Planning to start learning TD to use it in sync with ableton on stage.
What is the best possible laptop solution for running touch?
My midi master is a MacBook Pro (ableton)
Thanks in advance, appreciate all the input here
Define “best”. Do you have a budget? How long before you upgrade your computer after that? What kind of visuals do you want to use?
Ok, sorry for the incorrect question.
The details are:
MacBook Pro (late 2011) will be running ableton and perform all the audio and midi tasks and will trigger the visuals on the second machine (running TD). As for the visuals - less is better, smth that will be in perfect sync and not too “heavy”. Simple reactive geometry, particles, patterns.
The question would rather be: how am I able to get this done?
I’m very confused by the windows based laptops and have no idea how to sync everything nor the budget to spend.
By starting with you have you’ll definitely get the best results and not overspend (or worse, underspend).
Sync can be achieved a number of ways depending on what you need. You can start by checking out the Ableton Sync environment project. It’s a TouchDesigner project specifically setup to sync between the two.
I’d highly, highly suggest that you start developing the show on your Macbook Pro and see how far you get. You’ll quickly know how much more horsepower you need. Without some more absolutes, it’s hard to recommend something. I travel with one of these and its great (minus the shitty trackpad):
originpc.com/workstation/la … o15-s-pro/
But is that within your budget? Might be total overkill for what you want to do.
Simple reactive particles, geometry and patterns could probably be done on the same machine if you have a 15" Macbook Pro. You’ll have to use ableton in Windows though, and run TouchDesigner behind it and open your output window on another screen (I did that quite a bit when I had first started and it worked out ok).
Basic specs to look for in a laptop, get a fast quad core processor, an SSD or m.2 PCIe drive, I’d recommend sticking with nVidia chips (nVidia Geforce are generally way better bang for buck vs nVidia quadro especially if you’re just doing your own works), and get at least 16GB of RAM. The rest of the machine is pretty whatever, PC makers like to make fancy things like fancy sound cards and fancy wifi chips but they’re all pretty whatever, so I wouldn’t recommend splurging on those (my 12" Macbook speakers are better than the 15" Origin speakers which were made by some fancy audiophile company lol)
Well, first off thank you for a detailed reply
Yes, checking the “ableton sync” chapter was my first thing to get started. Although there are still questions:
I quite misunderstand this as I won’t be having extra screen if i run everything from one laptop. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to split the task between 2 computers. Running both audio and visuals from just one (especially on windows!) is very dangerous as there will be some cpu hungry software like reaktor.
I’ve done it with ozone running on a lot of outputs in ableton and TouchDesigner outputting to a projector. Give it a try first, if nothing else you’ll get a better sense of what you actually need before you buy something randomly. Audio is also quite stable these days, Windows can host ableton and plugins quite nice.
You’d have the projector running on the same machine as ableton, so you’d have ableton on your screen, and touch designer open on the projector (and possibly hidden behind ableton).
I think for your first TouchDesigner machines, trying your existing hardware before buying is much smarter. Unless you’re just hell bent on buying a new windows machine.
If you won’t take that advice, then I can only tell you to go buy an Origin, they’re great.
Of course I know my software and hardware, I’m a musician! And I do really, absolutely think that running everything from one machine on Windows is the worst nightmare musician could ever have. My MacBook is not quad core, but anyway I would never be so stupid to overload it and fuck up. Moreover I was thinking about performing with a friend and to reassign the visuals control to him. This way I could concentrate fully on improvising with more instruments.
So, no, using one machine is a no no. Do I have other options?
is at odds with:
You have a lot of options. I recommend buying an Origin, they’re great, I have a couple. Anything with a good Geforce chip, an SSD, and a fast quad core processor would also work as well. I’ve heard MSI makes good machines, as well as the ASUS gamer ones.
your quotes are making me think I’m talking to a robot, walking in circles. Sorry, man. My initial question was: “MacBook Pro (late 2011) will be running ableton and perform all the audio and midi tasks and will trigger the visuals on the second machine (running TD).”, whether its possible or not. Thats it.
Yes, I really know my software and hardware when it comes to making music, not the visual part, right? And that was the REASON i came here with a question. And yes, I use mac only (not windows) for the audio, always, whether its a studio recording or playing live. Do i sound ridiculous?? Am i the only one who does that? Do i need to go through all the pros why mac is preferable for making music and performing?
Ok, seems like performing with TD the way I wanted is not really possible. Is it possible to make a TD visual patch and then import it in resolume to sync it with the audio on stage? This way I’ll be having both macbooks synced and I will control the audio and the second performer - just visuals?
It is very possible. Many major artist tours are driven by and use TouchDesigner. Using the Ableton Sync like I was saying earlier is a good place to start. Otherwise you have to build the syncing functionality yourself pretty much from scratch or just send OSC/MIDI signals between the two computers to control whatever elements you want to control.
The TouchDesigner learning curve can be a bit steep which is why I suggest starting with as simple a setup as possible, which is using one laptop. I’m not saying you have to go out on stadium tours with a single laptop, but learn how to setup the rig then you can get another machine and move the visuals over to that and deal with any additional complexities of getting them talking over the network.
And you do sound a little ridiculous. The days of Macs being much better than Windows are gone. We run full buildings LED facades, worldwide tour visuals, full immersive real-time VR experiences, large scale interactive installations, and more, all while creating interactive and generative audio from Max MSP (with VSTs) in sync with TouchDesigner. The Windows machines we use are far more stable than any Mac I’ve ever used, they run for 24/7 for days, weeks, and literally years without issue, but I basically have to restart my Macbook every morning for some stupid reason or another. Apple is consumer/prosumer hardware company now.
Here’s a tutorial I did 4 years ago on a 2010 Macbook Pro I had about how to use the Ableton Sync Environment on a single machine with a live set I had in Ableton, some of the elements may have changed in the Ableton Sync Environment, but that might help you get started.
Yes yes, I’ve watched lots of Vimeo tutorials already, starting from this one from you. Thank you for this!
Yes, there are lots of things to learn, but it’s just a matter of time.
Well it’s an interesting fact (meaning Windows based systems). I’ll bear this in mind and I’m glad you made me change my opinion. And I totally agree with you on the apple marketing and the future of the company. It’s a shame. But The software, the os is smth they developed really well. The architecture, minimalism and simplicity. im not feeling it in Windows, at all. Just recently I used to move to another MacBook from an old one. I was having tons of software plugins and installing them one by one was the least thing I was dreaming of. So I used the migration data software (already built in in os) and simply copied all my applications to a new machine. Just 3 hours of copying files! And all of them work like a charm! It’s like comparing iPhone and android cells. They are all the same, same glass, same hardware, alluminium, everything, but you just won’t be happy using android, because of the operating system.
Anyway thank you for helping me out and your detailed replies!
No problem, if you start trying to implement and have any issues, just post again and we can look through your project.
I definitely agree about Mac’s still being nicer to use generally, I always travel with 2 laptops, a Macbook for regular use, and then a large Windows laptop for TouchDesigner. So I know where you’re coming from for sure. 
That machine’s got issues man, I am shocked at how many weeks (sometimes months) I go without a restart on OSX. Meanwhile Windows Updates forced on me randomly when I need to quickly reboot for something, always as I’m just about to leave and in a hurry sigh
Seriously tho, maybe you have some hardware issue there?
I think its cause I got that new 12"… 
it’s not really that powerful…
Well, now I feel myself really sorry, guys, for coming here talking about macs. After some googling and learning I’m ashamed owning such a crap! Well, it’s still perfect for audio, but not the new retina!
I’ve found a way to sync Windows and Mac and now looking for a decent gaming laptop for smth about $1200, maybe a little more, depends. I see there’s no way to get a 970m machine for that money, but is it really worth saving and not to go with 960m?
Hdmi or display port?
And the cooling system… These crappy looking Windows laptops are scaring me on this point so I need your advice here.
I still don’t get all this retina thing in graphics. As far as I understand, it needs a hell lot of resources to work in such resolution. Does this mean that even most flagship graphic card won’t be enough to work with several displays or projectors?
Check this link out, its the search results on new for machines with 970 sorted by price:
newegg.com/Product/ProductLi … ageSize=30
Seems like theres actually a couple decent options:
newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6834233135
Then this one has double the memory but a less known brand:
newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6834198070
If you did save up a bit more something like this with a 980 would last for years. I still use our Origin laptop with a 680M in it and it’s awesome.
newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6834234093
Hope those links help.
Thank you for all these options!
Gigabyte looks like the one I’ve been looking for.
Also, what about this one: m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemn … -_-Product
do I need to worry about overheating on stage?
And hdmi vs display port - doesn’t matter?
OP, The Acer laptop you listed at $1,149 is not a bad laptop at all don’t get me wrong, but might not be the BEST laptop for your needs.
Consider looking for a laptop with an SSD. It can really help video playback, depending on how your videos are encoding (ie: HAP). If you want massive storage, find a laptop with a small SSD and a large HDD.
Also the QHD screen is nice, but given that most processors and projectors today are being run at 1920x1080, you can actually get a performance gain by finding a laptop with a 1920HD screen.
Lastly, if you want to consider the additional investment, there are laptops with the gtx970m that contain 3 unique outputs. Not so sure if that exists for the 960m.
Related - here is a $800 that is the best money can buy in this price range. Can confirmed it works great with touch! (gtx960m, SSD, i5) [url]http://www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00[/url]
@Overheating. Generally do not overclock your laptop and you should be good. Deserts will always give you a tough time though 
@HDMI vs Displayport. They both support 4k nowadays but displayport is more liked - it is usually locking and always supports QHD or greater.
Thank you for a very detailed reply!
Some new issues to consider now, much appreciation!