video graphics on new MBA rev B sucks! Help!!

[freelancier]

Hi I just got my MBA 1.6g hot off the UPS truck.....I tried watching House MD on it, the graphic sucks!!! Anything I can or should do?

If not, am dumping it down the golden gate bridge.......well not quite...am so sad....I tried it out at the apple store watching streaming movies in all the websites i frequent and they were fine...why is that??

Is this defective or something??? I AM SOO SAD>>>>someone save me...thanks!!

 

[nph]

I highly suggest downloading Flash 10 and see if that doesn't help...

 

[brop52]

You need to be a little more accurate than the graphics suck. What problem are you seeing? Have you calibrated the screen and made sure you have all of the latest updates? What streaming movies were you watching? Were they flash or what?

 

[AIRniloc]

coolbook

 

[Scottsdale]

coolbook

But they have a revB. I have a perfect MBA revB. The graphics are stunning and amazing. The best on any Mac notebook display I have ever owned.

Sure it's not a connection problem? Your description is rather vague.

 

[Maven1975]

I call BS

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Well the phrase "graphics sucks" could be interpreted differently. If I was working with nVidia's workstation-class GPUs and now use integrated I would call the graphics suck. What are the problems? I know it's not going to run Crysis at max settings, but even my Intel GMA handles HD video (fans go crazy after awhile) and Hulu/Joost, etc.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

If you're streaming it, that's because its a STREAMING FEED.

Try to enable the 480p setting if you were on Hulu or the HD setting if somewhere else.

 

[zer0tails]

have you installed all the updates??

 

[tubbymac]

I tried it out at the apple store watching streaming movies in all the websites i frequent and they were fine...why is that??

someone save me...thanks!!

Alright, allow me to save you. Since it works perfectly for you at the store, the solution is quite simple.

Take your machine to the store after arranging a meeting with a genius through Applecare. Tell them exactly this:

"That machine on your store display works perfectly for watching House MD but mine has problems doing the same thing. Please fix my machine to perform like your display model or else I'll return the machine because it's defective."

There ya go. Easy as pie.

 

[LinMac]

The following may be worth looking into for potential problems. They may not apply at all, but it is worth a read at least.

1) Your ISP might be having network problems which makes your streaming choppy or less than desirable.

2) You might be using different software than the Apple store. Have you updated OSX with all the latest updates available via Software Update and are you using Flash 10 instead of Flash 9? Yes, the version of Flash matters as Flash 10 is much less resource intensive and adds features that are badly needed for HD Flash streaming.

3) Spotlight might be running in the background causing your computer to become overloaded because you just booted it for the first time.

4) Aliens have abducted you and you're actually in a horrible simulated world where any Macbook Air you own will instantly be slower for streaming media.

I'd go with option 4. It seems the most likely.

 

[freelancier]

woow...Thanks but....

Well thanks for the suggestions.

I am taking the easy step. I will arrange a meeting with a genius and tell them to figure it out....then step II, dumping it if they can't get it to look nice.

I was watching streaming video of House MD on Fox website, I don't know what setting it is or it should be...there was no option to choose from on the website...i also have never had to reset anything or install anything before a new computer has to work the way i expected it.

Obviously i don't know enough about computer to be more specific than to say while watching streaming movies and shows from fox, ABC, or Daily Show or Hulu, the graphic is BAD. It's choppy and get stuck or buff every 5 minutes or so...

I don't think it's my internet because my boyfriend has an old White book from 2 years ago that play streaming movies better....seemingly anyway....

maybe it's cos his is 2.0g processor and the MBA is still just 1.6....

 

[brop52]

If you are getting buffering then your internet connection is slow. If you really want to test side by side open the same video on both computers and test them at the same time. Make sure nothing else is running at the same time.

Anyway, all you have to do is pause it and let it load. Also, it uses flash so you need to download it here.

 

[Scottsdale]

My revB MBA has the best display I have ever owned. Also, the graphics performance is very capable. The Nvidia graphics performs much better than the revA. With my original MBA, I could not watch any video. The thing would overheat, experience core shutdown, and lock up. I can do anything on my revB MBA that I can on my unibody MB. The MBA revB is the best Mac I have ever owned.

I think the issue here is an Internet connection. Download the whole video, and then play it. The OP still hasn't explained further about sucks other than what sounds like connection issue and not the MBA.

Is the display distorted or is it choppy because video is not downloaded? Do you have capable high speed Internet? Will it run on another computer on the same connection in your home?

All I can say is my revB MBA is amazing. Everything about it is fast and the display is perfect. I see no lines and HD video plays absolutely perfect.

I wish you the best in figuring it out. Hopefully is just a connection issue.

 

[freelancier]

well i love macs too but .....

sigh...i love Mac too but the performance has been a bit disappointing.
I held out for several months and finally dump the big bucks to buy the MBA rev b, some of my friends thought i was insane...in this state of the economy...but my frustrations so far with the MBA:

- watching House MD (a tv movie) on Fox website streaming, the graphic is VERY CHOPPY, it's better than my Powerbook g4 but it still stutters every so often..though images are still distorted...

I downloaded all the update and I HAVE flash 10.....it seemed to do better today when I tested it but after about 10 minutes the movie stuck and ever since, everything was slow..it took 20 minutes to download firefox!! Unbelievable!!

Well it could be internet but all of that happening right when i got this new computer when all was fine with my boyfriend's white macbook? Too much of a coincidence...

I still like it. beautiful design i mean no one does it better than Apple....but a part of me just think i should probably have held out longer for a 2.0 gh processor revision......

I couldn't wait cos the depression means company are less likely to invest in newer technology...right..anyway.....

I am torn. I am still thinking about keeping it. because at least it plays streaming..my powerbook just couldn't play any of the movies like Lost or House MD or Office....streaming...so MBA does that...however sloppy.....

sigh...maybe an apple genius will help...they are always so nice and helpful.

 

[jevel]

If it takes 20 minutes to download Firefox, your problem is definately related to your internet connection.

The Firefox download for OS X is 17,2 MB in size. For you to be able to stream HD content on your connection, you need to be able to download that kind of data in well under a minute...

It might be that the issue is with the MBA and it's network card, but my guess is the router or the line itself. Have you tried to run the stream on the MB first, then on the MBA?

-KJ

 

[LinMac]

Go to:

http://speakeasy.net/speedtest/

and post the results of the speed test run from your Macbook Air.

 

[tubbymac]

Downloading Firefox is a hit or miss thing in terms of speed. When you click the download link the official web site randomly picks a server. You can test this out by clicking on the link, watching your speed and the download URL it gives you, canceling the download and then doing it again a few times in a row. I've had speeds jump back and forth between single, double, and triple digit k/sec within the span of a handful of clicks over a minute

 

[nph]

Weird video

HI

Out of curiousity I tried this video on my MBP (first gen but still a dedicated graphic card) and I have Flash 10 and it was terrible.

First, I have FIOS with 20/5M so connection is not the issue.
Flash 10, have used it for a while and it has improved my performance tremendeously for all other video.

For me on my MBP this was more like a slide show and just to make sure I moved so close to my basestation that I can guarantee that connection was perfect.

If the MBA rev B just stutters slightly I think that is good and that means it definately surpass this MBP.

Almost all other video I have watched on this MBP have been perfect so I wonder what is goiong on here. I ahve watched Fox, CBS in HD with no problem so...

 

[mhnajjar]

nph, try to restart your machine and see if it runs fine. I tried it on several Macs and PCs and only the MBAs suffered including revA and revB without any differences which made me think that the improvements are useless regarding this matter. I know revB runs cooler and is more capable but it did not show it while running this video head-to-head with revA.

 

[freelancier]

it's fine now!!

Hi thanks again to all your support and help.

After I downloaded like a gig worth of updates, the graphic is now totally fine even for watching Lost on ABC on HD.

The only thing is this whole Migration Assistant thing via wifi is so slow......BUT i like my MBA now!!! Yay!

 

[Turmoil]

Hi thanks again to all your support and help.

After I downloaded like a gig worth of updates, the graphic is now totally fine even for watching Lost on ABC on HD.

The only thing is this whole Migration Assistant thing via wifi is so slow......BUT i like my MBA now!!! Yay!

Great news! Glad to hear everything is working and you are enjoying your Air. It's really a tremendous machine.

 

[bobsaget611]

Hi thanks again to all your support and help.

After I downloaded like a gig worth of updates, the graphic is now totally fine even for watching Lost on ABC on HD.

The only thing is this whole Migration Assistant thing via wifi is so slow......BUT i like my MBA now!!! Yay!

what updates did you download?

 

[LinMac]

I haven't done a really thorough test of it, but I would say there is either a problem with the Hulu video or a software bug with Flash in OSX besides the craptastic performance/CPU usage.

My Rev. B Macbook Air (1.6GHz) and 15" Unibody Macbook Pro (2.8Ghz/4GB DDR3 memory/128GB SSD using 9400M) both have stuttering problems with the video. Flash is not using a significant amount of power on the Macbook Pro during the freezes and watching 720p/1080p video via VLC (software decoding) does not cause the graphics to freeze during fast sequences.

This is either a bug in Hulu's software running in Flash or Flash itself on OSX.

 

[LinMac]

I reinstalled the Combo Update for 10.5.6 onto my Macbook Pro and it solved the freezing video issue. I think it is related to the pulled NVIDIA update and the combo update might have overwritten it (not sure). I am trying the same on my Macbook Air now to see if it will help.

Edit: My Macbook Air Rev. B can't play it without stuttering, but it seems to be an issue with Flash. It is a lot better now with the combo update reinstalled and the big issue for the Air seems to be Flash taxing the CPU too hard at 1.6GHz. It plays fine until it decodes more of the video then pauses as it hits the CPU very hard. GPU acceleration will help a lot with that and a 64bit rewrite of Flash will help too. Snow Leopard should be pretty interesting.