AirCanada 0 #1 February 28, 2006 I an looking a picking up a new laptop system to work with video (possibly HD video). (and, no, a desktop is not an option) Small and light is a consideration for me, so I have narrowed it down to two Dell options: 630m: smaller & lighter, can build with up to Pentium M 770 @ 2.13GHz Inspiron 6400: a little bigger and heaver, but can build with up to Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2600 @ 2.16Ghz Other builds will be the same (2GB mem, 100GB HD, etc) Prices are equivalent, with the 630m coming in a bit more expensive, due to it's smaller size. Is the Dual Core processor considerably better? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #2 February 28, 2006 What program are you planning to use to edit video with? Use the programs's requirements to determine what your memory and processor selection should be. The sys requirements for editing true HD video are serious and realistically cannot be done on a laptop that will be "small and light".NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #3 February 28, 2006 Quote The sys requirements for editing true HD video are serious and realistically cannot be done on a laptop that will be "small and light". Depends on what you consider to be "true" HD. There is no "correct" definition of that. That said, there is an HDV spec (very similar to what we're all used to now with miniDV) and Sony makes those cameras currently. For instance; http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=HDRHC1&Dept=cameras&CategoryName=dcc_DICamcorders_HighDefinitionVideo Doesn't need to be either large or heavy. ;^) As to the processing power required to edit it, I've done it on an "older" Mac PowerBook G4 already in both Final Cut AND even iMovie and it was no issue at all. The new dual core Mac laptops ought to sing. (Have laptop, will travel!)quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #4 February 28, 2006 Well since he was listing Wintel parts I assumed he wasn't buying a Mac and since he didn't specify the program he was going to use I was using Adobe Premier Pro 2.0's requirements as a general guide since I am only familiar with Adobe's offerings. Here are their specs for the interested people though: Windows * Intel® Pentium® 4 1.4GHz processor for DV (Pentium 4 3.4GHz processor for HDV; dual Intel Xeon™ 2.8GHz processors for HD; SSE2-enabled processor required for AMD systems) * Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Home Edition with Service Pack 2 * 512MB of RAM for DV; 2GB of RAM for HDV and HD * 4GB of available hard-disk space for installation * Dedicated 7,200RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD * Microsoft DirectX-compatible sound card (multichannel ASIO-compatible sound card for surround sound) * DVD-ROM drive for installation * DVD+-R burner for DVD creation * 1,280x1,024 video display with 32-bit color adapter * OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 video interface card for DV and HDV (AJA Xena HS for HD) * QuickTime 6.5 software * Internet or phone connection required for product activation * Adobe-recommended graphics card for GPU-accelerated playback (see the full compatible hardware listing) There's no way I'd even think about limping along with anything less than a dual-core processor for _any_ HD video variant personally. That, in addition to the ludicrous transcode times if there was going to be any DVD-authoring taking place, would suck the life out of me. Since laptops usually are a significant investment for the purchasers I always encourage people to buy as much system as they can afford. A "desktop replacement" type system, which is bulky and heavy, vs. an "ultra-portable" business-traveller-style laptop is more in-line with his needs IMHO. It's hard to have your cake and eat it too with portable systems and the final purchase usually ends up being a compromise of performance vs portability.NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AirCanada 0 #5 March 1, 2006 Thanks Matt, That's very informative. If this is the same Matt who works with Skydive Ogden, I just sent you some pics you took of me back in the fall. Cheers josh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #6 March 1, 2006 I'm a different "Matt" but thanks. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
