Best laptop for hvx200?

F

fourirenet

Member
Im looking to buy a laptop. There is the link to see which one:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...9&atab=&spviewed=&newlang=EN&logon=&langid=FR

What is the most important thing to look for?

I want to be able to unload my P2 cards in the laptop by a PCI connection. I read that we can do that. Do I need something else?

The specs:
HP AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-52 1.6GHz Media Centre Laptop (DV6115)
2048MB DDR2
100GB (5400RPM)
NVIDIA GeForceGo 6150 (graphic card)
1.6GHz
 
The best laptop is the best you can afford. A computer can never be "too powerful." Though with the HVX, you might want something with a PCMCIA slot.
 
The things you need for an HVX laptop, to get the most from the HVX, include:
1) a PCMCIA slot. This is vital.
2) a firewire port, preferably a 4-pin
3) an SD card slot
4) a reasonably decent-sized hard disk
5) USB ports for attaching external drives and devices
6) Windows XP, which gives you reliable card offloads vs. MacOS, which currently isn't 100% reliable with card offloads

You should be able to buy something like this for very cheap, maybe $500 or less on Friday.


Those are the minimum requirements. As for the things you want, you would also want:
7) an ExpressCard slot for future expansion
8) a dual-layer DVD drive for card backup
9) a fast processor and fast graphics card, for real-time P2 Viewer playback in the field (I have a Core 2 Duo 2.00ghz and it's plenty fast enough to play 1080/60 at full-screen and full-rez)

There are many manufacturers who offer both PCMCIA and ExpressCard slots, but there are some (like Dell) who no longer offer PCMCIA.
 
Barry, I've been looking for a small - 12 to 13 inch PC laptop with Cardbus slot for about four months. Ain't one available at any decent price.

Toshiba - $1200

Sony - more

Most are atleast 15 inches and are basically junk. That's not a flame, but an observation.
 
=Prodigy= said:
Does anyone have a good, cheap laptop that fits barry's minimum descriptions? I am looking for a suggestion on actual company and model info.
Click to expand...

That's my hope as well.

If this is basically to offload, then the smaller the better. Surprisingly, the cardbus slot is rarely available in smaller models.
 
Yes. I just looked at Gateway.com for some comparisons. Can't find a mention of the PCMCIA slot. Also it is strange that their lowest base notebook, is the convertible tablet laptop.

Anyway, I am going over to sony.com to look around. Does anyone else feel the spite in downloading p2 cards on a sony notebook? :) GO Panny
 
qosimo 660

qosimo 660

You really need to see this monster. Sure it is expensive but it is cool. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that if you are going to buy a laptop that is useable with the HVX you should also ask "can it be used to record HDVCPRO on DV Rack HD" the toshiba will do it. Plus you have a 1080 monitor. It is really cool, even has RAID in a Laptop!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834114269
 
I can record DVCProHD with a lowly P4M 1.5GHz and internal 7200RPM EIDE drive using DV Rack 2.0 HD. As long as you have a 5400RPM drive or faster, you should have no problems with any of the current CPUs.
 
I know that the el cheapos usually do have bigger screens. Look in the newspaper tomorrow in the CompUSA, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Circuit City, and Best Buy ads -- there should be plenty of laptops that will fit the bare minimum of PCMCIA and 60gb hard disk, and I'd bet a few will include a few more features, and they should be around $399 to $499.

My laptop meets all the specs I laid out, and it even includes dual graphics cards -- one for long battery life (the Intel GMA 950) and one for high-speed performance (some nVidia card), and it's a 13" screen -- but it wasn't cheap, it was $1800. I don't know that you'll find all the specs at a cheap price, but there are cheap ones that'll get the offloading job done, and then there are ones that are spec'd out that can handle six streams of HD in realtime (like mine, and I didn't even spring for the fastest processor or the blu-ray drive).
 
MBP doesn't have a PCMCIA slot for offloading cards, and doesn't have an SD card slot for editing metadata. And it's about $1500 more expensive than a cheapo PC laptop would be.

The only reason someone should be thinking about a Macbook Pro for P2 work is if they absolutely, positively, MUST run FCP in the field. If you absolutely positively cannot be without FCP in the field, then obviously you have to get a Mac of some type. But if you want a system that works better with the cards, more reliably, and is about 25% the cost, look into a cheap PC laptop.

I mean, check this one out:
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=343223&pfp=nov23

Granted it's a refurb, but it's a dual-core processor (Core Duo), with a gig of RAM, a 120GB hard disk, dual-layer DVD, 1280x800 screen, 3 USB ports, a firewire port, an SD slot reader, an Expresscard/34 slot *and* an ExpressCard/54 slot, and a PCMCIA Cardbus slot for offloading P2 cards. And it costs $599. Or, about 1/4 the cost of the MBP, and it has every feature you need for a fully functional PC offloading station plus a whole heck of a lot more. For $599. I mean, buyer beware and all, and check to make sure that the printed specifications match what you're actually getting, but -- come on, a Core Duo laptop with two ExpressCard slots, a firewire port, a dual-layer DVD, a PCMCIA slot and an SD card reader for under $600? That's hard to beat.

Here's a Gateway with most of the basic specs, for $699.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7933819&type=product&id=1151657217709

Here's a Core Duo Toshiba with the requisite firewire port and PCMCIA slot for $599 (no SD or Expresscard though):
http://circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Toshiba-Satellite-14-1-Widescreen-Notebook-PC-M115-S3094/sem/rpsm/oid/160474/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs

This Core Duo Toshiba has everything except the ExpressCard slot, but it has SD/firewire/PCMCIA/DL DVD, for $749:
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=882110&Nr=200000&N=265455%209&Ne=6&An=browse

Here's a tiny 12.1" screen laptop with SD/PCMCIA/DL DVD/firewirefor $799:
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=158079&Nr=200000&N=265455%209&Ne=6&An=browse

Here's a brand new Gateway for $649 (if you use the codeword STUFFING when ordering); it features a Core Duo processor, 512MB RAM, 80GB hard disk, SD card reader, PCMCIA slot, 4 USB ports and a firewire port. It'd be better if it had ExpressCard and a DVD-DL writer, but hey, $649 for brand new? How can you argue?

Another brand-new Gateway for $749, this time with all of the above and the DVD-DL writer (but no ExpressCard):
http://gateway.com/home/products/ret/ret_MX6446.shtml



Any of these would be massive overkill for the simple job of offloading cards in the field. But that's kind of the point -- some of these could even function as edit stations for EDIUS, and they're all well under a grand. And I would expect that the Friday sales will show even a few more options, at even lower prices...
 
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I know it has drawbacks as Barry mentioned... but for 1050 out the door the regular macbook is KILLER. I upgraded the RAM and the HD so I have about 1500 in it total.. and I can run window natively and MAC OS.. The functionality and reliability can't be beat. Also I have the P2store so offloading isn't as big of a deal. It's also fast enough to capture over an hour of 1080 footage to the internal HD.. or an external.

I'm sold on the Mac and it's reliablity for years and years to come....
 
Yes, FCP is essential for my projects and its usually in the field .
Nothing like sitting in a hotel room cutting away. I usually archive to a g-raid, then squeeze for flash for quick uploads for shared approvals.

TRying to keep the workflow hardware all together.

But with your reccos, may think about a second field laptop for other crews.
Thanks for that!
Cheers!
Damon
 
I have no idea how the Turion stacks up, but now the ads are hitting and there are a few more that look interesting.

Check out this one from Office Depot: a Lenovo 3000 N100, which has firewire, PCMCIA, SD card reader, and 60GB drive. It's only a Celeron M so it's not a "speed demon", but it's also only $399.
http://www.officedepot.com/adRedir.do;jsessionid=0000JfVTCp4A9zyENtWQgtp8eZD:10irf0ha1?ciid=5873&adurl=%2FddSKU.do%3Flevel%3DSK%26id%3D837030&redirect=false

Wal-Mart Toshiba, $599:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4948023

CompUSA -- it's cheap ($499), and it has a P2 offload slot:
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?ref=cj&pfp=BROWSE&N=200334+14&Ne=500000&product_code=337479&Pn=Aspire_3624WXCi_Notebook
 
Barry_Green said:
Check out this one from Office Depot: a Lenovo 3000 N100, which has firewire, PCMCIA, SD card reader, and 60GB drive. It's only a Celeron M so it's not a "speed demon", but it's also only $399.
http://www.officedepot.com/adRedir.do;jsessionid=0000JfVTCp4A9zyENtWQgtp8eZD:10irf0ha1?ciid=5873&adurl=%2FddSKU.do%3Flevel%3DSK%26id%3D837030&redirect=false
Click to expand...
I see no mention of a PCMCIA/PCCard slot -- only a 4-in-1 multimedia card reader. That's a nice feature for updating the SD card with scene files or user files, but doesn't help with P2 cards.
 
It didn't say it on their site, but I looked it up on the Lenovo site and they list that series as having the PCMCIA slot.

But yes, obviously buyer beware, you should check before plunking down the cash.
 
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