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carlleigh · May 24, 2006, 02:48 PM

I am trying to use the MBP with Final Cut 5.1.1, record video to the hard drive, while the lid is closed. Besides the heat issues. How can this be done?

fowler · May 24, 2006, 03:45 PM

stupid question, but do you have an external display? if you do, i don't see where the problem is.

FarreRRa · May 24, 2006, 04:45 PM

I think you need to have the laptop plugged in to the power source to have the lid closed. I have yet to do it myself, but I was reading in the manual and it says that you need to have it plugged into the power source and have a external display connected as well. I think that should be it... but a mouse and keyboard might be needed as well since the lid is closed.

rcarlosnyc · May 24, 2006, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by fowler

stupid question, but do you have an external display? if you do, i don't see where the problem is.

No question is stupid. He just doesn't know.

If you want to use a MBP with the lid closed you will need to attach an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Move the mouse or type on the keyboard to wake the MBP from sleep and have it recognize the external monitor.

the macimum · May 24, 2006, 07:13 PM

And yes you do need to have a power source, I went through a tough 15 minutes before realizing that, sometimes reading the manual does save time. You can also configure the display and REZ in the prefs, just in case you didn't know.

carlleigh · May 25, 2006, 02:09 PM

a mouse, keyboard and monitor. But what I would like to do is just have the laptop closed with nothing plugged in except a power source and firewire from a camcorder recording into the laptop. I shoot weddings, and would like to have the laptop under a tripod recording straight to disk with out the screen open.

harrisjamieh · May 25, 2006, 02:50 PM

Thats a bad plan - recording straight to the HD from live footage will not be very reliable. Also, to run the MBP with the lid closed, you MUST have power, kb, mouse and monitor attached - no way around it

EdipisReks · May 25, 2006, 04:53 PM

i wouldn't run a MBP in clamshell, because of heat. my MBP doesn't always enter sleep when closed, and it gets so hot that my screen has become splotchy (i'll be sending it in for repair as soon as the school year is over).

DeathMan · May 28, 2006, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

Thats a bad plan - recording straight to the HD from live footage will not be very reliable. Also, to run the MBP with the lid closed, you MUST have power, kb, mouse and monitor attached - no way around it

I agree, I think you'd be looking at dropped frames all over the place.

harrisjamieh · May 28, 2006, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by EdipisReks

i wouldn't run a MBP in clamshell, because of heat. my MBP doesn't always enter sleep when closed, and it gets so hot that my screen has become splotchy (i'll be sending it in for repair as soon as the school year is over).

Thats some poor advice; the machine was obviously designed to be able to run in lid closed mode, or else it would not be possible to run it in such a way. If he does run it in lid closed mode, and the screen gets fried, he can blame Apple, and say 'you told me I could run it in LCM, and... LOOK!'

ccwillows · May 28, 2006, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

Thats some poor advice; the machine was obviously designed to be able to run in lid closed mode, or else it would not be possible to run it in such a way. If he does run it in lid closed mode, and the screen gets fried, he can blame Apple, and say 'you told me I could run it in LCM, and... LOOK!'

Maybe not such poor advice, perhaps poor design.

I took my MBP in 3 weeks ago because of heat, battery, whine, and overall strange functionality issues. I run mine lid closed with a 23" cinema. Two geniuses told me that without the side air vents, a lot of heat has to escape through the keyboard and with the lid closed it can't do that. They basically said it is not a good idea to run it with the lid closed "all the time," which sounded like a cover your butt way of saying...it wasn't designed to run lid closed.

Cadaver · May 28, 2006, 12:35 PM

Sigh... No such thing as the perfect computer. Yet.

carlleigh · May 28, 2006, 02:35 PM

Is there a way to run it with my lid closed - as advertised? I have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, I really wanna run the video into the laptop for about 25-30 minute wedding ceremonies with it closed up.... Any other ideas? Thanks guys!

amazing · May 28, 2006, 02:50 PM

Weddings are very high-performance, high-stress filmings. Definitely don't want any dropped frames or glitches, period. None. Can't be re-shot. Even if someone here can suggest a way to do what you want, this strikes me as a risky filming scenario.

There is a Terminal command that disables lid-sleep and lid-wake, but without a monitor, how are you going to monitor what's happening? Suppose the magsafe plug comes out and the battery is low, it just shuts down--and you won't be seeing any warnings.

carlleigh · May 28, 2006, 02:53 PM

The camera will be recording to MiniDV tape off the VX-2200. So Im not so worried about frame drop. I dont really care to monitor whats happening. The macbook pro will not just shut off on 25 mintues of recording. Does that terminal command work if its not plugged in, persay?

amazing · May 28, 2006, 05:22 PM

Ah, also going to minidv tape explains everything.

So, about the lidwake: The terminal command may not work on the MacBook, because of hardware differences, namely not having a latch. It may work on the MBP, see below.

In my 12" AlPB, when I open Terminal and type "pmset -g" (return) it gives me a reading of "lidwake -1". Try that command on your MBP and report back whether it gives you a "lidwake" reading.

PS: In your other thread, you talk about wanting a larger HD. Well, paying an Apple Service Provider to install one won't void your applecare. Long time ago, an ASP quoted me $80 on my 12" AlPB.

carlleigh · May 28, 2006, 05:25 PM

Alright cool. Just to clarify. I do have a macbook pro. Ill try that command next time im ready to mess around. Can I buy a hard drive from the internet and have them install it instead of dropping $300 with them?

skyman · May 28, 2006, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I shoot weddings, and would like to have the laptop under a tripod recording straight to disk with out the screen open.

You should never record stright to the hard drive.

harrisjamieh · May 28, 2006, 06:05 PM

I still don't see the advantage of running the footage straight into the laptop - I mean seriously, it doesn't take that long to capture the footage once it has been shot, and the chances are that the footage you do capture in 'real time' will be unusable due to dropped frames, making the entire exercise pointless, and resulting in you having to capture the tapes none-the-less

carlleigh · May 28, 2006, 06:06 PM

Would you explain why not, instead of leaving vague statements?

carlleigh · May 28, 2006, 06:07 PM

I have shot a streaming interview of 18 minutes, and zero frames were dropped

harrisjamieh · May 29, 2006, 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Would you explain why not, instead of leaving vague statements?

Vague statements? I've already said there'll be dropped frames! Also, theres a high chance of the laptop getting battered about on the floor, running out of battery, having heat issues whilst runnnig in lid closed mode. My point is, what is the point of capturing straight to the HD in real time, when it doesn't take ages and ages to capture it after you have recorded it on the camera.

I just think its a terrible idea, but, if you wana do it, then go right ahead.

carlleigh · May 29, 2006, 11:20 AM

I dont think you are understanding me...I have already done this with the screen open, whats more dangerous, having your laptop kicked with the screen open or it clsoed....? Heat is not an issue with the newest firmware and my cooler pad underneath. If apple advertised this can be done- how would it run out of battery with it plugged in? I just wanted some hints or differnt techniques or ideas.

Dave Hagan · May 29, 2006, 12:41 PM

I have recorded 4 long-form events (2 hours+) directly to my PowerBook G4's hard drive or to an external hard drive live from the firewire port of a camera without any problems using Final Cut Pro 5.1. I wasn't recording with the lid closed though. I recorded to tape in camera, of course, as a backup. All of the times I did this, it worked flawlessly. No dropped frames. You have to really know what you are doing here, and know the inherent risks in doing it. And wedding videography is probably not the best use of this method.

In my instance, I recorded three recitals and one play this way and it was a boon to eliminate the ingestion time from log and capture and to eliminate any breaks which is what I had to do with the backup tapes.

MacBook Pros concern me relative to heat. Their reliability in that regard is worrysome. The whole notebook line needs a massive redesign. The MacBook Pro has been nothing short of a disaster for Apple. But the MacBook Pros should be able to do live capture just like the PowerBooks can.

The best bet is to always capture to another drive - one that your system is not using. In my case, I would use the Firewire 800 port for the drive and capture through the Firewire 400 port. As the 15-inch MacBook Pro lacks Firewire 800 ports, it's probably adviseable to get the Express34 Firewire 800 card.

rhodesy · May 31, 2006, 02:29 PM

just a thought - could it be that a lot more people have the whine problem than anyone realises - I'm thinking this because it's a high pitch noise and it might not be in every persons hearing range. The same goes for how loud it is too.

Mines still got it