720p video files glitchy when viewed on TV via HDMI

Hello,

When watching downloaded 720p mkv video files (I use the latest version of VLC), the video is often glitchy/dropping frames. The audio is fine (though that is coming from the headphone jack so is seemingly unrelated).

My MacBook is 2.0 GHZ, 256MB RAM, Snow Leopard latest build, using mini-DVI to HDMI adapter. It is not an OEM Apple adapter; it was purchased from Amazon.com and came with an HDMI cable. I'm unsure of the quality of the cable.

I'm troubleshooting to find out if my MacBook is just a bit too old/not up to snuff for what I'm trying to do, or if my issue can be resolved using a higher quality HDMI cable or adapter?

Not sure this matters but i'm viewing on a 46" Samsung E Class LCD HDTV.

Any help would be appreciated, let me know if any clarification is needed or if this is not the proper place for this thread!

My thanks in advance
Jeff

Does it work fine when you're not connected to a TV?

from what I recall it does work fine, though I don't watch them on my laptop nearly as often so I will make sure tonight.

If it DOES work fine on my laptop but NOT on the TV, what would your conclusion be?

maintreqd said:

from what I recall it does work fine, though I don't watch them on my laptop nearly as often so I will make sure tonight.

If it DOES work fine on my laptop but NOT on the TV, what would your conclusion be?

Click to expand...

Most likely culprit would be the cable. Try swapping that out and see if it fixes the issue.

schweb said:

Most likely culprit would be the cable. Try swapping that out and see if it fixes the issue.

Click to expand...

So there's no reason to believe there are different drivers in play when another display is connected that could be lagging due to lack in processor power/available memory? This was my suspicion being that the laptop is a bit old (purchased nov 2007), but i must admit it does still run quite well and rarely lags, unless i'm using a memory intensive program like Photoshop or something of the sort.

I can try purchasing a premium HDMI cable and giving it a go if we think this is the issue. It's hard to believe there would be such a difference in framerate lag between cables, I always just thought lesser quality cables would produce a less clear picture but not really affect framerate.

Nothing wrong with the laptop, it should easily handle that.

The cable you purchased could just be bad or poor quality or the DVI-HDMI adapter could also be bad.

If you were truly dropping frames and lagging it would also affect the audio, so it's most likely a cable or adapter issue.

schweb said:

Nothing wrong with the laptop, it should easily handle that.

The cable you purchased could just be bad or poor quality or the DVI-HDMI adapter could also be bad.

If you were truly dropping frames and lagging it would also affect the audio, so it's most likely a cable or adapter issue.

Click to expand...

so good to know. Thank you for the help and for the speedy replies!

it is most likely a setting on your hdtv. On Sony models the setting is called CineMotion. I had the same problem and it was driving me crazy trying to figure out what was causing the clitchy playback. Truning this setting on the hdtv off solved it instantly. So, turn all "image enhancing" settings on your tv off and see if that helps.