Tablet PC = Field Monitor, Firestore and 35mm adapter solution?

thetaintedwindow

thetaintedwindow

Member
I was just about to buy a Marshall V-R84DP-HDA LCD Monitor priced around $1800. I needed a field monitor hooked up to my baseplate's arm, mounted upside down in order to deal with the whole 35mm adapter problem. Then the glorious lights of yonder UFO's iluminated my brain and told me to buy a cheap Tablet PC on ebay (some are going for $650) install DV Rack and mount it via firewire to my camera any whichway I want, since with the benefit of a screen that flips rightside up or upside down it all becomes redundant... correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldn't this setup also, depending on how much storage it has, allow you to have a field monitor attached to the camera as well as a firestore type system? You know, since DV Rack can record right to the hard drive? And then "flip" & presto, you have a laptop as well, all for under a grand?

Anyway, everyone here i'm sure is of much sounder mind than the guys guiding me in their UFO, and I myself don't know much, so thanks again and cant wait to see if anyone brands me the crazy idiot of the site :furious3:
:dankk2:
 
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See thats what i'm talking about... that little thing is gotta be more useful at $1900 than an $1800 monitor, I mean sure a monitor can do the whole underscan, blue gun scenario but so can a Tablet with dv rack.
But in regards to price and storage capacity for straight to disk recording, i'd like to know who else thinks it's a good or bad idea? Or better yet, like Jarred, who can give a better solution?
 
If a tablet or Oqo could run DVC Rack then yes, that would be the ultimate. Problem with those smaller computers is that they're typically way underpowered. Let's see what Serious Magic releases for minimum requirements, and then see if we can't find a tablet or oqo that can run it...
 
Hi everyone. Thought this was a great idea and followed up the minimum reqs:

DV Rack needs (http://www.seriousmagic.com/dvrcompatibility.cfm)
Windows XP.
Pentium, Celeron, Athlon or equivalent at 1.4Ghz.
256MB RAM.
180MB/min for recorded video.
32MB graphics card.
Firewire.

OQO has (http://www.oqo.com/hardware/specs/)
Windows XP Tablet edition.
1Ghz Transmeta Crusoe chip.
512MB DDR RAM.
30Gig HDD.
8MB Graphics card.
4 pin firewire.

This would be a fantastic solution if it worked, but I'd be hesitant to try it out with the slower processor and video card. Could it work, or are there any other similar solutions out there?
 
Check this one out...

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VGNUX180P&Dept=computers&CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_UX_Series

Ultra-tiny, processor may be fast enough (don't know how a Core Solo at 1.2ghz compares to a Pentium at 1.4, but I bet it's fast enough), screen has *almost* enough resolution (1024x600, DV Rack likes 1024x768), 128mb graphics card, but you have to use the port replicator in order to get firewire.

Might actually work for DV, and it's tiny tiny tiny. Wouldn't work for HD though, but for a DVX-only solution, maybe...
 
yeah i think i saw that on engadget.. cool thing, but the screen is a little small. I like the tablet a little better.
 
There is a Toshiba on ebay, I think it's the model R-15, and it meets or exceeds the min. requirements that DV Rack asks for. It's going for $800, I already have dv rack... i'm actually tempted to buy it and test this out. I'm wondering instead of buying a mini mount arm if I could just create a simple extension from my dvx's 15mm rods. There are these $50 plasma screen wall mounts, comprised of two parts, I could place the swivel arm on the extension coming out of the rods and the other part on the back of the Toshiba. Does this make any sense?
 
Don't do it!

While I could point to some specs online and say go for it, I'd rather say don't do it because I'm using a tablet PC right now. HP tc4200 with 1GB of RAM.

Color depth and reproduction or horrible. I've had this unit for about 11 months.
 
I wondered about that ... I've decided while its much less convenient, I am probably just going to get a laptop with a high res WXVGA screen (widescreen). Would be so nice to be able to use a small tablet loaded with RAM and fast CPU, but I have yet to see a tablet that I wouldn't worry about being able to work consistantly out in the field.
 
A laptop with extra batteries will be more expensive and heavier.

But you could do a full size processor, a nice 17" screen, a dedicated video card, and a full size keyboard (when you need it).

The better option, IMO.
 
Charles Scalfani said:
What about fan noise in the tablet pcs?
Click to expand...


Never thought about that.... I wonder if there is a way around it, I already bought the tablet :nads:
Maybe I can use a spray bottle on the tablet :Drogar-Evil(DBG): everytime the fan goes on just spray the hell out of it and yell out " youse a bad kitty!" right in the middle of a shoot (sorry guys, just woke up).
 
I havn't tried this, but Toshiba has a M400 tablet, that is Core Duo , 12.1" 1400x1050 (configurable), and around 5lbs. According to the review the battery is supposed to last 3 hours, and there is software to control the fan.
Another plus idea is the DVD drive is modular, and you can put another hard drive in it's place, which you should be able to use Windows XP built in Mirror (Raid 1) for redundancy (I think). And you could add an additional battery to the bottom for even longer time. I'm thinking of getting this when DVC rack comes out.

http://www.tabletpcreviewspot.com/default.asp?newsID=441&review=Toshiba+Portege+M400-S933+Tablet+PC+(Preconfigured)

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-30603
 
oh that's hot... like really hot.

i'm using my laptop as my field monitor (kinda). i have a very "powerful" laptop and it's hot as hell. i really don't like to take it in the sun at all. i'm just saying... be careful when you buy that tablet don't go to crazy on the specs.
 
How about a Panasonic Toughbook?

How about a Panasonic Toughbook?

The Toughbook is only 4lbs, very rugged but price is high, about $3500. I use one for my work and it is very nice. The touch screens may be alittle dark for field work.
 
A core solo at 1.2ghz will do better than a Pentium at 1.4ghz. This is because the newer processors like the whole "core *whatever*" ones have more tweaks and optimizations to make them the same or faster speed, but at a lower clockspeed. The Pentium M's were beating up the Pentium 4 Socket 478's after Intel revamped them, then they came out with the LGA775 processors that are currently used, still, the mobile processors work under the same principal.

I don't know about the ogo, but the Sony can be a great candidate for this test. If not that, then the Toshiba Portege M400 would do it. I too don't know about HD stuff working with this, but for DVX-ers and other SD users out there, it should be fine.
 
And to think i almost bought the protege and on a whim purchased the tecra. I have a friend making an extension from my rods and a $50 plasma screen mount, while he is doing that I think i'm going to exchange this lousy refurbished tablet for the toshiba.
 
I wonder if the Fujitsu P series P1510d is a contender for DVRack?
9 inches wide and a tad over 2lbs!
Photoshop'dit, tried my best to scale it correctly.
P1510_HVX.jpg


Hard Drive: 30GB (4200RPM)
Ports:
2 x USB 2.0
1 x Docking
1 x DC Power Input
1 x RJ-11 Modem
1 x RJ-45 Network
1 x VGA
1 x Microphone
1 x Headphone(s)
Package Contents:
LifeBook P1510D, Lithium Ion battery, AC Adapter, Fujitsu Recovery CD's, Stylus (Pen)
Network: Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps, Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g 54Mbps
Manufacturer: Fujitsu Computer Systems Corp.

Case Style: Portable
Standard Memory: 512MB SDRAM
Display Screen: 8.9" 1024x600 Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
Optical Drive: none

Sound Card: Integrated
 
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