Ultra Slim Custom Andromeda Capture System

T

Teeck

Active member
Hey All,

I thought I would post some information and pictures on my finished portable andromeda capture system, which I'm hoping you guys enjoy. I researched many systems and finally decided on the Acer Aspire One AOA150 1.6 ghz Atom, since it is small and has the most options of any netbook. You guys are probably wondering how it's possible to capture on a netbook let alone a non apple computer. Well, OSx86 hackintosh is the key and the system works really great. I figured since andromeda only needs a fast usb bus and disk write speed the Acer should be plenty. I was originally going to go with the mac mini but it was too big and expensive to customize and the biggest problem was making a practical sized battery for the system.

I bought a used aspire one with a broken screen on ebay for $120 and upgraded the Hard Disk to a Seagate Momentus 5400 RPM 500gb Hard Disk. The Acer aspire one was perfect at 9.8" x 6.7" x 1.1 and 2.4 pounds, and has all the power to capture with a Sata HD Sustained Read/Write of ~78-80 MB/sec. It's still a notebook and clunky to hold and work with so I decided to convert it to a one piece tablet PC. You can buy a solder-less touchscreen kit from ebay which is put on top of the LCD and gets you touch controls. I inverted the LCD and cut a hole on the back of the LCD case so when you close the lid the LCD is visible and becomes a tablet. The mount for the camera and the on/off button for the computer were the hard parts of the project to create. Overall I am extremely happy with the result and its a great capture system that works as good as an Apple. I wish sculptor was available for Windows as there are even smaller computers but don't run OS X enough.

Battery runs about 2 hours on the stock battery that comes with the acer and about 6 hours with the 9 cell battery.

Materials
Used Acer Aspire One - $120
New LCD - $70
Touch Screen - $80
Mac OS X Leopard - $130
Aspire One 7900 mAh 9 Cell Battery - $50

Total Cost - $450

It's possible to find cheaper prices for all this stuff if you look around. here are some photos and I will post a video also.


http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/80/1000078o.jpg
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9941/1000079g.jpg
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8480/1000080.jpg
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/7227/1000083.jpg
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/642/1000085c.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7454/1000086.jpg

Video: http://www.papalico.com/AspireOneAndromeda.mov
 
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thats really impressive, although i would think the computer would be heavy enough to rip off your hotshoe mount. what arm are you using to attach the PC?

also, who modded the DVX for you, did you mod it internally yourself? (sorry i don't know much about the Andromeda system)
 
I am using a shoe mount from another LCD thats been attached to the computer. The whole computer weighs 2.4 pounds which is a bit heavier than my old varizoom monitor, the DVX should be fine. I bought the DVX from someone who had it sent it to Reel-Stream.
 
WOW, that's a killer setup!!!
can't wait to see the footage. (downloading right now, hehe:))

so how is the date recorded (as)? how big are the files?
very interesting!


Edite:Nevermind, so just watched the footage and it was showing your setup. Now I want to see footage from the DVX next time!!!
 
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This inspired me to make a laptop mount for my camera... I will have pics soon but I took an old DJ laptop stand and made a few adjustments and I can not securely mount it to the bottom of my DVX and hold my MacBook above, though it's no comparison to this amazing setup!
 
This way its faster to take it off or put it back on, rails are a lot heavier. The mount can be adjusted easily as well for different height and angle.

Here is clip from a short I shot to test the andro. I added a bit too much film grain in after effetcs, but I was going for a 16 mm look. I could of pulled the exposure down and got back some of the highlights on her face but it was my first time using the andromeda so I am still learning.

Http://www.papalico.com/AndroWebClip.mov
720p H.264 75mb

androwebstill.jpg
 
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I like the look you're getting with the andromeda mod. Not too sharp, maybe thats the reason why it looks so pleasing for the eye.
 
I forgot how nice a grainy CCD sourced image looks, GOD BLESS global shutter and a nice 1/48 second shutter speed!

Cool, makes me want to break out my andro and shoot something
 
if i remember right the Andromeda has a incredibly limited ISO range, which can result in a grainy image. but maybe this is due more to the limitations of the DVX though. are you able to eliminate the noise and grain? maybe do some controlled lighting situations. is there a way to adjust the ISO?
 
Yes you can shoot with a different LUT and control the noise and iso. This one is a lot more grainy because I have added grain in After Effects to get a 16mm look but it was not that noisy to begin with. Thanks!
 
That's cool Andy. Why are you using a laptop though, and not just shooting to tape? Are you using an andromeda?
 
Well I won't be always shooting on that and I don't like tape because it's a pain to import and I have FCP on my laptop to capture so I can automatically log the clips and review and delete the clips instantly. Eventually, I want to get a firestore so I can shoot tapeless anywhere but this whole rig cost me $100. I had everytying already but just got a usb powered hard drive to capture to.
 
Ya it's just a pain to mount on my tripod and everything and it's a little rickety but I am working on making it a little more stable.
 
Hey Andy. I noticed the anamorphic adapter. Are you shooting anamorphic with the Andromeda? What are your thoughts on using it in the system? Are things a lot sharper and/or visibly interesting? How do you edit the oddly shaped footage? Thanks.
 
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