# Watching Video



## HollywoodDaMan (Aug 25, 2009)

I have a PowerBook G4 with only a 550 Mhz processor running OS X10.4.11 with 512 kb ram. Safari 4.0.3

My problem is trying to view videos. On FaceBook or YouTube or any other site with videos when I try to view them my Mac 'skips' or 'jerks' during the playback. It acts like it needs a larger buffer but I have tried downloading the video to the HD and playing it from there but had no luck. Even when the download line keeps ahead of the play line it doesn't make a difference. Same jerky playback.

When I get videos embedded in e-mails they usually play fine but when I go looking for video it won't play right. It's frustrating.

I hope an upgrade will fix this but I'm afraid if I don't get the root cause the same thing will happen if I get a faster Mac. Is it the speed of the processor the issue? I seem to remember I could play video at one time in the distance past but I don't remember what I might have done different since then.


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## eXtremeX (Aug 24, 2009)

It could be your processor speeds. Have you had similar issues with other browsers and/or older software versions?


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## HollywoodDaMan (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanx for your help.

Unfortunately I don't have any other Mac to test with. (In my last job I had hundreds of different Macs I could use. Que sera sera.)

So the question is can a processor speed of 550 Mhz play video? It plays DVDs fine and videos embedded in e-mails with no problems.


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## eXtremeX (Aug 24, 2009)

_Posted via Mobile Device_

It should have enough to play video, I've been reading around and it seems people have upgraded their processors and graphics cards to "get more juice".


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## HollywoodDaMan (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanx again for your help.

It doesn't seem right that my G4 would need a faster graphic card. It is a laptop and changing the card wouldn't be easy. Also, all other video plays fine, just that which is downloaded and played at the same time.

Does anyone out there KNOW any settings or anything I can change to improve this? It played before.


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## zoombini (Aug 18, 2003)

Have you tried a different browser for utube movies? Firefox perhaps?
Sounds like it mite be a problem with the movie format, if it only affects certains types of movies. What about to net connection? Are you running decent broadband speeds?

Have you downloaded and ran Onyx to clean up caches etc......certainly can't do any harm

Your computer is pretty low-specced for movie viewing/editing. That coupled with a dodgy broadband line could be the problem 2.


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## peck1234 (Aug 27, 2008)

please post your speedtest.net results.... (go on website and tell us your speeds)

Since you stated that you downloaded content plays fine im 99% sure its your internet connection...


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## Jesermay (Dec 18, 2008)

zoombini said:


> Have you tried a different browser for utube movies? Firefox perhaps?
> Sounds like it mite be a problem with the movie format, if it only affects certains types of movies. What about to net connection? Are you running decent broadband speeds?
> 
> Have you downloaded and ran Onyx to clean up caches etc......certainly can't do any harm
> ...


Other browsers, camino and firefox in particular, dont seem to work well with flash on Mac. It won't be a problem with movie format seeing as he is watching them via youtube/facebook video player. Also, his net connection is not what is causing this problem.


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## Jesermay (Dec 18, 2008)

peck1234 said:


> please post your speedtest.net results.... (go on website and tell us your speeds)
> 
> Since you stated that you downloaded content plays fine im 99% sure its your internet connection...


It isn't his internet speed I can tell you that, I have a power mac g4 and I get the same thing.


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## Jesermay (Dec 18, 2008)

HollywoodDaMan said:


> I have a PowerBook G4 with only a 550 Mhz processor running OS X10.4.11 with 512 kb ram. Safari 4.0.3
> 
> My problem is trying to view videos. On FaceBook or YouTube or any other site with videos when I try to view them my Mac 'skips' or 'jerks' during the playback. It acts like it needs a larger buffer but I have tried downloading the video to the HD and playing it from there but had no luck. Even when the download line keeps ahead of the play line it doesn't make a difference. Same jerky playback.
> 
> ...


I have a Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 733mhz and I have the same issue as you do. I had the same issue also on my eMac G4 1ghz downstairs and I resolved it, or at least soothed it, by maxing out the ram. I have purchased 1.5gb of ram for my Quicksilver which is in the post, this should make my Quicksilver work much better with youtube and the like. However, it is not just ram that makes youtube and other flash players sluggish. Processing power and vram makes a difference too. I would suggest upgrading your graphics card aswell, but unless you know your stuff I wouldn't try upgrading the processor as it is much more tricky than normal processors.


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## zoombini (Aug 18, 2003)

I've used Firefox on a mac for years and never had any problems with flash.
The max RAM for the model of PB is 1gb, so might not make much difference, when taking into consideration the other specs.


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