09Ultra

Q: PPC G5 Bluray Player

I purchased an external bluray player but cannot seem to fine a compatible player for my G5. Anyone know where I might find one.

 

I purchased Blu-Ray Player for my new mac Book Pro and it works great but will only work on mac's with the Intel proc.

 

Thanks!

Mac Pro

Posted on Mar 12, 2013 6:41 PM

Close

Q: PPC G5 Bluray Player

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by BitterCreek,

    BitterCreek BitterCreek Mar 13, 2013 9:39 PM in response to 09Ultra
    Level 1 (100 points)
    Mar 13, 2013 9:39 PM in response to 09Ultra

    PowerPC Macs cannot play BluRay video. They have neither the OS support or the processing power to decode the video.

  • by romko23,

    romko23 romko23 Mar 14, 2013 12:01 AM in response to BitterCreek
    Level 2 (395 points)
    Mar 14, 2013 12:01 AM in response to BitterCreek

    Not entirely true.. for most low end PPC Macs this is true.. but for those with a Dual-Core or Quad G5 there is VLC Player which does allow video playback od Blu-Ray movies. Also, Toast 10 and Dragon Burn provide support for using blu-ray as a storage medium..

     

    As for a native PPC Blu-Ray player, none exist to my knowledge, but VLC is the closest one can come to viewing blu-ray movies..

     

    Again, I would recommend a blu-ray player for its emense storage primarily, but also for video playback on the last G5's and maybe, just maybe the last 1.42 MDD or FW800 G4. G5 would be highly recommended.

  • by BitterCreek,

    BitterCreek BitterCreek Mar 14, 2013 12:22 AM in response to romko23
    Level 1 (100 points)
    Mar 14, 2013 12:22 AM in response to romko23

    Actually its completely true. A Quad-Core G5 barely has enough power to decode a Blu-Ray video, and even then it will drop a significant number of frames. To rip a blu-ray in Handbrake and encode it to H.264 takes a Quad G5 more than an entire day to complete, while a base 2.66 Mac Pro can do it faster than real-time.

     

    There is no G4 ever made, or upgrade G4 CPU available, that is powerful enough to play 1080p video without dropping frames. Only the dual 2.7 and Quad 2.5 G5's have enough power to play 1080p watchably. The dual core 2.3 G5 does not.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Mar 14, 2013 12:19 PM in response to BitterCreek
    Level 6 (13,927 points)
    iPad
    Mar 14, 2013 12:19 PM in response to BitterCreek

    I can attest to that.

    Sometimes my PM G4 MDD could play some 1080p videos. Some with minimal frame drop. Some with serious frame dropping. Some 1080p it could not play at all. I'd get audio with a black screen.

  • by romko23,

    romko23 romko23 Mar 16, 2013 12:07 AM in response to BitterCreek
    Level 2 (395 points)
    Mar 16, 2013 12:07 AM in response to BitterCreek

    Well, since I don't encode blu-ray I wouldn't know.. but I have played blu-ray movies via VLC and it does work nicely. I even use clicktoplugin and clicktoflash which allow me to watch blu-ray movies through youtube using Quicktime. Everything plays rather smoothly.