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g5 PowerPc streaming issues

G

ghett0tech

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 13, 2011
84
1
Houston
my main computer is a g5 PowerPc paired up with 20' HD Cinema Display.

Specs:
6GB RAM
2 500GB HDD
not sure the video card, its not great though.


this machine is great and runs everything stellar. i'm a big fan of PowerPcs, but my only gripe is when i stream YouTube videos it lacks somewhat. same thing with Pandora/Netflix, really any streaming.

how could i improve this? i tried tentourfox didn't really help.. i'm running Safari on 10.1 Flash Player which is the latest the g5 would run.


any help appreciated :)
 
I don't know about your G5, but my Quad G5 can do video streaming without any problems. What G5 do you have? It helps to have at least a dual or dual core, or even the Quad to handle such video demands. The single 1.6 and or dual 1.8s wouldn't be able to handle video streaming very well.

If your G5 is a Dual Core 2.3, then you should have no problems handling video streaming.


BigDukeSix said:
I would also love to know if the G5 can be made to run streaming video smoother. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
My G5 is a DP 2.5 GHz with 3.5 GB ram and an ATI 9600 XT 128 MB video card and i can stream all flash based video from youtube at 480P without a glitch.

That's using TenFourFox v7 with the outdated plugins enabled.
 
Marcush1286 said:
I don't know about your G5, but my Quad G5 can do video streaming without any problems. What G5 do you have? It helps to have at least a dual or dual core, or even the Quad to handle such video demands. The single 1.6 and or dual 1.8s wouldn't be able to handle video streaming very well.

If your G5 is a Dual Core 2.3, then you should have no problems handling video streaming.
Click to expand...

Mine is only a 1.6
 
Marcush1286 said:
I don't know about your G5, but my Quad G5 can do video streaming without any problems. What G5 do you have? It helps to have at least a dual or dual core, or even the Quad to handle such video demands. The single 1.6 and or dual 1.8s wouldn't be able to handle video streaming very well.

If your G5 is a Dual Core 2.3, then you should have no problems handling video streaming.
Click to expand...

i am not totally sure, but i think its only Dual 2.0.
 
i have a G5 dual core 2.3 with 16 gb ram , ati x1900 256mb , running Tiger and Tenfourfox
and no problems whatsoever watching youtube even @ 720p with it ok i use HTML 5 most of the time apart from videos that are only available under Flashplayer
 
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ghett0tech said:
i definitely need to upgrade my graphics card. its only 64mb
Click to expand...

not necessary , my mini G4 1.5ghz with ati 9200 has 64mb vram too and he plays happy @ 320p , some videos are even watchable @480p , ok 720p is more a slideshow
and my eMac G4 1.42ghz with 2 gb ram and ATI 9600 has 64mb vram too and does the same as the mini above , i didn't expect beyond 240p at the beginning

maybe you just need to adjust your expectations and turn down the quality a bit
 
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Pandora should be better now that it's using an HTML5 engine instead of Flash. As for Netflix and YouTube, I think Netflix eventually wants to switch to HTML5 and YouTube gives you a few options:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/935733/

It really all just comes down to Flash having poor performance on non-Intel-based (heck, even Intel-based) Macs.
 
ecschwarz said:
It really all just comes down to Flash having poor performance on non-Intel-based (heck, even Intel-based) Macs.
Click to expand...

maybe Steve should not have thought about flash so openly ..i guess that his thoughts upset Adobe a bit ...
 
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ghett0tech said:
but my only gripe is when i stream YouTube videos it lacks somewhat. same thing with Pandora/Netflix, really any streaming...
Click to expand...

The Pandora thing makes me wonder if there might be some other problem, like maybe with your router or modem. On my dual G4, Pandora (open in TenFourFox 5 with no other windows or tabs) uses only 12% CPU (it jumps to 60+% between songs, but only for a second). The point is that I have plenty of headroom left over to be doing other work while I'm listening to Pandora.

As far as video, MacHamster is right that any G5 should be able to do 320P to 480P without a problem.

I happen to be listening to Pandora as I post this (without missing a note). I've got about 9 tabs open and my total CPU use is still less than 20%. Temperature monitor confirms that my CPU isn't breaking a sweat.
 
I have a dual core 2.3ghz G5 with 16gb ram and 512mb QFX 4500. I maybe on the high side of everything for this powermac but even back at my Nvidia 6600 stock card, I have no trouble playing youtube videos at 720p if it is available.
 
You should also be able to play and watch without any problems 1080p as well as maybe 4096p. I actually tried watching a video at 4096p on my Quad G5 with 8GB of memory and it actually played it without any problems.. except for my fans being a little high, but nonetheless, it played it just fine. Your mileage will vary though. I really love my Quad.. even more so than my Mac Pro, but for now.. I hooked up my 6-core mac pro because of a security issue thats been going on with PowerPC macs.. Maybe you heard of it? DigiNotar certificate and stuff + no more security updates for those running Leopard, whether it be PowerPC mac or Intel Mac.

If you want the latest in security, you must run snow leopard or above.



Nameci said:
I have a dual core 2.3ghz G5 with 16gb ram and 512mb QFX 4500. I maybe on the high side of everything for this powermac but even back at my Nvidia 6600 stock card, I have no trouble playing youtube videos at 720p if it is available.
Click to expand...
 
Flash must die

It's all been said and written before on other posts, but your absolute best bet on a PowerPC mac is to just bypass flash if you can. In addition to being a CPU hog it's a security nightmare of the first order.

Youview or Mactubes will allow for a really great youtube streaming experience. The Flashvideoreplacer extension uses quicktime instead of Flash in Tenfourfox, I haven't tried it recently on my mac but in Linux MintPPC it works a charm. Standalone works better than using an embedded player. Downloadhelper extension allows you to download either flv's or mp4's from almost any site that has flash video on it.Playback in VLC, mplayer, Quicktime with Perian,etc.

I long, nay, pray for the day Flash goes for good, and takes it rightful place on the ash heap of history right next to realplayer. Lord, may it happen soon.
 
about to give in and try 'mactubes.' i'll update with how it went soon

----------

tried MacTubes, didn't really notice a difference. rather just use the actual YouTube website. i'll just try a better video card.. it's really not that bad, i just know it could be a tad bit better. either way i <3 my g5 set up
 
ghett0tech said:
about to give in and try 'mactubes.' i'll update with how it went soon

----------

tried MacTubes, didn't really notice a difference. rather just use the actual YouTube website. i'll just try a better video card.. it's really not that bad, i just know it could be a tad bit better. either way i <3 my g5 set up
Click to expand...

Did you set MacTubes so that it uses Quicktime Player instead of Flash Player?

Again, though, if you're having trouble listening to music on Pandora, I'd look into other possible causes. Are you using a router? What kind? Most recent firmware? Do you have the same problems if you bypass the router and connect directly to your modem? Who is your ISP? What kind of score do you get on (internet) SpeedTest?
 
My dual 1.8 with the Radeon 9600 XT and 10.5.8 plays 480p on Youtube fine. I've also noticed with flash video on other sites that the video can be jerky at full screen, but downloading it and playing it with VLC it is buttery smooth.
 
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