Re: [tlug] Questions about specifications for some cutting edgevideo recording via laptop

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

>>>>> "Dave" == Dave Gutteridge <dave@example.com> writes:

    Dave>  Would it be possible for a Linux based laptop to receive
    Dave> and record three NTSC video feeds all at once? What kind of
    Dave> specs would a laptop like that need?

The most important thing would be how long are the feeds going to run?

If you only need a few minutes, then you just get lots and lots of
memory and you're probably OK.  If you need to store it to disk, then
you run out of address space even if you can afford the RAM.  But disk
IO is a bottleneck, and laptops are normally slow (disk IO speed is
generally a server issue).

Do you really mean NTSC?  Isn't that an analog standard?  Or do you
mean a digital feed that is compatible with NTSC resolution and rates
of display?

    Dave> Would it be feasible to have three firewire ports coming out
    Dave> of the laptop to control three different cameras?

I've seen PCMCIA cards with two firewire ports, so if you've got a
built-in port and a PCMCIA slot you'd have the physical connections.

    Dave> For example, if someone said that all the necessary drivers
    Dave> for cameras were completely proprietary,

This depends on the camera manufacturer, of course.  While you're
waiting for Linux-specific answers, why don't you find out if there
are Linux drivers (preferably open-source) for the cameras of
interest?  Second, find out whether the control protocol is open, and
if not, what it would cost to get your hands on it.

-- 
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