Ok I’m seriously looking to buy the CINTIQ 12WX and I have a very very basic question about how these machines work with TBS. Part of why I’m a little confused is because I’ve never seen a CINTIQ before (except on the web).
With the Intuos you draw on the tablet but your visual is still on your computer monitor. And with my Gateway Tablet everything is on my tablet.
What I’m not sure about with the Cintiq is … is everything in TBS on the CINTIQ screen? Is the properties box, all the drawing tools on the CINTIQ?
If I have TBS on my computer …and I’m assuming the CINTIQ ties into my computer via a USB (like the Intuos) …do I need my computer keys with the Cintiq?
IF I have a regular lap top (not a tablet) …launch TBS …and plug in my Cintiq can I close the computer and just work with the Cintiq? Or am I only looking at TBS drawing board.
I want to know this because I’m trying to visualize how conveinient it might be working with the CINTIQ …still trying to decide wether to pull the trigger on getting the CINTIQ or another Gateway Tablet using Wacom technology or a Toshiba Tablet?
I can ask the Wacom people…while I expect they will know of TBS …I don’t expect them to know about TBS. Besides I expect some bias on their part in trying to sell their product.
This depends on how you set up your system.
The Cintiq is a display and a Intous tablet combined but it is not a tablet PC in that you still need a keyboard just the same as if you had a display and an Intous tablet. I assume that your tablet PC has additional software to allow you to simulate the key board.
The best way to visualize the Cintiq is to just visualize your Intous tablet being one of your displays in a dual display set up. You can subdivide TBS between the displays so that the drawing and camera view with the drawing and scene tool bars are on the Cintiq and everything else is on the other display or any combination of panel layout you so choose. The only panels that must be on the Cintiq are the drawing and camera view otherwise there is no purpose to having a Cintiq for your drawing. You could work using a combination of programmable touch keys and on screen menus on the Cintiq to take the place of the keyboard shortcut keys but this is a very limited approach. Hope this helps. I have used a full size Cintiq with TBS for over 18 months in a dual screen environment on the Mac and it could not be better. The new smaller version is an unknown at the moment but logically the screen size is the only major difference so you have less screen real estate for your work. -JK
Thanks …here is my next question. I started out using TBS several years ago with a WACOM graphire tablet. Had a few issues back then when TBS was not nearly being as sophisticated as it is today. But eventually I got an Intous …and it worked flawlessly with TBS. The inking was like pencil on paper in terms of the response.
Here is my question … is this the same using the CINTIQ? And you are the perfect person to answer this …since you’ve used both.
Why am I asking? Because I have a Tablet PC …and while my Gateway doesn’t use WACOM’s technology …I read where some Tablets that have always used WACOM’s technology experience a slight delay when drawing. Its inherent to the Tablets PCs …and I remember Toshiba even admitted to having this issue.
But this was never an issue with my Intous … the only issues I had was the hand-to-eye cordination …which I tried to solve by buying the Gateway Tablet. Is this the same experience for you using the CINTIQ as well? Instant inking …no drag …no delay …is this how your CINTIQ works?
I have experienced no difference between the Intous and the Cintiq in terms of a delay. They are equally responsive. Of course the Cintiq feels more natural drawing from a hand eye perspective. I have to qualify my answer by saying that I have used both on the same machine so they both worked with the same processing power. Certainly there might be a difference if the two were tested on different machines. Assuming that you are planning to use a duo-core technology machine I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised VS your current tablet which I am assuming is a slower single processor version. -JK
Using both Intuos and Cintiq on the same machine is the best test there is… that way we can trust how they behave comparatively.
Thanks … now if only I could get some sort of feedback from someone who has a Tablet PC.
I took a chance buying the Gateway knowing that it didn’t run WACOM’s technology. I did this after going to the store where it sat on display with my flash drive with TBS on it. I installed it on the store machine and played around for about half hour …then I uninstalled TBS. I was sure I was on to something …and promptly ordered the machine online. It came and worked fine as a PC… …but sadly the store demo didn’t tell all there was to tell.
There is just so much you can do in half hour fending off prospective customers and hiding from the store managers.
I came to realize this drag …this delay in the worst way with my Gateway once I got it and tried using TBS.
This is why I am determined to get things right next time. Buying a tablet PC would be cheaper than buying a Cintiq …and the Tablet PC is just more convenient.
So I’m trying to find out if a Tablet PC using Wacom’s technology is just as good as the CINTIQ …performance wise.
At this point … maybe its best just getting the CINTIQ …and later get a Duo-Core unit. Thanks for your help.
If you are considering the new small Cintiq or buying a new faster processor TabletPC then you would most likely be happier with the faster tablet as long as you bought a true duo-core processor machine. We had in our studio the same Gateway you have (the non-wacom version) and tested it out and returned it due to performance issues not even related to TBS but to Flash and other drawing applications. We then went to a single processor Toshiba with wacom technology and were much happier. But even the Toshiba wasn’t fast enough until they went to duo-core processors. What I am saying is it isn’t the wacom technology that is the problem with drawing lag it is the processor of your system. You want wacom for reliable compatibility as the industry standard so be sure you stay with wacom technology but get the most horses possible under the hood, for your Cintiq or your TabletPC. -JK
I apologize if I sound redundant here… but I won’t pass up an opportunity to get information.
I agree that I need to get as much processing power as possible …thats a given. My Gateway runs XP and has the Pentiums that preceeded the dual cores. Now I’m sure the dual cores are faster …but I’m not sure how much Vista slows it down. However …here is my point …with my existing Gateway …
running XP …
with 1 1.73MHZ Pentium M
1.5G ram
ATI Radeon Mobility X6000 XE graphics
…with this machine using my Intuos I have no problem. Inking is instantaneous when I use the Intuos …just not so when I try to use the Tablet feature of the machine which by the way runs FINEPOINT technology instead of Wacom.
So if you say the CINTIQ behaves the same way as the Intuos …I would expect to buy the CINTIQ and have no problem using it along with my existing Gateway. I would expect it to behave the same way as the Intous.
Later …when I save some more I could get a dual core …down the road.
The drag …the delay I talk about I attribute directly to the incompatibity of FINEPOINT technology with TBS. Otherwise whats the explanation for the Intuos behaving differently with using the same machine?
Becuase Gateway sells cheaper machines …and because I find no issue with the one I have except with the finepoint issue …when I learned they abandon Finepoint and went back to Wacom …I was initially thing I could get one. At $1100 I could get their top line Tablet machine dual core…256ATI Radeon graphics.
Getting a CINTIQ is more expensive as with the Gateway I’d have the extra processing power …and a Tablet as well.
But all bets are off …if the Wacom compatible Gateway works inferior to the CINTIQ running TBS.
I think you need to find a local dealer for wacom and take your Gateway in and test it with a cintiq. It is such a personal feeling what is a delay or not a delay in the stroke. My system which I am referencing is a G4 Mac with Dual Processors so it is very fast (although the newer Macs are even faster). So processor power was never a problem. I can’t speak for the Gateway you have. Also, Toshiba still sells TabletPC with XP if you don’t want to deal with Vista. Check their website. Most major cities have CAD suppliers or professional graphics suppliers who will sell wacom and will have test set ups for cintiqs. That’s my best advice. Try before you buy is the best way to go when you are talking about such a critical feature as the feeling of your drawing. -JK