It's the start of a new era folks. Mac OS X's first real-world worm, OSX.Leap.A, is out in the wild.
Be careful what files you accept in iChat...
Thursday, February 16, 2006
iMac Core Duo stutters on HD H.264 playback
I finally got the chance to test the iMac Core Duo 2.0 GHz myself with HD H.264 QuickTime playback. Contrary to numerous claims online, all was not perfect. The iMac exhibited significant stuttering between in a few spots in the 1080p The Macaulay Library clip between 1:03 - 1:15, with frame rates dropping to as low as 16 fps. Granted, this clip is especially hard to decode since it has a 30 fps frame rate and the full 1920x1080 resolution, but it was still a bit disappointing to see this.
However, CPU speed may not be the limiting factor. According to OS X's Activity Monitor, CPU usage for this clip never went above 145% (out of 200% for two cores). Indeed, when the same clip was played back on a Quad Power Mac in a window, once in a while there was very slight stuttering in the same spots, although it was inconsistent and there was never any stuttering when the clip was played back in full screen mode.
However, on both machines, other 24 fps HD clips I tried played back perfectly.
However, CPU speed may not be the limiting factor. According to OS X's Activity Monitor, CPU usage for this clip never went above 145% (out of 200% for two cores). Indeed, when the same clip was played back on a Quad Power Mac in a window, once in a while there was very slight stuttering in the same spots, although it was inconsistent and there was never any stuttering when the clip was played back in full screen mode.
However, on both machines, other 24 fps HD clips I tried played back perfectly.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
MacBook Pro now up to 2.16 GHz
Apple has not yet started shipping the MacBook Pro, but they have already quietly increased the maximum speed of the top end version to 2.16 GHz, as a $300 upgrade to the now standard 2.0 GHz model (up from 1.83). Both versions are listed with 3-4 week shipping times for new orders. The 1.67 GHz model has also been bumped to 1.83.
The good news is that those who ordered models with the slower speeds are getting free speed upgrades, but the bad news is that most of these orders have been delayed, despite Apple's statement that the MacBook Pro is shipping this week.
For most of you ordering now, I would recommend against the upgrade to 2.16 GHz. $300 is rather expensive for such a marginal (8%) CPU speed upgrade.
The good news is that those who ordered models with the slower speeds are getting free speed upgrades, but the bad news is that most of these orders have been delayed, despite Apple's statement that the MacBook Pro is shipping this week.
For most of you ordering now, I would recommend against the upgrade to 2.16 GHz. $300 is rather expensive for such a marginal (8%) CPU speed upgrade.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
OS X does not use the X1600's H.264 decode acceleration
Although the new iMac Core Duo does extremely well at H.264 playback, it apparently does so without the help of the Radeon X1600. OS X does not (yet) use this GPU's H.264 decode acceleration capabilities.
While that is a bit of a disappointment, there is a silver lining. It means that Core Duo CPU alone is very well-suited to this task, and given the fact that HD H.264 playback usually uses less than half of the computing power of a mid-clocked Core Duo, it may bode well for a future single-core Yonah-based Mac mini for use as an HD HTPC. Even if the first Yonah Mac mini is borderline for this usage, it certainly will be a vast improvement over the current G4-based Mac mini.
While that is a bit of a disappointment, there is a silver lining. It means that Core Duo CPU alone is very well-suited to this task, and given the fact that HD H.264 playback usually uses less than half of the computing power of a mid-clocked Core Duo, it may bode well for a future single-core Yonah-based Mac mini for use as an HD HTPC. Even if the first Yonah Mac mini is borderline for this usage, it certainly will be a vast improvement over the current G4-based Mac mini.
AnandTech tests iMac G5 vs iMac Core Duo and Solo
AnandTech has posted a fairly extensive set of benchmarks comparing the iMac G5 1.9 GHz vs iMac Core Duo 1.83 GHz. Interestingly, this article also tests the Core Solo 1.83 GHz configuration, by deactivating one of the iMac Core Duo's cores using the developer tools.
Their conclusion is one that I agree with: If you need a computer now to do very basic things such as what can be done with Apple's iLife and iWork applications, the iMac Core Duo is an excellent and fast solution. However, if you need anything substantial that is not a universal binary then you'd better think twice. I personally will be waiting until at least late 2006 or possibly even 2007 before I buy my first Intel Mac. Rosetta translation is a significant achievement, but it can only take you so far when you want to do real work with your applications. Don't forget about drivers for your third party hardware either, since existing drivers may or may not work with the new Intel machines.
Their conclusion is one that I agree with: If you need a computer now to do very basic things such as what can be done with Apple's iLife and iWork applications, the iMac Core Duo is an excellent and fast solution. However, if you need anything substantial that is not a universal binary then you'd better think twice. I personally will be waiting until at least late 2006 or possibly even 2007 before I buy my first Intel Mac. Rosetta translation is a significant achievement, but it can only take you so far when you want to do real work with your applications. Don't forget about drivers for your third party hardware either, since existing drivers may or may not work with the new Intel machines.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
iDVD '06 supports auto pan and scan on 16:9 DVDs
I finally got the chance to play around with iDVD in iLife '06. The new widescreen support is welcome, but this new feature comes with another uncommon but interesting feature too. The widescreen DVDs created by iDVD support the automatic pan and scan functionality built into all standalone DVD players.
For the five years I have owned my Panasonic RP91, I have left its automatic 4:3 pan and scan feature active. Despite this, I have never once come across a commercial DVD that allowed this mode for playback of its anamorphic 16:9 widescreen movie content... until now. For reasons outlined in the auto pan and scan description linked above, the studios almost never enable this feature for anamorphic movies, so I find it curious that Apple has chosen to do so, especially since it appears that Apple has made this feature mandatory on all widescreen discs produced by iDVD '06.
For the five years I have owned my Panasonic RP91, I have left its automatic 4:3 pan and scan feature active. Despite this, I have never once come across a commercial DVD that allowed this mode for playback of its anamorphic 16:9 widescreen movie content... until now. For reasons outlined in the auto pan and scan description linked above, the studios almost never enable this feature for anamorphic movies, so I find it curious that Apple has chosen to do so, especially since it appears that Apple has made this feature mandatory on all widescreen discs produced by iDVD '06.
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