jmpwme 0 #1 April 29, 2005 This may have been covered in other threads, and I've cross posted in the video forum, but thought my fellow 4-way friends might have some ideas. I'm looking for suggestions for the best laptop to use for video editing, video storage and video review during a training day. Currently we are using a DVD recorder to record jumps, but doing dubs at the end of the day is time consuming. Also, no good for storage or creating/keeping a "best of" section. Also would prefer that it be window's based as it will be used for other non-skydivng applications as well. Of course, if somebody can make a VERY compelling argument for going MAC I'm happy to listen. Happy to hear both no cost and budget limited options. Looking for a laptop that (a) has good memory (how much do we need), (b) has good slow-mo on the playback for debriefs, (c) built in DVD burner, (d) video out so we can play on the larger TV screen and (e) decent video editing software. I suppose it should also have wireless capabilities for mouse, keyboard and internet. Anything I'm missing??? Thanks. Steve GT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 7 #2 April 29, 2005 Id ask Brian Johnson...He has a program that does all of that already, and he has a laptop that he uses already. Why reinvent the wheel?"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harryskydives 0 #3 May 4, 2005 We are using a mini mac. Ask Eric Rushing about it. he is our AV guy. Don't run out of altitude and experience at the same time... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #4 May 4, 2005 In terms of hardware, all you need is: - Firewire / IEEE 1394 / i.Link port to get footage from the camera to the laptop. - Video/TV out/S-Video out, to view on the big screen. - 512MB of RAM should be plenty. - DVD+-RW burner. Pretty much any name-brand manufacturer will provide a range of laptops that fit this spec. The more you pay, the lighter and/or better capabilities you'll get. HP, Dell, Sony, IBM, Apple, will all work. Decide on a budget, and pick the whatever you fancy most. For example, for just about $1000 you could get a Dell Inspiron 6000 that'd do everything you need. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #5 May 22, 2005 While the laptop debrief is really nice, it's probably not going to save you much, if any, time in making copies to give to all the team members at the end of the weekend. Encoding and burning the DVDs from the laptop is a bit of a pain (in either windows or apple). However, once the material is mpeg encoded, making copies can be pretty fast -- at least faster than real time. My suggestion would be to continue doing the debriefs from the stand-alone DVD recorder and if you want copies, then make those using a laptop capable of copying DVDs at a higher rate than real-time. Some burners can go as high as 16x.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
