I play that video fine in HD on my Air. I have BOINC running seti@home in the background too without any stuttering. But I do get a stutter when my adium jumps cause someone imed me.
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Rev B 1.6/128GB SSD (CTO) or 1.86/SSD? (How well do they handle HD video?)
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I play that video fine in HD on my Air. I have BOINC running seti@home in the background too without any stuttering. But I do get a stutter when my adium jumps cause someone imed me.
I hear the Firefox 3.6 beta is suppose to be a little more efficient maybe you can try that and see how that works out? All I can say is on my Windows machine with the CULV cpu and Safari I got a max of 90% cpu usage with no dropped frames. When I get the chance I will try out on my CD MBP.
Had a few skipped frames. Closed out other apps and was fine. I am using Safari Version 4.0.3 (6531.9). I think you could have plug ins and other things ruining your experience too.
The MBA definitely requires closing other apps to get full use of Flash and HD video when being hit hard. I have always said the MBA requires people to have common sense. Once cannot expect to run 30 browser tabs and multiple HD and Flash running, along with three to ten other apps. To make the MBA work for you, one has to understand where the limitations are and how to make it work. Would it be nice if it were like a Mac Pro, sure, but look how thin it is... it can do anything but you have to understand that it cannot do everything at once... BUT NEITHER CAN YOU!
but I'm not dumb. that's what I do when it's time to play an HD movie. to be clear, I'm not baiting anyone here or trying to cause problems. I'm well aware and comfortable with the MBA limitations but its strengths outweigh those in so many ways.
so yes I agree that results may vary and that HD is a sensitive subject especially Flash HD.
but in no way am I complaining about the MBA in any way. I just don't hit that "HD" button on YouTube and play things in regular depth. I have a super fast MBP for games & HD videos. It's fine and I'm totally happy with the purchase.
I'm with you though that the OP should go to an apple store and try them on his own to get real world results. the opinions in this forum aren't always correct.
My unofficial test on your provided link
Minefield stuttered pretty bad
iCab stuttered some
Opera stutter a little less
Safari played the best I noticed no stuttering
The video played best on Safari. I like and use all four browsers listed and Opera generally uses less resources according to activity monitor I really thought Opera might win my little showdown. However while I could watch the video it didn't play as well as Safari.
MacBook Air 2,1 1.86 SSD
I have a 1.86 with HDD and i can attest to the same results for flash. Safari plays it perfectly while Minefield stutters a little. It will play fine for a few seconds and then it will skip some frames and then repeat. Weird. Glad I came across this because I watch a lot of flash TV shows. Now i will watch them in safari.
This skips to high heaven on my 1.8 ssd.
I have always had issues with HD on this machine with Safari or Firefox. I am running SL; so if anyone can chime in on how theirs runs so well I would be pleased.
Also, HULU HD runs bad as well, stutters every few sec.
Thx
I have always had issues with HD on this machine with Safari or Firefox. I am running SL; so if anyone can chime in on how theirs runs so well I would be pleased.
Also, HULU HD runs bad as well, stutters every few sec.
Thx
Scott, there's one thing saying it should do it amazingly better than a six year old Powerbook, but the sad reality is it can't very well. It DOESN'T. Shoulda coulda woulda. No, it doesn't. It's saddening that your obsession with a piece of aluminium is leading you to gip a guy out of hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.
To make sure I'm not crazy, I'm typing this from my mom's 1.86GHz MacBook Air Rev B. (128GB SSD) I tried to play "The Transporter 2" in 1080p via VLC, no luck at all. Dropped frames constantly, completely unwatchable.
720p was better than I thought, but you still get video lag and blur every 3-4 minutes.
Scott, you're an MBA advocate and we all get that, but it's a crime to force someone's mother to get the laptop over a laptop made for power when you know very well the MBP would outperform it.
Even the baseline MBP has a better clock speed than the top of the line/out of his price rang MBA. GPU is a big deal (and the Rev B's is slightly slower than MBPs of today, but the Rev C's isn't), but the processor matters to in playing it.
OP, this is all I can help with. On two different MBAs, and even my friend's making it three, the MBA has underperformed greatly with HD. It is a phenomenal laptop, very portable and nice to look at. But it is simply not a workhorse, Apple didn't make it to be. It is capable, but not nearly as capable as a MBP, as it is a POWER machine, versus the MBA being an ULTRAPORTABLE. Power is the MBP's goal, portability is the MBA's goal. Simple as that.
So, OP, here are your options.
Take the MBP and be guaranteed better performance, as it simply is specced higher, regardless of our experiences added to it. You save money from the high end, and you're guaranteed speed. Take the money you saved and buy a 80GB Intel SSD and you'll outperform the MBA in every way possible.
Or, take a massive gamble with the MBA, completely ignoring our poor experiences with it as well as the experiences you've read with other threads, and pay more for a weaker machine that weighs about a decent size water bottle's weight less than the MBP.
To me, the decision would be obvious, and if HD wasn't criteria, I'd recommend the MBA, but HD is something that the MBA greatly struggles with, so I'd highly advise against it.
*switches back to MBP*
To make sure I'm not crazy, I'm typing this from my mom's 1.86GHz MacBook Air Rev B. (128GB SSD) I tried to play "The Transporter 2" in 1080p via VLC, no luck at all. Dropped frames constantly, completely unwatchable.
720p was better than I thought, but you still get video lag and blur every 3-4 minutes.
Scott, you're an MBA advocate and we all get that, but it's a crime to force someone's mother to get the laptop over a laptop made for power when you know very well the MBP would outperform it.
Even the baseline MBP has a better clock speed than the top of the line/out of his price rang MBA. GPU is a big deal (and the Rev B's is slightly slower than MBPs of today, but the Rev C's isn't), but the processor matters to in playing it.
OP, this is all I can help with. On two different MBAs, and even my friend's making it three, the MBA has underperformed greatly with HD. It is a phenomenal laptop, very portable and nice to look at. But it is simply not a workhorse, Apple didn't make it to be. It is capable, but not nearly as capable as a MBP, as it is a POWER machine, versus the MBA being an ULTRAPORTABLE. Power is the MBP's goal, portability is the MBA's goal. Simple as that.
So, OP, here are your options.
Take the MBP and be guaranteed better performance, as it simply is specced higher, regardless of our experiences added to it. You save money from the high end, and you're guaranteed speed. Take the money you saved and buy a 80GB Intel SSD and you'll outperform the MBA in every way possible.
Or, take a massive gamble with the MBA, completely ignoring our poor experiences with it as well as the experiences you've read with other threads, and pay more for a weaker machine that weighs about a decent size water bottle's weight less than the MBP.
To me, the decision would be obvious, and if HD wasn't criteria, I'd recommend the MBA, but HD is something that the MBA greatly struggles with, so I'd highly advise against it.
*switches back to MBP*
And I CAN on my MBP, seeing as it has potentially four times the amount of RAM that a MBA can have. Mine only has 4GB RAM, but with fourteen tabs in Safari, Plex open, iTunes open, Pages, Numbers, 1Password, VMWare Fusion (no VMs open, though), Skype, Adium, Preview, SABnzbd+ and Mail, I can play that video back without a stutter.
Please guys, don't get me wrong, the MBA is an amazing engineering feat and a truly beautiful, very capable machine, I'd easily recommend it over the MBP if his mom wasn't doing HD, but in my experiences I simply can't lie, it's been dreadful compared to the MBP. The MBP is designed with power in mind, and form factor second, while the MBA is the opposite.
Doju and others --
I'm close to deciding on a 13" MBP for my mom, although I'm going to wait a few weeks until Apple's fall lineup is released.
The Rev B and Rev C MBAs with SSD are beautifully engineered machines. It's sad to see them let down somewhat on the software side -- both Apple and some third-party vendors such as Adobe (and Macromedia before that) deserve some of the blame here. There would be absolutely no doubt that the same machines running Windows would handle HD and Flash content with ease.
As it stands, too many doubts have been raised in my mind by the responses to this thread, and by other accounts elsewhere. If the ability of the 1.86/SSD to play HD was truly perfect, I'd have expected there to be little debate, little argument and a near unanimous consensus about its HD capabilities. As it stands, I can only see a multitude of conflicting reports. I find it too big a risk to spend $1000+ for a computer when there's a very real possibility it may not be up to the task. Particularly when I have no way of testing one myself -- as I've previously said, only the 1.86/HDD and 2.13/SDD models are on display in the stores, and I'm unsure if I can take their performance as indicative.
It's also one thing for a MBA to play a 3 minute YouTube HD clip OK, but what about much longer HD content? I would hate to have my parents play a full-length HD movie hooked up to their projector or TV, have it run fine for 40 minutes only to have the framerates drop to an unwatchable level because the processor has been throttled due to the heat. According to some accounts I've read, this can happen, but have no way to tell if that's because these users lack "common sense" (as Scottsdale says) or not.
I apologize that my questions have brought on such a heated debate.
I'm close to deciding on a 13" MBP for my mom, although I'm going to wait a few weeks until Apple's fall lineup is released.
The Rev B and Rev C MBAs with SSD are beautifully engineered machines. It's sad to see them let down somewhat on the software side -- both Apple and some third-party vendors such as Adobe (and Macromedia before that) deserve some of the blame here. There would be absolutely no doubt that the same machines running Windows would handle HD and Flash content with ease.
As it stands, too many doubts have been raised in my mind by the responses to this thread, and by other accounts elsewhere. If the ability of the 1.86/SSD to play HD was truly perfect, I'd have expected there to be little debate, little argument and a near unanimous consensus about its HD capabilities. As it stands, I can only see a multitude of conflicting reports. I find it too big a risk to spend $1000+ for a computer when there's a very real possibility it may not be up to the task. Particularly when I have no way of testing one myself -- as I've previously said, only the 1.86/HDD and 2.13/SDD models are on display in the stores, and I'm unsure if I can take their performance as indicative.
It's also one thing for a MBA to play a 3 minute YouTube HD clip OK, but what about much longer HD content? I would hate to have my parents play a full-length HD movie hooked up to their projector or TV, have it run fine for 40 minutes only to have the framerates drop to an unwatchable level because the processor has been throttled due to the heat. According to some accounts I've read, this can happen, but have no way to tell if that's because these users lack "common sense" (as Scottsdale says) or not.
I apologize that my questions have brought on such a heated debate.
What's the fetish with YouTube HD? No offense, but if I expect to see true HD I will use a real player. First, you're watching it inside a browser via plugin. Honestly, I don't feel much YouTube HD video is something we need to see in HD.
QuickTime isn't even easy on the CPU either. There are certain programs that play HD much better like VLC or Plex. iTunes even states needs 2 GHz min to play HD.
A lot of this is changing too. With Snow Leopard, QuickTime X, H.264 and 9400m, video is getting easier for the Mac.
Someone in the reply mentioned 1.8 GHz and SSD, but that leads me to believe wasn't even an Nvidia GPU and original Intel MBA which was never doable.
The MBA's GPU is throttled. It's a thin and lightweight Mac. It does require observance of limitations. While an MBP may play four HD videos at the same time, who can really watch them all at once.
If you're so into HD that every video on YouTube needs to be played in HD then go buy a Windows PC! Cause honest to God, software is much better in the Windows environment. Flash hits a Windows CPU about half as much as in OS X. QuickTime and HD playback and etc are all much easier in the Windows environment. And truthfully PPC was far worse than Intel has been for video playback.
Let's face it the Mac is ALL about compromise. Whether software or limited to Apple's outdated hardware, refusal to accept/acknowledge BluRay, or stuck with shared RAM on Macs like iMac, MBP, and etc... The Mac IS Compromise! The MBA is a little more compromise for thinner, lightweight, and beauty... I will gladly give the last LITTLE bit to have my MBA... FACE IT... WE ALL HERE ARE WILLING TO COMPROMISE to use our computers made of aluminum for a much better look and feel but with processors a few years old, limited other components, and extremely limited software just to use OS X!!!
You only want to spend $1000, go buy a PC... Heck get a 17" display with a great dedicated graphics card and a beautiful display. Get 4 GB RAM and a 3 GHz CPU. Get Windows 7, Windows Media Player, BLURAY, and HDMI! Get your sound through the cable too! Here's the thing though, when you connect to the Internet don't download the wrong thing... or your PC will get a Virus... but even if you use NAV, and your CPU is busy with NAV usage YOU WILL STILL GET BETTER PLAYBACK OF HD VIDEO! And you can watch natively with your BluRay!
Scottsdale, I don't particularly want to get into an argument with you over this. I'm not sure what I've done to provoke such condescension from you, but I apologize. I respect your opinion, but please respect that I need to consider what other people are telling me about the MBA, too.
I've been a Mac user for 15 years; I know all about making compromises.
My mom doesn't have a "fetish" for YouTube HD; that has been used as a example throughout this thread of HD video delivered through Flash. I could have just as easily said Hulu instead of YouTube HD. I've also emphasised throughout this thread that I'm interested in all forms of HD content, not just Flash HD content.
I've been a Mac user for 15 years; I know all about making compromises.
My mom doesn't have a "fetish" for YouTube HD; that has been used as a example throughout this thread of HD video delivered through Flash. I could have just as easily said Hulu instead of YouTube HD. I've also emphasised throughout this thread that I'm interested in all forms of HD content, not just Flash HD content.
I apologize if you feel I have been condescending... it was NOT my intention. My intention was to bring up the very FACT that we are ALL (Mac users) COMPROMISING just using OS X. Not in the user interface, but with the software and components Apple includes to make ridiculous profits at our expense. I can afford the MBA, and I would pay a ridiculous amount for it... yet I realize its limitations are there... I realize EVERY MAC has limitations, so Apple can make its pretty profits.
Again, NOT towards you but everyone who may consider ANY MAC should understand how much they are giving up in compromises to use a Mac designed by Apple in California... with inferior components and software.
I love my MBA, but it is one BIG compromise... all for the tiny beautiful package with a lit up Apple logo and stamped "MacBook Air."
Scottsdale,
I was the one who mentioned my 1.8 SSD not being able to run HD off any site (other than Quicktime of course). My stats on my NVDIA are below.
Now why is it that my machine simply will not perform any of these tasks that others will?
Thanks-
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M:
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Type: GPU
Bus: PCI
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0870
Revision ID: 0x00b1
ROM Revision: 3341
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
I had to revisit this because I want the performance that scottsdale is getting. If he can play HD video then why can't I?
I did a time machine backup and reinstall snow leopard. with a fresh install, my 2.13Ghz MBA w/ SSD can't play HD video on VIMEO or YOUTUBE. Hulu works just fine cause it's 480p but there are even some standard def youtube videos that don't play.
It's not a fetish, it's the fact that I get videos emailed to me and tweeted by friends and I have to save the link for later viewing on my MacBook Pro cause the MBA can't play it.
I don't know what the problem is but I seem to be the only person that can't play HD flash w/o stuttering
I did a time machine backup and reinstall snow leopard. with a fresh install, my 2.13Ghz MBA w/ SSD can't play HD video on VIMEO or YOUTUBE. Hulu works just fine cause it's 480p but there are even some standard def youtube videos that don't play.
It's not a fetish, it's the fact that I get videos emailed to me and tweeted by friends and I have to save the link for later viewing on my MacBook Pro cause the MBA can't play it.
I don't know what the problem is but I seem to be the only person that can't play HD flash w/o stuttering
Do you have any plugins installed in your browser? What other apps do you run at the same time? Native display or external? If external what brand and cable?
You are not alone; my 1.8 ssd will not play any HD content especially HULU w/out stutter.
Unwatchable, and I have no idea how others claim it's fine.
BTW..
No external monitor
No plugins
No programs running in background.
in other words, just trying to watch a movie; no go.
No external monitor, just safari 4 w/ some config changes like home page and saved passwords but nothing unusual. the only thing that uses any CPU at all is MobileMe Syncing. that happens randomly and puts my CPU around 35% for a minute or so.
Yep. that's my situation at now aside from the fact I have the 2.13 model.
Playing the clip either full screen or in the browser (Safari), I get constant video skipping, but audio is smooth. Doing the same in Firefox, I get smooth audio and video, with only about 2 video skips or pauses during the whole clip. Playing a downloaded HD move trailer (UP in 437x1280 mp4 format), I get silky smooth audio and video. The video being stunning.
Yeah. didn't even mention audio. My audio is crystal clear. it's just video that's skipping.
Well, I ended up taking the plunge and getting my mom the MBA 1.86/SSD! My parents do quite a bit of travel these days, so the extra portability of the MBA won out over the rare need to play Flash HD video (they already had a tendency to leave the 15" PowerBook G4 behind sometimes because of its bulk).
That, and my friend ended up discounting the MBA for me a little further (they were really keen about clearing this old stock, possibly because they think updates are imminent), so the price was too good to pass up. I mean, here in Australia where Macs are more expensive than the US, the price is US$2,000 less than what this MBA sold for a year ago!
I also figured that if the MBA proved to be a poor match, I could probably resell it on eBay for only a little loss if not a small profit. (I saw a MBA Rev. A 1.8/64GB SSD, with a year of AppleCare left, had recently sold for more than this brand new Rev. B).
In terms of general performance, most of the tasks my mom does run very well if not better than my unibody MBP (I need to get myself a SSD upgrade soon!) -- this was expected.
In terms of HD video, performance is slightly better than I was expecting based on the impression I got in this thread and elsewhere. 720P H.264 is perfect, 1080P H.264 is great (can struggle a little bit on an external display but is very watchable nonetheless). 1080P .mkv works well with Plex, but struggles in other players.
YouTube HD performance is generally not good (as expected), but I've installed the ClickToFlash plugin for Safari so she can choose to watch the YouTube HD videos in H.264 instead (which run great).
All in all, my mom is thrilled, my PC-using dad is a little envious. The MBA is a beautiful machine. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread -- your help was invaluable!
That, and my friend ended up discounting the MBA for me a little further (they were really keen about clearing this old stock, possibly because they think updates are imminent), so the price was too good to pass up. I mean, here in Australia where Macs are more expensive than the US, the price is US$2,000 less than what this MBA sold for a year ago!
I also figured that if the MBA proved to be a poor match, I could probably resell it on eBay for only a little loss if not a small profit. (I saw a MBA Rev. A 1.8/64GB SSD, with a year of AppleCare left, had recently sold for more than this brand new Rev. B).
In terms of general performance, most of the tasks my mom does run very well if not better than my unibody MBP (I need to get myself a SSD upgrade soon!) -- this was expected.
In terms of HD video, performance is slightly better than I was expecting based on the impression I got in this thread and elsewhere. 720P H.264 is perfect, 1080P H.264 is great (can struggle a little bit on an external display but is very watchable nonetheless). 1080P .mkv works well with Plex, but struggles in other players.
YouTube HD performance is generally not good (as expected), but I've installed the ClickToFlash plugin for Safari so she can choose to watch the YouTube HD videos in H.264 instead (which run great).
All in all, my mom is thrilled, my PC-using dad is a little envious. The MBA is a beautiful machine. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread -- your help was invaluable!
Wow...I actually did the exact same thing today! My Mom's birthday is coming up and she really wanted a MBA. I got her the exact same model, 186GHz 128GB SSD. It was only $1300 after MIR from MacMall. Great deal.
video played great for me in full screen using Safari 4.03 on my revB 1.86 SSD Air.
epic video, btw! cannot wait for MW2!