Video Stutter/Sticking - Not Smooth

Hopefully you've already solved this issue, but for anyone else who might stumble across this thread ... I *think* the answer is "aspect ratio". Check your video display for setting relating to the aspect ratio, and turn off anything that might be meant to resize the image. ( Maybe the problem has to do with the video card and the monitor both trying to scale the image at the same time? )

I changed the resolution on my Mac Mini to 1080p30 and changed my monitor from "WIDE" aspect ratio to "1:1". I can't say it is 100% perfect at this point, but it is greatly improved ... I get one or two stutters at the beginning ov the video then smooth sailing after that.

AND - I completely eliminated the stutter by using my thunderbolt port instead of HDMI.

Yes I've been having the same issue. I just bought the mac mini 2.3 i5 with intel graphics and I cant play Hulu,Netflix,Espn3,Itunes movies without the constant stutter. This is my first Mac, I was very excited to replace my bulky HP thats hooked up to my 32"LCD with the new mac mini and use it as a media pc. I still haven't been able to watch a show without any stuttering or black screen. I think the problem is a combination of video driver and Adobe flash player. I just hope they come out with a fix fast both apple and adobe.

Yes i'm having similar problems with Mac mini with intel graphics. So hopefully this can be addressed soon.This is also my first mac so i'm not off to a good start.

The issue with iTunes material is not just limited

to the new Mac Mini. My mid 2010 Mini has the same issues

with iTunes purchased content after updating to Lion.

iTunes video content was just fine when using 10.6.8.

I will however say that all my other material plays flawlessly.

This includes 1080p content with bitrates as high as 38 magabit/sec.

Netflix and Hulu work pretty good. There does seem to be

the occasional random "hiccup", but that has happened from

day one of these services and was most likely a server issue

on their end not keeping up with demand.

Ever since I got my Mac Mini almost a year ago to use

as an HTPC, it seems every other update/upgrade breaks

some facet of iTunes purchased material. As a history:

OSX 10.6.3 - Mini new and loved having the ability to download

movies, both HD and SD, and watching them on

my TV.

OSX 10.6.4 - Something in OSX breaks HD playback. Get occasional

video hiccups 2 to 4 times while watching a movie.

Sometimes more, but never the same number or in

the same place in any given movie.

OSX 10.6.5 - no help

OSX 10.6.6 - iTunes HD issue finally fixed. However, now any

material imported into iTunes that has Dolby content

will only play the syereo track. Attempting to play

with Dolby causes movie to freeze. Does not continue

to play unless stereo track selected.

OSX 10.6.7 - Didn't break any thing. Didn't fix anything either.

OSX 10.6.8 - Breaks audio to varying degrees on all material and

playback software. In some cases, audio disabled

completely. In majority of cases, like mine, if a Dolby

or DTS source is played, standard audio(system sounds)

and stereo sources silenced. Only fixed by reboot.

OSX 10.6.8 v1.1(why this nomenclature?) - Fixes audio issue 10.6.8

caused.

OSX 10.7 - Carries along the same audio bug that was in 10.6.8. And

now iTunes purchased HD movies completely unwatchable

due to repeated stalls every few minutes.

A few questions I have:

Do the people working on OSX have any comunnication whatsoever

with those that work on developing Apple's hardware and Apple's software?

Do they even care?

Do they only focus on making sure things work on their highend

products and let the public "beta" the rest?

Don't get me wrong, I have been a staunch Apple supporter since my

first MacPlus (when I was called a "MacBully" because my system

had one megabyte of RAM). It does appear to me though, that things

are starting to slip!

Both applications I am using to playback

my non-Apple media, PLEX and XBMC, both

take over the entire screen. Although, I only

use XBMC to playback DVD's and use PLEX

for everything else. XBMC, in my opinion,

has the best rendering engine for DVD material.

Apple's DVD Player and even PLEX produce

grainy images. PLEX has the best rendering engines

for the various HD formats (h.264,VC-1).

My TV is only 32" but it is 1080 native.

Sadly, I too am experiencing these exact symptoms. Oddly, though, I can play hi-def iTunes movies I purchased several months ago (Toy Story I and II). Perhaps since these are computer generated movies they have lower bit-rates that don't stree the bug.

The movies play fine on my year old MBP, although the screen resolution is 1680x1050 rather than the full 1080p of the 55" Sumsung display connected to my new Mini.

I have also experienced these issues. I have been continuing to use the system for about a week (I bought the Mini last Sunday - i5 4GB with higher end GFX card option.

I now strongly suspect that it is the use of HDTV's as monitors is the core issue here. I'l be testing my mac mini tonight using a regular computer monitor to test the theory.

I came to this conclusion when I realized that it wasn't just video that was funky, but that my mouse coursor movement simply wasn't as snappy and responsive as on my iMac. Sometimes it would be fine, then sometimes it lagged. If this lag was being continually comprensated for by the Mini, the video juddering symptoms would make sense.

I'll let you know how the testing goes.

I have done a little additional testing myself.

I took an iTunes purchased HD episode of

Warehouse13 and tried to watch it on my Mac Mini.

Severe stalling to the point of unwatchability.

Wathced the same episode on my early 2009 iMac

with no issue. Also, watched the same episode

on my 2011 13" Macbook Pro i7 without issue.

The MBP was on the internal screen only. Was

thinking of connecting it to my TV, but there has

been threads of MBP and external displays so

wouldn't be sure what the problem source would be,

if there was one.

Macbookjimbo, I don't think screen size is all that relevent

as my TV is only a 32".

I also don't think the issue has anything to do with any

hardware. The culprit is the Lion OS as I had none of

these issues whem Snow Leopard was installed on

my system.

Something to note Macbookjimbo, the trailers that you

downloaded do not have any DRM on them which may

also be part of the issue with iTunes material.

OK after testing last night found that it appeared fine on a regular computer monitor so I figured it must be related to the HDTV.

I simply switched to a differnt HDMI port on the TV and found that i was no longer experiencing issues.

I also disabled an option that my Samsung TV has called Anynet+ which allows for remote control of devices connected to the TV via HDMI. I suspect this may have helped also.

I will be watching for more clues over the next week.