Playing video on Windows X P

[John]

Hi, I am running Windows X P Professional and everytime I try to play a video
either on yahoo or even in the windows media player it starts to buffer then
plays about a second of the video then buffers somemore and then plays about
another second of the video, never plays the entire video without the mess.
Are there any suggestions on how to fix this problem? l am on dial up but I
dont think that should keep me from being unable to play video from anywhere
should it?

 

[Daave]

Hi, I am running Windows X P Professional and everytime I try to play
a video either on yahoo or even in the windows media player it starts
to buffer then plays about a second of the video then buffers
somemore and then plays about another second of the video, never
plays the entire video without the mess. Are there any suggestions on
how to fix this problem? l am on dial up but I dont think that should
keep me from being unable to play video from anywhere should it?

Actually, a slow dial-up connection *is* the reason you can't view
streaming video without all the buffering. Unless you upgrade to
broadband service, you will have to wait until the entire video has
finished buffering. Just hit pause, then when it's 100% buffered, hit
play.

 

[Paul]

Hi, I am running Windows X P Professional and everytime I try to play a video
either on yahoo or even in the windows media player it starts to buffer then
plays about a second of the video then buffers somemore and then plays about
another second of the video, never plays the entire video without the mess.
Are there any suggestions on how to fix this problem? l am on dial up but I
dont think that should keep me from being unable to play video from anywhere
should it?

Consider the math for a moment. Say the video is actually playing at 100KB per
second, to render the necessary frames. You'd have to buffer up 20 seconds
of data from the 5KB/sec dialup line, to display 1 second of video playback.
The Internet connection cannot keep up with the display rate.

If you wait long enough, and the entire video has downloaded, if you play it
from the beginning again, now the entire file is local.

But if you're viewing and downloading at the same time, the only way it
could stay smooth, is if the internet connection is faster than the playback
rate. In my example, that might be 100KB/sec or 800 kilobits/sec.

I did a quick search, and this is the first page with low bit rate movies
I could find. There are links here labeled "56K", implying they're suited
to 56Kbit modem. When I played the first 56K link, and used the Performance
plugin, it seemed the download rate was about 10KB/sec (assuming I have
the right scaling of the Performance display). I'm willing to bet, even if
you attempt to play a 56K link here, it'll still buffer-play-buffer-play,
until the video has finished downloading.

http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/institute/webcasts/abstracts/homeless.html

Paul

 

[Mark Adams]

Hi, I am running Windows X P Professional and everytime I try to play a video
either on yahoo or even in the windows media player it starts to buffer then
plays about a second of the video then buffers somemore and then plays about
another second of the video, never plays the entire video without the mess.
Are there any suggestions on how to fix this problem? l am on dial up but I
dont think that should keep me from being unable to play video from anywhere
should it?

The dial up data rate is so low, it can't keep up with the video. This is
what is causing the starts and stops. The way you fix this is to get
broadband cable or fiberoptic internet service. If these aren't offered in
your area, then you move to an area where they are offered. Pretty simple.

 

[Anthony Buckland]

Hi, I am running Windows X P Professional and everytime I try to play a
video
either on yahoo or even in the windows media player it starts to buffer
then
plays about a second of the video then buffers somemore and then plays
about
another second of the video, never plays the entire video without the
mess.
Are there any suggestions on how to fix this problem? l am on dial up but
I
dont think that should keep me from being unable to play video from
anywhere
should it?

If you're in some remote place with no broadband, or can't
afford to buy broadband at the moment, you're pretty
much condemned to watching this behavior, or better yet
taking a coffee break away from the computer until the
whole video downloads. Broadband is now largely assumed
by people sending email, manufacturers sending updates
and upgrades, and webpage creators, and things can
only get worse for the unfortunate minority still on dialup.

I _am_ on broadband, and I routinely get emails that take
long enough to download that I play a game in the
background while it happens, plus software downloads
that I leave running while I have lunch.