Need new tablet

[colonel_panic]

Hello everyone.

My Chuwi laptop (running MX Linux) is misbehaving a bit at the minute (and has a really terrible webcam!), and I'm looking for its replacement.

I want a small device that I can use to video myself playing instruments, so I can look at form generally. I might occasionally make a video for YouTube for friends - I enjoy arranging for other instruments and helping out other musicians, so sometimes I make people a demo video - but nothing with high production values.

There will be no multitracking. I would like to plug a USB microphone in, but beyond that I'm not asking for a lot. Decentish front facing camera so I can record things like fingering indoors. And a camera app that lets me choose the USB microphone. I won't be signed into any accounts with this device - it's purely for offline use apart from uploading other videos through my proper computer.

Would I find an inexpensive secondhand tablet that could do this, or am I better looking for another secondhand laptop? It seems very hard to tell in advance how each model of tablet handles USB microphones. I'm tempted to make a little Raspberry Pi video recorder built into an old Box Brownie, but I'm wary of going down a rabbit hole which isn't music.

[d.healey]

Would I find an inexpensive secondhand tablet that could do this

Don't pretty much all tablets run iOS or Android? The only others I'm aware of are the Surface tablets, I'm not sure if they can run Linux though.

[Largos]

Might be better to use a standalone camera instead. You'd get better picture quality.

[colonel_panic]

Sorry for not making my original post clearer.

Don't pretty much all tablets run iOS or Android? The only others I'm aware of are the Surface tablets, I'm not sure if they can run Linux though.

I was thinking about replacing my inexpensive laptop with an inexpensive tablet. That's why I put it in the Android Audio section.

Might be better to use a standalone camera instead. You'd get better picture quality.

Yes, but it's not really inexpensive then, and I would need to connect to a PC to look at the videos. Not sure - how is the sound quality on a digital camera? I don't want amazing quality, I just need enough to be able to show people how to do a chord - no need for cinema quality!

[James Hart]

I've got a fairly recent Levono Tab P11 pro (2nd Gen) that is pretty decent (but needs a USB to audio jack for wired headphones).

But for your needs I'd get a Zoom Q2n and a big SD card
https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/video-record ... -recorder/

[colonel_panic]

Hmmm. Had a look at those. The support for connecting to a Linux PC seems a bit off. Also, the screen is tiny!

It's also on the upper end of what I'd spend, honestly.

But thanks!

[pH3ra]

I had a great experience with my Galaxy Tab S5e. I got it 2nd hand for cheap, removed Samsung's bloated version of Android that was slowing everything down and installed a stripped down version of Android called LineageOS on it: Lineage doesn't require to be logged in to work and keeps its app at a bare minimum so the system doesn't get overloaded, plus it keeps your device updated to the latest Android version, since Samsung dropped the support for the device.
4 years after, everything is still smooth, not a sign of distress. And it works flawlessly with my Samson Meteor USB Mic.
If you're on a budget you could try doing the same, Lineage supports as well the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and the Galaxy Tab A7 10.4 2020: you can find them both for under $200 on eBay.
Alternatively, if budget is a lesser issue, I heard that Google's new Pixel Tablet is really good value for the money and it's a really good host for fully FOSS Android Roms Like the aforementioned LineageOS, CalyxOS or GrapheneOS.

[autostatic]

Concur with @pH3ra . Got a Samsung Galaxy tab A6 here and since I installed LineageOS on it it started its second life. Battery life drastically improved despite it being quite an old device and the basic stuff works reasonably well. Youtube and other Google stuff doesn't work that well over here, getting quite some crashes. But then I use it mainly as an extra screen for my Home-Assistant setup and as a digital music sheet.

[pH3ra]

Youtube and other Google stuff doesn't work that well over here, getting quite some crashes.

If you only need YT to watch stuff, may I suggest you NewPipe?