ultraportable capable of HD playback

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 6, 2004
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I'm looking for ultraportables and/or "not"books that are capable of of HD playback. I've got a ton of BD rips and would like the ability to watch them on the go without re-encoding, as well as having some kind of productivity. gaming is pretty much a non-concern. The only other thing i'm really looking for is something thats a little nicer than your standard-issue notebook. the HP dm1z or the thinkpad x120e are options, but i'd really like something a little more exciting. the samsung series 9 looks amazing, but its overpowered and overpriced. Anyone have any suggestions of small, thin/light notebooks that have good build quality and aren't plastic crap? this whole "ultra book" concept seems perfect, but I'd like to have something in my hands before the middle of august.
 
more exiting and ultra portable do not go together unless you want to spend some more cash..... DM1Z is due for an update pretty soon.
 
Maybe a Lenovo X220, at 12'' with IPS pannel, normal Sandy Bridge I5/7 cpu so it should be fast, comes with intel HD3000 should be more than enough to handle HD Blu ray rips, around 6 hours battery life, with the extended around 17. I think has an option for msata drive so you could go ssd + mechanical for a really slick setup, all while still in 12'' ultra portable size.
 
go with the X220... I have one and it's amazing!! make sure you get the IPS display though
 
I have the x220t convertible Tablet PC with an i7 and it plays Blu Ray discs perfectly using ArcSoft's TotalMedia Platinum 5 with an Asus slim USB BD drive even with an external monitor at 1080P. Rips on external hard drives worth perfectly as well.
 
more exiting and ultra portable do not go together unless you want to spend some more cash..... DM1Z is due for an update pretty soon.
yea, i get that feeling. i don't have a problem with a thinkpad, even though its probably completely opposite from "exciting".. I just kind of want something with high perceived build quality, maybe a little brushed metal instead of a ton of plastic. I'm willing to compromise quite a bit on overall performance since I don't need more than something to keep me company on my infrequent trips away from my desktop, watch movies on a plane etc. an E-350 would probably serve me just fine, its just that it doesn't seem like anyone has seen fit to stuff it into anything other than a pretty mediocre netbook-type or 15.6" chassis. I guess I'm really waiting for the PC world to bring me something like a macbook air. hopefully the ultrabook category will be that. perhaps my best bet would be to get something cheap and then upgrade later if more options pop up.

keep the suggestions flowing though guys, I appreciate your help!
 
If you are going to be watching movies you probably want to keep in mind the quality of the screen and the x220 is better than the current air and the battery life is off the charts for the conventional laptop x220 especially since it has an option for a slice battery.

The Thinkpad does get knocked for not looking very trendy and having an external plastic construction but of it is solid, Thinkpads I believe I think are the first and only laptops that have been launched into orbit on the former Space Shuttle. I still have a 5 year old Thinkpad that's held up very well of 5 years of heavy use.
 
Just got this $200 netbook and it plays most of my 1080p rips.
that reminds me, i was going drop by target on my way home from work and see if they had any left... oops
If you are going to be watching movies you probably want to keep in mind the quality of the screen and the x220 is better than the current air and the battery life is off the charts for the conventional laptop x220 especially since it has an option for a slice battery.

The Thinkpad does get knocked for not looking very trendy and having an external plastic construction but of it is solid, Thinkpads I believe I think are the first and only laptops that have been launched into orbit on the former Space Shuttle. I still have a 5 year old Thinkpad that's held up very well of 5 years of heavy use.
like i said, i really wouldn't mind a thinkpad. its the cheap acers, toshibas and the like that i'm trying my hardest to avoid. One thing thats an issue, thats getting me a bit bummed over the lack of pretty low-end stuff inside a nicer shell, is that when you start getting up in price the competition from higher end laptops starts getting better. at $1k i might bite the bullet and get an envy 14
 
i own an Asus 1215n, and it does 1080, Windows 7 took some work to do it right though with Optimus

any test you want me to do , let me know,.
 
That's the Sandy Bridge refresh, iirc? More than capable of 1080p 40mbits+++ Bluray rips :)

As long as the HDD can keep up :p

yup, its the SB refresh with the nvidia GT 520 discrete card. the discrete gpu is probably uneccessary with the SB IGP, but optimus will let me disable that. not sure about build quality though, most of the reviews I could find are for the U36 models, which are basically identical except for the chassis, which makes them kind of useless for figuring that out. I haven't been able to find much about them since the SB refresh, though I know that the hardware should be way more than capable. nice thing about it is that between my amazon credits and the free xbox for students (i'd flip on ebay) I can probably take it home all said and done for $480-ish.

i own an Asus 1215n, and it does 1080, Windows 7 took some work to do it right though with Optimus

any test you want me to do , let me know,.
Do you have any non re-encoded BD rips or samples with high bitrate? I mostly playback in mkv containers with untouched BD video using MPC-HC
 
Do you have any non re-encoded BD rips or samples with high bitrate? I mostly playback in mkv containers with untouched BD video using MPC-HC


i do have 2 actually (the last boy scout and carlitos way), i never did try them, let me give them a go and see what happens!
 
I think just being an ultraportable makes it "exciting". Try taking a look at toshiba's portege r700 r800 series. Won editors choice awards on many sites including engadget and cnet during release.
 
Look at the ThinkPad x120e for excellent build quality and screen. If you want exceptional power go with the Alienware m11x R3, about 3 times as much though. Both are 11.6" form factor.
 
Look at the ThinkPad x120e for excellent build quality and screen. If you want exceptional power go with the Alienware m11x R3, about 3 times as much though. Both are 11.6" form factor.

After actually getting a 13.3" Sony S to replace my old m11xR2, I could see why people have said it's more like a 13" laptop, because it's heavier than my S! :eek:
 
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