Streaming audio/video hiccups, burps, rebuffers

[nickg]

Streaming audio/video hiccups, burps, rebuffers

quick overview:

running XP, Verizon DSL 1500/384, Westell 327 modem, Kerio Firewall

whenever i run any streaming audio or video, whether it's with WinAmp, Real Player, or Media Player 10 it constantly skips and rebuffers. you can pretty much forget trying to listen to a whole song the whole way through without it doing this, which makes it pretty damn annoying!!!!

DSL speeds are good and constant. but i do notice that the "internet" light on my Westell is always blinking when going from page to page or site to site a lot. is this natural or should it be just lit as a constant. if it is blinking is there a problem with what is getting through? and could that be what is causing the hiccups of the audio.

i don't see anything out of the ordinary at 192.168.1.1 as far as settings go.

i'm lost and just plain annoyed!! what's the use of having a broadband connection if you can't enjoy audio and video streams.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

[Indestructable]

try to save the file, then listen/watch it. if it's trying to stream, that may be the problem. 1.5mbps don may have a little it o' trouble, my 3 down doesn't though.

hope that helps

indestructable

oh, and that blinking is perfectly normal, the more it blinks the more it's transmitting. 

[Swimmer]

Streaming is something that is based on the server and your connection.. The faster the connection is for the server the less rebuffers you will see.. If the server is in high demand then you are going to see rebuffers... Have you tweaked with Van Burren's guide?  If not ask for some help.. your Rwin might be to high.. which would cause rebuffers and skipping..  run this and then post the results.. i will move the topic to the make it faster catigory once you have done this... http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks

[nickg]

QUOTE: oh, and that blinking is perfectly normal, the more it blinks the more it's transmitting.

well that's good to know.

i'll have to try the van buren guide.

as fas as the dslreports.com tweak...that thing NEVER works for me. i always get a "time out" or connection error message, every time!!

thanks for the replies. i'll keep you posted.

[t1wireless]

1.5 is plenty fast to stream so that's not your problem either.  I stream Audio/video on satellite..Srry i can't be more of a help.....Good Luck :

-Tim-

[Indestructable]

umm, damn, I hate being proved wrong...

it could just be your isp is crowded, or something with the cable, or even the website your getting it from.

http://lemonaid.serveftp.com:81/letterman.mpg

or

http://lemonaid.serveftp.com:81/westerberg2.22.05.MOV

would both take a long time to download (try one or both) because they're coming off a server with  256Kbps upstream (at my house)

try those, and see what I mean.

oh, and please note on the second one, it's not mine or the camera's fault that the vocals can't be heard, I couldn't hear em myself!

[nickg]

.. your Rwin might be to high.. which would cause rebuffers and skipping..

i tried lowering my RWIN, using a couple of different values, going as low as 64K.. still the same results.  i still have to post any tweaks i made here to be looked at. maybe i'm overlooking something for sure.

[Indestructable]

did ya try that? you'll see what I mean.

[junkieXL]

Looks like a simple case of too low a buffering setting;

Win Media player: tools->options->performance=set your connection speed to match your pipe & change 'network buffering' from default (5 seconds) to 20 seconds.

QuickTime Player: Select Edit > Preferences > QuickTime Preferences

When "Connection Speed" is selected, a pull-down list

displays available speed settings.  Select the maximum speed your computer's Internet connection will allow, best to estimate on the low side here.

NOTE: Too high a connection setting in either player will cause stalling/rebuffering

Also on QuickTime:

1- Select Edit > Preferences > QuickTime Preferences

2- Select "Streaming Transport"

a) The "Auto Configure" button may be pressed that will attempt to automatically determine appropriate settings.

as an alternative, or if auto configure does not work, select "Use HTTP, Port ID 80".

hope this helps-

-JxL 

[bwt1953]

I'm with indestructible, try to save the file then view. And I wouldn't worry too much about whether 'your' connection is causing the jitter. Most of those problems originate at the server, and are due to too many people trying to access the same files. I've had high speed broadband for three years now and have yet been able to watch a single video on line without it stalling to rebuffer. At the office, where we are sitting on top of a wad of fiber big enough to clog a storm drain, we still can't view streaming video without jitters and rebuffering.

Tweak your system with Van's settings, they'll make a difference. But don't use streaming video from over the net as a benchmark for performance.

[Indestructable]

yeah, you totally right.