Control Video Buffering
Most online video clips are designed to stream, allowing you to start watching
before your PC has finished downloading. To keep the video playing
smoothly, video players often download a few seconds of video ahead of the
playback, a technique called buffering (or caching), and sometimes this
means you have to wait. The good news is that you can choose when to
wait: now, or later.
In Windows Media Player, click the Now Playing button, select More
Options, and then choose the Performance tab. Select Buffer [5] seconds of
content, the second option in the Network buffering section.
To shorten the lead time so that videos will start playing sooner, enter a
small number, say 3. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection
and number of visitors the web server is currently juggling, those 3 seconds
of content could take anywhere from 2 seconds to 20 minutes to download.
(Obviously, upgrading to a faster Internet connection will minimize the
waiting most of the time.)
Unfortunately, entering a small number means that Media Player has to stop
playback more often to buffer more content. If you find that Media Player
Handling Online Video | 161
Working with
Media
frequently stops playing to buffer more data, raise the buffer number to 10
or 20 seconds. You??™ll get smoother playback, but you??™ll have to wait longer
before your online videos play.
The buffering settings discussed here have no effect on video
clips stored on your hard disk, nor on video handled by
other players (e.
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