XF400 issues outputting video to field monitors

[Lhopsecker]

I just got an XF400 a couple months ago at work and purchased an Andycine C7 field monitor to go with it.

The issue I've been having is the HDMI signal will only output to the monitor at 60 FPS. The resolution, bitrate and filetype don't seem to matter as long as it's 60 FPS. As soon as I switch to 30 FPS or 24 FPS, the monitor goes dark and says "No Signal".

The reason I think the problem is on the camera end is because I also have an older MustHD M501H monitor and I have the same problem with that monitor; it only receives a signal at 60 FPS.  And I've been using that monitor for years with a couple Canon T3i cameras with no trouble at all at 24, 30 or 60 FPS.

I contacted Andycine and this is what they said:

Thanks for reaching us.

The C7 HDMI Input support signal on the  below list

480i/576i/480p/576p 1080i (60/59.94/50) 

720p (60/59.94/50/30/29.97/25/24/23.98) 

1080p (60/59.94/50/30/29.97/25/24/23.98) 

4K UHD 3840×2160p (30/29.97/25/24/23.98Hz), 4096×2160p (24Hz)    

The monitor work on 60FPS but no signal at 30FPS or 24FPS. -----This may caused by Canon XF400 at 24FPS and 30FPS do not ouput hdmi signal. So there is no image on the monitor.

We have not met this issues before.

An intensive Google search only found one other thread about the same problem on another forum. Someone suggested the XF400 may not be outputting a true progressive signal at other resolutions but instead a Progressive Segmented Frame (PsF) signal. I really know nothing about that.  The only other suggestion was to use an Atomos field monitor as that seems to work at any resolution, but that's not an option for our budget at this time.

Any ideas on how this might be fixed so I can shoot at 24 and 30 FPS with an external monitor?

Thanks!

[Mark35mmF2 · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

The Video output Configuration table (p. 117 https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300028416/06/xf400-405-im6-n-en.pdf) seems to indicate that it heavily favors 60 fps at least, if not requiring it in most configurations. The only one that seems a little unsure is when you are shooting in 4k it does not seem to indicate that it will prioritize a 60fps signal, although if you are set to record in 4k you will also want to make sure that 1. your monitor is 4k capable and 2. it would be best to ensure you are using a newer high speed HDMI cable.

[Lhopsecker]

Thanks, at least now I know it's actually designed that way. Why would they limit the output to only 60fps though?

From the chart on the next page (118), it looks as though it WILL output 30fps but only for external recording, albeit at 10 bit instead of 8 bit.

Is this a hardware or software issue? Could it be fixed in a firmware update? If so, where can I submit a request for that?

Thanks again!

[Mark35mmF2]

Hi,

It would be hard to say exactly what is the cause of the limit since any public technical information is not going to specifically reference the cause of certain limitations or settings, but you can definitely send any firmware update requests to provideo@cits.canon.com