[vlc] "Process Bloat" - Degrading OS X Performance

[galenz at zinkconsulting.com]

Hello,

When I run VLC with XviD-encoded content for a long time, it  
progressively uses more and more CPU until the video begins to skip.  
Restarting VLC does not resolve the issue. The more of the CPU the  
video uses, the sooner the problem appears. DVD-resolution XviD takes  
dozens of hours to exhibit this problem on a 1.33 GHz G4, but higher  
resolution files become a problem much quicker - a few hours at the  
most before 540 x 960 XviD becomes choppy on the same machine. Top  
reports no other applications are using a significant amount of CPU.  
renicing the VLC process to maximum priority doesn't solve the problem.

I've been tracking this interesting issue with VLC 0.8.x under Mac OS  
10.4.x. I've reinstalled OS X fresh, etc. and found it does not go  
away. I've checked CPU performance settings, etc. The disk  
performance does not change. Allowing the computer to "sleep" and  
cool down has no impact. Basically, there's no logical reason for  
this to be happening, except some sort of a "leak" within the OS/kernel.

Interestingly, the amount of CPU time used by "top" also  
progressively increases - a sort of "process bloat." After a fresh  
reboot, top uses several percent of the cpu.... by the time we're  
done, top may be using 20, 30% of the CPU. I can leave a single top  
process running, or spawn a new one, the results will be the same. I  
have also observed this happens when OS X is used for very extended  
periods, but normally these kinds of numbers would represent weeks of  
very intense OS X use... VLC playing higher resolution video can  
drive top to 20 or 30% in just hours.

I realize this may partially be an OS issue, but no other  
applications I have ever seen cause this problem to emerge so  
rapidly. Any comments or insight as to what's going on? It gets to  
the point where I get watching HD XviD and find myself regularly  
rebooting so I can keep watching.

-Galen

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