Mobile Recording Studio

[Eniko]

So I'm wondering how feasible this idea is. I've been thinking about recording videos for a while now. I'd like to pick and choose my own locations and I'm far too cheap to buy an actual camera, so I was thinking about using my Pandora! Plug in a USB hub, a nice Logitech webcam, my Logitech stand mic, find some recording software, and off we go.

Biggest concerns I'm having would be that the Pandora lacks the horsepower to record nice video, and finding the actual recording software to use. Thoughts? Mine is that it'd probably be a lot easier to use my netbook for this, but that just wouldn't be interesting.

 

[sebt3]

Until we have the DSP optimized codec, don't expect being able te encode a video on it (at least not fast enough)

 

[typs lik dis]

Netbook is a better choice. Better driver support, better power, better software, not unstable, etc. And it's just more stable. You won't be able to carry a Pandora and all that crap anywhere you couldn't get a netbook as well. Maybe if the Pandora had a webcam built in like my iPhone 4.

 

[WizardStan]

Some high end webcams actually spit out MPEG data. Recording from them can be as easy as "copying" from the device to a file on the SD card ("cat /dev/video0 > /media/mycard/myfile.mpg" and then ctrl-c when done). No encoding/decoding needs to take place, it is limited only by the speed of your SD card. Well, decoding needed so you can display what you're recording as it's recording, but certainly no need to re-encode that again And MPEG is likely to have no problems being displayed no matter the quality.
I'll see if I can find a suitable device that does that. Any other requirements? Resolution? Cost? Built in mic?
Keep one thing in mind: webcams do not take high quality video, even the good ones. You could find yourself spending almost as much on a webcam as a cheap video camera for no real gain.

 

[typs lik dis]

Yeah, you'd probably want a camcorder. I hear Canon makes good ones.

 

[Eniko]

Some high end webcams actually spit out MPEG data. Recording from them can be as easy as "copying" from the device to a file on the SD card ("cat /dev/video0 > /media/mycard/myfile.mpg" and then ctrl-c when done). No encoding/decoding needs to take place, it is limited only by the speed of your SD card. Well, decoding needed so you can display what you're recording as it's recording, but certainly no need to re-encode that again And MPEG is likely to have no problems being displayed no matter the quality.
I'll see if I can find a suitable device that does that. Any other requirements? Resolution? Cost? Built in mic?
Keep one thing in mind: webcams do not take high quality video, even the good ones. You could find yourself spending almost as much on a webcam as a cheap video camera for no real gain.

Don't need a built in mic, they always suck anyway. Requirements are decent framerate, and 480p and possibly something that compensates for poor lighting. Personally I was looking at the Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, but I have no idea if it saves encoded video. And cost less than an actual video camera.

I looked at video cameras and they were really too expensive for my blood. Sure I know this will be a very subpar solution, but I'm not quite willing to invest up front in a proper camera plus tripod. I'm just a poor college student after all. Oh yeah I should probably point out that this will be a static set up, so it's not like I'll need to be able to move it.

 

[urjaman]

Oh yeah I should probably point out that this will be a static set up, so it's not like I'll need to be able to move it.

The topic is titled "Mobile Recording Studio" ... And why would someone need an integrated mic anyways on a pandora that has an integrated mic (of course a real external mic would be better). I'm waiting for us to have .35 kernel with DSPbridge/link and then try to make the Leonora (Theora DSP decoder) also run the encoder on the DSP, and then I'll test if recording with UCView works or not (this all maybe...) (I have a http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25948 really poor 640x480 webcam thats unusable outside because it has such a poor light level range...)

 

[Fishbong]

Don't need a built in mic, they always suck anyway.

If you have a demand for quality, i'd can your entire idea. I mean, a quality webcam plus USB hub is going to cost you as much as a decent SD card camcorder like the Kodak Zx1.

 

[Eniko]

Don't need a built in mic, they always suck anyway.

If you have a demand for quality, i'd can your entire idea. I mean, a quality webcam plus USB hub is going to cost you as much as a decent SD card camcorder like the Kodak Zx1.

Okay, I looked that one up and it's about as much as the webcam I was looking at. Can you hook it up to a computer though, and record from it while recording from a different audio input? I'm honestly more a stickler for audio quality than I am video quality, and I have a rocking USB mic. I can't imagine whatever audio capture is built into a camcorder that cheap would come close.

The USB hub price point is a decent point but I'm going to need that hub anyway.

 

[Tempel]

I have a rocking USB mic.

Sorry to derail, but I have long been considering buying a rocking USB mic, and was just worried about whether it would work on the Pandora. Any problems with yours? Anyone know if any USB mics will work, or does it depend on the model?

 

[Eniko]

Well it's USB1.1 so until I decide on what hub I want it's not gonna work regardless.

 

[Fishbong]

Don't need a built in mic, they always suck anyway.

If you have a demand for quality, i'd can your entire idea. I mean, a quality webcam plus USB hub is going to cost you as much as a decent SD card camcorder like the Kodak Zx1.

Okay, I looked that one up and it's about as much as the webcam I was looking at. Can you hook it up to a computer though, and record from it while recording from a different audio input? I'm honestly more a stickler for audio quality than I am video quality, and I have a rocking USB mic. I can't imagine whatever audio capture is built into a camcorder that cheap would come close.

The USB hub price point is a decent point but I'm going to need that hub anyway.

Oh, in this case its not for you. It only has a mono microphone. There are similar devices from other manufacturers though which might fit your needs better. I don't think video capturing on the Pandora is realistic, not until the needed hardware acceleration is available, and even then you'll be limited to SD resolutions.