Sandra_D

are there netbooks that can play 720p HD videos smoothly? (such as 720p 1280x720 videos and movies from iTunes, YouTube, or others.... MP4/MKV formats)

I carry my 17-inch laptop wherever I go or fly, but it's mostly used for work. It's a pain to dig it out of the carrying case on a plane just to watch something. Since netbooks are so cheap and small, I want to get one just so I can watch 720p videos on a plane or while waiting at airports.

Any suggestions appreciated! I can wait a month or two, if there are upcomign models, of course.

wco81

I haven't tried Youtube or iTunes videos but I've played 720p MKV and AVIs on iPad with Air Video and Zumocast.

You can stream or copy the files (though it takes a long time).

JClishe

My Asus UL30A isn't technically a netbook (13" screen) but it's actually thinner than most netbooks, more powerfull than a netbook, gets about 10hrs on battery, and plays HD video just fine.

javabytes

I doubt you will be able to get the bandwidth to stream 720p on the plane, and probably in most airports.

However, what you're looking for is a netbook with the nVidia ION.

marble

I haven't really been keeping up to date with the latest technology in netbooks, but last time I looked the nvidia ion based chipsets were capable of playing 1080 stuff. There's a page here with netbooks which have the chipset. It seems that something like the asus eee 1215 claims to do 1080p.

ScottC

A machine with an AMD Neo and dedicated ATI graphics will do this just fine. There are severl Gateway machines with those specs.

javabytes

I should have been more clear. The netbook with the ION will do just fine playing HD video. The slow internet connection will probably prohibit this on a plane.

DJGMaster1

Those Gateways are nice - I almost bought one of the LT3119u models, before I went with a Lenovo U150 instead. My Lenovo cost about $100 more, but the main advantages were that it has an HDMI port and because the Intel CULV CPUs are more power-efficient than the similarly powerful AMD dual core Neo in the Gateway, my Lenovo gets about 70% longer battery life (nearly 7 hrs vs around 4 in the Gateway. But each of these models are pretty much the most powerful PCs that you can get in the small footprint of a netbook.

In any case, it is true that streaming video off of an internet connection on a plane, the bandwidth of the connection itself is going to be the bottleneck. If you want to watch HD video on a netbook on an airplane, you probably need to do it off of a DVD, and these tiny PCs all lack built-in optical drives. But you can pick up an external USB DVD burner drive for around $30-35 nowadays. Of course, that adds another physical unit and around a half pound to the package.

timfountain

Not necessarily. I have a Lenovo U150, 11.1" with Core2Duo and Intel X4500HD graphics chipset (with HDMI out) and it can easily play 1080p. Ion is not the only game in town.... Paid $750 for mine (early adopter) and they can be had for $450 nowadays.

- Tim

Sandra_D

where can one find the U150 for only $450? The best price I found was around $550...

THanks!

losta

While they are not the cheapest the 11.6" MacBook Air $999 will do, on the PC side the 11.6" Acer TimelineX ($699 or i5 or $599 for i3) is also a contender but it's not a cheap netbook either. But a sub $300 netbook will not likely meet your needs.

chx1975

*any* netbook can play 720p. My Sony Vaio P does and it has an old Atom and a HDD not an SSD. GMA 500 has acceleration enough. I tested only on Linux but can't imagine Windows not using it. For a Debian based Linux, use this http://kanotix.com/files/fix/mplayer-vaapi-latest.txt script to install.

ScottC

This really just is not true. There are plenty of netbooks out there that can not handle 720p - I know, because I have tried loads of them. Perhaps things run smoother under Linux, but a bottom of the pile Windows netbook will struggle with hd video.

Paul79UF

I have a great little netbook that easily plays 720p videos.

It's an Acer Aspire AS1410-2285 - 11.6", dual 1.2ghz processors (2.4ghz total), 2gb ram, 160gb hd and 5-6 hours battery life. I paid about $400.

My girl has the Atom powered Acer Aspire One 10.1" and it feel underpowered.

I did photo/video editing for months while we were out of the country and it was a great temporary replacement to my more powerful laptop at home.

Also check out the AS1810 series, and the AS1551-4755 with a dual AMD processor.

Cromely

Even if your netbook can decode 720p, you won't get a 720p experience. Many netbooks don't have 720p displays.

Check the resolution on the computer. If it's 1024 X 600, then it's not 720p. You want that second number (the 600 in this case) to be above 720 if you want a 720p diplay.