[MAC] XBMC for Mac (PowerPC build) on PPC 933 QS - Newbie needs help
#1
Ok, So first I'd like to say thanks to all who have been part of the XBMC port for PPC machines. I had been using Miro as HTPC app ( which is not what it is built for), and on my QS PPC 933 with 1.5gb of ram, and Radeon 9200 Mac Edition Video Card, it is pretty solid as far as playback goes, handling playback of anything that Quicktime can playback, (thanks to Perian and Flip4Mac installed in the QT Libraries), but management of assets is
troublesome to say the least.

So when I read that a PPC build of XBMC had finally been released I went and downloaded it to give it a try.

The first build I downloaded, the 9.0.4ppc.dmg, I installed on my QS and rebooted. Upon first launch of it, XBMC is sluggish, and hard to navigate the mouse through the menus.

So I quit it and ran Disc Utilty, and relaunched it, no go.
I then trashed it and pulled down the 9.0.4-1ppc.dmg, and installed that.
Success! Navigation is now snappier, and I can actually navigate
without it feeling like the mouse is three steps behind what I want to do.

I then tested playback of my media. I have all my media on an internal
500GB HD ( the boot and XBMC reside on a separate internal 80GB HD).
Playback of XVID and MP4 media is choppy, stuttering where it looks like
a badly dubbed chinese movie. The same files playback in Miro fine.

So my question is:

What if anything needs to be installed to make the playback smooth?
I'm guessing that XBMC is using something different that Quicktime
to decode and playback the videos, which if fine. I've been reading a bit
on the forums about plugins for XBMC, but I haven't found anything
regarding my situation. Is it perhaps a setting I haven't found
in XBMC that could be the problem?

TIA for all responses!Big Grin
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#2
Perhaps a better description of the QS PPC 933 is required. What cpu ? What clock speed? Sounds like this is an Apple desktop box but I can't quite figure out which one it is.
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#3
A QS 933 PPC is an Apple Powermac QuickSilver G4 933mhz PPC machine.
( for picture: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/po...33_qs.html )
It has 1.5gb of Ram, and its video card is an ATi Radeon 9200 all in one ( tv out) PCI card.
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#4
urbanmacuser Wrote:A QS 933 PPC is an Apple Powermac QuickSilver G4 933mhz PPC machine.
( for picture: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/po...33_qs.html )
It has 1.5gb of Ram, and its video card is an ATi Radeon 9200 all in one ( tv out) PCI card.

G4 933mhz, you are going to be hurting with anything above DVD resolution. The CPU just does not have enough ponies.
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#5
davilla Wrote:G4 933mhz, you are going to be hurting with anything above DVD resolution. The CPU just does not have enough ponies.

Huh
I don't think your reading my original post, so here let me help you...

urbanmacuser Wrote:Playback of XVID and MP4 media is choppy, stuttering where it looks like
a badly dubbed chinese movie in XBMC, v. 9.04-1. The same files playback in Miro 2.0.5, smooth and fine.

So, for the record:

1. Yes, I know with this machine that I am stuck at Standard Def Resolution.
That is why I stay strictly on using DIVX, XVID, and MP4 ( non h.263, non h.264) file types.

2. My issue is simply put: Why does these file types playback crappy in XBMC and not in other apps ( Miro, VLC, and Quicktime Pro Player)?
Is there a setting or a setup for XBMC that says " Check here to
make videos play back smooth, playback correctly, or playback period?"
Or is their a plugin that needs to be installed to make XBMC work like
a decent mac app, such as does it need Perian installed somewhere?

I don't mean to be rude, but we seem to be getting off track,
and I'm trying to get XBMC to work with this mac. It can open,
it can find my source of videos, it can thumbnail and tag them
and organize them fine. NOW, I JUST NEED IT TO PLAY BACK THE FILES
SMOOTHLY.
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#6
DIVX, XVID, and MP4 are containers, use mediainfo to get exact into on the video format contained inside.

Use a pastebin site to post xbmc.log obtained while playing one of these problem videos.
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#7
Ok, I chose three files for this test.
Here is the info on each, pulled this from Quicktime Pro,
as I could not get XBMC to give me the info:

file #1
True.Blood.S02E04.HDTV.XVID.avi
format: XVID (video) 624 x 352
mp3 (audio) stereo

file#2
The.Cleveland.Show.S01E01.Pilot.Xvid.avi
Format: XVID (video) 640 x 368
mpeg layer 3 ( audio) Stereo

file#3
Southland.S01E04.HDTV.XVID.avi
format: XVID (video) 624 x 352
mpeg layer 3 (audio) Stereo

the pastebin file is here:
http://pastebin.com/m21b2c421
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#8
urbanmacuser Wrote:Ok, I chose three files for this test.
Here is the info on each, pulled this from Quicktime Pro,
as I could not get XBMC to give me the info:

file #1
True.Blood.S02E04.HDTV.XVID.avi
format: XVID (video) 624 x 352
mp3 (audio) stereo

file#2
The.Cleveland.Show.S01E01.Pilot.Xvid.avi
Format: XVID (video) 640 x 368
mpeg layer 3 ( audio) Stereo

file#3
Southland.S01E04.HDTV.XVID.avi
format: XVID (video) 624 x 352
mpeg layer 3 (audio) Stereo

the pastebin file is here:
http://pastebin.com/m21b2c421

XBMC uses OpenGL for rendering.

I see two things in xbmc.log

GL_VERSION = 1.3 ATI-1.4.18
NOTICE: GL: Shaders support not present, falling back to SW mode

That means you are rendering using software and not OpenGL and it's going to be very slow. You might do better with a video card that supports a more recent version of OpenGL.
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#9
1. is there a way to not make a build of XBMC that either lowers the Open GL threshold, or that doesn't require OpenGL for playback,
at least for PPC machines? XBMC's dependency on Open GL for
playback, at least from a PPC standpoint, when Miro, Quicktime Player and VLC Player all playback the files without incident, to me is a detriment in enabling the
software to work in a PPC environment.

2. But yes your right, according to Apple, even if I updated the machine to Leopard,
the card would still only support Open GL 1.3, as that is the max. the hardware
can support.
http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimagi...11PPC.html
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#10
urbanmacuser Wrote:1. is there a way to not make a build of XBMC that either lowers the Open GL threshold, or that doesn't require OpenGL for playback,
at least for PPC machines? XBMC's dependency on Open GL for
playback, at least from a PPC standpoint, when Miro, Quicktime Player and VLC Player all playback the files without incident, to me is a detriment in enabling the
software to work in a PPC environment.

2. But yes your right, according to Apple, even if I updated the machine to Leopard,
the card would still only support Open GL 1.3, as that is the max. the hardware
can support.
http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimagi...11PPC.html

1) not at the present time, patched welcome.

2) get a different video card that does support a higher version of OpenGL.
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