Cinematograph HD

Posted:Fri Oct 03 @ 9:59 am

In my continuing quest to direct the art of computer case modification towards function as opposed to only form, CinematographHD is an all-in-one, mobile Computing System. It is the evolutionary missing link between Desktop and Laptop machine. A portable system with absolutely Zero compromise in features and performance.

The name Cinemagraph comes from the 1890's device made famous by the Lumière Brothers that led to the birth of the world's first motion picture. It was a device that not only was the camera, but also processed the film, and projected the work. Likewise, the CinematographHD is equipped to be taken on location and direct capture, edit, and then output full HD video.

What makes this system special is that It not only houses a full sized ATX motherboard as well as up to 5 3.5" Hard drives, but it also houses 2x 22" LCD displays, 10W stereo speakers, 5.25" optical drive, and even has a storage area to transport its keyboard and mouse. The only thing you will need to find at your new work area is an electrical socket.

The idea for this mod came to me when I was at home for summer vacation. My main computer The Desk is amazing, but even for extended stays moving it is too big a burden. This left me with my Laptop. I was offered a job editing a short video, luckily it was only SD and I was able to accept, but it got me thinking. What if it was HD? Even if I had the patience to deal with a laptop processor struggling to apply effects, and encode video; Even if I had one of those $10,000 top of the line, 20" mega-laptops, what, as someone who works with video, would I be missing? A Raid0 array, necessary for uncompressed HD video. Dual Monitors, because any serious editor simply can't work with only one. Powerful speakers. Full sized Mouse and Keyboard. This is my solution to a problem.

For this project I decided as I began that I would show the construction with a video work log. This isn't your average work log though, you know, decidedly still and slideshow like. No, this work log was shot and HD and shows the process that started with some extra computer parts, and a few pieces of angle iron. Check it out in HD here.

http://www.vimeo.com/1847710

I also have it posted at youtube for those of you that like pixels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTszV3110nk

The Components in the machine at the moment are actually hand-me-downs from The Desk!!! They are at least powerful enough to do the job, which includes capturing uncompressed 1080p video via a HDMI capture card and printing them to Blu-Ray disk, but I hope to upgrade that Pentium D soon. The important part is that it was future proof and will be able to hold the best hardware on the market.

M-I Admin Joined: Feb 15, 2006 Posts: 2122

Excellent job Will.... Loved the video work as well Very Happy

Posted:Fri Oct 03 @ 12:02 pm

It is one of those rare mods that look even better in person! Excellent, excellent work and truly a full ground up build!

Posted:Fri Oct 03 @ 3:37 pm

HOOOOOOOLY SHIT. That is some freaking awesome work there!

Posted:Fri Oct 03 @ 4:33 pm

Amazing Stealth! Totally thinking outside the box (pun intended).
Fully functional and aesthetically pleasing too. I'd say craftsmanship at it's finest!

Posted:Sat Oct 04 @ 4:10 am

sweet as man ive never seen anything like it!!

Posted:Sun Oct 05 @ 7:45 am

Thanks guys. Make sure to check out the video work log, I think I got more compliments on the rough draft of that at nvision than the case itself, lol! Also just uploaded this picture. You can never have enough screens and processing power!

Posted:Sun Oct 05 @ 5:29 pm

Pretty cool. How heavy is it? Love the duel screens and of course the MANY screens above. Is LCD envy normal for a guy my age?

Joined: Jun 01, 2008 Posts: 69 Location: Onalaska, WA

Congrats on Engadget!!!!

Joined: Feb 28, 2007 Posts: 22 Location: Dearborn, MI

This is a truly a really cool piece of work, when do they go on sale? Smile

Posted:Fri Oct 10 @ 1:17 pm

@shel I finally weighed it and it came in at 82lbs with keyboard and mouse and everything! You should know that a huge amount of that is actually the components. The 2 lcd panels plus 5 3.5" drives weigh a lot, and actually if the rest of the case wieghed any less the thing would tip over when swinging out the monitor. The most important thing was the no compromize thing with this build.

@rod Thanks! The engadget thing was awesome. Take that! -all the potential sponsors i wrote who ignored me!

@Laptop Thanks, but there not going on sale. I actually got quite a few emails from people asking me for quotes, but I think they dont realized that I build this thing over summer vacation in my parents garage. lol. Every mod I've built so far has been made specifically for myself, and it does what I need it to do better than anything I could buy, which is exactly why I mod.

Joined: Feb 28, 2007 Posts: 22 Location: Dearborn, MI

I didnt think you would be selling them, I just think that you did a great job and from the pictures it almost looks like retail quality. I am amazed at how creative some people on here really are, you are no exception.

Contributor Joined: May 11, 2008 Posts: 275

...I couldn't agree more with that philosophy. Wink

Posted:Fri Nov 28 @ 8:28 pm

DUDE SWEET!!

Just saw your master piece on the cover of CPU Magazine!

A well deserved honor for you!

Posted:Sat Nov 29 @ 8:08 pm

Hehe, I was going to make a post announcing how awsome I was and piss everyone off, but you just spoiled it. Lets just say I hope you have other magazine subscriptions if you want to read more about the cinematograph Wink