All MAC guy looking for cheap Win laptop, requirements?

[Loppy]

Hey,kind folks! I'm all Mac at home etc... Thought about doing parallels etc, but by the time u purchase that, windows etc, i could have a $100 craigslist laptop to take in the field dedicated just to the phantom.

My stupid question... What are the software requirements of windows to run the dji programs? I looked in FAQ but could not find. Thanks!

 

[DeweyAXD]

I'd seriously consider getting an OEM copy of Windows 7 (not 8!) and using bootcamp on your Macbook mate.

I've been running my dual booted Win/Mac on my MBP 17" for 2 years and never looked back (I use Windows nearly all the time). $100 will buy you a pretty cruddy laptop that won't be any good for viewing HD footage (but as long as it has XP i think it will run DJI assistant). I use a cheap capture card (£10) and even use my MBP as an FPV monitor in the field (via the Fatshark Predator V2s).

 

[Glockindahaus]

I'd seriously consider getting an OEM copy of Windows 7 (not 8!) and using bootcamp on your Macbook mate.

I've been running my dual booted Win/Mac on my MBP 17" for 2 years and never looked back (I use Windows nearly all the time). $100 will buy you a pretty cruddy laptop that won't be any good for viewing HD footage (but as long as it has XP i think it will run DJI assistant). I use a cheap capture card (£10) and even use my MBP as an FPV monitor in the field (via the Fatshark Predator V2s).

Hey D3wey - I'd be interested in seeing your setup as I have almost the exact same hardware and as an IT guy, I have a ton of old laptops (2-3 years). I thought about setting up a ground station using one of my tablets but wasnt sure about how to stream the video back to the laptop. (HDMI?)

 

[GearLoose]

I'm a Mac user in the same boat -- and because I have a Tarot gimbal with an especially flaky Windows software interface, I have also considered a cheap Windows laptop. But, I came to the same conclusion as Dewey -- better to buy Windows and use Boot Camp. I already have VMware Fusion for emulation but for some reason it won't work with the Tarot software -- from other users I gather that Boot Camp somehow offers a more reliable emulation, though Boot Camp is admittedly more of a pain in the rear to use than Parallels or VM.

 

[edunwody]

I'm a Mac user in the same boat -- and because I have a Tarot gimbal with an especially flaky Windows software interface, I have also considered a cheap Windows laptop. But, I came to the same conclusion as Dewey -- better to buy Windows and use Boot Camp. I already have VMware Fusion for emulation but for some reason it won't work with the Tarot software -- from other users I gather that Boot Camp somehow offers a more reliable emulation, though Boot Camp is admittedly more of a pain in the rear to use than Parallels or VM.

I'm all Mac here. I just bought a Gateway notebook. Cheap. And use it for my Audi and DJI software.

E


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[DeweyAXD]

From my experiance bootcamp is, dare i say it, flawless and actually really easy to setup (loads of videos on Youtube that will help if you get stuck). I have it setup so that when I turn my MBP on it just boots straight up into Windows 7. If I want to boot into OSX you just turn it on, hold the 'alt' button and choose it (or choose to have it as your default).

Now that Apple is using Intel based boards, chipsets and internals there really isn't anything like the issues that there once was on drivers and plug in hardware. I've yet to find any hardware in 2 years that wouldn't install via the standard drivers that come with it which is alot better than any virtual environment I've experianced.
Literally the only thing you loose in Windows is the high power USB function in OSX (that will charge an Ipad)... no big loss at all and you can always re-boot into OSX if you need it (or any other Mac software). The keyboard layout isn't as bad as it seems either (there is a handy helper in bootcamp that tells you the short cuts for things like PrintScrn etc that don't exist on the mac keyboard).

For FPV grounds station I use a very basic cheap 'EasyCap' capture card (ebay). Currently I use Flash Live Media Encoder to view the live output of my Goggles (using the Fatshark cable that comes with them). It isn't in full screen mode (yet) but I'm pretty sure I can find a full screen solution like VLC player but TBH it is still bigger than a 7" cheapo screen and of course the beauty of a laptop is it has its own battery and is easy to power via 12v car charger.

Don't get me wrong this is total overkill JUST to access the DJI Assistant software. A cheapo laptop with XP will work fine for that but unless you've got a half decent laptop with i3 i5 or i7 chip (any generation) you will struggle to view HD video live or record without it going jerky (the i chips are designed to cope with HD video without a secondary graphics card). This only matters for playback of HD... live viewing from a Fatshark is nothing like full HD. I would love a tablet based solution like you mention Glock but sadly I've yet to find any tablet that allows incoming video from a cable e.g using it as a monitor. I'd love to use my Ipad for that but I've done plenty of research and there is literally no way without ripping it apart (and i doubt that would even work).

Both solutions work but for me it means I have one kickass laptop for all my I.T. work (although i admit I have a old but tiny IBM laptop for plugging into/tuning my Subaru much like Edunwody)

 

[Loppy]

Well, I hemmed and hawed over bootcamp and windows on one of my macs and it was hard for some reason. Just couldn't do it. I have other plans for transferring video etc, and browsed craigslist for the heck of it and found a like new little HP mini with windows 7 for $80 (seriously looks like it was just unboxed) that is performing perfectly. Its running the DJI programs like a champ! Thanks for all the great advise!

 

[edunwody]

Thumbs up!

E


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[DeweyAXD]

No problem. Glad to hear you found the right solution for you mate!