Hello all,
Just picked the new HP Mini-Note laptop for offloading EX1 footage
Works beautifully.

SXS drivers OK - Downloads 16 GB card in about 8 minutes.
Clip Browser OK - You can scan/verify clips just fine.
The playback is naturally going to be choppy with the VIA UM Processor.
It's not an HD editor - just a really small, lightweight, SXS offload device for about half the price of one 16GB. It will playback audio full stream and your video at a few frames a second.

If you want to change the pre-loaded OS - you'll need to build a bootable USB key and install your preferred OS - or hook up an external DVD reader ($40)

Right now Vista Basic is on it and works like a charm.
I know you can get a full laptop for the same price ($500) but the size is well worth the price.

Cheers
Paul

Hi Paul,

We are considering the HP 2133 also. It appears to be one of the few sub-notebooks that offers both decent hard drive sizes (120GB or 160GB) and at 7200rpm.

What is the spec on your particular unit as far hard drive, CPU, RAM and O/S?

And for those reading who are also interested in a reasonably priced "bucket" for your EX1 footage, here's the link:

http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/ctoBases.asp?ProductLineId=539&FamilyId=2769&oi=E9CED&BEID=19701&SBLID=

And one note - reports are out that it appears Canadians are blessed with 7200rpm 160GB drives while the U.S. 160GB drives are only 5400rpm.

One other possible option is the "soon to be released" Gigabyte M912 sub-notebook which is offering hard drive sizes up to 250GB. See here:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/02/gigabyte-m912-in-the-wild/


I think the HP 2133 with the Shotput Express software is an excellent alternative to the ridiculously priced and sized Sony PHU-60K 60GB field hard drive.


SG

Hi Steve !

Here are the specs on my unit sir

HP SMARTBUY MINI-NOTE 2133
-VIA C7-M 1.2GHz ULV processor (1.2 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
-1024MB of DDR2 667MHz SDRAM memory
-120GB 5400RPM hard drive

Finish is nice and sturdy.
I picked up an 8 GB USB Key too - going to make it bootable soon.

For just a little more than an 8 GB SXS card, its well worth it

Cheers
Paul

For the record - I just visited Staples and confirmed with my own eyes that the 160GB drive in the 2133 was a Seagate Momentus rated at 7200rpm. I checked device manger and looked up the model.

Staples seems to be cheapest for the 1.6ghz/2GB RAM/160GB model at $729 (Canadian). This is with Vista but XP downgrade discs are included - you will just need access to a USB DVD drive for the install.

This is a very helpful site for 2133 owners/potential buyers:

http://www.hp2133guide.com/



SG

Steve, I paid $589 for mine with the 120GB drive.
The price you have seems good though - I saw that one for about $825

Cheers
Paul

A related question. Does anyone have advice on hard drives which will definitely operate at 5800m (19000ft). I have good advice that the 80 GB Seagate Momentus 5400.3 IDE will work , but I would like to be able to go larger. One option is to install a 64GB solid state IDE hard drive in the computer to make sure that it operates. Has anyone done this and how has it operated?
Peter Donaldson

I just bought this laptop, for offloading or even encoding footage before handing over.
I've got clip browser and vegas pro 8 on it and it runs fine.

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/437514/ACER-ASPIRE-2920-2GB

Paul.

I just bought this laptop, for offloading or even encoding footage before handing over.
I've got clip browser and vegas pro 8 on it and it runs fine.

Hi all,

We got our HP Mini-Note 2133 in today and it is indeed very quick for offloading SxS cards. It took roughly 3 minutes for a full 8GB card.

However, while the Clip Browser 2.0 is on it and running - it is struggling severely during playback - even at 1/4 resolution. What has your experienced been and with what version of Clip Browser?

For the record - we have the top 1.6ghz model with 2GB ram, 7200 RPM 160GB hard drive and WinXP Pro downgrade.

Thanks.

SG

I have clip browser V2.
This laptop is a cracking bit of kit.
8gb card offloads in 3 mins, slightly longer for a rewrap to mxf if the clip spans 2 cards.
I've also got vegas pro 8 on the laptop and that runs ok too, plenty good enough for showing the client footage because as you know, once rewrapped to mxf clip browser won't play the mxf clips so i just open vegas and show the mxf clips.
Picture quality of the laptop is very good.
No firewire but i'll get a expresscard to firewire for about £25.
Overall i'm very happy with this lappy.

Paul.

Given that the 1.6Ghz C7-M is at least 5x slower than a low end core 2 duo CPU (very rough estimate assuming OK multithreading etc), i would never expect it to be able to play any kind of compressed HD video, especially fullHD and especially any kind of GOP compression.

It will playback audio full stream and your video at a few frames a second.

Even my audio is a bit choppy - is yours clean?

SG

Just a follow-up report for those interested...

We put Shotput Express on our HP 2133 Mini-Note and it seems to work very well. A card with 6GB on it offloads in about 2 minutes.

One possible setup that does work is setting up Shotput Express in auto offloader mode and then closing the lid on the HP Mini-Note (turn off standby mode first). You can then feed it cards and it will play a sound when the card is offloaded. You flip the lid open, remove the card, click OK and insert the next card.

And re: copying (using Windows Explorer) from the Mini-Note ExpressCard slot across a Gigabit LAN to a RAID-5 network drive, here's what I got.

Write (Card to Network Drive) - ~35 MB/s throughput
Read (Network Drive to Card) - ~17 MB/s throughput

Interestingly, Shotput Express does seem to be considerably faster for offloading cards than using just Windows itself.

SG

There is also this option, but of course you can shoot while transferring as it uses the USB on the camera. I'm hoping the make another model with ExpressCard built in to make it perfect for us!

http://www.nextodi.com/en/product/ND2725_en.html

Oh, and the price is right on this device!

http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=Browse+By+Brand:NextTo:NexTo+eXtreme+ND-2700

Anyone tried moving ex files from the 2133 to a mac? Did you use ethernet and how fast was it?

i have just got one and cant get my sxs cards seen. I am a pc novice being a mac man. thought I had installed everything but I must have missed something off.

installed sxs driver pdz1 etc

I had the same problem and the only solution I find was to put the SxS card first in the slot and turn on the the HP 2133 after. You have to repeat this every time you put a SxS card. I have the model with Vista Business installed on.
Hope this help....

maybe i need to downgrade to xp? anyone else had this issue?

maybe i need to downgrade to xp? anyone else had this issue?

Phil, this is not an OS issue; it's the BIOS that may (or may not) allow PCIexpress hot-swappability.

One work-around is to boot the machine with an SxS card in, and then never turn it off but put to sleep (or hibernate) instead. May not be practical with a mobile machine, but works OK with my desktop.

Even this way, before inserting a new SxS card in, you still must use Device Manger to UNINSTALL the drive, and then (with the new card in) - use it again to SEARCH FOR NEW HARDWARE. Otherwise, the system will only see the contents of the original SxS card you booted it with!

any body else having same issue?

What ? That's ridiculous to have to do all that messing about.
My lappy doesn't behave like that.
Vista home premium.
Shove the card in the slot and i get the double beep noise, pull it out and get the double beep, next card goes in beep beep, and so on.

My lappy is an Acer 2920. 12 inch screen.Paid £500.
Dual core, 2ghz, 2gb ram.
Run clip browser and vegas no problem.

Paul.

Paul,
I have no such problems with my full-blown Vaio laptop, either. As Philip doesn't sound to be in such luck, I was trying to help him with my experience of using a PCIe-based ExpressCard reader in my desktop PC, whose MB's BIOS requires all this hassle. But frankly, since I almost never switch it off completely, it's no that bad at all.

My Acer doesn't behave like that either. I have had no problem hot swapping cards.
Running XP Pro SP3, in case it's relevant.

I use a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo 1505 without problems. There must surely be a software solution to Phil's problem.

Never heard of that. I have a Dell Latitude D820 - about two years old! Works fine with the SxS cards.

phil, what are the details of your hp 2133? vista version? all latest drivers/bios from HP's website installed? i dont have an hp 2133 but you might want to enter your bios setup when booting the computer to see if there are any options that relate to the issue. anything mentioning expresscard or ahci or hot-swap might be of significance.

maybe paul can give his configuration for comparison, since it sounds like his 2133 works.

btw ive got my eye on the kohjinsha sc3. i was originally interested in the gigabyte m912, but it actually looks quite big for a umpc, even more so than the 2133, definitely more subnotebook class. the sc3 is like the 2133 but smaller and faster and is a convertible tablet with touchscreen, of course it does sacrifice hdd space and costs a bit more, though. i believe it is actually the smallest computer available that has an expresscard slot.

i am so new to pcs that I dont know that is going on.

Am sure the reboot between cards thing is not an issue. My main issue is I cant see a card at all! Reinstalled OS, done everything. This is v weird.

Running Vista Home Basic 2gb memory...

Phil, even without the sxs driver installed, windows should be able to "see" another drive/card.

Go to "computer" then all the drives should be there.
Especially vista, first time i shoved an sxs card in the slot i had a pop-up saying"installing device driver" then the card was shown. When i installed the sxs driver i can go right into the card using just windows, ie SXS>BAPV>CLPR> and so on.

If i were you i'd take the lappy back to were you bought it, get a refund and get one of these lappys which i've got.
It's a cracking lappy. It's a 12 inch so not "ultra portable" like a 10 inch but still feels small compared to a 14 or 15 inch.

Acer 2920, 2gb version. Comet £500.
I actually took a usb key with clip browser and sxs driver on and an sxs card and installed the software on the display model to check it worked before i handed over the cash.

Paul.

Phil,

I found a solution that worked for me! I used the recovery key "F11" to restore the HP 2133 to how it was when I bought it. (The process takes an hour and erases everything)

After that I installed the most recent BIOS which is version F.03 (I had an older BIOS and so I downloaded this version from HP.com) It was a little bit tricky to install because the instructions were not clear -"like usual :-)" (obviously you can skip this part if you have the most recent BIOS)

If you don't know which BIOS version you have you can check by pressing the F10 key when the computer starts and go to File/System Information.

AFTER the BIOS was updated I installed the Sony SxS driver. Now when i go to Start/Computer I can see the SxS icon and now I can swap SxS cards as many times as I want without restarting the laptop.

Hope this will help. It seems to work for me.

Phil,

I found a solution that worked for me! I used the recovery key "F11" to restore the HP 2133 to how it was when I bought it. (The process takes an hour and erases everything)

After that I installed the most recent BIOS which is version F.03 (I had an older BIOS and so I downloaded this version from HP.com) It was a little bit tricky to install because the instructions were not clear -"like usual :-)" (obviously you can skip this part if you have the most recent BIOS)

If you don't know which BIOS version you have you can check by pressing the F10 key when the computer starts and go to File/System Information.

AFTER the BIOS was updated I installed the Sony SxS driver. Now when i go to Start/Computer I can see the SxS icon and now I can swap SxS cards as many times as I want without restarting the laptop.

Hope this will help. It seems to work for me.

how do you install the bios that is the bit that tricks me!

You have to make a bootable device. (cd or usb key)

i used the "USB key" to install the BIOS.

step by step:

- You download the file

- Double click the file. It will ask you where you want to put it. Select the USB key. It will reformat the memory on the key and install the files. Don't worry - when it's done there is nothing telling you that the files are on the memory key. But they ARE there.

- Close the window. Leave the USB key in the HP and turn off the laptop by quitting windows.

CAREFUL: the HP.com instructions tell you that you just have to put the HP back on and it will boot from the USB Key but it doesn't. AH HA. That was tricky. To make it boot from the USB Key you have to do it manually. Put the HP on and when you first see the text on the lower left screen press the F10 key to go to the BIOS setting. When you are there, select System Configuration (Tab). Then select Boot Options. Press "Enter". In the Boot Orders: Select the USB Key for the 1st Boot Device. Save and Exit. The HP will start automatically and upgrade the BIOS from the USB Key!

When the upgrade is done the HP will turn off automatically. Before you turn on the HP again,
REMEMBER you have to go back to change the Boot Order... SO: Turn on the HP press F10 key and select System Configuration/Boot Options and PUT BACK 1st Boot Device to NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVE.

NOW you can install the SONY SxS driver as you would normally.

anyway -- that's what I did. Let me know how you do. Good Luck.

bios wont update...dont know why. i/o error

When did you exactly get the " I/O error" message? And did you use a USB Key or a CD?

after I format the usb key with the update. I worry that it hasnt copied the files. i reboot press f10 select usb then get the i/o error

thanks so much for your help

Don't you just love PC's! Try from a CD instead of the USB key.

Yeah, I had the same problem. My USB stick would not work, I kept getting an error when I tried to boot. So I made a bootable CD and that worked like a charm.

Maybe you can try with a SD Memory card by using the SD Memory slot (which is just below the Express Card slot) instead of the USB key. I also just discovered that there is a special key for selecting which "Boot Device" to start. Its the F9 key.... much easy. Make sure to leave the SD memory in the slot before rebooting.

Otherwise there is the CD option. I don't have an external CD drive that why I used the USB key.

Yeah, I had the same problem. My USB stick would not work, I kept getting an error when I tried to boot. So I made a bootable CD and that worked like a charm.
dont have an external cd though...

I'm sorry to hear all these problems with this machine.

Just as an option, if you live in the US you can get a refurbished MacBook at the on-line Apple Store for less than $900.

You can pick up a USB DVD-RW drive for less than $100. That is what I did. You need it anyway to facilitate the loading of software.

I'm sorry to hear all these problems with this machine.

Just as an option, if you live in the US you can get a refurbished MacBook at the on-line Apple Store for less than $900.

got macs coming out of my ears. I want an ultra portable computer with EXPRESS Card slot. Just don't want to throw good money after bad...done everything and no success....

Phil have you tried testing the expresscard slot with something other than an SxS card? I have been using my 2133 with the older bios F.02 and I haven't had any problems.
I was just thinking there may be a hardware problem. My computer is running Vista Business, 1600MHz, 2GB, KBC Ver. 7.11, Bios F.02 .

It also might be a Vista Basic problem:

When you connect a PCI ExpressCard device to a portable Windows Vista-based computer, the device may not work correctly (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929550)

Mine is Vista home PREMIUM although i can't see basic being any different.

Paul.

Phil, have you installed vista SP1 ?
It speeds up the pc a bit anyway so even that is a good enough reason.

Paul.

have installed vista ultimate and nothing. the express card port works as far as adding firewire to it using a card.

I just cant get this damn bios thing to update. i REFUSE to give up if it works for some...thanks for all help chaps

Maybe try installing XP Pro SP3 instead. It works for me.

Maybe try installing XP Pro SP3 instead. It works for me.

can you install from a hard drive?

If you were to setup the XP installation on an external USB hard drive where the XP install was bootable, I imagine you could.

What about networking the 2133 to another computer and doing the installation from there?

Without a USB DVD drive, I really do not know what the best solution would be.

You might also try looking here...

http://www.hp2133guide.com/

They may have some useful information to help you. Also, take a look in your device manager and see if anything is NOT working and reinstall any drivers that are problematic.

think it is time to give up

done everything

installed xp

updated bios, bought external dvd. reinstalled factory windows. still no sxs showing up. But sxs firewire card word fine. Maybe it is faulty.

computer can see cards when camera is plugged into the usb so the driver is working fine