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sniffer · Apr 16, 2004, 02:09 PM

I am on the edge to buy a new portable during the summer, and the 12" iBook is within my budget. I currently own a sturdy old iBook 600, but my biggest gripe with it is the not-quite-there Divx/Xvid playback performance, and no support for the spanning hack. The 12" screen alone is not good for your eyes in the long run IMO.

How is the DivX playback performance on the 800MHz-1GHz? Can it take everything you serve it in VLC for instance? ;9

Tnx.

pat++ · Apr 16, 2004, 05:36 PM

The 800mhz can decode any xvid/divx out there. Altivec helps a lot for audio and video decoding. The difference is huge. For info, I did some tests between an old G4 400 and an iBook 700 on a very large divx (>1024) and the iBook couldn't decode it fast enough (it was pretty slow, like 5-10 frame/sec), but the old G4 400 played it smoothly... So the G4 800 would decode pretty anything out there. And moreover, it looks like the iBook will get a 1ghz G4 on monday

sniffer · Apr 16, 2004, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by pat++:
The 800mhz can decode any xvid/divx out there. Altivec helps a lot for audio and video decoding. The difference is huge. For info, I did some tests between an old G4 400 and an iBook 700 on a very large divx (>1024) and the iBook couldn't decode it fast enough (it was pretty slow, like 5-10 frame/sec), but the old G4 400 played it smoothly... So the G4 800 would decode pretty anything out there. And moreover, it looks like the iBook will get a 1ghz G4 on monday

That's very helpful pat++. That's what I assumed my self, but I wanted to hear it from others that actually had experience with different setups and different divxes. If the 400 is capable of playing huge divx files, the G4 iBook should indeed be adequate in theory.

And yes, I too am looking forward with excitement towards monday. Speed bumps are always exciting. Especially when you are in the marked, and the timing just fits.

Zoc · Apr 16, 2004, 08:35 PM

I use my (still-new!) iBook g4 800 for video every day, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed, actually. It plays anything fine, true, but only as long as that's the only thing it's playing. Even a modicum of multitasking can cause dropped frames in the video, especially anything that uses the slow disk at all, ie filesharing.

sniffer · Apr 17, 2004, 05:27 AM

Sorry to hear that Zoc. It is very insuring to hear the 800 is capable, but it sad to hear it is so fragile. I'll see what is waiting in the next revision. I know my current iBook isn't a speed demon, but it does the job well, and I want to make sure my next upgrade is the money worth. Thanks.

appledude83 · Apr 20, 2004, 02:16 AM

My iBook 800mhz is the old G3 and it actually handles most video pretty well. With the G4's that are out now you will be 100% set.

Zoc · Apr 21, 2004, 08:08 AM

There's another problem with video playback on the g4 iBooks I forgot to mention. If a video is larger than 512 by 384 or so, and uses a modern codec like Xvid, the rather loud fan will almost always come on.

All this is with the 800mhz G4. I can't speak for the new models, but with the one I've got, I'd say you're about 75% set.