Hi everybody. I was reading topic about tablets for preview GH2 files (directly from card). I am thinking about asus transformer tf300 which has tegra 3 and it works pretty well (Brandon's topic). I am thinking also about some netbook like acer aspire 722, which has AMD c-60 processor, 4 gb of ram, dedicated graphic memory. Do somebody know if it can play mts files smoothly? I mean directly form camera?
GH2 Device for preview GH2 MTS files
- Thread starter kopan
- Start date
Kopan,
No laptop short of the $1k mark will play large mts files smoothly... They just aren't apparently built for it.
I have an I5 latop with 4 gigs of ram as well as an I7 desktop with 16 gigs of ram and neither play the mts files smoothly and reliably.... Get motion and light in a large mts file and they are are choppy as can be.
The tegra 3 I just tested seems to be the ticket for instant and reliable playback with the free dice player.
Maybe I'm missing the correct codecs or players on my windows machines but they don't play mts for crap.
win7 64 bit
VLC media player
Windows Media Payer
2 gig video card
Render them out and they play fine... but that's not really the point.
No laptop short of the $1k mark will play large mts files smoothly... They just aren't apparently built for it.
I have an I5 latop with 4 gigs of ram as well as an I7 desktop with 16 gigs of ram and neither play the mts files smoothly and reliably.... Get motion and light in a large mts file and they are are choppy as can be.
The tegra 3 I just tested seems to be the ticket for instant and reliable playback with the free dice player.
Maybe I'm missing the correct codecs or players on my windows machines but they don't play mts for crap.
win7 64 bit
VLC media player
Windows Media Payer
2 gig video card
Render them out and they play fine... but that's not really the point.
For playback of GH2 AVCHD files directly from the SD card, I've been very satisfied with the HP TouchSmart TM2 Tablet PC:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-TouchSmart-TM2-1070US-12-1-Inch-Riptide/dp/B0031ESWPC
After upgrading the RAM to 8GB, the Intel Core i3 CPU in this tablet PC is strong enough to run Adobe CS5.5 for lightweight editing purposes.
http://www.amazon.com/HP-TouchSmart-TM2-1070US-12-1-Inch-Riptide/dp/B0031ESWPC
After upgrading the RAM to 8GB, the Intel Core i3 CPU in this tablet PC is strong enough to run Adobe CS5.5 for lightweight editing purposes.
Thanks for replays. I am not expecting to watch all my GH2 clips on that devices. Just to check how light was, exposure, and generally have an idea how it looks. So it means that my best choice would be something with tegra 3 processor. I had transformer tf 101 and i could see like 5 fps so it was a little to small to have idea about clip.
Not a tablet, but for $235. The Panasonic DMP-B200 has an SD slot for AVCHD MTS playback. Haven't tried it yet.
http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/DMP-B200?t=specs
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-B200-8-9-Inch-Portable-Blu-ray/dp/B004LNHMEY
http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/DMP-B200?t=specs
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-B200-8-9-Inch-Portable-Blu-ray/dp/B004LNHMEY
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that's a good idea, but i need something which i can use everyday for internet browsing, playing music etc. But thanks.
that's a good idea, but i need something which i can use everyday for internet browsing, playing music etc. But thanks.
M. Gilden
Canon DSLR Moderator
I don't feel like that's true. Are you using a super-high bitrate hack, perhaps? Because the read data rate of the card may be your bottleneck... my $500 laptop plays unhacked and mid-range hacked GH2 mts just fine with an i5 last I checked. I don't play with the super high end hacks due to fears of spanning problems and storage space.
If anything, AVCHD actually requires less resources to play back than Canon .mov DSLR footage. I bought this laptop as an upgrade over a year ago to be able to play Canon footage natively without stuttering. My GH2 footage I've thrown at it was smoother.
Yeah, that's strange because I'm pretty sure that the Tegra3, as fast as it is, is still limited due to the mobility design compare to their desktop/laptop equivalents (low power consumption and lacking a fan/cooling system means mobile CPUs will always be just a tad bit slower at high end computing). Maybe its the speed of your card reader? Try copying the raw files to your internal HD and play from there- is it still choppy?
Meanwhile, to the OP... How about getting an HD monitor to attach to your camera's HDMI out? I understand you also want a portable internet device, but you can get reasonable Tegra 2 tablets pretty cheap these days. That plus a cheap field monitor might cost less than a one of the new high end Tegra 3 tabs, and you'd have the added benefit of a monitor to check exposure, etc, WHILE filming instead of looking at it afterwards. Just a thought.
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i bought an asus eepcee netbook for a euro trip last year, forgot what model number but 1gig ram, the newer atom processor with dedicated graphics card win starter and that played my mts files on splashlite pro fine. avoid the integrated intel graphics chips. i dont bother playing mts files on vlc anymore...its all choppy and mashy on that thing.
Thanks for all replies. Hdmi monitor? Hmm i don't need it that much. It is my fault, couse I should write as well that i need something which can be helpful to make a copy of my cards. I mean plug in external HD and make a copy of sd card during the wedding or other event and in meantime watch some clips. Sorry for not being clear.
M. Gilden
Canon DSLR Moderator
You can do that with a $100 cheapo Android tab. And then use the rest of your budget for a quality monitor to check levels, playback, etc.
EDIT: Sorry, you can do MOST of that with a cheapo tab. The copying files and such. Previewing you'd need to do in camera, as the CPU on a cheap tab likely WON'T hold up very well. Then again, Tegra 2 tabs are dropping in price like crazy, and won't be far off for long.
Sol M.
Veteran
Care to shed a bit more light on how you can use an Android tablet to offload memory cards? I'm not privy to all the models, but I don't know of any that have enough onboard memory to handle more than 1 cards (at best) and very few (e.g. Toshiba Thrive) have a true USB plug for connecting an external HD to. Then there's the question of software that wouldn't make this a chore...
I am thinking about asus transformer tf300 with dock. It has card reader and full usb port in dock station. It is also very mobile, has tegra 3 so i think it is going to be my choice.
I also have a cheapo Toshiba satelite with like a B950 or some other basic newish dual core and I can playback mts files fine and ironically, the best player to view them is windows media player. If I have problems with media player classic or VLC, it plays fine with stock windows media player. Though I've never tried the super high Driftwood hacks, just flowmotion but I have tried some GH1 GOP1 hacks and Windows Media Player played the files just fine.
Your best bet is to move the files to the HD and definitely never try to open a 4gb file in stream parser from the SD card as it takes minutes on my computer to load up.
Your best bet is to move the files to the HD and definitely never try to open a 4gb file in stream parser from the SD card as it takes minutes on my computer to load up.
Will Turner
Well-known member
iPad?..
Wturner,
The ipad can be used but has so many limitations with the need to transfer products through Itunes in most circumstances and the propriety of the thing in general.
The Transformer T300 is $399 at Best Buy right now and the Tegra3, 32gb of memory, and 1 gb of ram work great for most needs. Haven't seen any issues with high end games or multitasking programs.
The ipad can be used but has so many limitations with the need to transfer products through Itunes in most circumstances and the propriety of the thing in general.
The Transformer T300 is $399 at Best Buy right now and the Tegra3, 32gb of memory, and 1 gb of ram work great for most needs. Haven't seen any issues with high end games or multitasking programs.
M. Gilden
Canon DSLR Moderator
Actually, my experience has been quite the opposite- I see very few models available that DON'T have a true USB host plug. I have a cheapo Viewsonic G-Tablet for personal stuff (costs $100-$200 these days- mostly my kids games and occasional work in the field for me), and I used a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10" for a while too, both with full sized USB plugs that even support hubs. And when I once borrowed a Moto Xoom (one of the few tablets I've touched that didn't have a native plug), it offered USB host via a cable adapter. I think I'd have to really search to find a model that does not offer this.
The bigger problem for my G-tablet is that the card slot is micro-SD, not full sized SD. While I do have a class10 16GB microSD that I use sometimes in my camera with an adapter, I usually stick with my 32GB full sized cards, which would require a hub so I can connect both a reader and HD at the same time. Problem with this is that the hub very often needs to be externally powered, otherwise you run the risk of drawing too much power from the little tablet's USB bus in which case it won't work.
I have, however, backed up an important take onto the internal memory of my G-tab in an emergency situation (Needed to format the card, couldn't remember if I had backed up the footage on it the night before. Luckily it easily fit in my internal 16GB storage). Not sure how practical it is to do regularly with an external HD and a powered USB, but it definitely is possible.
Not even close!
Not to start any Apple fanboy fights, but without a USB port, card slot, or heck EVEN ACCESS TO A FILE SYSTEM AT ALL, the iPad is absolutely useless in this regard. Its a great screen for showing your demo reel, however. Consumers love to hold and see vivid colors on an iPad screen. But for work? No thanks.
^ this.
Sounds good to me. Good luck with it, let us know how it works out!
Matthew P
Well-known member
Yes, I think something's wrong with your Windows machines because I have been able to get 80Mbit mts files to play smoothly on a 1.6ghz AMD dual core laptop. Try CoreCodec.
Ugh, I can't stand seeing terribly inaccurate information at the top of a thread.
I OWN the Acer 722 and it plays MTS files from the GH2 incredibly well. I paid $250 for it and upgraded the drive to an SSD for extra speed. It's an outstanding portable machine.