2007 iMac capabilities

[zackkmac]

Hi all. I have a 2007 aluminum iMac that my brother wants to buy from me. It is a 20", 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM, OS X 10.8, 320GB HD, and the 256MB ATI RADEON graphics card.

He wants to connect our Wii to it and use the iMac as his monitor while simultaneously streaming the gameplay online to his friends. That way, the streamed gameplay is at its fullest quality to his viewers. I think he can do this using an Elgato video capture device, at least for the Wii as it uses RCA, but I'm not sure.

Will this iMac handle it fine? We can upgrade it to 6GB RAM and an SSD if needed. It's the processor I'm a bit worried about. What do you think?

Also, I would also like opinions on how to correctly do this game streaming setup if we have the wrong idea.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bear]

A video capture device will have an inherent delay of displaying the video stream it is capturing. This will almost certainly make games unplayable.

You would need to use an a/v amplifier/splitter to output the audio and video to both the capture device and a display and speakers to be able to play games.

As for the question of is the Mac fast enough to do what you want? I don't know.

 

[zackkmac]

I see. Thank you for the input. I suggested he just buy an HD webcam and just point it towards the TV and stream that, but it's not an option for him. He bought a Mac-compatible USB capture device for RCA and S-VIDEO inputs. I think he is using Adobe Flash Encoder and Twitch to stream it, or at least that's what I gather from what he has told me.

So if he plays it on the TV, but streams it on the Mac simultaneously, will the stream be decent? Or will the iMac's age slow it down to a point where it looks bad?

For reference, think of PowerPC's inability to handle 1080p YouTube. I want to know if the iMac, being 6 years old, seems like a capable candidate to handle streaming the Wii gameplay online. I think the resolution would be 480p. It doesn't sound like it would be a problem, but I just want to be sure before selling him an iMac that might not serve its intended purpose.

 

[Intell]

I have the same model iMac, but the slower 2.0Ghz one. I use an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid to play GameCube and Xbox on it with. Works very well with little to no noticeable lag. Some times I even record the game play, still with little to no lag. Just make sure you turn off time shifting. Basically, any USB 2.0 Mac is able to show game play without a problem or lag. Even older PowerPC Macs can.

 

[zackkmac]

I have the same model iMac, but the slower 2.0Ghz one. I use an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid to play GameCube and Xbox on it with. Works very well with little to no noticeable lag. Some times I even record the game play, still with little to no lag. Just make sure you turn off time shifting. Basically, any USB 2.0 Mac is able to show game play without a problem or lag. Even older PowerPC Macs can.

Excellent, thank you! What software do you use to play the games?

 

[Intell]

A physical GameCube machine and Xbox along with the standard Elgato EyeTV software.

 

[zackkmac]

I see. Wasn't sure if the Elgato came with software or if you had to supply it. He bought a Roxio product, but I did tell him about the Elgato - not sure if it would make a difference. He apparently didn't see the Roxio software CD in the box until a few minutes ago so we were having trouble finding what program to use.

We have the setup working now. It works well! The iMac plays the game perfectly, the stream lags a bit but that could be due to a number of factors such as Internet connection, for either the viewer or broadcaster, and Adobe Encoder settings. Doubt it would be hardware limitations like I was wondering earlier.

Thanks.