There are a couple of issues here. First, what format is the video? pI3 (on any version of Windows) has better AVI support than WMV support I think, although the difference is probably in if you have the "use new method of loading AVIs" preference checked or not. If it's not checked, you won't be able to load DV AVIs, but I think you'll get better performance when loading other AVI files. WMV always uses the "new" method of loading, which has support for more formats but is slower.
There could also be OpenGL issues when drawing the frame. The "do not use texture RAM for bg images" Preference is the one that controls this. Try it both checked and unchecked and see if it makes a difference in framerates when no emitter is present.
Hope this helps.
Alan.
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Alan Lorence
Product Manager
GenArts, Inc.
http://www.genarts.com
http://www.wondertouch.com