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General discussion

itunes video

Oct 17, 2006 11:51AM PDT

I have an iBook 800 Mhz G3 640 MB SDRAM OS 10.4.8

If I try to view a video purchased at the Music store or a video podcast, the playback is choppy both audio and video like its buffering.

Is the reason its doing this because of the G3 processor or what?

Can Quicktime play iTune videos?

I've never had a problem with QT playing a video however I don't see an option on the iTune preferences for video playback with anything other than iTunes.

Also, half the time after I close the lid, I get no desktop after reopening and am forced to power up without shutting down properly.

Is this a sign of something not kosher? Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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according to apple.com
Oct 17, 2006 1:19PM PDT

there was no iBook G3 800 MHz machine... at least none that I can find in the iBook G3 series list... anyway, presuming you are using a G3 machine, that debuted in 1998... 8 years ago.

http://support.apple.com/specs/powerbook/PowerBook_G3_Series.html

I'd say that between your RAM (640 meg) and OS and CPU and iTunes, running choppy iTunes video would be expected... And I would not expect QuickTime to play iTunes video as that would probably defeat the security required by the studios and artists... But 8 years is a darned good run!

As for the sleep issue - I suggest you check out the Support area at Apple.com. The Knowledge base and user forums are quite extensive.

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mrmacfixit pointed out to me
Oct 17, 2006 10:30PM PDT

that there is indeed a more recent machine

http://support.apple.com/specs/ibook/iBook_Early_2003.html

my apologies for any confusion... that said, I still stand by the fact that a G3, 800MHz, iBook with the RAM you have is definitely riding the edge running 10.4.8... so I'm not surprised on the issue you are reporting with iTunes video.

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iBook and iTunes
Oct 17, 2006 10:00PM PDT

Running 10.4.8 on this machine is pushing the edge of the envelope. I think I would have stopped at 10.3.9

QuickTime, either the version downloaded with iTunes or the version previously installed with the system, should be version 7.1.3 with iTunes being version 7.0.1 (7)

iTune video's are played back using QuickTime, hence the reason that QT is bundled with iTunes. Even if you locate the video that you downloaded, you may not be able to play it if it has DRM encoded on it. However, you should be able to open Non-DRM'd video files using something like VLC.

To be honest, your machine is getting a little long in the tooth and is now struggling to keep up with the "big boys". It's processor is very slow and you cannot squeeze any more memory into it.

I'll give the lid problem some thought and get back with you


P

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I never knew..
Oct 17, 2006 10:48PM PDT

that 10.4.8 would be pushing the limit. Why is that for the benefit of others who might be thinking of upgrading?

Is my machine in any type of "danger" because of this?

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Tiger
Oct 17, 2006 11:15PM PDT

Although your machine is capable of running OS 10.4.8, it is not capable of running it well. You may have noticed that it takes quite a while to open windows, launch programs and process data, or you may not have, since you have nothing to compare it with.

Your machine is in NO danger whatsoever. It will just run exceeding s l o w , but will still be usable. As programs become more processor/RAM intensive, iTunes for example, your machine will start to choke. I'm sure you have read that the performance of newer machines, sent out with 512MB of RAM, is greatly improved with the addition of a further 512MB of RAM. And that's with processors that are much, much faster than yours.

However, if the machine is working for you, you will loose nothing except a little time.

P