of the video resolutions. Also, try changing how you connect the monitor, for example, try HDMI or DisplayPort. There are Thunderbolt to DisplayPort converter cables, which are not  very expensive.

To disable the monitor display, uncheck Window > AV Output.

SUMMARY

Is using a third monitor for video proofing essential? Well… it depends.

• If you are creating videos for social media, no, you don’t need this at all. As far as I can tell, social media has no quality standards.
• If you are creating wedding, event or memorial videos, a monitor setup like this will be helpful in assuring that your color looks their best. While not required, it is a good practice to follow.
• If you are creating media for broadcast, cable, or streaming, yes, you do. You need to guarantee to the client that the colors they see and approve on your screen are the actual colors in the video. Either using this technique or attaching a professional video monitor will be required.
• If you are editing HDR, yes, you need an external monitor – but this won’t work because it doesn’t support native HDR playback. HDR10 is a distribution format which many computer monitors support. However, HDR Rec. 2020 PQ or HLG are camera native and editing formats. They are not the same as HDR10. You’ll need a monitor specifically designed for HDR to accurately display these.

NOTE: Keep in mind that, like all video since forever, you have no control over the color quality of the consumer’s monitor. All you can do is guarantee that “it is OK leaving here.”

The good news is that using this last monitor setup provides an accurate way to monitor color for most projects without going to a lot of additional expense.

---

Bookmark the permalink.