Mrs Frugal Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 We've got the correct real player loaded up to play You Tube clips but when we try, they stop every couple of seconds, start for a second or two then stop, start, stop, start and it's driving me bananas because you can't watch anything all the way through! We're running broadband at about 6mb. Any ideas what's going wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Well I read this thread because I simply can't resist a red arrow , but I haven't got a clue. Sorry Maybe it's a Phil question, he usually is full of great techie advice. Personally I never understand a word of it, but it sounds great Good luck with working it out Kate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Thanks Kate . I'm hoping Phil will have an idea or two because it's driving us mad. We love listening to songs on You Tube but when they start and stop all the time, it's no fun anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina C Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 My only thought was broadband speed but hey what do I know - I can't even post photos in the gallery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 I dont know why theyre taking so long to buffer but normally once theyve dpone loading in so to speak if you slide the control back to the beginning it should read ok (stop then start doesnt help) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Sometimes it does that Kate as it plays as it is loading. If you wait and then click to play it again, it seems to sort itself out. It does spoil any surprises though - and I've no idea why it does it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisnrob Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 I agree with the the other posters. What I do is pause it as soon as the video starts. Once it's fully loaded (watch the red bar) then I resume playing. Seems to work every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 We have super-speedy broadband here at the Balamory House, but 'you-tube' stops and starts all over the place. Pause it until it has 'buffered' the whole video then enjoy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 You may need to press pause straight away and then leave it for a minute of two for it to configure, then press play after waiting for a minute and it should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Yes, that does help, Martin and Shona but it's so frustrating as it was working perfectly tune after tune a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what's gone wrong all of a sudden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 This happens all the time on streaming audio and video services. It means that the bendwidth is limited either at your end (probably not the case here - although your nominal bandwidth isn't what you'll actually get the whole time) or at the other end. What's probably happening here is that YouTube is pretty busy at the time you're trying to listen, with the result that its servers can't shove the data out to you fast enough to listen in real time. As you've found, the only solution at these busy times is to wait until it's streamed most of the data to you before starting. (It might still be throttling at your end, owing to your ISP having too little bandwidth available or having equipment trouble. This happens, and usually clears itself. If it doesn't consider changing ISP - although most ADSL providers share equipment at each exchange, so you won't escape hardware issues this way.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 You took the words right out of my mouth John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 We are thinking about changing our ISP provider, John. They cut us off a couple of weeks ago by mistake so we're not terribly impressed at the moment. Anyone have any experience of Virgin Broadband as that's who we've been looking at? We're with Homecall/Pipex at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I use Virgin Broadband and dont have any problems with the service. Give them a ring Kate i find them really helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Virgin Broadband (until a couple of months ago, NTL/Telewest) offer a cable service, so you'd need to be within their area (although I believe that they're about to get into ADSL also). Unless you're connected already, there'll be a charge to lay cable into your house. Having said that, I'm with Virgin myself and have been for years. The service has generally been excellent - patchy days, but generally fast and trouble-free. However, the NTL customer support has a terrible reputation so if you have problems and don't have the technical know-how to sort it out, they're often pretty useless. (But, again, that's true of lots of ISPs!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Thanks Emma and John . I don't think there's cable anywhere around the town at all so we'd have to do t'other - Stamford is SO backwards !! We called Virgin at the weekend and they told us they'd do a seamless transition for us in an hour but before we decide to go ahead, I wanted to see if anyone said NO DON'T . Nothing worse than kicking yourself in the backside when you realise you've done something silly, is there . Virgin sound promising then. I shall report back to LSH . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Be aware that, if you change ISP, you may not notice any change in service. They will be using the same wires and equipment at your exchange. It's just that someone else will be billing you. You might get a cheaper/faster service, which is good, but ask carefully about whether you'll have any difference in quality of service - do they have their own equipment? It's a bit like the various gas and electricity services - you get the same product, you just get charged by different companies. Customer service is one of the few ways in which they can distinguish themselves apart from price, so it's worth checking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Good point, John. I'll make sure LSH asks about the quality as it's pointless changing if it doesn't improve. Thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I can't use You Tube either with my feeble dial-up connection I do wonder what I am missing out on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
