Hi everyone,
I've been looking at a new class of notebooks (MiniNetBooks), which are typically in the $200-$500 range. They have 7-10" displays and wireless capabilities. They typically have a low-power processor (eg. Atom ~1.6ghz), and low RAM and disk configurations. Sometimes, they have SDDs for their disk.
Some examples:
Razorbook $160
HP,
Dell, $400
Lenovo, $340
I'm guessing that if these have enough horsepower to run VNC or Receptor Remote, that they would make an ideal front-end to Receptor for performance. They are typically very light and small.
Has anyone tried doing this yet? How well does it work for you?
Thanks in advance,
Kevin L
Mini NetBooks: Cheap front-end for Receptor?
-
- KVRian
- 691 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
-
- KVRAF
- 4071 posts since 4 Mar, 2008 from Near Pittsburgh
Personally I'd prefer a road-worthy LCD panel and keyboard/input device since VNC will be a touch slower. Doesn't seem like you are using the computing power of the netbook for anything in your scenario?
-
- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 691 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Thanks for the opinions, Buscemi.
I think one advantage of this scenario is that you could operate the NetBook wirelessly, untethered to where your Receptor might be. Arguably, you are probably wiring keyboards to the Receptor - so this may not have great advantage.
In any case, it would be interesting to see how fast/slow this might be in comparison to a LCD panel / KB / Mouse might be. Pricewise, these computers seem to be much cheaper than many (roadworthy) LCD/KB/Mouse combos I've seen.
Regards,
Kevin L
I think one advantage of this scenario is that you could operate the NetBook wirelessly, untethered to where your Receptor might be. Arguably, you are probably wiring keyboards to the Receptor - so this may not have great advantage.
In any case, it would be interesting to see how fast/slow this might be in comparison to a LCD panel / KB / Mouse might be. Pricewise, these computers seem to be much cheaper than many (roadworthy) LCD/KB/Mouse combos I've seen.
Regards,
Kevin L
-
- KVRAF
- 4071 posts since 4 Mar, 2008 from Near Pittsburgh
You'd have to set up a wireless network for stage use, which I did not assume you were thinking about doing. You'd have to have a hard ethernet connection from Receptor to router, and then the laptop wireless. On stage, this is something I don't think I'd want to rely on. I assumed you were going to use the crossover cable method directly wired from Receptor to laptop.
Though I don't know if there's some way that folks have enabled wireless ethernet on Receptor but even if so I don't think I'd rely on that on the road.
Though I don't know if there's some way that folks have enabled wireless ethernet on Receptor but even if so I don't think I'd rely on that on the road.
-
- KVRist
- 91 posts since 22 Dec, 2006
Hi,
Personally, I think the netbooks screens are too small to be convenient for operating the Receptor Remote software.
Concerning the wireless connection, I tried to set one up with a wireless adapter (the ones we normally use for gaming consoles, like the old xbox...). I made a new ad-hoc connection with my laptop, but nothing really seemed to work. I must have done something wrong... If anyone managed to do it, please tell us!
I didn't really try very hard, because it wasn't my priority. There are lots of other cables going out of my rack, so one more or one less...
Demierra
Personally, I think the netbooks screens are too small to be convenient for operating the Receptor Remote software.
Concerning the wireless connection, I tried to set one up with a wireless adapter (the ones we normally use for gaming consoles, like the old xbox...). I made a new ad-hoc connection with my laptop, but nothing really seemed to work. I must have done something wrong... If anyone managed to do it, please tell us!
I didn't really try very hard, because it wasn't my priority. There are lots of other cables going out of my rack, so one more or one less...
Demierra
-
- KVRist
- 40 posts since 5 Jul, 2008
I've been using my netbook, Asus 901, on my Receptor. The main issue is the screen size is small, 1024x600. What I do instead is use UltraVNC client to connect to the Receptor. This allows an "auto-scaling" option that scales down the Receptor screen from 1024x768 to fit full screen in 1024x600. I can read everything OK, but keep in mind the screen is small, and scaling down the screen makes it even smaller.
-
- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 691 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Thanks everyone for the responses.
Jack - is there a 'pan and scan' option for UltraVNC? I thought I saw someone using a VNC that allows you to view a portion of the display at full resolution? For live situations when you mostly wish to change multi's or adjust volume, this way of scrolling VNC might work well.
Also, besides display resolution issues, how well is the Atom processor (speedwise) for handling this task? Are there paging/ram issues?
Regards,
Kevin L
Jack - is there a 'pan and scan' option for UltraVNC? I thought I saw someone using a VNC that allows you to view a portion of the display at full resolution? For live situations when you mostly wish to change multi's or adjust volume, this way of scrolling VNC might work well.
Also, besides display resolution issues, how well is the Atom processor (speedwise) for handling this task? Are there paging/ram issues?
Regards,
Kevin L
-
- KVRist
- 40 posts since 5 Jul, 2008
Yes, you can also pan and scan, which is the default mode. But I find the auto scale a nice feature.looneytunes wrote:Thanks everyone for the responses.
Jack - is there a 'pan and scan' option for UltraVNC? I thought I saw someone using a VNC that allows you to view a portion of the display at full resolution? For live situations when you mostly wish to change multi's or adjust volume, this way of scrolling VNC might work well.
Also, besides display resolution issues, how well is the Atom processor (speedwise) for handling this task? Are there paging/ram issues?
Regards,
Kevin L
The Atom is easily up to the task of running a VNC client.