Using A Macbook as an external monitor.

Jonathan Levin · May 28th, 2008, 09:51 AM

Greetings.

I've searched these forums but couldn't quite get the answer I was looking for so here goes:

I have a Macbook (non intel) and I was wondering if that can be somehow connected to a Canon XH A1 as an external monitor.

A couple of things: I don't need or want to record to any hard drive, just the camera's tape. I would like to just use the laptop for those heavy breathing clients so that they can see what I see. If this can be done, can you also monitor as you record to tape? This question came to mind as I was reading through another thread that there is a Sony product, DVP-820, that some are using. I just thought, hey, I've got a $3000.00 laptop, why can't I use that?

In my search, I found a few people that are using something called Capture Magic HD. I checked this out and it does look really cool and for 90US dollars seems reasonable , but from the description, it sounds like it just records to a hard drive. I've also read a bit about Adobe's OnLocation.

And the last part of my question: If the only way to record is to the/a hard drive, does the video get compressed in any way, or is it still in it's unaltered HDV state. Does it record simultaniously to the camera's tape? If it is truely unaltered, then shooting to the hard drive could be great.

Sorry for the really long question.

Cheers.

Jonathan

George Kroonder · May 28th, 2008, 10:37 AM

There are a few recent threads about this, like:
Can MacBook Pro be a Monitor and
Can you use a MacBook Pro as a monitor while shooting?

In short: Veescope and Scopebox will let you capture live from your HDV camera over firewire. They will display HDV coming over the firewire, which in it's "unaltered state" is compressed.

All applications that can show the output from the camera can usually record it, even if you don't need that.

There may be a delay of a couple of seconds between live and when it's displayed, also depending on your hardware.

Adobe OnLocation is PC only.

George/

Jonathan Levin · May 28th, 2008, 11:28 AM

Hi George.

I didn't see those threads. Thanks. And I didn't consider Imovie as a source for for monitoring video.

But the main question is will the camera still record to tape while monitoring in Imovie.

Tnaks.

Jonathan

Edward Carlson · May 28th, 2008, 11:32 AM

Yes, the camera will still record to tape. There is an app called PreDView which will show any FireWire input source. And it's free.

Gints Klimanis · May 28th, 2008, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Kroonder

Adobe OnLocation is PC only.

I'm going to try Apple BootCamp to run Windows on my MacBookPro. I tried OnLocations with VMWare Fusion, but the VMWare doesn't support Firewire. I wish camcorders would move to using USB instead of Firewire for digital video streaming as many camcorder already have USB2 ports on them.

Marc Jayson · September 15th, 2008, 09:05 AM

Adobe OnLocation CS4 for Mac!

Adobe - OnLocation CS4 Mac on Vimeo

May 28th, 2008, 09:51 AM	#1
Jonathan Levin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 48	Using A Macbook as an external monitor. Greetings. I've searched these forums but couldn't quite get the answer I was looking for so here goes: I have a Macbook (non intel) and I was wondering if that can be somehow connected to a Canon XH A1 as an external monitor. A couple of things: I don't need or want to record to any hard drive, just the camera's tape. I would like to just use the laptop for those heavy breathing clients so that they can see what I see. If this can be done, can you also monitor as you record to tape? This question came to mind as I was reading through another thread that there is a Sony product, DVP-820, that some are using. I just thought, hey, I've got a $3000.00 laptop, why can't I use that? In my search, I found a few people that are using something called Capture Magic HD. I checked this out and it does look really cool and for 90US dollars seems reasonable , but from the description, it sounds like it just records to a hard drive. I've also read a bit about Adobe's OnLocation. And the last part of my question: If the only way to record is to the/a hard drive, does the video get compressed in any way, or is it still in it's unaltered HDV state. Does it record simultaniously to the camera's tape? If it is truely unaltered, then shooting to the hard drive could be great. Sorry for the really long question. Cheers. Jonathan

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May 28th, 2008, 10:37 AM	#2
George Kroonder Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Utrecht, NL \| Europe 3rd Rock from the Sun Posts: 583	There are a few recent threads about this, like: Can MacBook Pro be a Monitor and Can you use a MacBook Pro as a monitor while shooting? In short: Veescope and Scopebox will let you capture live from your HDV camera over firewire. They will display HDV coming over the firewire, which in it's "unaltered state" is compressed. All applications that can show the output from the camera can usually record it, even if you don't need that. There may be a delay of a couple of seconds between live and when it's displayed, also depending on your hardware. Adobe OnLocation is PC only. George/

May 28th, 2008, 11:28 AM	#3
Jonathan Levin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Chicago, Illinois Posts: 48	Hi George. I didn't see those threads. Thanks. And I didn't consider Imovie as a source for for monitoring video. But the main question is will the camera still record to tape while monitoring in Imovie. Tnaks. Jonathan

May 28th, 2008, 11:32 AM	#4
Edward Carlson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wyomissing, PA, United States Posts: 308	Yes, the camera will still record to tape. There is an app called PreDView which will show any FireWire input source. And it's free.

September 15th, 2008, 09:05 AM	#6
Marc Jayson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 113	Adobe OnLocation CS4 for Mac! Adobe - OnLocation CS4 Mac on Vimeo