How to fix slow Front Row
Front Row can be slow as molasses sometimes, particularly when browsing the Movies folder. Sometimes it locks up for over a minute before it moves from one item to the next – presumably while it attempts to render a preview of the movie.
After nearly dying of boredom while waiting to watch a movie one time, I decided to rummage around on the Apple forums, and found the solution: The Perian codec I had installed (0.5) needed updating. I grabbed the latest 1.0 version, upgraded, and restarted the Mac. Problem solved. (It still takes a few seconds to enter the Movies folder, but not the 1-minute-plus that it previously took.)
So if you’re gnashing your teeth wondering why Front Row is taking ages to browse the Movies folder – check your codecs!
October 28th, 2007 at 1:56 am
Will this speed up iPhoto too? Got a MacBook 2GHz and can’t BELIEVE Front Row is this slow with iPhoto…
October 31st, 2007 at 4:12 am
I’m guessing it probably won’t, as iPhoto won’t use video codecs. Can’t hurt to try though!
March 11th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Been having similar problems with slow response when browsing Movies via Front Row. Perian has sorted out the problem, thanks.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Glad it helped, Steve. 🙂