iTunes 6.0 (#6): More on stuttering, low-quality video content
iTunes 6.0 (#6): More on stuttering, low-quality video content
We continue to cover an issue where videos purchased from the iTunes music store play back in a very jittery fashion, with regular skips and pauses. This appears to be due to a performance bottleneck in iTunes' use of the QuickTime playing mechanism, as users experiencing the problem report no similar playback issues when using the QuickTime Player itself.
MacFixIt reader Richard Peterson writes:
"I'm having the problem too. It doesn't seem to be memory related, since I get the same problem on a PowerBook with modest memory and a G5 dual loaded with memory. I've purchased a half-dozen videos and they perform terrible in iTunes."
Jim Piazza adds:
"I also am experiencing stuttering video in iTunes 6.0. All purchased video (Music video's, TV, Pixar shorts, etc.) has displayed the symptoms --occasional glitches in playback that result in a momentary pause, ranging from a split-second to a second or two. I have not tried local video's imported into iTunes, or exporting purchased videos outside of iTunes."
Meanwhile, other users report that video playback quality is lower in iTunes 6.0 than in QuickTime Player. A blurry image, less pronounced color and other distortion are reported in the former.
Note that you can open videos displayed in iTunes with the QuickTime Player via the following method:
- Press Command-R to reveal the movie file in the Finder
- Press Command-O to open the movie file in its default creator, QuickTime Player
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
- iTunes 6.0 (#5): Stuttering video content
- iTunes 6.0 (#4): Another workaround for problems installing; Inability to preview videos; more
- iTunes 6.0 (#3): No previews for TV shows -- fix; Old version of iTunes launches; Problems playing authorized tracks, solutions; more
- iTunes 6.0 (#2): General crashes -- try turning off haxies; hang on launch; Purchased music still not transferring; more
- iTunes 6.0 introduced -- TV shows, music videos, gifts; QuickTime 7.0.3 required
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