Laptop Schemes with HVX

B

Benton

Well-known member
Alright.

I am going to be using a laptop with the HVX in myriad ways and as I scheme and scheme, I wonder what other people are thinking of.

1a) I will probably be using 4G P2 to start off and I can plug into the Laptop
1b) or I will be streaming into my Apple Powerbook for longer uninterrupted recording times.

These are in controlled environments,
However, I will be using the HVX under many conditions - I want longer recording times and must be prepared to be the one man band

so here are some configurations I am toying around with:

2) I like Barry G's USB2 HD solution. Sound like the best and cheapest. (But we dont know of reliability yet and it takes a few minutes.)

3a) Capturing it directly into a laptop if it is small and easily strapped onto your body. ( I tried putting my 17" PB into a shoulder sack and Capturing with my Sony and it worked , but was a bit awkward. But I'm sure with more practice, and a smaller Laptop, it would be fine for on the go)
3b) However, I also do some light steadicam work and I imagine fixing a small laptop to my Vest So I can Use it as a monitor as well and directly control Log & Capture. This seems like a very nice solution.
In Fact, without the steadicam, for handheld work (or not) - I imagine using a vest with a small laptop attatched to my chest or abdomin keyboad flush against me, screen at 45 or 90 degrees as a monitor
(having a larger Hard Drive in my backpack is option too)
...Even if I am only using P2 Cards to record, this makes it easy to transfer data through the Card Bus on the fly as I shoot !

4) PROBLEM: I also will be attaching a 35mm adaptor to the HVX and it will not be one that FLIPS the image. So I would need to FLIP the monitor of the Laptop somehow...Not easily done with an Apple.
Okay so maybe I give up the laptop as moniitor solution ...BUT it is so close!
The monitor Flip Function is the biggest deal to this being the perfect solution to the Myraid Ways I will be using the camera - wether in studio or run & gun
Do I go to PC? and use a Tablet that I can FLIP?
Maybe I just HACK an Apple 12" PB...

I love the Laptop as a recording/storage/ and monitor for the HVX.
There is something So Elegant about it. HVX & Laptop and you have everything you need (not to mention editing & DVD back up)

It is very close to the Perfect solution.. so close & yet so far (like the Arrival of the HVX itself)

How are others Preparing?
 
Ah Thank you Thank you Barry - Wan !

Sound advice,
I am keen on the G35 though. The beta test is closed.
Do you think I could use Revolution with other adaptors?

Software solution would be ideal.
 
Most excellent !

So I will be able to use the Laptop as a monitor with a 35 mm adaptor
and capture directly through the computer .

That is super great workflow Barry,
thanks
 
If I'm going to a laptop streaming through the FW port...will the data write right to the HDD or do I need some sort of software? [I'm planning on using a PC laptop for the time being for video capture, then editing on a G5 powermac w FCP, moving to FS or P2 later as tech catches up.]
 
You will need some sort of capture application running on the laptop. That could be as simple as a dedicated capture app (not that I know of any) or as complex as a full-fledged editing program like Avid or Canopus.
 
Barry_Green said:
You will need some sort of capture application running on the laptop. That could be as simple as a dedicated capture app (not that I know of any) or as complex as a full-fledged editing program like Avid or Canopus.
Click to expand...

Barry, what would you recommend lap top spec wise for a reasonable (Not expensive, say $1500 range?) machine that could be used to act as the brains for some external 3.5 7200 rpm drives to capture footage on as well as run the Serious Magic DV rack program for capture from the HVX camera. (Or is there a better program for that task like the two above?) And also one that could be used to play back takes on with enough clarity to be useful in the field. I'm thinking of some of the wide screen 17-inch size laptops that have pretty good LCD displays.

David
 
Here's one to try for someone with $$ to burn:

Get a 12" Powerbook and modify the screen so it mounts like a tablet PC... then, running FCP, this would be a pretty nice capture device that can mount easily on a steadicam or body-mount, that can use off-the-shelf bus-power drives.

Or perhaps someone could discuss any experience they have with, say, DVRack and a tablet PC?

For me, it's the clamshell form factor that makes a Laptop the size of a 12" Powerbook unwieldy, and beinf able to use it "flat" would solve a lot of problems...
 
Ullanta,
yeah that is what I am thinking too
But Wait until Apple announces new laptops probably next week -

How would you mod the screen though?
(I actually think that putting it on your chest and looking down into the screen will work too)
 
Well, internally, at least in previous generations, the electronic connection between the screen abd the rest is a single flat ribbon cable. So removing the hinges and flipping the screen and gaffer-taping it to the body would do it ;-).

Really, I think the ribbon cable would have to be very carefully handled or replaced for robustness, and that's likely a bit tricky. But it's been done in the past.
 
So is the consensus that DV Rack on a PC laptop will work for DVCProHD streamed from the HVX? Their site only mentions an HDV Powerpac. And though the utility sounds fantastic, at 1.4ghzM I'm not sure my PC laptop will run it according to the HDV Powerpack specs anyway. Basically I don't really need all the bells and whistles...I just want to simply capture onto my laptop until P2s get a little more affordable!
 
Tim said:
So is the consensus that DV Rack on a PC laptop will work for DVCProHD streamed from the HVX? Their site only mentions an HDV Powerpac. And though the utility sounds fantastic, at 1.4ghzM I'm not sure my PC laptop will run it according to the HDV Powerpack specs anyway. Basically I don't really need all the bells and whistles...I just want to simply capture onto my laptop until P2s get a little more affordable!
Click to expand...

NO!

Be careful - everyone;s talking about a hypothetical forthcoming product. Current DVRack does not handle HVX HD footage!
 
then my a-game is in trouble here. i have a pc laptop at 1.4ghz so it prob wouldn't run avid (even if I wanted to buy avid just for capture, which is of course crazy). so my option seems to be; buy a powerbook instead of a powermac, and FCP, and compromize on my NLE setup forever. buy a bunch of P2 4gb cards (expensive and tough for doc work), wait and buy an FS in march (perhaps best, but for the wait and the $2k I hadn't planned on). or suck it in and buy the cheapest i-book to run fcp in the field for capture and montioring... and am i missing an option? would the $999 i-book do the capture at least, no editing?
 
ibook has no pcmcia slot. you will need at least a 15" powerbook. unless you plan on using the firewire port of the hvx which ties up the camera. or wait til macworld next week...there may be changes in store...
 
first goal is just to stream directly to the laptop w/o P2 involved at all. but a good pt...if in the future you wanted to use an ibook as a "P2 Store" in the field you'd need to wait while if off-loads from the camera...inelegant. plus there's the 4200rpm nature of the hdd which is a little lowball.
 
I would suggest finding a way to buy a 15" PowerBook at educational rates....

However, I'd say that you should also try out your laptop with Avid before making a final decision. Requirements for editing and requirements for capture are different, and it's possible you could get away with what you've got. Personally, since you'll be shooting in this mode with no backup, I'd say it's a little edgy; but may be OK for your projects. But give it a shot... it may be fully reliable. Demands for capture shouldn't be too high, especially if you can tweak settings for what's displayed during capture, etc.

-Barry
 
Also, as for waiting for next week's announcementrs on the Mac front... I don't think I'd want to rely on a Macintel solution for anything critical for at least a few months. Let someone else shake out the details, I say! FCP, as an Apple product, should fare fairly well... but still, if I needed a Mac laptop to use in the next year, I think I'd stick to tried and true PowerPC...
 
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