QuickTime takes forever to buffer 1080p (2011 13" MBP)

[Switcher2011]

Hi guys,

As per the title really. I decided to take the plunge and switch over (or rather 'add') to a MBP 2011 13.3" Core i5. I was wary of the Intel HD3000 gfx but after reading around decided since I don't need it for games it'd be fine.

However, I've noticed that my 1080p moves take almost forever to fully buffer in QuickTime and are virtually unusable (at least for seek, etc) until they have fully loaded. Things seem to work OK in VLC, so I'm guessing this is a Perian issue?

I'm only asking because I was wondering if maybe the 5,200rpm hdd was bottlenecking rather than it being a software issue. I'm hoping to upgrade to 8GB RAM and an SSD once the issues are ironed out and TRIM is supported.

To be honest I'm loving OS X overall but I can't help but feel like something's missing. It's not so much the OS (I'm used to Linux/BSD/Win multiboots), but rather that the hardware - well built as it is - is just so... barebones.

I keep reaching for little features that just aren't there on a MBP. Even little things like a hdd activity light and optical drive eject button LOL I'm sure I'll get used to it, and I do love the system overall, I just wish it ran cooler, QUIETER and had a few more hardware features.

Unlike my last laptop I can't just put it on the bed with me to watch movies, which kinda sucks, as it just gets mega hot and sounds like a broken jet engine taking off. I also find using the trackpad to drag icons incredibly annoying and difficult with the whole "hold down the trackpad while you try to drag things without letting the trackpad 'unclick' and without running out of space because inertia doesn't work as well as on Windows trackpads" issue. Surely I'm not alone in that?

Sorry, I'm not as disappointed as I sound lol I'm just finding it a bit of a difficult switch. I still have my main self-built Windows/Linux desktop for comfort, and I'm loving being able to be more productive in Pages and iWeb compared to a Win box, and the screen is simply gorgeous! I guess I just feel a little homesick with the new appliance. I'm sure it'll pass.

Any input regarding the slow buffering would be greatly appreciated though. I have to say I'm pretty impressed overall.

 

[Ccrew]

optical drive eject button

Ummmmm top right keyboard key...

 

[Switcher2011]

Ummmmm top right keyboard key...

Told you I was new... Doh!

 

[TomCondon]

not buffering a video would have nothing at all to do with the hardware, probably just your internet or something

could you tell me why you need a hard drive activity light?

 

[Switcher2011]

not buffering a video would have nothing at all to do with the hardware, probably just your internet or something

could you tell me why you need a hard drive activity light?

You've misunderstood me, Tom. Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my OP. I'm talking about when you open a video in QuickTime and the progress bar goes black along its length as the clip is loaded up into memory. It takes absolutely ages, whereas in VLC the clip is available to play immediately and can be skipped, played etc without issue.

The hdd light was just something I 'reached for' when installing bootcamp, as I wasn't sure if it was installing or hung (0%... for a while is when the hdd light tells you it's OK, it's installing don't worry about it lol).

Having set up the trackpad to tap - and drag - on touch, I'm MUCH happier with the machine now. Just needs an SSD and some extra RAM now.

 

[JTToft]

You've misunderstood me, Tom. Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my OP. I'm talking about when you open a video in QuickTime and the progress bar goes black along its length as the clip is loaded up into memory. It takes absolutely ages, whereas in VLC the clip is available to play immediately and can be skipped, played etc without issue.

- This annoys me a little as well. I don't know why QuickTime does it this way, when VLC works just fine without buffering like this.
VLC is better with HD video anyway, so I am just using that.

But an explanation for QuickTime's strange behavior would be nice. Here is a screenshot of it, by the way:

(You cannot skip further ahead in the video than the end of the black portion of the progress bar. If I need to see a scene that is at 1:05:00, I have to wait quite a long time before being able to skip to that place.)

 

[TomCondon]

ah, sorry I misunderstood, yeah I just use VLC too

 

[dagamer34]

It's an issue with QuickTime dealing with non-native formats that you've enabled with Perian. I'm guessing you're trying to watch an mkv file, which is when this happens most commonly.

Unfortunately, you're stuck with QuickTime or will have to use VLC. There's no way around this issue.