Reliability of ADAT vs. Laptop DAW for Live Recording

[bilco]

I want to record our band and other bands live. Although I have a Mac G4 with PT LE, I can't see dragging that whole desktop rig to every gig. So I need suggestions.

I could get by with as few as 8 channels if I have to, but 12 to 16 would let me get better drum separation and the harmony vocals live.

Option 1: I am looking at getting either an ADAT Blackface or XT20 and using my Behringer ADA8000 as the front end. I can mount both of those in a rack mount case and have a portable field recording 8 track rig. I can then dump the tracks straight into PT via the Lightpipe connection for editing. I am limited to 8 tracks, but this should be an easy unit to setup at a gig.

Option 2: I could get an older laptop that works with a Docking Station and put the PT Digi001 PCI card in the Docking Station. I would have to move the PCI card back and forth between the Mac and the laptop's Docking Station, which is kind of a pain. It is more stuff to set up at a gig, but I should be able to record at least 12 tracks head on without it choking. PTLE is stable, for the most part, sometimes......... The laptop would be Windows based, which is always good for a few blue screens of death, etc.

If any of you have experience with recording live gigs using both of these methods (or just one, if you feel strongly about it), please let me know what you prefer. Which rig is the most stable in terms of holding up being moved around to do live recording? Are the ADATs pretty sturdy for road use as long as I am not slamming the rack mount case around? Can they handle vibration from being moved around in a car frequently? How much does it cost per year to keep an ADAT maintained?

FWIW, I am looking to spend no more than ~ $200 on either a used ADAT or laptop to setup this rig.

Thanks,
bilco

[orksnork]

hit or miss....blackfaces are cheap because you can buy one from someone that works fine, and next day it's going to eat your tapes or the transport will die

[xstatic]

There really is nothing reliable about an ADAT. If you do have to get one though, the 20 bit adat's seemed to take road wear (bumping around in trucks, backseats, trailers etc...) much better.

[bilco]

OK, 2 against the ADAT idea....... maybe I will get the laptop after all.

Thanks,
bilco