anyone finding the MBA too slow for video watching?

[slicedbread]

I just got my air a few days ago, as a 2nd computer, a portable to go with my desktop. however I am finding that it is actually a bit too slow for my needs (i got the 1.6/80gb), even as a secondary computer.

I kinda wanted to use the air as my appletv device - to watch all the things I've downloaded on my desktop on my HDTV, which is in another room.

Loading up youtube and flash heavy sites seems to make the fan speed up to full blast. Watching divx movies also makes it spin up to max.

Some video files (notably RMVB real player files) play very jerkily and result in dropped frames, but usually the audio is alright.

All in all, quite disappointing as its a nice little machine otherwise. Just the dropped video frames and fan spinning up to max to watch files is kinda hard to live with. Anyone else finding this with their air?

[tdhurst]

I understand your disappointment, but you're not really using it as advertised. It's not meant to be a high-def video player (although I agree it should be able to play most anything).

You'd be better off with an actual Apple TV or a video iPod for movie watching.

And RMVB SUCKS. Horrible. That might be part of the problem.

[slicedbread]

As a general web/itunes/chat machine its great. However for a $1799/£1199 laptop I kinda expected it to at least handle video smoothly... and they aren't even 720p or 1080p videos either! Most are standard definition.

And whilst I agree that RMVB is a horrible file format, alot of the things I get off the net are encoded in it so I kinda have to live with it. sucks.

[juro]

sucks.

It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons.

I agree with appleretailguy - you would have been far better off with an actual Apple TV for what you're using it as.

[slicedbread]

It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons.

I agree with appleretailguy - you would have been far better off with an actual Apple TV for what you're using it as.

I didn't buy it JUST for video watching. I'm just surprised that for the price, and speed (it is afterall 1.6Ghz) that it's not up to relatively straightforward tasks such as youtube flash and divx/rmvb files satisfactorily.

For the other things it needs to do it is fine.

[gothamm]

I didn't buy it JUST for video watching. I'm just surprised that for the price, and speed (it is afterall 1.6Ghz) that it's not up to relatively straightforward tasks such as youtube flash and divx/rmvb files satisfactorily.

For the other things it needs to do it is fine.

wow, this is surprising to me as well. Not a MBA owner, but my macbook runs videos smooth as butter. I even tried playing two 1080p movies simultaneously in quicktime and no lagging what so ever.

The MBA cant be THAT bad. Maybe some actual owners would like to comment on this?

[Mernak]

DivX should not be that bad, but flash (YouTube) and rm files tend to be heavy on the processor. Granted it shouldn't be bad enough to drop frames at SD resolution, but it will most likely rev up the fans quite a bit.

Try and see if there are any background processes hogging up CPU time (ram shouldn't be too much of an issue, it has 2 GBs iirc) that would cause it to slow down quite a bit.

[ubercool]

I use mine for presentations and the videos I show inevitably have hiccups. Since I used to present on a Sony TZ, which has a slower CPU, with no problems, I'm going to assume that Apple needs to optimize the code to make the MBA handle video better. :rolleyes:

[WilliamG]

I've had no trouble watching HD 720p .mkv movies on my MBA 1.6/80GB. Other than a core shutting down after an hour on my bed (don't use in bed with vents covered!).

But yeah, no issues, and 720p videos look gorgeous.

[mcvaughan]

No trouble on this end.
:confused:

[mac jones]

ok

this is like buying a sports car and wondering why it gets stuck doing off-the-road.

In other words: try and post something constructive.:D

[digitalfx]

I watch itunes videos full screen all the time w/o any issues at all. Just got back from vacation where I watched 4 rentals on flights and the MBA was a perfect video player.

[slicedbread]

anyone hear a high pitched squeaking noise when you plug in a stereo or tv into the air's headphone port? I seem to be getting that as well when its plugged into my hdtv acting as a media center...

[Fabiano]

I cant believe that the Air cant handle video playback smoothly. Come on, my old compaq laptop plays youtube, divx, rmvb and all other stuff very fine, and its just a Celeron M 1.6 with 1Gb of RAM... and VISTA! Its a crap compared to the AIR.

Actually I just had one problem with rmvb. I got a lot of Prison Break Episodes in this format, most plays very fine, but some are not so good. Still watchable but with some frame loss. but it seems to be some problem with the encoding process of these specific files.

may be the rmvb files you got have the same problem?

Im buying my Air soon, I hope not having this problem with mine!

[krye]

Maybe just have a bad unit, or a bad install. Maybe a corrupted codec or something. Have you tried reinstalling Leopard? If it keeps up after that, I'd take it to the Apple Store for a swap.

[Maui19]

My MBA doesn't handle video smoothly, either. It will heat up, then get choppy as heck. It is a week 3 machine, and I think something isn't quite right here.

Understand that I am not talking about looping 3 1080p movies simultaneously. I'm talking about watching some stupid, low quality youtube videos.

As soon as I spend a few minutes to document the problem, my MBA is going back to the Apple store.

[RedAbundance]

mine has trouble especially when i use realplayer. it skips and skips and there are boxes of shades that float around during playback. it doesn't get hot though.

[EMAGDNIM]

mine has trouble especially when i use realplayer.

That's the problem right there...

[themanfromvlad]

Anyone else here reading this thread and wondering:

1) How a brand new Mac, any brand new Mac computer, could have trouble playing YouTube, Real Media, DiVX or any other video.

2) How people on this thread seem to get angry when people voice this point.

It seems to me that if your MacBook Air can't play video smoothly, there has to be a problem with it. Posters writing " It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons." or "That's [Realplayer] the problem right there..." can't possibly be serious, right?

[gothamm]

Anyone else here reading this thread and wondering:

1) How a brand new Mac, any brand new Mac computer, could have trouble playing YouTube, Real Media, DiVX or any other video.

2) How people on this thread seem to get angry when people voice this point.

It seems to me that if your MacBook Air can't play video smoothly, there has to be a problem with it. Posters writing " It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons." or "That's [Realplayer] the problem right there..." can't possibly be serious, right?

well, this IS macrumors.com.

But I see your point. My unbiased opinion is that the macbook air should have no problem at all playing 720p movies, let alone youtube movies. May be a hardware problem.

[RedAbundance]

exactly! i don't think it's too much to ask for an apple laptop to be able to do everything a dell can.

[gothamm]

maybe you should get a slightly thicker macbook, which is cheaper, much more powerful, time tested, more memory etc.


hit the gym first...I hear those extra 1.5643 lbs are a b*tch to carry around ;)

[conchshell]

Anyone else here reading this thread and wondering:

1) How a brand new Mac, any brand new Mac computer, could have trouble playing YouTube, Real Media, DiVX or any other video.

2) How people on this thread seem to get angry when people voice this point.

It seems to me that if your MacBook Air can't play video smoothly, there has to be a problem with it. Posters writing " It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons." or "That's [Realplayer] the problem right there..." can't possibly be serious, right?

There is oddness on all sides when it comes to this computer. There are the devoted who get annoyed at any criticism of apple products. There are those who will never buy a MBA and still complain about its lack of features, high price, slow video performance, etc. It is a computer that seems to inspire discord :D Best ultraportable I've ever owned tho, and the video is only one of the many compromises.

[burdendds]

yep - the MBA is half baked. It's great if you use it for very light tasks, but I had nothing but trouble with video - choppy and not smooth like on my MBP C2D or MB CD(!). I can't figure out what the issue is given the fact that it's supposed to be as fast as a 2.0 CD in benchmarks, yet it can't keep up with simple hulu or youtube playback on my MB.

I'm sending mine back Friday... I will patiently wait for a Rev B product.

[tdhurst]

Anyone else here reading this thread and wondering:

1) How a brand new Mac, any brand new Mac computer, could have trouble playing YouTube, Real Media, DiVX or any other video.

2) How people on this thread seem to get angry when people voice this point.

It seems to me that if your MacBook Air can't play video smoothly, there has to be a problem with it. Posters writing " It only sucks because you got it for all the wrong reasons." or "That's [Realplayer] the problem right there..." can't possibly be serious, right?

I've had problems with realplayer for years. Think others might as well?

[slicedbread]

I've had problems with realplayer for years. Think others might as well?

To be fair, the biggest problems I have had are with realplayer. The videos are stuttery and drop frames. I seem to have found a bug - the contrast of a video seems to be flashing and alternating during playback. Its very annoying and distracting. Only noticed this on the air tho, not had issues on my mac mini (gma950) or my mac pro. (Disabling overlay seems to help, the flashing stops - but at the expense of poorer, un-antialiased output).

Most other videos seem to be ok, at least standard definition ones don't drop. Most of my divx and xvid files are fine. Even short viewing times (like 20-30 mins into a movie) and the fan will spin up to max. And it seems that streaming over a network makes it slower as well, taking up cycles of CPU time. The same file from the 80GB hdd isn't as jerky as streaming over 802.11G from my mac pro)

Not tried 1080p trailers yet, but most of the 720p ones are smooth. There are a few which have issues with frame rates - curiously "where in the world is osama bin laden (http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/whereintheworldisosamabinladen/hd/)" is particularly bad and unsmooth.

And I now seem to have encountered a high pitched squeal/buzzing when connected to headphones. Dunno if its my dud machine or a generic defect like the similar issue in macbook pro's?


Overall I love the form factor and using it for surfing a music, but for even basic - middling levels of video/HTPC use and it falls short. Kinda disappointed.

[Mactagonist]

For anyone who says "the air is just a web/presentation machine, of course it isnt for videos", come back to earth and stop drinking that Apple kool-aid. It is absolutely absurd that a machine sold for a premium price in 2008 would be unable to reliably play youtube videos and SD videos. No one, and I mean no one, should accept for one minute that the Air cant do what the iPhone can do.

Fortunately this is not the case, and the Air is perfectly capable of playing video. I have no issues playing SD videos in VLC or Quicktime Pro. I have no issues playing youtube videos in Safari 3.1. When it comes to HD 720p .mkv HD video will start skipping after 20+ minutes unless I make sure the Air has proper ventilation.

If your Air cant play SD .avi, .mp4 or .mpg files smoothly, it is defective take it back. If your Air cant play youtube videos, it is defective take it back. If it cant play 720p video (with proper ventilation, nothing else running and a good player like VLC) it is defective, take it back.

It is true that OSX in general, and the Air in particular, plays video worse than windows. It seems to take more CPU time (causing heat and fan noise) to play a particular video under OSX than under WinXP. I imagine that this is a general codec or video driver issue in OSX. However it shows itself more on the Air than any other Apple machine as the Air, due to its design, is more sensitive to heat.

Despite all this, if your Air cant play SD video smoothly, TAKE IT BACK. While it isnt as cool or as quiet as I would like when doing so, a non defective Air can do it easily.

[LizKat]

I rent movies from iTunes Store onto my Air, and watch video podcasts and purchased music videos. They all play fine so far, and my fan stays in the hardly-audible range. It's parked on a table when I'm watching a movie.

Since the machine is new, if I did have video playback issues with it (or any other issues!), I would have called Apple tech support for help diagnosing the problem.

[Malcster]

yep - the MBA is half baked. It's great if you use it for very light tasks, but I had nothing but trouble with video - choppy and not smooth like on my MBP C2D or MB CD(!). I can't figure out what the issue is given the fact that it's supposed to be as fast as a 2.0 CD in benchmarks, yet it can't keep up with simple hulu or youtube playback on my MB.

I'm sending mine back Friday... I will patiently wait for a Rev B product.

Whilst this unfortunately may be true for you, the MBA is certainly not half baked and only good for light tasks, i have no problems on mine with any of the tasks you mention (and more.. virtual machines, handbrake encoding etc are all good too) and im on the 1.6, not even the nippier 1.8.

Perhaps you don't need revision B, you just need a working revision A ;)

edit: what BryanHarig said!

[Alkiera]

yep - the MBA is half baked. It's great if you use it for very light tasks, but I had nothing but trouble with video - choppy and not smooth like on my MBP C2D or MB CD(!). I can't figure out what the issue is given the fact that it's supposed to be as fast as a 2.0 CD in benchmarks, yet it can't keep up with simple hulu or youtube playback on my MB.

I'm sending mine back Friday... I will patiently wait for a Rev B product.

I've noticed a huge difference in cpu usage playing the same .flv video from Youtube in the youtube flash player and in VLC. From what I've read on the forums, all Mac OS users see similar issues, in that the Flash implementation for OSX uses inordinate amounts of CPU. At least one or two people noted that their MBA when bootcamped into XP had much less issues with YouTube video; that tells me it's a Flash/OSX issue, not a MBA issue.

On my week 07 MBA, VLC can run divx, .flv, mpg, whatever, for however long. The fan does spin up some(not even 6000 rpm), but I get no jumping or core shutdowns. I've even watch SD tv episodes on Hulu.com (season 1 Buffy, mostly) with no problems; CPU gets warm, fan spins up(higher than when using VLC/QT), but no drama. The case gets a fair bit warmer when running extended Flash video than under other conditions; but again, it's a Flash video problem, not a MBA problem.

[Jimmie Geddes]

I've been having the same issues others are reporting. Whenever I try to watch videos streaming using RealPlayer or Windows Media it's very choppy. It's kind of annoying that the MacBook Air can't handle that. My iBook G4 was able to handle that with its 800 MHz processor. Hopefully Apple will release an update to help fix this issue.

[mykoljay]

I haven't experienced any problems yet watching video. However, I have only watched video through ITunes (Rentals), Hulu.com, and YouTube.I have not tried RealPlayer or Windows Media.

For all those saying that MacBook Air should not play video and I should get another computer and/or AppleTV, you are wrong.

I bought a MBA plus 22" monitor as my only computer/TV.

When I bought it, I had expectations that perhaps I could not play some games and do video editing. Everything else should be fine, even playing HD. It's clearly something wrong with the code (or compatability issues with RealPlayer, Flash, MediaPlayer, etc. This is my first Mac and it should/and is faster than my 8 year old pc (that I tossed) which plays divx, YouTube, and other video perfectly. I'll assume this will be worked out in future updates (how is apple's track record?).

[beatzfreak]

To be fair, the biggest problems I have had are with realplayer. The videos are stuttery and drop frames. I seem to have found a bug - the contrast of a video seems to be flashing and alternating during playback. Its very annoying and distracting. Only noticed this on the air tho, not had issues on my mac mini (gma950) or my mac pro. (Disabling overlay seems to help, the flashing stops - but at the expense of poorer, un-antialiased output).

Most other videos seem to be ok, at least standard definition ones don't drop. Most of my divx and xvid files are fine. Even short viewing times (like 20-30 mins into a movie) and the fan will spin up to max. And it seems that streaming over a network makes it slower as well, taking up cycles of CPU time. The same file from the 80GB hdd isn't as jerky as streaming over 802.11G from my mac pro)

Not tried 1080p trailers yet, but most of the 720p ones are smooth. There are a few which have issues with frame rates - curiously "where in the world is osama bin laden (http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/whereintheworldisosamabinladen/hd/)" is particularly bad and unsmooth.

My Air has no problems with that trailer in 720p as long as I let it load almost completely before watching. (My internet connection is painfully slow)

And I now seem to have encountered a high pitched squeal/buzzing when connected to headphones. Dunno if its my dud machine or a generic defect like the similar issue in macbook pro's?

Again, I don't have this problem. Are you pushing the jack all the way in? It's a tight fit with some headphones because of the door. In this case, I use an iphone adapter.

I have a 1.6/HHD.

[1appleAday]

For those of you who play rmvb file, do you use RealPlayer 11?? i heard it's improved compared to previous version...is it true?

I too have tons of files in rmvb and plan to get a new labtop soon. other than surfing the net, my main usage will be to watch those videos. should i get an AIR or MB? Any advice?

Thanks!

[jjahshik32]

I just got my air a few days ago, as a 2nd computer, a portable to go with my desktop. however I am finding that it is actually a bit too slow for my needs (i got the 1.6/80gb), even as a secondary computer.

I kinda wanted to use the air as my appletv device - to watch all the things I've downloaded on my desktop on my HDTV, which is in another room.

Loading up youtube and flash heavy sites seems to make the fan speed up to full blast. Watching divx movies also makes it spin up to max.

Some video files (notably RMVB real player files) play very jerkily and result in dropped frames, but usually the audio is alright.

All in all, quite disappointing as its a nice little machine otherwise. Just the dropped video frames and fan spinning up to max to watch files is kinda hard to live with. Anyone else finding this with their air?

You should have gotten the regular macbook, even the 1st gen 1.83Ghz macbook is faster than the macbook air.

This is why I returned the mba and got a refund... honestly though only thing good for the mba is just webbrowsing, email, word documents,ichat and divx/xvid movies. I was surprised that the mba could not handle a 720p movie without it stuttering or skipping some times during the movie, and I didnt even dare try to play a 1080p movie (but then what's the point when the screens resolution is only 1280x800 but of course hooking up the mba via mini dvi to my 52" sony bravia is not a good idea)... I was pretty bothered by paying $1800 for a portable machine not being able to play a 720p movie with having to tweak things and making sure nothing else is running and even so the fan going crazy high just on a 720p if not just with some demanding safari webpages or firefox...

Playing 720p movie trailers were fine because the file is small but if you tried a whole movie.. good luck.

[texasdoc]

I posted in another thread last night how I was able to play the Osama bin Laden trailer in 1080p (I know, 720p is fine but I wanted to see how it would handle 1080p). I looped that trailer probably 20 times and had zero stutters, frame drops, slow mouse, etc. etc. I then launched full screen Youtube simultaneously, and again, no problems. Then I let both those run and did some surfing in Safari, again without problems.

My conclusion: SOME Macbook Airs are defective and cannot play video properly. They should be returned. Others are perfectly fine and can handle video well. I think people need to be careful about drawing conclusions and making statements that the Macbook Air in general can't play a 720p video when in fact mine can, and I suspect most can.

If yours won't, just return it.

My 2 cents.

[shfawaz]

I love how people think or assume that just because its a MacBook Air and its thin and light, its only for light duty tasks. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can do practically do anything with an Air that I can do with my 17" MBP.

I have had my Air for two months, record High-Def OTA using an EyeTV Hybrid with an ATSC signal recording shows like Leno, Letterman, House MD, LOST, etc. and recording and playback are just as good as those on my 17" MacBook Pro. Sound and video are both superb.

Yes playing and recording videos is an intense process, however lesser Macbooks, Powerbooks, Mac's etc, with slower processors have tackled video processing and editing for years. To say the Macbook Air can't handle simple HD video playback is simply not true.

If your having trouble with video playback on your Air, you may indeed have a problem.

[hotdamn]

I love how people think or assume that just because its a MacBook Air and its thin and light, its only for light duty tasks. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can do practically do anything with an Air that I can do with my 17" MBP.

I have had my Air for two months, record High-Def OTA using an EyeTV Hybrid with an ATSC signal recording shows like Leno, Letterman, House MD, LOST, etc. and recording and playback are just as good as those on my 17" MacBook Pro. Sound and video are both superb.

Yes playing and recording videos is an intense process, however lesser Macbooks, Powerbooks, Mac's etc, with slower processors have tackled video processing and editing for years. To say the Macbook Air can't handle simple HD video playback is simply not true.

If your having trouble with video playback on your Air, you may indeed have a problem.

best post. this should be framed and pinned for everyone having a problem.

[hotdamn]

If your Air cant play SD .avi, .mp4 or .mpg files smoothly, it is defective take it back. If your Air cant play youtube videos, it is defective take it back. If it cant play 720p video (with proper ventilation, nothing else running and a good player like VLC) it is defective, take it back.


Actually, I changed my mind. This one's better. This should be aired on national television!

[WilliamG]

I've been saying this since the day I got my Air. I also have a 2.4GB Merom MacBook Pro, and there's no question that the Air can handle anything I throw at it just as well as my MBP. In fact, I wrote a review of the MBA on the Notebook forums, which you can feel free to check. I even compared my MBP to the MBA, and yes, the MBA is MORE than capable.

This isn't a plug for another forum or anything, but it's at least more info for people on the fence. The MBA rocks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=232152c

[meagain]

WilliamG - Thanks for that link. Well done!

[ceehjayem]

For the people that has problems with simple videos, what configuration do you have? I will be getting my new 1.8/80 on wednesday and will report what I find out.

[ceehjayem]

I've been saying this since the day I got my Air. I also have a 2.4GB Merom MacBook Pro, and there's no question that the Air can handle anything I throw at it just as well as my MBP. In fact, I wrote a review of the MBA on the Notebook forums, which you can feel free to check. I even compared my MBP to the MBA, and yes, the MBA is MORE than capable.

This isn't a plug for another forum or anything, but it's at least more info for people on the fence. The MBA rocks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=232152c

By the way, thank you for this review. It is AWESOME and with great detail and pictures. Nice 40D. I just sold my 30D to do an upgrade. :D

[queshy]

weird...my fans stay idle when watching videos, and I've never felt the machine to be "sluggish" even with several Safari tabs open and youtube playing. Haven't tried RP...

[HotAir]

I've yet to watch any movies on this thing. But those with *overheating* troubles might need to switch to slow-mo during XXX viewings. It's only a machine, you know... give it a break. :D

[WilliamG]

Thanks for the feedback, people. I can say that even in bed, watching YouTube or SD movies, there are no issues with the system overheating. However, with 720p HD movies, just make sure there's airflow toward the back, and everything should be dandy. I watched a 720p movie streamed from my Time Capsule via N wireless to my MacBook Air, and had zero issues for 2.5 hours of movie.

It's so tiresome to see the hate on the MacBook Air. It's a stunning laptop.

[hotdamn]

weird...my fans stay idle when watching videos, and I've never felt the machine to be "sluggish" even with several Safari tabs open and youtube playing. Haven't tried RP...


there is nothing weird about that, that is the expected behavior.

[greenmeanie]

I am starting to wonder what video's they are watching?
Maybe pirated videos from torrents? Which are ripped anyways and maybe poorly at that.

[hotdamn]

I am starting to wonder what video's they are watching?
Maybe pirated videos from torrents? Which are ripped anyways and maybe poorly at that.

those still shouldn't be a problem.
I mean come on, are we really gonna argue that a 480i divx video should tax a core 2 duo? or youtube?
Give me a break.
Something is terribly wrong with some of these machines.

[EMAGDNIM]

Seriously, I was messing around with one today for a while (making my final decision on which macbook to buy) and I brought some movies on a USB drive and the demo unit didn't have any problems playing back the videos I had. If you are having problems playing back simple things like youtube then take your Air back to the store...

[queshy]

there is nothing weird about that, that is the expected behavior.

Haha, although my wording may indicate otherwise, what I meant was that the OPs experience is weird.

Performance and heat seem to be what I'd expect (Thought it does get a little too warm for my liking). What I am liking most is the screen. It's brighter than my 24" white iMac!