Need help from 24" 2.4GHz alu users

[qom]

Hi!

I'm currently thinking of buying an 24" iMac, due to that my 2GHz MacBook doesn't have the power to play 1080p mkv's without stutters, freezes etc.

Would be great if you could snatch the samples below and report if you're experiencing any problems with playback.

Don't want to end up with a piece of expensive equipment which cannot fullfill my needs, again.

Sample 1:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8KBO1SBJ

Sample 2:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YMRR89L0

Sample 3:
http://rapidshare.com/files/54661828/sample.mkv.html

Anyone else that uses their iMac as a semi HTPC computer?
If you watch an enitire 1080p movie, does the fans get loud?

Many thanks for your help!
Per

 

[HLdan]

I downloaded sample 1 and it was flawless on my iMac. I have the 2.8Ghz model with 4GB ram. I'm sure the 2.4 would play equally as well with 2GB ram. My fans never rev up when playing HD video.

 

[jhkingsr]

#1 is smooth as silk on the iMac in my sig!

 

[qom]

Could someone please try some other samples too?

 

[jhkingsr]

Megaupload would only let me get the first file then said I was over the download limit. Sample 3 played perfectly, just like #1.

BTW, used VLC for playback.

 

[qom]

Great!

Could someone also try sample 2?

 

[RevToTheRedline]

The Macbook won't properly decode full 720 and 1080p videos because its graphics chip can't it has onboard GMA 950 card.

The ATI HD series in the iMacs has full hardware decoding for all popular video formats.

 

[qom]

720p is not a problem on a MacBook actually.
It's when you're decoding 1080p with bitrates that reaches above 7000kbit/s it start to get choppy.

I watched The Fifth Element few weeks ago, playback was fine mostly, but every ten minutes or so the video would freeze, while the audio still would playback, this lasted up to 10 seconds or so, highly annoying.

I'm not certain, but I don't think that the iMacs (or any other computer for that matter) benefits from the GPU, since the decode isn't hardware bound.

If I were to boot in to XP with my MacBook and get a decent codec, I would probably get flawless playback, but hey, who wants to use XP, right?

OSX needs a proper codec that could use both cores

Seems like 400MHz makes a big difference.

 

[flopticalcube]

The Macbook won't properly decode full 720 and 1080p videos because its graphics chip can't it has onboard GMA 950 card.

The ATI HD series in the iMacs has full hardware decoding for all popular video formats.

My MacBook can do 720p with no problems and can handle most 1080p material as well. The next MacBook (if it comes with the X3100 GPU) should be able to handle all 1080p material.

 

[RRK]

Though I am on the 2.8ghz version no one else looked at the 2nd one. It looked great on here.

 

[qom]

Thanks, atleast that something

No stutters in the scene when the man comes walking with a dog?

 

[RRK]

Thanks, atleast that something

No stutters in the scene when the man comes walking with a dog?

Had to watch it again but actually it does stutter a little, I think, in the overhead shot of the guy with the dog (not the long shot).

 

[RevToTheRedline]

Had to watch it again but actually it does stutter a little, I think, in the overhead shot of the guy with the dog (not the long shot).

It's not the system making it stutter, it's the video itself. VLC shows full framerate.

 

[qom]

RevToTheRedline: You're right.
I just wanted to see if that was the case