laptop for capturing

[faithfoo]

Hi

I am looking to buy a laptop, preferrably a light one for frequent travel

What is the minimum configuration that I need to do basic video editing & capturing with softwares such as pinnacle ...

1) I must able to write a 4 GB DVD ( DVD writer ) , while being able to download e mails and work on a word document, all these 3 functions at the same time ( without the laptop getting hanged )


2) pls let me know the what is value for money

a) brand & model ( 15 inch screen )
b) Processor needed
c) Windows XP Home is stable enough
d) which version of Microsoft office is stable enough ( esp Chinese characters )
e) size of hard disk needed ,
f) memory needed,..
g) ideally the model comes with a firewire port and uSB 2 , without increasing the overall costs of the laptop

[techz]

I bought a HP zt3020, Centrino,
Once u buy a CEntrino, you will never go back to big and heavy laptops, i just wish i could have got a 1.7 ghz (expensive that time) and a Mobility 9600 or better, Centrinos are very fast despite their speed.

Asus W1 is excellent and so is Acer 2000 Wcli

[faithfoo]

Out of these 3
Which is the best 2 in terms of reliability ( less notebook/hard disk crash) and value for money ?


1) I AM ALSO LOOKING AT Toshiba & IBM 1.6 GHZ centrino ,
is 512 Mb RAM and 40 Gb HZ sufficient for capturing a 60 min DV tape ?

2) I suppose all of them are comparable in term of not hanging while writing DVD or video editing WHILE doing one of these 2 with downloading e mails & working on a word document at same time ..( 3 at 1 go ..)

[killingspree]

warning upfront: i'm quite an IBM thinkpad fan, so i might be a little biased, but here's what i'd choose (in fact i'm just about to buy one of these myself!) - but i'm going to try to be as objective as possible ;)

ibm thinkpad T42 (available both with 14.1" and 15" screens)
intel centrino 1.7 Ghz upwars
at least 512 MB ram (upgradeable to 2 Gigs)
at least 60 GB / 7200 rpm (!!) (80GB available - although i think it is 5400 rpm)
dvd burner might be optional depending on the exact model you choose!

pros: IBM quality, 3 years warranty, reliable, everything included (like wireless lan b/g profile, bluetooth, 2 PC type II slots, etc, etc), exceptional battery performance, light (2.6 kg iirc), slim (26 mm - only 14.1" screen version), comes with XP Pro

cons: not really what you call cheap :) the design doesn't appeal to everybody, only 2 USB 2.0, no firewire

ad 2) i think every branded notebook should be able to handle it, only rather cheap no-names might have problems with that

hth
steVe

edit: come to think of it, the R51 model might appeal even more to you - it's priced a little more attractively but is a little bulkier!

[smok3]

well, if you wanna capture dv then firewire is a must..., i must say that with some weird experience with my curent model i would now probably look for something less equiped and more brand-named, like ibm thinkpad (you could probably get a pcmcia firewire card anyway, if you do not plan to get another pcmcia audiocard that is).

a. anyway with editing you need quite a disk speed and size, it is not just
about capturing, but also temporary renders, final intermediate output clips /thought you can skip that in most cases/, basically for any project that requires more than just simple editing (think color corrections, adding titles, special fx, ect) a 120 gigs disk will get really small very fast (2 small to medium projects at one time is usually enough to fill it).

b. also you should check if the audiocard can power your preffered headphones... (at the end i bought the echoaudio indigo pcmcia thingy...)

c. dvd burner, dunno, i got myself an external thingy and put it in one of those enclosures - connected to usb2 and it is working fine so far. (you have to look for internal models if you want to carry the thing around easier thought, but based on some posts here i have a feeling that internal burners are not really what would one want.)

d. memory, i would suggest at least 512 megs, but a gig will work in your advantage if you need to use software like adobe affter effects.

e. cpu - as fast as possible, nothing is ever fast enough for video...
(my currect standalone is a 2 x Xeon 2.8 and it can still get slow sometimes.)

[killingspree]

Originally posted by smok3
well, if you wanna capture dv then firewire is a must... [...] you could probably get a pcmcia firewire card anyway, if you do not plan to get another pcmcia audiocard that is).

not even this is a problem as all thinkpads are equipped with 2 type II slots...

a 120 gigs disk so, in other words, for serious video editing you should treat yourself an external hd...

c. dvd burner, dunno, i got myself an external thingy and put it in one of those enclosures - connected to usb2 and it is working fine so far. (you have to look for internal models if you want to carry the thing around easier thought, but based on some posts here i have a feeling that internal burners are not really what would one want.)

those internal burners are rather slow, but burning a couple of dvds works fine, batch burning isn't really recommended though :D

kr
steVe

[faithfoo]

Any votes should I go for
Toshiba or IBM 1.6 GHZ centrino ( i hope to forget abt Asus or HP ? )


1) Is 40 Gb HZ sufficient for capturing a 60 min DV tape ? happy to know that 512 Mb is sufficient

2) I suppose all of them are comparable in term of not hanging while writing DVD or video editing WHILE doing one of these 2 with downloading e mails & working on a word document at same time ..( 3 at 1 go ..)

[jggimi]

According to the DV FAQ, DV consumes approximately 3.6 MB/sec. This is approximately equivalent to 216 MB/minute, or 12.6 GB /hour.

And, since your purpose is DV capture, which is really DV "copy," I'm moving this to the DV forum.

[faithfoo]

I am deciding on 2 laptops
( IBM R 51 & HP nx 7010 )

a) Can I confirm recovery system when computer fails .is exactly the same in terms of trying to recover data *( for both machines)

b) is it true that only IBM have a Cushion round the hard disk ?

c) no diffce in security sub system .for 2 machines


2) IBM 1.6 GHZ centrino has only level 2 ….1 Mb only , and 32 Mb dedictaed card

compared to HP's 7010 level 2 2 Mb cache & .64 Mb ATI 9200…..

3) DOES THAT MAKE HP a better buy ? HOPE THAT HP is not prone to failure .as much as IBM

[smok3]

so, in other words, for serious video editing you should treat yourself an external hd... with bigger projects using the external hd (connected to firewire port) i got 'delayed Write failure' error very often, afaik there is no known solution for this problem, it is not even exactly known what produces it... (the point is - avoid external hds for editing purposes).

[techz]

I have an HP and its great, when talking about laptops, its like antivirus, everyone has a favorite, and that HP is definately gonna be more powerful, with the extra cast.