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Entry level Mac Mini can't play 1080p videos?

irock101

irock101

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 26, 2011
371
70
Hey,

I just picked up a mac mini for the living room and I am kinda disappointed.
Here are the specs:

1.4GHz Mac mini
Specifications
1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB memory
500GB hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 5000
OS X Yosemite

So I plugged in a USB drive with some 1080p movies on it and it doesn't play really smooth. It feels like the Mac is working hard to display the video properly and skipping a frame here and there.

On the other hand it plays 1080p YouTube videos just fine.

I am using VLC to play my home videos.

Any ideas how I can fix this?
 
You're probably using a usb 2.0 flash drive. If you put it on the mac it will play with no issues whatsoever.
 
Of course the entry level Mac mini can easily play 1080p videos with ease, as can any Mac model made in recent years.
 
VLC can be pretty flakey, though it does tend to "play" everything. See if it will run in XBMC (Kodi/Helix).
 
The iPad2 plays 1080p and the original iPad 720p....

----------
Mr. McMac said:
I've never had stuttering problems with VLC on my base mid 2011 Mac Mini with 8gb's of ram through a USB drive...
Click to expand...
... because the amount of RAM is so relevant for this topic and his forum is in desperate need of another RAM thread. :p
 
irock101 said:
I am using VLC to play my home videos.
Click to expand...

Home videos?
That sounds like something heavy.

Is the file format .mt2s or .mts on those videos that doesn't play properly?
Or are the videos packed inside AVCHD folder structure?

I'm only asking because AVCHD/MTS is pretty CPU/GPU intensive video format used widely on non-professional videocameras, which should be converted to something more proper and "easier" like MP4. -For converting there are multiple choices, even free ones, on and outside Mac App Store.
 
capuzino said:
Home videos?
That sounds like something heavy.

Is the file format .mt2s or .mts on those videos that doesn't play properly?
Or are the videos packed inside AVCHD folder structure?

I'm only asking because AVCHD/MTS is pretty CPU/GPU intensive video format used widely on non-professional videocameras, which should be converted to something more proper and "easier" like MP4. -For converting there are multiple choices, even free ones, on and outside Mac App Store.
Click to expand...

I have plenty of media files that are 1080p M2TS files that play fine. MP4s are more often further compressed files so naturally they should play well but at a cost of quality.

Like others here, I suggest the OP try another player such as XBMC/Kodi (or Plex) which can take advantage of the on board GPU. MPlayerX might also work well with the native files.
 
phrehdd said:
I have plenty of media files that are 1080p M2TS files that play fine.
Click to expand...

Native camera files, right? I have plenty of MTS files off camera and those doesn't run well. Or some of them run well, but those are low quality 1080P ones. From few cameras, amateur and professional, and no matter was it MPlayerX, XBMC/Kodi, VLC or Quicktime, everyone of those suffer with the files, on one way or an other. Skipped frames, low playback quality, too fast playback etc.. Problem seems to be with the support of the camera codec because while computer warms up with it, it isn't strained to death.

phrehdd said:
MP4s are more often further compressed files so naturally they should play well but at a cost of quality.
Click to expand...

Being more compressed doesn't always mean critically worse quality.

But let's just wait OP to tell us what is/was the problem.
 
capuzino said:
Native camera files, right? I have plenty of MTS files off camera and those doesn't run well. Or some of them run well, but those are low quality 1080P ones. From few cameras, amateur and professional, and no matter was it MPlayerX, XBMC/Kodi, VLC or Quicktime, everyone of those suffer with the files, on one way or an other. Skipped frames, low playback quality, too fast playback etc.. Problem seems to be with the support of the camera codec because while computer warms up with it, it isn't strained to death.



Being more compressed doesn't always mean critically worse quality.

But let's just wait OP to tell us what is/was the problem.
Click to expand...

I agree - if you play back on an iPhone or iPad one might not tell the difference. However, on my TV it is a huge difference and I don't just mean crushed blacks and loss of detail in shadow areas.
 
I got like 10 different apps open,also I got VM fusion windows 7 open and I have a USB harddrive connected to mac mini 2014 i5n 1.4ghz 4gb ram and my John Wick 1080p is running like a champ in quick time!
 
Last edited:
Troubleshooting:

Make a new user account.

Log only into that new account and do not install any software.

Then try to run your videos.

Do they work correctly now?
 
irock101 said:
Hey,

I just picked up a mac mini for the living room and I am kinda disappointed.
Here are the specs:

1.4GHz Mac mini
Specifications
1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB memory
500GB hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 5000
OS X Yosemite

So I plugged in a USB drive with some 1080p movies on it and it doesn't play really smooth. It feels like the Mac is working hard to display the video properly and skipping a frame here and there.

On the other hand it plays 1080p YouTube videos just fine.

I am using VLC to play my home videos.

Any ideas how I can fix this?
Click to expand...

I have the same model, and had exactly the same problem. I solved it by moving the OSX to an external SSD. This improved performance to the extent I am now able to play Blu-ray Discs and 1080p video files with no problem at all.

Excellent fix!
 
Same issue though mine is quite a bit older. I find vlc hit and miss. I use plex to play any hd movies and they play beautifully on my older mini.
 
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