Best laptop for HVX?

J

Jeremy7

Active member
I did a search on "laptop" and couldn't really find anything conclusive...so....

What do you think is the best laptop for the hvx? I've been looking at Sony's, but not quite sure. What's everyone else using?
 
I use a Powerbook G4 (titanium) 867Mhz. Not the fastest processor for FCP (i use a G5 for FCP), but great for p2 offloading. When there will be an express card to pcmcia adapter, Macbook Pro will be the best for sure.
 
I've reported quite a bit on my Acer for this purpose.

As has Barry and his Sony - there is another guy with an Acer also.

No problems offloading or editing with Edius.
 
The best laptop for the HVX would be one that supports all the features of the HVX. I found my ideal combination in a Sony SZ340. It has a PCMCIA slot for offloading cards with no glitching ever, it runs WinXP so it runs P2 Viewer and EDIUS Broadcast and DV Rack 2.0 HD, it has a firewire port for live streaming (and it's 4-pin so you never have to worry about blowing up the firewire port in the HVX), it has an ExpressCard port for future expansion to FW800 or eSATA, it also has an SD card reader so you can edit your scene files and metadata, it's a Core 2 Duo so it's fast, it has a dual-layer DVD for backing up 8gb cards if you want to back up on DVD, it has the ability to do dual monitor setups with the external monitor being at least 1920x1200 and I think it can actually support something like 2560xsomething...
 
Barry_Green said:
The best laptop for the HVX would be one that supports all the features of the HVX. I found my ideal combination in a Sony SZ340. It has a PCMCIA slot for offloading cards with no glitching ever, it runs WinXP so it runs P2 Viewer and EDIUS Broadcast and DV Rack 2.0 HD, it has a firewire port for live streaming (and it's 4-pin so you never have to worry about blowing up the firewire port in the HVX), it has an ExpressCard port for future expansion to FW800 or eSATA, it also has an SD card reader so you can edit your scene files and metadata, it's a Core 2 Duo so it's fast, it has a dual-layer DVD for backing up 8gb cards if you want to back up on DVD, it has the ability to do dual monitor setups with the external monitor being at least 1920x1200 and I think it can actually support something like 2560xsomething...
Click to expand...

Barry, what is your editing software of choice? Vegas?
 
Barry's recommendation is very good. I also personally recommend the HP nx9600 with the best configuration available (3.6Ghz, 2 GB of Corsair System Select RAM, ATI X600). Though not as fancy shmancy as the dual cores, they are still very powerful and rock solid when it comes to the HVX, High Def, Avid, etc. Plus, you could probably get one now for under $1500.
 
Barry_Green said:
The best laptop for the HVX would be one that supports all the features of the HVX. I found my ideal combination in a Sony SZ340.
Click to expand...

I was considering the Sony SZ340, but I saw that its hard drive was only 5400 rpm's. Are you sure that's a good option for HD? Jst trying to make sure before I make a purchase.
 
Correction...

After reading some reviews I learned that "The hard drive, although 5400 RPM, is SATA which makes it feel more like an EIDE 7200rpm laptop drive." The price can top $2700 with all the extras!
 
Jeremy7 said:
I was considering the Sony SZ340, but I saw that its hard drive was only 5400 rpm's. Are you sure that's a good option for HD? Jst trying to make sure before I make a purchase.
Click to expand...
I was a bit iffy on that, but it works fine; I mainly use external drives for capturing. And I got a small internal drive thinking that I could always replace it with a 7200rpm SATA drive when the time comes.
 
Jeremy7 said:
The price can top $2700 with all the extras!
Click to expand...
Yeah, if you totally load it up it can be expensive. Mine came to about $1800. I only went for the 2.00ghz processor; it was hundreds and hundreds more for the fastest processor which would only make about a 15% speed difference. Already this system is about six times faster than my old one (old... it's 1 year old... Pentium M 760) so I'm not complaining. It handles 1080i/1080p/720p full-screen full frame rate from P2 Viewer, full-screen capture and monitoring from DV Rack, doesn't really need to be any faster.
 
Barry_Green said:
It handles 1080i/1080p/720p full-screen full frame rate from P2 Viewer, full-screen capture and monitoring from DV Rack, doesn't really need to be any faster.
Click to expand...

Do you use your laptop for your editing or do you use your Mac for that?
 
I use a Toshiba U205. You can pick one up at Office Depot for $899 right now. It has a 5400 rpm SATA HD- 100 GB, Core duo Proc, 1 GB RAM, PCMCIA slot, 4 pin firewire, SD slot, Dual Layer DVD+-R(W) drive, & XP Pro. I mostly use it to offload my P2 cards to using P2 Genie. I don't do any editing on it other than checking green screen keying in AE. It takes approx 6 1/2-7 minutes to offload a full 8 GB P2 card- which is very fast. For this, I will say it is a GREAT ALTERNATIVE to a 60GB P2 Store because after OS & programs I still have 80 GB for footage + I have an extra computer if needed!!!

Here's a link to the specs:
http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/satellite_U205-S5034.pdf
 
I use an Acer laptop with a 250 gig Cgate internal drive in a Ciig hard case that has a usb2 and firewire 800 choice for hook ups. works like a charm! it's great cause i can just transfer the p2 clips from the Acer directly into the drive and unplug the drive and connect it to my Avid destop workstation. the drive is just an intermediate storage. I use Cgate drives with the Ciig because they're both top of the line reliability, both come with 5 year manufacturer waranties!
 
Jeremy7 said:
I was considering the Sony SZ340, but I saw that its hard drive was only 5400 rpm's. Are you sure that's a good option for HD? Jst trying to make sure before I make a purchase.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, my HP nx9600 came with a really sloooooow 100GB hard drive. I replaced it immediately with a 7200rpm 100GB Hitachi. Works great!
 
I have an acer 9805. It's huge. You can get something smaller if you want, but my general specs are:
2.16ghz core duo, 2 gig 667mhz ram, 2 120gb 5400 hdd's...
I edit off of 2 320 gig 7200 rpm SATA II drives in an eSATA enclosure running to an eSATA expresscard.
Also included and must haves are... pcmcia slot and sd card reader.
That's pretty much it. I am using Edius Broadcast 4. Everything works marvelously from what I have put it through so far (which ain't much)
I am sure you could find a similarly configured system that was smaller from acer (or several companies) I do find the acer prices to be quite competitive.
I went with a larger laptop, because I am using it as my main editing station. I use the 20+ inch laptop screen and a dvi 22" display for a dual monitor setup. I didn't care too much about being mobile. I just wanted to be mobile in the sense that I could take the laptop with me when I am gone for the weekend, etc., and still edit. For that, it is great. Easier, and safer than trying to lug a desktop every single weekend.
If you want mobility or p2 offload in the field then I would recommend something smaller of course.
Or, you can always get a cheapo lapto with pcmcia in the future for use as a p2 store, which is what I intend to do when the need arises, and finances allow.

Jason
 
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