warhelmet wrote:
> I want to use my old iMac G3 as a media center. I've got Gigabit
> ethernet, so I can steam content happily enough. I'm running OS9. Is
> there a reasonable media player that will cope with modern video
> formats?
>
No.
QT 6.0.3 will work with many incidental MPEGs out there, including
some early MPEG 4 formats, but nothing on classic will handle modern
WMVs or H.264..
And furthermore, none of the G3 iMacs had 1000Mbit Eithernet. Apple
was the first company to mass producce Gigabit Eithernet, but they
didn't start until the G4s. The best you can do is 100Mbit. It's
hardwired on the logic board.
For audio, you're considerably better off, because there are some good
programs that can run AAC, Ogg Vorbis, and LAME MP3 on OS 9. I use
Audion 3. A G3 running 9.2.2 can make a excellent jukebox. I'm sure
there's even better options for OS X.
You might consider maxing out the RAM and running Panther or Tiger,
but bear in mind that your CPU and video will be the biggest single
bottleneck to playback. The G3 iMacs maxed out at 700Mhz and with
16Mbit integrated video. I wouldn't even try high performance video on
a G3 iMac.
Flash is also NOTORIOUSLY bad on G3s, but there's some hackened ways
to get around this if you like using Youtube:
http://lowendmac.com/mail/0802mb/0206.html
- John
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