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!

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4 Responses to “How to fix slow Front Row”

  1. Zoe Says:

    Will this speed up iPhoto too? Got a MacBook 2GHz and can’t BELIEVE Front Row is this slow with iPhoto…

  2. Matt Says:

    I’m guessing it probably won’t, as iPhoto won’t use video codecs. Can’t hurt to try though!

  3. Steve Appleby Says:

    Been having similar problems with slow response when browsing Movies via Front Row. Perian has sorted out the problem, thanks.

  4. Matt Says:

    Glad it helped, Steve. 🙂