7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Netbook for screen recording?

by John Henderson
5 replies
I'm putting together a video tutorial for an application that's available for both PC and Mac. I'm okay for the Mac side of it, but I have no Windows machine.

If I bought an XP netbook with a 1.6GHz Atom processor and 1Gb of memory, would that have the horsepower to run the lightweight app that I'm showcasing (about the same CPU overhead as a basic word processor), run the screen recording software and record my narration from a headset?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's done this and how it went...

JH.
#netbook #recording #screen
  • Profile picture of the author hypnoman
    Hi John,

    I haven't had a netbook, but I do have an XP laptop and the minimum spec for my screen recording software (Camtasia) is

    Minimum Requirements:
    Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista
    Microsoft DirectX 9 or later version
    1.0 gHz minimum ~ Recommended: 2.0 GHz Core Duo or equivalent processor
    500 MB RAM minimum ~ Recommended: 2.0 GB
    115 MB of hard-disk space for program installation

    I think the important thin is to ensure you have DirectX9 , or hwatever your apps require.

    1GB RAM should be plenty, so should the processor. Remember netbooks are freedom devices intended for road warriors.

    If this is something you intend to do more frequently, I'd suggest the smallest, lightest, cheapest full spec laptop from Dell etc.

    Kind Regards,

    h
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[970686].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Thank you, hypnoman. I've actually just sold my "full spec" MacBook to a friend, and although that was capable of running either XP or Vista, I found it rather heavy and large for truly portable computing. Hence my yearning for a netbook -- something that's almost small enough to pop into my pocket and that I can take anywhere.

    I hoped that I could "kill two birds with one stone" by also using the netbook as a machine to generate Windows screen grabs and screen casts.

    P.S. That's a lovely part of the country you live in. When I was a boy, my family used to holiday in Woolacombe.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[971040].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author funky_budha
    i have a netbook, MSI wind , its good as a second laptop, and I pretty much use it when Im travelling, but i have not tried using it with what you have in mind. but i dont the built in cam is that good.
    Signature
    Chill Out Venture
    Gets you Out of the Box!
    Adventure based teambuilding.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[971148].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Thanks Funky Buddha, I won't be using the built-in webcam for face shots, just Camtasia (or similar) for screen recording.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[972071].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    I think I found some info that helps to answer to my question...
    Open Source CamStudio Screencast Recorder Working Fine on Netbook Running Windows 7 Release Candidate - mediabistro.com: MobileContentToday
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[972123].message }}

Trending Topics