H.264 playback on Linux is a nightmare. Libavcodec can only do single-threaded decoding, which makes playing 1080p content practically impossible. Even my 3.2Ghz Core 2 Duo can't keep up in scenes full of motion or film grain. The same files play fine in Quicktime on my 2Ghz Macbook.
In addition, many postprocessing options are inefficient and actually decrease video quality. For example: the default settings in both VLC and XBMC cause video to slowly get blockier and oversaturated until a new keyframe comes in. Again, the same videos look fine when played in Quicktime, and I've seen this issue across platforms.
Another problem I've had is that I'll often see a single row of green pixels at the bottom of the screen. It's probably caused by some sort of off-by-one error.
All of these sorts of annoyances accumulate to become infuriating. No commercial product would be released in such a state.
In addition, many postprocessing options are inefficient and actually decrease video quality. For example: the default settings in both VLC and XBMC cause video to slowly get blockier and oversaturated until a new keyframe comes in. Again, the same videos look fine when played in Quicktime, and I've seen this issue across platforms.
Another problem I've had is that I'll often see a single row of green pixels at the bottom of the screen. It's probably caused by some sort of off-by-one error.
All of these sorts of annoyances accumulate to become infuriating. No commercial product would be released in such a state.