Apple DVD Player: How to Reduce Skipping or Stuttering

Movies may occasionally skip or stutter when you watch them from a DVD-Video disc on your computer. This article can help you reduce or eliminate skipping and stuttering.
Mac OS X and Mac OS 9


Outdated Software
Make sure you have installed the latest version of the Mac OS and Apple DVD Player software. You can install the latest versions using the Software Update control panel (Mac OS 9) or preference pane (Mac OS X). You should also update to the latest version of QuickTime, which can be downloaded from (http://www.apple.com/quicktime).

Other Open Applications
Some application programs periodically access the hard disk while they are open. Common examples of this are programs with an auto-save feature and email programs that check email on a regular schedule. To ensure that open applications don't interfere with movie playback, quit all open applications before watching a movie from a DVD-Video disc.


Virtual Memory
In Mac OS 9, virtual memory should be turned on when playing DVD movies. Virtual memory can be turned on in the Memory control panel. Changes take effect after restarting. With Mac OS X, virtual memory is always on.

Color Bit Depth
Sometimes decreasing the color bit depth can directly reduce skipping. Set the colors to Thousands and then open the Apple DVD Player application. The movie plays in full color and is not affected by this setting.

Dual-Layered DVD Discs
Movies that come on dual-layered DVD-Video discs can pause up to a second when switching to the second layer. Newer titles that use this technology and are susceptible to skipping/stuttering have a warning on the back of the case. Other titles use an advanced form of duplication that prevents this behavior. These behaviors are not specific to Apple computers. They happen on every DVD player.

Clean disc
Smudges, scratches, debris, and other anomalies on a disc's surface can interfere with an enjoyable viewing experience. You should make sure the disc is clean before playing it.


Mac OS 9 only


Network Time Server
If you have set the Date & Time control panel to use a Network Time Server, an invisible background application periodically attempts to connect to a server. This can briefly interrupt a movie's playback. To prevent this from happening, deselect Use a Network Time Server in the Date & Time control panel before watching a movie.

DHCP Servers
If the TCP/IP control panel is set to connect to the Internet using a DHCP server, but you aren't connected to the Internet, or if the DHCP server is not available, your computer may pause every five minutes or so. This pause causes the movie to stutter. To prevent this from happening, temporarily make TCP/IP inactive in the TCP/IP control panel. You may need to change the User Mode to Advanced in order to do this.

Extensions and Control Panels
A third-party extension or control panel could cause occasional delays in the system, affecting any real-time playback. Use the Extensions Manager control panel to reduce your extensions set.

Appearance Sounds
Enabling an Appearance sound track (from the Sound tab in the Appearance control panel) can cause sounds to stutter in the Apple DVD Player and other applications that play real-time audio. Make sure Appearance sound tracks are turned off. You may need to restart the computer before the sound quality improves.

Speakable Items
Having Speakable Items turned on can tax the processor enough to cause stutter in Apple DVD Player. Turn Speakable Items off in the Speech control panel while watching movies.

AirPort
If your computer uses AirPort, use the AirPort application or control strip module to turn off AirPort networking.

Sherlock Indexing
In Sherlock, open the Find menu and choose Index Volumes, and remove the mark from the Use Schedule checkbox for all of the volumes listed.

AppleTalk
AppleTalk and File Sharing can slow the computer down and cause skipping. Follow these steps to make AppleTalk inactive:

Published Date: Feb 20, 2012