SmallHD releases PageOS 6 with new features and a revamped interface

First announced back at NAB 2024, SmallHD’s new PageOS6 software has finally moved out of beta and into full release.

There’s a lot to like about the latest version of SmallHD’s well-regarded PageOS 6. We covered it in detail back when it was announced at NAB 2024. 

In summary, a new Color Pipe interface enhances on-screen visibility and streamlines workflow management for users, and allows the application of preloaded 3D LUTs on SmallHD Monitors. The Fleet Control App enables remote management of multiple monitors simultaneously, facilitating settings adjustment and signal management via Ethernet or WiFi, while WiFi support for firmware upgrades and Fleet Control management ids also introduced. The new Custom Exposure Assist feature offers tailored control for black clip, white clip, and middle gray, providing smoother transitions. Additionally, the Handheld Multi-View functionality allows SmallHD Ultra 7 Monitors to display multiple feeds from HDMI, SDI, or Internal Bolt 6 in a multi-camera setup.

All that was written back in April when it was expected that PageOS 6 would be released in May. While it has been in beta for a while, that obviously hasn’t happened, and there may be some drift between what was announced then and what features in the full release now. Check the below carefully if there's a purchase decision riding on this

Either way it’s available for free download to existing users now from downloads.smallhd.com/ and here is the full list of new features, improvements to existing stuff, and bug fixes.

A few caveats to get out of the way first. If your firmware is below 3.6.5, SmallHD recommends the following upgrade path: 3.6.5 -> 4.8.7 -> 5.5.6 -> 6.0.0

Also, according to SmallHD, this firmware will NOT support the following monitors: 2403 HDR & 2403 HB, 1703 HDR & 1703 Studio, 1303 Studio, 700 Series - 701, 701L, 702 Bright, 702 OLED, 500 Series - 501, 502, 502 Bright.

This firmware is also NOT compatible with the DSMC3 RED Touch, or Action 5. RED  Touch users have firmware available on the RED Touch tab. And this firmware is NOT compatible with legacy monitors (DP1, DP6, DP4, AC7, and DP7-PRO).

New features

• Allow 4K Production Monitor tally/record indicator to be controlled via GPI connection
• Added support for multiplexed SDI inputs
  • Support 2x6G and 4x3G 2SI encoded inputs
• Monitors are now compatible with several USB<->Wifi adapters
• Added support for Level B SDI Video for 4K Production Monitors
• Waveform tool added to the Quantum 32
• Sony BURANO + Sony FX6 Camera Control Support (Cine 5, Cine 7, Ultra 7, Ultra 10, Cine 13, Cine 18, Cine 24, Vision 17, Vision 24, OLED 22, OLED 27, Quantum 32)
• Added Dual View to Ultra7
• Added support for Calman integration to Quantum 32
• Added support for a new Vision algorithm (Vision 17, 24)
  • Improves highlight rendering
  • Improves HDR accuracy and optimizes backlight

Improvements and Alterations

• Slight improvements to Vectorscope FPS and Image Capture speed
• Updated some UI animations
  • Page transition speed is now faster
  • Monitor Settings > Interface > Pages
• Added support for a custom bouncing “No Video” icon
  • Monitor Settings > User > Personalize
• Luminance Color Pipe Rework
  • “Backlight” and “Brightness” has been replaced with the word “Luminance”
  • Luminance may now be configured within a Color Pipe
• Color Pipe UI Update
  • The Color Pipe UI has been updated to make the system easier to use
• The Crosshatch Tool now allows creating a denser grid
• Improved the granularity of the Zebra thresholds
  • Thresholds may now be set based based on either code values or IRE
• Allow capturing two images at once, one with and one without any compatible tools
• Custom Exposure Assist Improvements
  • Users may now change the background of a custom exposure map
    • Options include: Grayscale, Transparent (Clean), or Spectrum
  • Allow users to load custom exposure maps as an image file (1024 wide .png) from removable media
• Color Pipes now support the following additional white points: D93, D56, D60
• When function button tools are deactivated, they are removed from the toolbar
• Manual Adjustments may now be tuned per-Color-Pipe
  • By default, everything will work as it did in previous versions
  • Calibration settings menu now has an option to enable “manual adjustment sets”
  • When exposed, there will be 8 sets of manual adjustments that may be configured on the monitor. Factory and User calibrations must each be assigned to one of those 8 sets
  • Color Pipes may also be assigned to a manual adjustment set. By default, each Color Pipe will use the manual adjustment set of the current calibration. However, they can be configured to instead override that value with a different set of manual adjustments
• Function Button Tooltips now indicate function state (on vs off)
• Exposure Assist legend may now be placed vertically
• Opening the Studio Brightness menu no longer automatically displays a white patch
• Adjusted the EL Zone scale, replacing the colors of white and black with light red and dark purple
• Allow users to alter the record tally UI element’s appearance in the Metadata tool

Bugs Fixed

• Fixed bug causing User Conversion LUTs in Color Pipes to be applied incorrectly
• Resolved audio data from a BlackMagic PIX-E5 not being detected by SmallHD monitors
• Resolved interactions between the Input Tool and Image Capture on Record Start
• Camera Control - Scrubbing in playback mode on ARRI cameras no longer changes Pages
• Fixed a case of incorrect Color Pipes being applied to Multi Pages, when more than one multi-view page was present on the monitor.
• Resolved flickering on a Multi Page when receiving some PsF formats
• Fixed issues with 8 channel SDI Audio on 4K production monitors
• Fixed audio issues when more than 8 channels are present
• Super Pixel Scaling was not working, monitors continued to use interpolation
• Resolved video range issues that came about when different Color Pipes were assigned different video ranges
• Resolved discrepancies between Color Picker and Exposure Assist
• Restored the missing “Burn-in Recovery” settings element
• Lock Switches now function after reboot
• Focus Assist lines now persist after a reboot
• Focus Assist now functions correctly when bound to a function button
• Fixed rare instances of legal range video not being displayed correctly in calibration wizard
• On 4K Production Monitors, Image Overlay no longer dims the image when the source media is removed
• Fixed Low Voltage Warning sometimes not appearing
• General UI improvements
• Fixed several video format issues
• Ultra 5 TX Output toggle no longer causes wireless video issues
• Image Overlay no longer obscures aspect and safe guides
• Activating Image Capture no longer causes the color picker tool to deactivate

Known issues

• Waveform does not work at 1080p60 on 4K production monitors
• Quantum 32 Panel Turns Off when hot-swapping batteries
  • Workaround: Avoid removing the active battery, remove only the drained battery
• Quantum 32 panel is too dim on boot
  • Workaround: Toggle any luminance setting after a reboot
• Connecting to an ARRI Alexa camera via camera control may crash the monitor when using DHCP
  • Only applies when direct-connecting to a camera, not when using a router
  • Workaround: Set the monitor’s static IP address prior to connecting