I spent $15 on CoreAVC for OSX today. I already knew that it would not pass AC3, but I wanted to measure what potential it had for h.264 playback on a mini. I installed CoreAVC on my 1.66 CD mini by mistake (it's locked to a serial number when you buy and I had the wrong number written down) instead of the 1.83 C2D which would have given the player a better chance to work well. However, it turned out that the lesser platform was the right test because CoreAVC could play (video only) any h.264 sample I could find. A good example was "Over the Hedge" which was 1920x1072 at 24fps. VLC statistics show a max stream rate of 15k. I don't know if VLC is accurate because it simply chokes on this movie. The max CPU I saw was about 130%. With CoreAVC, this sample was completely smooth!

On it's support forum, Corecodec is taking a lot of flac for the lack of pass through. They are promising audio decoders in the future, but I don't understand what they would do with 6 channels of AC3 audio whence decoded. Is there a standard 6ch API for usb sound output? On Windows they use these media splitters. I hope they get a clue and look at the VLC source code to find out how to pass through audio to the SPDIF!

This is good news for Mac HTPC owners. I'd be interested in hear additional updates. Have you tried a variety of 1080p files? Also, have you had a chance to try out the latest version of OSXBMC (0.1.3)? I'm curious to see what the performance quality differences are between the two. It looks like the FFmpeg guys are working on hard performance improvements.

I'm looking to jump into a Mini C2D 2.0 but want to make sure it can handle now (or at least in the future) 1080p MKV's (10 - 11k rates) before I make the leap.

It's a bummer the initial release of the CorePlayer doesn't support passthrough of any kind :(

I also tried the coreavc player on a 1.66 core duo mac mini with two 1080p .mkv : Spiderman 3 and 2001 space odyssey.

It's amazing how is smooth , same as my test on the same mini but with windows media center and coreavc codec (and it's definitively better than xbmc and other ffmpeg stuff)

But :

- it's a pity to not have ac3 passthrough
- the zoom option doesn't work
- the aspect pixel ratio doesn't work
- the default skin is ugly for a mac user

but it's a beginning and they have to fix this passthrough gap which is not acceptable even for 10 euros software...

i continue to use xbmc

The audio side of things needs more work (not just the passthrough issues, but the synthesiser itself sounds poor, quite noticeable when comparing FLAC and WAV files with how they sound using VLC, quicktime, etc), but as far as video is concerned I have nothing but praise for it. Prior to this nothing I used would give me smooth playback of 1080p H264/MKVs on my G5, but CoreAVC managed it with zero dropped frames.

For now I'm keeping it as a backup for files which VLC and MPlayer find dicky, but a few more firmware updates and this might be quite the player.

For the "Over the Hedge" sample, OSXBMC 0.1.3 dropped 371 frames in the one minute sample while CoreAVC didn't drop any. On a sample with fewer pixels per frame such as LOTR (1920x800) OSXBMC only dropped 56 frames in a two minute sample. It was quite watchable.

Thanks for the comparison info. It basically confirms what I suspected in that CoreAVC will most likely the best method for video decoding, while XBMC looks to be the best "complete" package. Hopefully we'll get to a point sometime soon that allows the best of breed components to be mixed and matched (e.g., independant CoreAVC codec with XBMC).

It's pretty clear Apple has a different vision for penetrating the "HTPC" market. I'm just happy that high quality options are starting to pop up with active development for OSX!

John

A new release of coreavc player pro seems to be plan today with the ac3 plugin:)

A new release of coreavc player pro seems to be plan today with the ac3 plugin:)

Plans - Yes:

Per CoreCodec: "...we have already designed our AC3 decoder with specific functions for this."

Today - No.

I just bought it and AC3 is still a no-go. :(

But the MKV playback is RIDICULOUSLY better than anything else I've tried...including my beloved VLC!

Plans - Yes:

Per CoreCodec: "...we have already designed our AC3 decoder with specific functions for this."

Today - No.

I just bought it and AC3 is still a no-go. :(

But the MKV playback is RIDICULOUSLY better than anything else I've tried...including my beloved VLC!

Stupid non-techie question number 378: how did you purchase this? I googled CoreCodec, went through their website, no purchasing info what-so-ever...

Stupid non-techie question number 378: how did you purchase this? I googled CoreCodec, went through their website, no purchasing info what-so-ever...
http://www.mobihand.com/product.asp?id=16794

They sell it through a download service called MobiHand. Note that while the video playback is excellent, the software as a whole still fells a bit like a work in progress. Certainly useable, though.

http://www.mobihand.com/product.asp?id=16794

They sell it through a download service called MobiHand. Note that while the video playback is excellent, the software as a whole still fells a bit like a work in progress. Certainly useable, though.

Thanks!

Is there any technical reason why they would release this as a player instead of as a codec like they do for Windows?

I think that CorePlayer's performance is due to multi-threading. If you supply the entire player and codec, you can multi-thread however you want. Perhaps Quicktime's multi-thread architecture is not compatible with the CoreAVC codec, and they need more time to adapt to Quicktime from the Direct Show environment. Or maybe Quicktime just sucks and they can't get there from here.

This program is great, I can now get HD video to play on my 1.66 PowerBook G4. Can wait till it supports AC3 sound format.
I recommend this to everyone.

I can now get HD video to play on my 1.66 PowerBook G4.

That's amazing! Are you able to watch 1080p smoothly? Or just 720p?

Either way, this program is clearly a quantum leap forward when it comes to HD playback in OS X. HD on a G4?!?!??! Wow.

:D

Or maybe Quicktime just sucks and they can't get there from here.
Pretty much. My preference would be as a codec for VLC (considering VLC hates MKVs with a vengence), but you can't have everything.


That's amazing! Are you able to watch 1080p smoothly? Or just 720p?

Either way, this program is clearly a quantum leap forward when it comes to HD playback in OS X. HD on a G4?!?!??! Wow.

:D
Does someone want to take one for the team and fire up their 604e/G3? Of course, there's no chance it'll managed HD, but even getting SD H264 files running on one would be a major achievement.

Pretty much. My preference would be as a codec for VLC (considering VLC hates MKVs with a vengence).

I'd much prefer a VLC codec as well...since CoreAVC cannot handle my raw TS files and VLC can. But these are uptown problems, no? :)

Does someone want to take one for the team and fire up their 604e/G3? Of course, there's no chance it'll managed HD, but even getting SD H264 files running on one would be a major achievement.

The problem with taking one for the team is the price tag...I wish CoreAVC had a time-limited demo we could use to check out compatibility. I've got a 1.33 12" Powerbook I'd love to install it on...if I could be sure it would work. But I'm not gambling $15 on a machine-specific license that may end up being worthless.

But, seeing it tear through 1080p on my Intel Mini and Imac, makes getting it onto my laptop another uptown problem.

Downloaded the 1.2.1 update today. Still no AC3. Still holding my breath.....

Downloaded the 1.2.1 update today. Still no AC3. Still holding my breath.....
The forums say that AC3 is nigh, maybe a week or two away.

I don't understand the obsession with 1 player and 1 codec that does everything. One big advantage of an HTPC is you can use several codecs and several players. Maybe you need 2 to get the job done, no big deal. And you can use iTunes (or some day Amarok) to play your music.

Core AVC does multi-thread, but isn't one of the mac mini's above just a single-core machine? Just a further testament to its performance. Now, if they'd only put a Blu-Ray reader in the mac mini...

I don't understand the obsession with 1 player and 1 codec that does everything. One big advantage of an HTPC is you can use several codecs and several players. Maybe you need 2 to get the job done, no big deal.

This revolves around people preferring the simplest way to accomplish any given task. Basic human nature at work.

It's rare to find someone who prefers walking 100 steps to get something also available just 10 steps away.