MacBook Air :: Playing 1080p MKVs Smoothly / GeForce 320M Support Hardware Acceleration?
Feb 16, 2009
I've never owned a Mac before, but have a couple of friends who love theirs. So when the stunning new Air came out, I decided I'd join them after using only Windows PCs for so many years. I am trying to decide between the 128GB base 11.6" Air and the base 13.3" one. I prefer the form factor of the 11.6", and ideally, I'd just go ahead and get it, because portability is high on my wishlist.
However, my decision hinges on whether the 11.6" can play 1080p MKVs so I can output them to my TV when I'm not mobile.I've read elsewhere that the 11.6" with the 1.4GHz CPU struggles in OSX, but I'd be installing Windows 7 as well, my media player of choice being Media Player Classic. The reason for this is that it supports hardware acceleration of movie files with the GPU, so allows the CPU to be relatively unused, or assists a slow CPU in playing high bitrate/resolution movies.
So, after the drawn out intro, I guess my questions are: Does the GeForce 320M in the Air support hardware acceleration (DXVA) in Media Player Classic in Windows? If yes, is it capable of playing 1080p MKVs smoothly (for example, a 24 minute show weighing in at roughly 1-1.5GB)?
I would really, really appreciate it if some kind soul would be willing to try this out to help me make my buying decision. As I say, it would be my first Mac, so I'm really not sure when it comes to this kind of thing. And I do realise that what I'm asking is ridiculously specific, but I thought that if anyone could help me, it would be you guys.
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Dec 2, 2010
I have a late 2008 15" MBP with an NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT w/256MB of RAM. I am thinking of trading it for a current 13" MacBook with a GeForce 320M w/256MB.
Am I right in assuming the new MacBook's GPU is inferior to my current's? If so, how much of a hit would I take in games like Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, etc.. ?
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Jul 30, 2010
Basically I want to watch high definition videos on my 42" hdtv so I bought the mini display port to hdmi adapter. When I play the videos with VLC I notice choppiness when things move too fast across the screen. Is this a limitation of the hardware (the integrated GPU?) Anyway I can perhaps smooth it out?
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Aug 11, 2009
Is this normal? When watching a 1080p movie on my mbp, in order for it to play smoothly with no dropped frames etc, I have to close everything except for VLC. I have to close mail, itunes, I mean everything except for VLC. Is this normal? otherwise I will get many dropped frames every 5 min or so.
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May 7, 2010
I'm interested to learn the differences between these video cards : NVidia's GeForce 9400M and GT 320M used by Apple.
Is the GT 330M supposed to be better/faster than the 9400M ? Any benchmarks and comparison stats ?
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Jan 3, 2011
How can I update my nvidia geforce 320M drivers, I downloaded the drivers from nvidia site, however, i get an error that says "this computer will not support this nvidia graphics solution" - I downloaded this file "NVIDIA Retail Mac Driver 256.01.00f03", I'm using LG 22" TV/Monitor with Res at 1680 x 1050 @ 60Hz which is causing regular text appear blurry.
the 1680x1050 seems to be the best Res setting but text is blurry ..
I tried different HDMI cables, same conclusion ...
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Jan 21, 2009
Basically I want to watch high definition videos on my 42" hdtv so I bought the mini display port to hdmi adapter. When I play the videos with VLC I notice choppiness when things move too fast across the screen. Is this a limitation of the hardware (the integrated GPU?) Anyway I can perhaps smooth it out?
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Apr 15, 2010
Yes, and as you can see in my signature, I have the previous model which I have bought less than 25 days ago. I will go to Apple store this friday (Japan, and these people should be nice) and try to convince them that they shouldn't have given me the inferior ones.
Back to the point, will Starcraft 2 work well with nVidia 320m? Apple's website says there will be a 80% boost, but what about Starcraft 2?
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Mar 5, 2010
I have been considering using NetFlix for laptop downloads as well as mail ordering movies but I am wondering what does the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M support? My external HD is a 32" 1080p TV. Can I get HD quality?
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Apr 29, 2010
Adobe this week issued a preview release of an update to its Flash Player, code-named "Gala," which allows for H.264 video hardware decoding in Mac OS X 10.6.3, placing less emphasis on a computer's CPU. The capability for Flash to use GPU hardware acceleration just became available with the Mac OS X 10.6.3 update for Apple's Snow Leopard operating system. A new technical note revealed a new framework that allows developers low-level access to H.264 decoding capabilities in Macs with compatible GPUs, including the GeForce 9400M, GeForce 320M and GeForce GT 330M. Previously, hardware acceleration for Flash was only available through Windows PCs and X86-based notebooks. Gala marks the first time Mac users will be able to benefit from hardware decoding of Flash.
"The combination of NVIDIA GPUs (GeForce 9400M, GeForce 320M or GeForce GT 330M) with the Gala version of Flash Player enables supported Macs running the current version of OS X to deliver smooth, flicker-free HD video with substantially decreased power consumption," Adobe wrote on its website, where the software can be downloaded. "Users will be able to enjoy a much smoother viewing experience when accessing rich, H.264 video content built with the Flash Platform from popular sites like [URL] or YouTube." The preview release of Gala is a sign of things to come, but does not yet provide consistent results. In a quick test, Engadget found that CPU use Apple's latest Core i7 MacBook Pros dropped a third to a half, but the Core i5 machine actually increased the CPU load by as much as 20 percent.
The Gala preview is intended for developers to test the new functionality and test compatibility. The feature is expected to find its way into the Flash Player after the release of version 10.1, expected to arrive in the first half of 2010. To test it, download the 7.4MB installer from Adobe. The preview release notifies users when hardware decoding is in use by displaying a small white square in the upper left corner of a video. Adobe has sought input from developers on the preview release as it prepares a final product for the general public. Gala is evidence of a rare positive between Apple and Adobe, two companies that have been engaged in a bitter rivalry of late. Most recently in their ongoing feud, Adobe abandoned development of Flash-to-iPhone porting software. After Apple's iPhone OS 4 developer agreement specifically prohibited the use of an intermediary tool, such as the one Adobe plans to release.
After Adobe employees criticized the iPhone for being a closed system, Apple fired back in a rare public comment, stating that Adobe "has it backwards," as Flash is "closed and proprietary." Apple has backed the open source standard HTML5 video streaming format while blocking the use of Flash on its portable devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. At a company meeting in January, the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was rumored to have called Adobe "lazy," and said most Mac crashes are due to Flash. "The world is moving to HTML5," Jobs was quoted as saying. Jobs also allegedly called Flash a "CPU hog" in a meeting with officials from The Wall Street Journal. The Apple co-founder was said to have called the Web format "full of security holes" and "old technology." For more on why Apple is unlikely to ever allow Flash onto its iPhone OS-powered mobile devices, see AppleInsider's three-part Flash Wars series.[View this article at URL]
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Aug 28, 2009
does the GeForce 6600 LE support dual monitors?
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Apr 27, 2012
I have a lot of 1080p videos on my Mac, and I can play them in every app but iTunes. iTunes says i cannot play the videos as I have a 1.86GHz CPU, which does not meet the requirements for playing 1080p HD videos in iTunes [URL]. The thing is is that I can play these videos in any other app (they are not protected files, as they are BluRay rips from my external BluRay drive).
My question is this: how can I get these videos to play on my Mac, and on my iPod touch as well?
Info:
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.3), 13", 256GB SSD, Late 2010 Model
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May 12, 2008
I'd love to see Final Cut Express get an update since it hasn't been updated since 2007! It does support up to 1080i HD widescreen, but 1080p is not supported. This is frustrating as iMovie is a consumer product and I prefer the look of Final Cut.
I know I could just purchase Final Cut Studio and get Final Cut Pro, and have 1080p support, but I don't want to spend that much money. Final Cut Express was perfect in that it had the look of Final Cut Pro! I wish Apple would release an update, but I haven't heard anything.
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Apr 17, 2012
when I play an 1080p TV show downloaded from iTunes, I periodicaly get audio and no video, just a black screen. I'm running on a 2011 27" iMac.
Info:
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.3), i7 imac
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Nov 19, 2010
I have a bunch of 720p MKV files. I have my mini connected with HDMI to my 54" Panasonic 1080p. I set the resolution on the mini to 1080 and I play my MKV files...
When I set my resolution on my computer to 720p the movie takes up almost the full screen before i select full screen mode. When I set the computer resolution to 1080p and play the 720p media the movie screen only takes up about 3/4 of the screen until i set to full screen mode.
Do I lose any quality or get extra quality having my mini res at 1080p but playing 720p media?
Is the NVIDIA geforce capable of upscaling 720p to 1080?
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Nov 28, 2009
I have lots of DVDs, movies, games...that I want to watch on the 21'5 iMac. There will be any problem or bad quality for playing in 720p (HD Ready) instead of Full HD. It will also make a great increase of FPS performance with 4670, �no?
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Apr 19, 2010
I was playing a bunch of 1080p videos when I started to hear a vibrating/buzzing/rattling sound coming from my Mac Pro. I don't recall ever hearing this sound before. Is there something wrong with my Mac?
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Sep 28, 2009
I am looking too use Photoshop CS4 and was wondering if it is worth the upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB or should I just stick with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.I am not able too spend any more than the 1999.00 price point so these are my only two options. I need the portability of a laptop otherwise I would go with the iMac. I am sorry if this has been asked before,
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Aug 18, 2009
I am going to college this year to study Graphic Design and i am looking to purchase a MBP 15". I have read a couple of other threads which cover similar questions however i am not truly satisfied with the answers i have read.
My MBP will have to run the following programs on a regular basis: Photoshop, Bridge, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash. It will also have to run basic tasks such as word processing, internet surfing and email. Finally i would also like to install parallels and XP on the machine just in case an work or applications need to be run on windows. Obviously all of these applications will not be running simultaneously however there is a strong chance 2 or 3 maybe running at the same time. My Imac deals with this without problems, will the MBP be the same?
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Oct 26, 2010
I currently use a 4 year old MBP with an X1600 GPU. Thinking about going for an Air, and wondering what the 320M is like in comparison.
I play the occasional game but principally would use the machine as a holiday / travel laptop and would hope to be able to do light 3D graphics work on it. I know it's never going to replace a desktop machine but I'm quite good at working within hardware constraints.
Is the 320M a much better GPU? If so by what order of magnitude?
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Apr 15, 2010
a bunch of people are using the notebookcheck.net 3DMark06 score of 3300 as the average score for the 8600M GT. Due to this, a lot of people are getting the wrong impression that the 320M is faster than the 8600M GT, and that the 330M is 2x more powerful.There are several consistency issues which need to be addressed: 1) 8600M GT (DDR2) vs 8600M GT (GDDR3)While they both have the same name, there are actually 2 different variants of the 8600M GT card. One with DDR2 memory and one with GDDR3 memory. (Note: this is NOT the same as system memory) The GDDR3 variant is between 20% - 30% faster than the DDR2 variant. Majority of the 8600Ms tested used DDR2 memory, while all the 8600Ms in Apple notebooks use GDDR3 memory.
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Nov 1, 2010
Wanted to let you know that I had great sucess overclocking the 320m in the Air. I used the same procedure found in this thread.
[URL]
This might help you starcraft junkies out there as it may give a 20% increase in performance. I played MW2 for two solid hours tonight without lockups at 625 / 1340. (11" 1.6 4GB) Thanks go to all in the refrenced thread that contributed to these findings!
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Jun 22, 2010
which is better and why?
I'm wondering because i currently have an hp laptop, and the only thing i am not satisfied with is my graphics performance.
i would like to upgrade to a macbook pro, but i don't want to buy the very expensive 15" model.
i use the graphics for GIMP mainly.
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Dec 2, 2010
Does anyone know how to install the latest NVidia drivers from their website?
The installation breaks of because the correct hardware couldn't be found (when indeed I did download the correct 320M drivers).
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May 13, 2010
Before you all start attacking me for having a second Steam thread, I get it. There's already a steam thread. This one is specifically for those of us who have MBPs (from any generation) that use integrated 9400m and 320m graphics. This is a great way for us to compare the two Core2Duo graphics cards.
Please report any info about frame rates, settings, how well or poorly games run etc. Feel free to re-post information about this stuff from the other thread so that we can consolidate the info.
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Apr 13, 2010
While the GeForce GT 330M featured in the new 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros has already been found in competing notebook PCs, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro sports the Nvidia 320M, a graphics processor created just for Apple.
An Nvidia spokesperson told AppleInsider Tuesday that the new 320M was made especially for Apple, and is the successor to the GeForce 9400M, introduced in 2008. The 320M is an integrated graphics chipset for notebooks based on Intel's Core 2 Duo line of processors.
According to Notebookcheck.net, the 320M does not have dedicated graphics memory, but uses shared memory for the system for its graphics processing, giving it poorer performance than a GPU with dedicated memory. The 320M (not to be confused with the GeForce GT 320M) is based on the GT216 core, and offers 48 shader cores.
The report said the gaming performance of the 320M should be comparable to, but slightly better than, a 310M. The 320M also supports PureVideo HD for high definition decoding within the GPU. The processor can also be used to encode videos.
In announcing its new line of MacBook Pros on Tuesday, Apple revealed that the GeForce 320M GPU offers up to 80 percent faster graphics processing. It also helps the 13-inch MacBook Pro achieve 10 hours of battery life. Apple called the 320M the "fastest integrated graphics processor on the market."
The 13-inch model also includes faster Core 2 Duo processors, reaching speeds up to 2.66GHz and featuring a 1066MHz frontside bus with 3MB of shared L2 cache.
Featured on the 15- and 17-inch models is the 330M, which Apple said is more than twice as fast as the low-end 320M. Apple said the GT 330M "provides smooth, crisp on-screen graphics for the most demanding 3D games, creative software and technical applications."
The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros also include automatic graphics switching, which Apple has dubbed a "breakthrough" technology. It allows the system to switch graphics processors on the fly, giving users performance when they need it and better battery efficiency when they don't. AppleInsider first revealed Apple was planning dual graphics technology in its future MacBook Pros in February.
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Jun 25, 2010
This 15" MacBook Pro is abotu a year and a half old, and I'm running into a bit of a problem. For most things, it's fine. I use it for photoshop, aperture, etc. And a couple months ago, I used to play Team Fortress 2 and other games in bootcamp. But now these games have come out for the Mac and they run sluggishly at best. It's very choppy. At first I thought this was something to do with the program itself, but after doing a lot of research, no one else seemed to be complaining abotu the problems I was. This leads me to believe that there is a problem with my computer.. So how can I test this? Are there any ways to speed up my mac? Maybe an update, or a fresh install, or something?
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Aug 12, 2010
can i run on it?
here is the specification.
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
320GB 5400-rpm hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor
4GB memory
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Sep 8, 2014
My keyboard does not work properly. I have to press hard on the arrows top to bottom etc. to get it moving. It moves "haltingly". What causes it. I changed batteries. To no avail.
Info:
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), iOS 6.1.2
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Oct 17, 2008
I just purchased an Aluminum MacBook 2.4GHz today, and I tried playing some H.264 Trailers and I am shocked by the performance. My other MacBook Pro 2.4GHz playing a 1080p trailer is using about 100% CPU (out of 200%) but my new MacBook played the same trailer at only 28% CPU usage (out of 200%). I'm wondering if anyone knows if there is some GPU decode acceleration happening with the 9400M GPU because the difference here is quite huge.
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