Am I insane? (kernel_task CPU usage)

Problem that has been bothering me for a while now...

The kernel_task process seems to be using an unnecessary amount of CPU power. Doing *nothing* (all applications closed, just watching Activity Monitor) TOTAL System Idle is above 95%, as I would expect.

Turning on an episode of Futurama, an animated show (SD, MPEG-4 Xvid AVI with AC3 audio) causes kernel_task to hover between 15% and 20% consistantly, and VLC right around 10%.

So, 25% to 30% CPU usage (note the specs in the sig) to watch SD animated television. Results are identical with episodes of recent sitcoms, and various other media files.

Am I insane, or is this totally unacceptable?

Thanks

 

...not sure if srs.

In any case, the same problems occur with all files no matter the container. I tried multiple codecs, bitrates, genres, etc and the problem is fairly universal. Between around 25 and 30% CPU usage to watch my SD media.