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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Dvd Player Freezes On 10.4.3

SuperOwl - Nov 12, 2005 - 9:04 am

I own a 20" iMac G5 1.8MHz running 10.4.3.

When using DVD Player v4.6.1 to play movies, within a few seconds of starting, the movie stutters and then may continue until the next stutter (visuals get choppy) while the sound continues until it very quickly gets to the point where both visual and audio freezes and the movie becomes unwatchable. I then have to force quit the application. If I try to watch the movie again - the process repeats. While the problem is happening I get the spinning beach ball of death until a force quit.

I have trashed DVD settings folder as well as .plist file in Preferences folder and several restarts and yet the problem persists. I can't seem to find an answer to this problem on forums anywhere as far as I can tell. I don't appear to have any other problem with Tiger, so far!

I would very much appreciate any light you can throw on this issue. I am very familiar with using a Mac (graphic design), but have very little knowledge using Terminal, but am willing to try!

Many thanks

Alan

philippe99 - Nov 12, 2005 - 9:32 am

Alan, welcome to macosx.com

Could try the VLC player (www.videolan.org) and see if, with the same DVDs, the movie is till chopyy ?
Is that occurs with one specific movie or with all ?

Regards
Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 12, 2005 - 9:14 pm

Thanks, Philippe, for your reply.

I have just tried VLC player, as you suggested, and the problems are exactly the same. Movies are still choppy and frames freeze while the audio continues. Eventually both video and audio freeze and I have to force quit.

In the beginning, I never had problems like this but it has occurred more frequently in the last couple of weeks. The iMac G5 CPU (1.8MHz) is obviously fast enough to cope with video as it used to be OK. I have no idea where the problem is, but now with VLC player doing the same thing - it doesn't appear that DVD Player is where the problem lies.

Thanks again and I look forward to any other ideas you might have.

Cheers
Alan

philippe99 - Nov 13, 2005 - 4:27 am

Ok, may I guess this occurs when you play the DVD right in the optical drive ?

One thing you can do is
(1a) make an image (DiskUtility) of the DVD and mount it
(2a) using DVDPlayer/VLC to view it
or
(1b) rip the DVD onto your hard drive (using for instance MacTheRipper)
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22715
(2b)MTR will create a VIDEO_TS; open it through VLC and/or DVD player

Well, I want to test if the problem is related to the drive or to the CPU

Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 13, 2005 - 4:42 am

Hi Philippe

I have already been using MTR created VIDEO_TS files with VLC & DVD players. Same choppy/freezing results. If it was the CPU, surely this problem would have occurred from the very beginning?? Could something else be sapping CPU cycles?

Many thanks

Alan

philippe99 - Nov 13, 2005 - 6:06 am

Well, in Applications/utility, launch Activity monitor and watch what hangs the CPU; possible culprits
* DSL USB modem driver
* Stuffit stuffs
* P2P daemon.

What you can do is
(1) create a new account and test
(2) unplug every external devices (including Web access) and test

My opinion: if with (1) or (2), still choppy -> yes something with cpu/logic board

I know that PM G5 1.8 Ghz have severe issue with Tiger, but never heard about iMac G5

On the other hand, Imac G5 first generation (rev A), especially the ones bought in between April04-November04 faces hardware problem

Could run the Apple Hardware Test..
* by booting on the AHT disc
or if not
* by booting on the install DVD disc1, then select the AHT partition , whihc is a specific partitioon dedicated for testing the machine

Run AHT in loop and writes down any message issued

Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 14, 2005 - 8:28 am

Hi Philippe

Sorry I haven't been able to reply till now.

I created a new account and played VIDEO_TS file with DVD Player and all seem to go very well for about 5 mins...and then a freeze! Then I unplugged everything from the back of the iMac and it has been great with no freezes so far.

What is normally plugged into the back is:

• ethernet cable leading to shared (one other desktop computer) Netgear DG814 router
• modem cable for iMac's internal modem to phone line
• firewire cable for iPod
• firewire cable for iSight
• usb cable leading to 4 port USB hub (1.1) for Iomega Zip drive (only this zip drive is connected to hub)
• lead to stereo speakers

Have no idea which of all these could be a culprit!!

Have not tried your other options as video played well the whole time.

Thanks for isolating the problem area - at least my movies are watchable now!

Any thoughts on which of the above devices could cause freezes?

Cheers
Alan

philippe99 - Nov 14, 2005 - 9:23 am

Well, no indeed..but I will pay first attention to the router and the iSight
Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 14, 2005 - 9:41 am

Thanks for all your help Philippe.

I'll keep an eye on the router, but have no idea what to do if it is indeed the router causing the problems.

The iSight is connected but not switched on (ie it is not engaged, the lens is closed).

One other odd thing, when I tried to use Activity Monitor as you suggested earlier, it starts up and the icon on the dock shows up for a second then disappears again. I can't get it to load no matter how many times I try - it's probably not related but thought I'd mention it.

Many thanks again for your prompt replies and help.

Regards

Alan

philippe99 - Nov 14, 2005 - 10:05 am

Do you already repair permissions ?
Applications/Utilities;launch DiskUtility;select your drive on the left, then on the right, click on "Repair permissions"..

Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 14, 2005 - 8:25 pm

I've repaired permissions and Activity Monitor loads and works now.

Re freezes: I haven't had time yet to check with more movies but on my last check all was well with dvd player and playback. I have a sneaky suspicion it could be MailCall Carbon, a utility to check mail at intervals of 15mins. I didn't think of this before because for the 1st few weeks there were no freezes, no problems at all. It's still a mystery why problems start out of the blue. Your testing procedure, narrowing it down to possibly router/pulling out all cables, has revealed a possible source as MailCall must go through the router to collect mail. Activity monitor also shows it to take up significantly more cpu cycles than anything else - not huge but enough maybe to interfere with movies. Will keep an eye on the situation.

Thanks again for seeing this through with me!

Cheers
Alan

philippe99 - Nov 15, 2005 - 12:36 am

Yes, such tool -like p2p daemon- can interfere with high consuming application like playing movies.
Happy we both narrow the issue and thank you fo using macosx.com
Regards
Philippe

SuperOwl - Nov 15, 2005 - 3:47 am

Thanks so much again! Everything's working!

You've been terrific and responsive.

All the best - Happy Xmas!!

Alan

philippe99 - Nov 15, 2005 - 10:48 am

Merry Xmas also and best wishes from Belgium
Philippe