Playing Videos

[Planemike]

Wonder if anyone can help me? When I try to play videos off websites, they do not run continuously but keep stopping and a square in the middle keeps running through loading from 0 to 100%.


Thks in advance for any help.

[Avtrician]

Its most likely your internet connection, not able to load the video as fast as it plays. Its not an uncommon problem.

[mixture]

Planemike,

The technical word you're looking for is buffering.

In an ideal world, what SHOULD happen is that your web browser reads a little bit of the film content into memory (i.e. reads it into a memory buffer, hence buffering). The buffer then gives your browser a "head start", so it can start playback on the video whilst loading the remainder progressively in the background, either entirely or as a rolling buffer.

BUT.... if you have a slow internet connection, or the server at the other end is having problems, then you may well encounter buffering problems.

Videos play at 25-30 frames per second, and HD videos have large frame sizes .... so you can imagine, it doesn't take long for a browser to get through 30 frames and your internet connection can't keep up. Hence the video stops, because its eaten up all the buffer and has not been able to pull more data.

So, what to do :
(1) Make sure your browser and all plugins (e.g. Adobe Flash) are fully up to date
(2) Check your internet connection, talk to your ISP if necessary
(3) On sites like EweToob that offer the option, switch to a lower quality stream (i.e don't use HD feeds if your internet connection is obviously not up to the job).
(4) In the particular case of EweToob, their default streaming format is Adobe Flash. You can try switching EweToob to HTML5 mode and see if that helps. Unlikely to be the cause of buffering, but if you're getting desperate for things to try !!!

[Planemike]

Thks for the replies. I am now somewhat wiser. Not very "techie" but will try your suggestions, "mixture". Has never been brilliant but it has been better in the past.

[henry_crun]

What mixture said, plus:
Try watching at off-peak times, when your isp bandwidth may be less in demand.
Try downloading overnight and watching the next day.

[vulcanised]

Nowadays I always download from iPlayer as opposed to trying to watch streaming video for much the same reasons.

[sitigeltfel]

Click on this link (http://www.speedtest.net/) to test your connection speed and let us know what results you get.

[dazdaz1]

Just clicked, I need the great God Flash. Causers more troubles than it's free offering.

[Planemike]

siti.....


If I am reading it right...... around 0.09 - 0.10 Mbps....


Thks for you help and interest.

[henry_crun]

Er, just a note of caution, vids can burn through your data allowance in next to no time.

Example: I'm on 3G with an allowance of 10 GB per month. That's 330 MB a day.

As a rule of thumb vids can burn about 20 MB per minute. So on my contract 15 minutes of vid can burn a day's allowance. :eek:

This compares with my normal morning browse lots of ordinary web pages on several sites, usually 20 to 60 MB, no problem. :8

Mp3 music downloads are about 100 MB per one hour CD, so downloading a couple of ripped CDs is ok.

[Planemike]

For me not a problem, I am on a PC at home with an all inclusive charge irrespective of use......

[henry_crun]

That's good. Do you have a landline and is it broadband?

[sitigeltfel]

That is very slow. Who is your service provider and what speed does your contract offer?

[Planemike]

HC..... Yes, landline with broad band.


Sitig.... Understand this is slow. AOL, think they now call themselves "Talk Talk". Have nothing in writing but been in touch and the lady on the line said I should be at about 2.50 MBps. Have registered the situation with them but reached an impasse as I am reluctant to pay £ 65:00 for an engineers visit, especially if the problem lies in their line/equipment. Anyway will see what happens.


Thank you for helping to educate me: your help & encouragement is very welcome............

[henry_crun]

My broadband landline was nearly 20 Mb/s, copper lines, very close to the exchange.

2.5 Mb/s is not far into broadband, and what you are getting is more like the old voice line bandwidth. No value for your money. Cancel your contract (may cost up to a years line rental).

Why not try a mifi or a wingle? You can get a wingle from Mr T's supermarket for 25 quid, unlocked, stick in a payg data sim to try it, if you like it you can get a rolling monthly contract data sim. No commitment.

.

[sitigeltfel]

Here's a little tip I used that increased my download speed. Much telecom wiring is similar nowadays, so this may work in the UK.

When I first moved here I was getting 2.5mbps max and France Telecom reckoned that was not bad for here. After complaining a number of times they sent a broadband specialist who after testing the external wiring asked if there were extensions throughout the house to plug other phones into. There were three other extensions in various rooms that were unused because we had a cordless phone set fed off one socket. He was not allowed to touch any wiring inside the house but suggested I disconnect the unused extensions at the distribution box, leaving only one in operation. It was fairly simple to do and immediately the speed went up to 5.5mbps. I don't know how that worked, but it did.
Another tip he gave me was to do a "hot" reset of my Livebox (router) by unplugging the dc socket from the rear, wait twenty seconds, then plug it back in to reboot. Speed tests before and after this procedure showed it also worked.

[Planemike]

Gentlemen.........


Thank you for your help. Since raising it here have taken it up with AOL/TalkTalk and speed has gone up to about 0.50 Mbps, done nothing at my end but thanks for the tip stigi. It at least keeps up with video.


Why not try a mifi or a wingle? You can get a wingle from Mr T's supermarket for 25 quid, unlocked, stick in a payg data sim to try it, if you like it you can get a rolling monthly contract data sim. No commitment.


Henry, your suggestion is way beyond my capabilities. I am not "techie"

[henry_crun]

Buy Huawei E8231 Wingle - Unlocked In-car WiFi from our Mobile Broadband range - Tesco (http://www.tesco.com/direct/huawei-e8231-wingle-unlocked-in-car-wifi/494-3586.prd)

Buy it, buy a pay-as-you-go or rolling contract sim from a phone shop.

Remove cover, slide in sim, note wifi password, replace cover.

Plug into a 'wall wart' mains-to-usb adaptor. Or any usb anywhere, including in your car (they supply the adapter).

On your computer, look for a wifi signal that says HUAWEI. Click on it and enter password.

All done, no 'techie' stuff at all. :8

[dazdaz1]

Not forgetting Henry, one does have to top up every 28 days, pay-as-you-go data allowance, it does not carry over, use it or loose it. This applies to all the big players.

[henry_crun]

dazdaz1 - Yes, but a contract sim doesn't require top-up, they direct debit monthly. Data allowance is plenty for my usual browsing and the occasional youtube and music downloads. It's portable, can take with you anywhere. And change isp instantly if you want.