Avid in live trucks

[star wipe]

There is a lively discussion at our shop about which type of computer to use in our live trucks for Avid/P2 editing. Laptops or desktops? Heat, wear and tear, vibrations, and a good powerful computer are all considerations. Does anyone have experience editing in either scenario? Any sage advice?

 

[Tapeape]

I've done both - - using my personal laptop and a station desktop. The desktop worked just fine (and you can get more power for the dollar). It wouldn't be a good idea to run it while driving down the road, but then you're not supposed to do that anyway. When they're shut off they're pretty vibration/impact resistant actually.

 

[Necktie Boy]

It depends how much space you have in the truck. Most trucks I have seen have a laptop. You can move it to truck to truck or use it in the field. Also makes it easier for IT to update it. A desk computer would be really nice. Rack the CPU and the monitor. Don't have to worry about it walking away.

 

[svp]

I've used both in live trucks in the past and I personally preferred the laptop. Everything (connections) are right there at your disposal in case something happens and you need to troubleshoot quickly. With the desktop mounted in the rack, you have to get in the back of the truck and tear crap out to find a problem. The laptops seemed more reliable too and, once you have everything digitized, can be removed from the truck to edit at say a picnic talbe if you desire. With the laptop, everything is right there but a desktop will require a monitor, which takes up space, even when mounted on the wall. At my old station, we started with laptops in the trucks but they were replaced with desktops so the laptops could be used for storm chasing. Desktops are definitely cheaper since most stations have some sort of deal with companies like DELL. My advice, spring for a little extra and get the laptops.

 

[NEWSSHOOTER3]

We use desktops. So far, no ill effects... other than the occasional ill-conceived crappy transition!

 

[shootist]

in a rare episode of doing things right.....when we went p2, we budgeted hp laptops with XpressProHD into each new "camera package" (as in camera/lens/cards/tripod/wireless/laptop etc...)

so each shooter has his/her own laptop at all times. they don't get bounced around or abused in the live trucks....in fact....a lot of editing is done now while WAITING for the truck.

 

[Latin Lens]

I will add my two cents in a couple ways.......what is the weather like where you are because I think that is a big factor in live truck editing. Hot weather climates need a cooling tower or plate for the computers (so they don't overheat).

If you need the space conserve with the laptop....but makesure there's plenty of memory. Sometimes AVID locks up when the memory is near capacity.

 

[jumpkutz]

We've been supplied with five Dell laptops for use in the field. They are, I believe, M65 models. They've held up fairly well, so far, hardware wise, but their performance is spotty. To be fair, our issues seem to be more with how we're trying to feed pieces out of our trucks, both microwave and satellite. The weak link seems to be the Laird Inertia transcoders we're using for this purpose. Althought it's been 50-50 as to whether you'll succeed in getting your piece back to the station for air, reliability seems to have improved lately (moderate fall weather?).

Our IT guy says this particular model doesn't seem to work with most of the available transcoders he's aware of. Right now we have to use our cameras (Panasonic HVX 200's) as transcoders for recording pool feeds in court or NCAA basketball tournament sites.

I'd say laptops are fine if your company will a) listen to your suggestions as a result of your lively discussions, and b) research their capabilities and buy what you need in the way of accessory equipment to make them work. Having said all that, ours are still not as reliable as they should be, and I don't think having desktops instead would change that.

 

[bwfilms]

I would recommend using a laptop. Space is always an issue in live trucks and the less space taken up by a bulky desktop may make your edit more comfortable.

Our laptops at stuck down with velcro and haven't had any trouble with wear and tear.

 

[amp]

We are switching from laptops in the trucks to desktops. The laptops have Avid Express DV, and troubleshooting with that program isn't the same as troubleshooting with Newscutter. We have had a TON of problems with the Dell laptops. They are good, when they work, which is about half the time, and that just isn't good enough for news.

 

[The Next Generation...]

I opt for the laptops but you MUST spend the money up front and buy a powerful model that can push all of the software. Our station made the mistake of doing it on the cheap and now they are really paying for it.....they are scrapping them and buying better ones now.

 

[woodsiecam]

laptops

we've been using laptops in the trucks since the spring, and haven't had any significant problems (knock on wood). we also use a separate avid-store hard drive, mounted next to the laptop. puts less stress on the laptops and you can store a TON of video.