Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

I'm considering getting a used Thinkpad X60/X61 to take with me on trips primarily to download and view clips off my camcorder. The camcorder I have records in full 1080p HD AVCHD format. Below are links to three sample clips recorded from my camcorder. Can anyone with a X6x series Thinkpad please let me know if the clips are playable or if they're too choppy?

Thanks for the help.


http://db.tt/qnO07yzR

http://db.tt/b8H79UJC

http://db.tt/cYkPTx5n

Tried the first two clips on an X61T using VLC, the first few seconds played smoothly, but then the framerate dropped to about 0.3fps.

Cheers.

Thanks loyukfai. Is the X61T the highest model performance wise in the X6x series?

loyukfai wrote:Tried the first two clips on an X61T using VLC, the first few seconds played smoothly, but then the framerate dropped to about 0.3fps.

Cheers.

Tried to view 1st clip with my X60 Tablet (L7400 Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz/4MB/667 CPU) and it played smoothly with Win 7 and its Media Player.

Highest performance model is X61 with either T8300 (2.4 GHz/3MB L2) or T9300 (2.5 GHz/6MB L2) CPU.

Tried the 3rd one on my X60 tablet with L7400 C2D 1.5GHz and Windows 7.
With VLC player, the video plays smoothly for ~ 3 seconds, then stutters and lags severely. CPU utilization jumps around quite a bit.
With Windows Media Player, it plays through without stopping, but framerate drops at some points. CPU utilization is stuck at 100%.

Did you set the power profile in BIOS to max performance? Otherwise it would not play smoothly for entire clip.

I've got both an X60 and an X61, as per this thread. I tried the last clip - the largest - on both of them, using the latest version of VLC. My desktop machine is an i5-2500K which plays the clip perfectly (I see an interlaced video of some trees).

X60, 1.83ghz Core Duo, 2gb, XP SP3
With the power manager set to "maximum performance" VLC plays the first couple of seconds and then freezes. With the power manager set to "maximum battery" (which underclocks it to 983mhz, if I remember correctly) the video freezes on the first frame. The audio carries on playing.

X61, 2.0ghz Core II Duo, 3gb, XP SP3
At full clock speed it plays the clip fine. At "maximum battery", which underclocks it to something like 770mhz, it plays the first couple of seconds and then freezes.

Dunno how Media Player Classic or Windows Media Player cope with the clip. Both machines play other compressed video formats fine. For fun I tried it with my Asus Eee 1005HA, which has a 1.83ghz Intel Atom, and it froze on the first frame.

Still, my suggestion is that any of the faster X61 models should fit the bill - there was a 1.80ghz model, but all the others were 2.0gz or more. As far as I can tell the next model up is the X200, which has a faster processor and a much better graphics card.

What's the point is using a videoplayer that cannot play clips when there are players that can?

Usually VLC works better (for me), it handles more formats than WMP, and there are other things like more fine-tuned controls.

But in this case, apparently VLC chokes up badly.

I just tried the 3rd clip on both WMP and VLC, it stutters a little bit under the former, but under the latter, it basically chokes. This is on a L7500 (Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz).

To the OP: The X60 and X61 have faster CPU than their respective "s" and "Tablet" variant. E.g. X61 > X61s or X61 Tablet

Cheers.

Thanks for all the input guys! By the way, the clips are 1920x1080 resolution at 24 Mbps bitrate AVCHD. Thanks again.

I played the last clip on my X61 Core 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz).

I'm running Debian Linux 6 64-bit and used the mplayer program.
I'm happy to report no lags and stuttering whatsoever.
CPU utilization 70-80%.

For those trying to play these files on Windows, I suggest using Media Player Classic Home Cinema with LAVfilter.
http://code.google.com/p/lavfilters/

loyukfai wrote:To the OP: The X60 and X61 have faster CPU than their respective "s" and "Tablet" variant. E.g. X61 > X61s or X61 Tablet

You've probably already made the decision you created this thread to assist you with, but I'm bored, so as a case in point for the above quote I tested the third (largest) video on my X60s (1.66GHz Core Duo L2400, 3GB RAM, GMA 950 running XP Pro) with both VLC and MPC-HC. I was on AC power/Maximum Performance.

Using VLC the video froze with a distorted first frame and played muffled audio, but while using MPC-HC the video played, but it was slower than normal. At the conclusion of the clip the audio stopped, but the video continued to play for an additional 67 seconds. If the audio ran for 40 seconds and the video ran for around 107 seconds and I can still do math this late than on my system the video was running at around 38% speed.

Processor usage spiked upon loading the video, but after a second it dropped to 50-53% on both cores and held there steadily throughout the rest of the clip.

Since the video played slowly but my CPU usage was low, that would imply that the cause of the slowdown is my GPU, not my CPU. Since the person above me was capable of running the clip on a system with a X3100 that seems to prove it.

So, the moral of the story is that MPC-HC is the superior low impact video player, and that you should concentrate on finding a system with an X3100 GPU as opposed to a GMA 950 (which means that the X60 models are out). An X61 with a Mobile Intel GM965 Express (X3100) chipset and a beefy hard drive (to store all of that high def footage) should be a solid machine for your usage situation.

Hi,

Sorry for the late replay to your message. I am replying in the forum as well for the benefit of others.

I just tried to play all of your clips, and while they do play (I'm using mplayer on Ubuntu Linux), the video stream doesn't seem to be playing at full speed.

Another thing to point out is that the X61 is a very hot machine. The CPU will overheat a lot, and (what's even worse) the HD gets hot even with the fan running at full speed.

I would recommend you something like an X200 (not X200s) to play your videos, or even something more modern like an X201.

Out of curiosity, what camera are you using to shoot this? And, why are you shooting interlaced video? If your camera supports progressive video, I would shoot progressive.

I have a Panasonic GH1 (you can find them cheaply nowadays in ebay). I have no problem playing back 1920x1080 avchd progressive video taken straight from the camera in my X61. The average CPU load is around 70%. But the CPU gets very hot fast. So, again, the X61 is not an ideal machine to play back 1080p avchd.

Regards.