How does the new MacBook do when streaming HD or 4K videos?

[saintforlife]

Anybody try to stream 4K or HD YouTube or Netflix videos for an extended amount of time? How does the new MacBook handle it? Does it get hot? Do you see any stuttering or dropped frames as the load increases on the CPU/GPU?

 

[endac]

I haven't had any issues. I usually watch stuff in bed before I go to sleep and never noticed it getting too warm. Not having a fan to worry about is an utter delight too.

 

[dss10]

FWIW, I tried out a 1.1 rMB by running full screen 4K videos at Beast Buy and there was a considerable amount of lag. I did not play with the resolution and the lag could be due to crappie WiFi or servers but i didn't have the time for a ping or trouble shooting. I'm thinking about getting a 1.3 BTO and am still undecided....

 

[mkelly]

I was at an Apple Store this evening and happened to try streaming a 4K YouTube video on a base model MacBook. Playback was smooth. I checked activity monitor and the CPU usage occasionally spiked to 25%, but was typically around 15-20%.

 

[Kiwi 99]

I just watched 3 4k vids from you tube. (Go Pro Life is an adventure, twice, and then Slo Mo guys injecting ink into water).
Looks superb on the rMB screen (on any resolution), CPU about 20%, absolutely no stutter or lag. (I suspect Best Buy might not have set theirs up very well)
At other times I've had several locally stored HD video playing simultaneously, and also 60fps footage from my iPhone 6.
It all runs flawlessly and the CPU has no troubles.

 

[JLoverGill]

FWIW, I tried out a 1.1 rMB by running full screen 4K videos at Beast Buy and there was a considerable amount of lag. I did not play with the resolution and the lag could be due to crappie WiFi or servers but i didn't have the time for a ping or trouble shooting. I'm thinking about getting a 1.3 BTO and am still undecided....

It probably was a wifi issue. I have 120 Mbps & 4k streaming for me was flawless. Looks crazy good

 

[MyopicPaideia]

It probably was a wifi issue. I have 120 Mbps & 4k streaming for me was flawless. Looks crazy good

Exactly. My iPad mini 3 is capable of straming 4k video flawlessly as well. It is the least powerful of Apple's retina display devices. MB is world's ahead of it in every way. Any stuttering or perceived lag on the MB will be due exclusively to an internet connection problem.

Seems like people were really burned by the crap Atom processors of the Netbook era, that were so bad they had trouble with 720p video, and Microsoft had to develop special gimped versions of Windows to ship with them. Its a different world today.

I would venture to say there is nothing Apple sells today with a retina screen that can't flawlessly, and with very little CPU/GPU stress, play/stream Full HD to Full 4k video easily.

 

[Hieveryone]

FWIW, I tried out a 1.1 rMB by running full screen 4K videos at Beast Buy and there was a considerable amount of lag. I did not play with the resolution and the lag could be due to crappie WiFi or servers but i didn't have the time for a ping or trouble shooting. I'm thinking about getting a 1.3 BTO and am still undecided....

I have heard the 1.3 is REALLY good.

There's a youtube video that shows gaming on it, and it is very very smooth.

If i bought one I'd get the 1.3 b/c the performance is very respectable.

 

[theSeb]

FWIW, I tried out a 1.1 rMB by running full screen 4K videos at Beast Buy and there was a considerable amount of lag. I did not play with the resolution and the lag could be due to crappie WiFi or servers but i didn't have the time for a ping or trouble shooting. I'm thinking about getting a 1.3 BTO and am still undecided....

Lag due to the network connection is always going to be there on a poor connection, no matter the computer. I am sure this topic is about UI lag.

 

[bcaslis]

I have heard the 1.3 is REALLY good.

There's a youtube video that shows gaming on it, and it is very very smooth.

If i bought one I'd get the 1.3 b/c the performance is very respectable.

I got a 1.3 yesterday. It's nice. But anyone who says the 1.3 is much faster is delusional. It benchmarks very slightly faster. But it's not going to make a huge difference.

 

[sasha.danielle]

I have heard the 1.3 is REALLY good.

There's a youtube video that shows gaming on it, and it is very very smooth.

If i bought one I'd get the 1.3 b/c the performance is very respectable.

I'm not sure if we're thinking about the same video, but there was one game video that subduing pointed out was faked, that the game was actually being run on a different machine and streamed (or whatever the right word is -- I'm not a gamer) onto this one.