I have a 1.42GHz, 512K RAM MAC Mini. I can run 420p content with no problem. However, 720p or greater content does not run well. I get sound, but video freezes immediately.

Question....Would more RAM (1 gb) help out in this situation or do I need to step up to the newer mini's with faster processors?

I have a 1.42GHz, 512K RAM MAC Mini. I can run 420p content with no problem. However, 720p or greater content does not run well. I get sound, but video freezes immediately.

Question....Would more RAM (1 gb) help out in this situation or do I need to step up to the newer mini's with faster processors?You aren't going to get much above 480p with a G4 PPC chip. I get about 1 fps with my 1.67 GHz G4 PowerBook on 720p and 1080i content.

Agreed, don't throw good money after bad, dump that mini and get at least a 1.83 CD or C2D. I had the 1.42 mini running Tiger with 1GB of RAM in the HT, and it was very nice for its time and yes, going to 1GB really helped; as soon as the Intel Macbooks were released I passed the mini down to a family member. Remember:

1) it's not gigabit,
2) doesn't have built-in digital audio out,
3) can't take advantage of Leopard's improved DVD Player app, in addition to
5) not having enough oomph for high def.

So, if you think about it, that PPC mini can't even cut it as an iTunes and dvd extender anymore. So go Intel.

Also, if you eventually hope to play some of those 1080p mkv downloads floating around, or even 1080i that you've recorded from QAM or ATSC at the best deinterlacing setting in EyeTV, which El Gato calls "progressive scan," you'll be better off with at least 2 gigs of RAM and >2.0GHz C2D.

The short answer is: No, more RAM is not going to help.

I did some previous testing, and posted here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10594397#post10594397

My 1.42GHz G4 Mini could almost keep up with 720p MPEG2, but was not good enough to be usable. 1080i was well outside the capabilities of the G4.

The only thing in the G4 Mini's favor is its arguably better discrete GPU, the Radeon. That GPU does have MPEG2 offload capabilities, which are not accessible in Mac OS X -- or even via Linux.

There has been an ongoing effort to reverse engineer Apple's internal use of the MPEG2 accel, to use it in other apps. Just last week, MythFrontend 0.21 was released with MPEG2 acceleration available. I've tested it on my Core Duo Mini, but not yet on my G4. It should make 720p playback work just fine, and maybe allow 1080i in the future (accelerated 1080i decoding hasn't worked in my Core Duo).

Of course, that doesn't help non-MythTV users, but presumably that acceleration could be integrated into general purpose video players.

Thanks for the replies. I love the Mac Mini as a HTPC, and may step up to the Intel Mini.