Why do my movie trailers judder?

QI help at a local cinema, using a dated laptop to project trailers. Some hesitate or stutter, which can be disconcerting for the audience. My investigations suggest that the affected files’ data rate exceeds the machine’s capabilities.

I am out of my depth as to how to resolve this conflict. The PC is a Toshiba Satellite L100-171, running Windows XP Home with 1GB of memory. It has no other use, and I disabled its internet and email capabilities.

Atheoretically transcode video files to a lower resolution, and that would in turn reduce the likelihood of stuttering during playback. If you want to try that, then see our answer to the ‘Problem of the Fortnight’ on page 64, as the free Handbrake program will do the job (see screenshot). However, a paying cinema audience might not appreciate pixelated images projected onto the big screen.

Simply, the hardware is not up to the job that you’re asking it to do. So, speak to your bosses and demand some better equipment. You’ve already reached the correct conclusion – your laptop simply isn’t up to the job.

You didn’t specify the data rate of the files you’re asking this ancient laptop to render, but if they’re Full HD (ie, 1080p), you cannot expect smooth playback on a computer running a 16-year-old operating system powered by a basic processor –the Intel Celeron.

We’re afraid there’s no magic solution here. You could