Use an external display with Final Cut Camera
You can use an external display with Final Cut Camera to monitor video while you record.
With iPhone 17 Pro or later, you can use the HDMI Clean and SDI Clean options to send “clean” video output—without overlays or distracting camera controls—to an external display or recorder, so you can stay focused on the image being captured. Clean video output allows for professional monitoring, external recording, live streaming, and user LUT monitoring.
Choose HDMI Clean for preview-quality output suitable for live streaming and user LUT monitoring. Choose SDI Clean for broadcast-quality video, external recording, metadata output, and minimal preview latency.
Note: HDMI Clean output requires iPhone 17 Pro or later. SDI Clean requires iPhone 17 Pro or later and iOS 27 or later.
Mirror Final Cut Camera on an external display
The HDMI Mirror option shows the Final Cut Camera screen on the external display, exactly as it appears on your iPhone.
Connect your iPhone to an external display.
See Connect iPhone to a display with a cable in the iPhone User Guide. By default, the iPhone screen is mirrored on the external display.
Go to the Final Cut Camera app
on your iPhone.In the camera screen, tap
, then tap Preferences.Tap External Monitor Preview, then tap HDMI Mirror.
Note: If you’re using iPhone 17 Pro or later and an HDMI display, the External Monitor Preview setting is set to HDMI Clean by default. See Output a clean video image to an HDMI display, below.
Tip: Tap with two fingers to quickly hide or show the Final Cut Camera interface.
Output a clean video image to an HDMI display
The HDMI Clean option shows just the video image from the camera on the external display, without any Final Cut Camera interface elements. The HDMI Clean setting is on by default on iPhone 17 Pro or later.
Connect your iPhone to an external HDMI display.
See Connect iPhone to a display with a cable in the iPhone User Guide.
Go to the Final Cut Camera app
on your iPhone.In the camera screen, tap
, then tap Preferences.Tap External Monitor Preview, then tap HDMI Clean.
Tap one of the following:
Native: Creates 4K output, regardless of Final Cut Camera settings.
1080p: Creates 1080p output, regardless of Final Cut Camera settings.
Go to the Settings app
on your iPhone, then tap Display & Brightness. Tap your external monitor under Displays, tap Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), then turn on Allow Display Mode Changes.When this setting is turned on, changing the dynamic range or frame rate in Final Cut Camera may cause the image on the external display to temporarily flicker or go black before reflecting the change.
Tip: To ensure the most accurate color display, it’s recommended that you set the color space to SDR in Final Cut Camera settings. In the camera screen, tap , tap Preferences, tap Color & Dynamic Range, then tap SDR (Rec. 709).
Output a broadcast-quality SDI stream
The SDI Clean option outputs a broadcast-quality stream using a connected HDMI-to-SDI converter. Like the HDMI Clean option, it shows just the video image from the camera on the external display, without any Final Cut Camera interface elements.
Connect your iPhone to a USB-C to HDMI converter, HDMI-to-SDI converter, and external display.
See Connect iPhone to a display with a cable in the iPhone User Guide.
Go to the Final Cut Camera app
on your iPhone.In the camera screen, tap
, then tap Preferences.Tap External Monitor Preview, then tap SDI Clean.
Go to the Settings app
on your iPhone, then tap Display & Brightness. Tap your external monitor under Displays, tap Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), then turn on Allow Display Mode Changes.When this setting is turned on, changing the dynamic range or frame rate in Final Cut Camera may cause the image on the external display to temporarily flicker or go black before reflecting the change.
Tip: To ensure the most accurate color display, it’s recommended that you set the color space to SDR in Final Cut Camera settings. In the camera screen, tap , tap Preferences, tap Color & Dynamic Range, then tap SDR (Rec. 709).