SmallHD’s free PageOS 5 firmware update includes EL Zone by Ed Lachman ASC

SmallHD announced the release of PageOS 5, a highly anticipated, major firmware update free for owners of SmallHD monitors using PageOS. Featuring brand-new tools, increased functionality, and a more streamlined, intuitive UI, Page OS5 promises a faster, more efficient workflow.

“We are committed to continuously enhancing our monitors with the only true monitor operating system in the industry,” says Greg Smokler, VP of Cine Product at Creative Solutions. “PageOS 5 is a massive free upgrade to SmallHD monitors, packed with exciting new tools like EL Zone, Look-Around Camera Control, and highly-anticipated features like Multi-View and auto-calibration with Calman on our 4K production monitors.”

Available as a free download for any SmallHD monitor currently using a previous version of PageOS, PageOS 5 adds new software tools for each of its current monitor series, plus a streamlined user experience and powerful updates to help users quickly navigate the expanded palette of features and functions.

PageOS 5 New Features

Features common to all SmallHD monitors and those available to specific monitor series break down as follows:

Ed Lachman’s EL Zone

All SmallHD monitors running PageOS 5 will be the first in the industry to offer EL Zone as an intuitive means of quickly assessing exposure via a false colour overlay. Developed by acclaimed cinematographer Ed Lachman ASC, EL Zone works like a full-screen light meter, by representing steps above and below 18% gray in stops, rather than IRE percentages. Sensor data from the camera provides an instant reference point, allowing for a more accurate and intuitive process that will feel completely familiar to any cinematographer.

Tetrahedral LUT interpolation will also be available on all monitor series, allowing for more accurate LUT rendition when displaying HDR. Additionally, a digital horizon indicator will be available for all devices, a feature that Steadicam operators have long requested.

For SmallHD Cine and OLED 4K Production Monitors, PageOS 5 offers the much-anticipated Multi-View tool—a highly configurable feature that lets users monitor up to four camera feeds at once and assign multiple scopes or software tools in a variety of customizable layouts. A Calman calibration integration for 4K Production Monitors allows users to connect a computer with a calibration probe running Portrait Displays to their 4K monitor via ethernet for auto-calibration, and then upload a calibration LUT directly into the monitor. The firmware update will also unlock full audio capability for Cine and OLED 4K Monitors, allowing users to output sound from the monitors’ onboard speaker or headphone output. Finally, the sharpness of 1080p signals on SmallHD 4K monitors has been significantly upgraded to ensure equally accurate focus-pulling in HD or 4K.

SmallHD Smart 7 Series Monitors receive PageOS 5’s Look-Around Camera Control feature, which allows users with a camera-control license to view and adjust crucial camera-control functions anchored on every page while accessing PageOS 5 tools. Touch Function Buttons have also been added to the series, allowing users to customise their workflow shortcuts by assigning selected software tools like Focus Assist, Waveform, and more, to up to six on-screen touch buttons. Focus pullers also benefit from PageOS 5 with the addition of advanced RT Overlays, which lets focus pullers quickly create, edit, and delete visual marks on the focus scale, display on-screen limits, and zoom the focus scale for extremely precise focal-change sequences.

“PageOS 5 is more than an incremental refresh of existing features—it’s a giant leap forward in the evolution of the SmallHD ecosystem, offering industry-first tools, expanded functionality and third-party integrations that reflect both what our customers want and what we think they will need in the future,” adds Smokler. “There are plenty of benefits for every SmallHD monitor and user in this release, but the best part of PageOS 5 is the way the monitor gets out of your way, so you can focus on getting the shot.”