user1119: I am in the market for a low-cost, color-correcting monitor. Please help me define "low cost." I don't want to skimp out but don't want to buy top dollar either. I know good monitors cost money.
I will be using the monitor for both Video and Photography. What features/specs should I consider a "bare minimum" so, hopefully, I wont need to buy two.

user1129: Consider the Matrox MXO2 products. The Mini model allows you to gain blue gun control of a normal consumer HDTV, solving the big issue with calibration of these large displays. The MXO2 Mini is under $500, other models include features like hardware H.264 encoding and more advanced interfaces.

user1068: There's a loose binning of monitors into 3 categories:

Consumer equipment [$500 - $1500] Dell U-Series LCDs, Panasonic Viera Plasmas
Entry-Level Monitors [$2500+] FSI, HP DreamColor
High End Monitors [$$ - $$$$] eCinema, TV Logic

Some of the features of non-consumer monitors that you'll want to learn about are:

HD/SDI inputs
Additional outputs
Colorspace and signal type support, such as 4:2:2
"Higher" bit depth, such as 10-bit
LUT programmability

If you're asking for low-cost, without already knowing these monitors, then I strongly suggest you stick to the first category, and use something like the DataColor Spyder calibration puck.  Getting that top 5% of color accuracy comes at a steep price, and since it seems you're just starting out, you probably want to stick with the 95% solution.  Upgrade only when you have specific need for the features.

1119: <p>I am in the market for a low-cost, color-correcting monitor. Please help me define "low cost." I don't want to skimp out but don't want to buy top dollar either. I know good monitors cost money.</p>

<p>I will be using the monitor for both Video and Photography. What features/specs should I consider a "bare minimum" so, hopefully, I wont need to buy two.</p>
 1129: <p>Consider the Matrox MXO2 products. The Mini model allows you to gain blue gun control of a normal consumer HDTV, solving the big issue with calibration of these large displays. The MXO2 Mini is under $500, other models include features like hardware H.264 encoding and more advanced interfaces.</p>
 1068: <p>There's a loose binning of monitors into 3 categories:</p>

<ol>
<li>Consumer equipment [$500 - $1500] Dell U-Series LCDs, Panasonic Viera Plasmas</li>
<li>Entry-Level Monitors [$2500+] FSI, HP DreamColor</li>
<li>High End Monitors [$$ - $$$$] eCinema, TV Logic</li>
</ol>

<p>Some of the features of non-consumer monitors that you'll want to learn about are:</p>

<ul>
<li>HD/SDI inputs</li>
<li>Additional outputs</li>
<li>Colorspace and signal type support, such as 4:2:2</li>
<li>"Higher" bit depth, such as 10-bit</li>
<li>LUT programmability</li>
</ul>

<p>If you're asking for low-cost, without already knowing these monitors, then I <strong>strongly</strong> suggest you stick to the first category, and use something like the DataColor Spyder calibration puck.  Getting that top 5% of color accuracy comes at a steep price, and since it seems you're just starting out, you probably want to stick with the 95% solution.  Upgrade only when you have specific need for the features.</p>
