YouTube no longer buffering? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 05:24:38 pm
content: There have been many changes going on at YouTube this weekend, and one problem that has come up at least on my end is that videos no longer buffer enough to play in real time. I cannot even view my own videos on my own channel when logged into my account. Videos no longer continue to buffer when paused, regardless of image quality selected. Is anyone else having this issue??

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 05:38:37 pm
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 05:24:38 pmI noticed that a while ago. Years back, they used to buffer straight to the end no matter what, and now they take pauses (presumably to lighten the load on YT's bandwidth). It's really freaking annoying.Seems to be worse some times than others (probably depending on the load of the server you're connected to), so maybe it's just particularly bad right now for you.

author: ecat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:09:56 pm
content: Annoying indeed and it's been this way for quite some time, for me at least. Your post prompted me to double check FlashPlayerSettings->LocalStorage, but changes here do nothing.In my case between the hours of 2am and 6am my usage is effectively unlimited, at other times more costly rates apply 9am to 6pm is a bit of a killer. Back in the day if I was around before 9am I'd maybe buffer a couple of vids for later viewing so this buffer limit was proving to be a bit of a bastard.DownloadHelper is a Firefox plugin, other such utilities exist. It allows for one click download of the video in the current browser window and pre-buffering is back on my agendaI understand Google do not approve of manually downloading for later viewing so use at your own risk!In general it appears the more the 'net develops the less freedom we users are allowed - remember the days when almost every web page would resize to your browser window?

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:11:42 pm
content: Yea - I have noticed simillar issues in years past, but this is definitely a new level of annoying. I do notice that this move seems to allocate more of the bandwidth for embeds and videos on sponsored channels, which seem to run at or near real time (you're in the clear Dave!) at the expense of lesser channels. YouTube has spent years encouraging everyone to upload full HD videos - and now they will not buffer HD on their own site!Crazy Bastards!

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:14:54 pm
content: I noticed the same here, it's been going on for about 2 weeks I think. And yes, they also changed the way it is buffering, some time ago you could pause the video and it would go on loading, so that was a nice workaround. Nowadays it just stops loading on pauseThe strange thing is that one time you can't play a video real time, and 10 minutes later it is ok and even plays in HD without a problem.I really hope this is something temporary, it takes the fun out of watching videos...

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:18:24 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on April 14, 2013, 06:14:54 pmOh - its even worse than that - I noticed that there is no longer any cache for the video once you get through the whole thing - the 'replay' button begins the download all over again - from scratch! Aaaargggghhh!!!!

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:21:55 pm
content: If I were a constant content producer, I'd upload to secondary site whenever a new video was made, say like Vimeo for example.Its easier to jump to "other boat" when needed.

author: ResR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:23:56 pm
content: I have seen it in Estonia too and sometimes it just freezes on playback, I used to let it buffer some time before watching so it dosen't freeze but now it's impossible.Quote from: ecat on April 14, 2013, 06:09:56 pmYes, that is the most annoying "feature" ever, specially if you want to search the component for the project from digikey, you have to scroll the screen right to left, because the half of the page is at the other side of the screen border (component package data like Dil-8, on-reel or cut tape version).

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:25:32 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on April 14, 2013, 06:21:55 pmMy experience with Vimeo is mixed - I find that their embeds often don't play, and they suffer from major bandwidth issues too. No real winner between these two at this point...

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:25:53 pm
content: It doesn't solve anything but have you seen this?https://www.youtube.com/my_speed

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:28:45 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on April 14, 2013, 06:25:53 pmThat's a cool feature! Yea, it is not a bandwidth issue here, but selective allocation of resources on the part of YouTube. No way around it I think....

author: ecat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:55:02 pm
content: Curiously the Android Youtube app has a dedicated pre-load setting, I guess vids in the watch later list will download in background when wifi is detected.Stretching this favouritism one step further, I wonder if the old auto buffering has been disabled to save our mobile, battery operated friends from dead phones and excessive bills?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 06:59:20 pm
content: It has been happening for months for me, some will buffer all the way through, some will do a short buffer that grows as you watch while others just will not work. Often if you pause it will not resume when you select play, and you have to note where you are and reload the page. Vimeo often does odd things, and will not play some. Blip.tv does even odder things.At least for the YT stuff flashgot mostly works, just grab the file and lay it in a media player that understands the stream. I notice a lot of YT content is available in multiple formats, from 3GP to webm, and quality from just abysmal ( for phones) to 720p as well. Multiple sizes in there as well.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:02:23 pm
content: It says my average has been 34Mbps, but is very fluctuating lately....I've noticed that:- New video's are slow- Impopular video's are slow (very little views)- Sometimes 1080p buffers better than 720p, or vice versa. I always mess around with the quality to see which streams best. However, I won't watch most vids on 360p or lower. Or.. if fullscreen, must be atleast 720pLast few weeks it was horrible (if it wasn't already, right?) I was watching some teardown vids and it hang like 10 times in <5 minutes. It was a pretty new video on a small channel (probably has slower distribution, I suspect!).. Quality didn't matter, even on 240p.I tried downloading the episode with video downloader addins for my browser, but after 20MB the connection just dropped.In other words, their servers have been shit lately.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:20:38 pm
content: Quote from: hans on April 14, 2013, 07:02:23 pmYea - I tried all resolution settings - and it would still freeze, even at 240p! It is clearly not about bandwidth, but favoring certain content and certain channels over others.My android does not suffer this issue either - again suggesting that YouTube is sacrificing PC based HD users in favor of providing uninterrupted viewing for mobile devices, which are at much lower resolutions.

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:34:12 pm
content: Another thing I noticed is that sometimes it just alters the length of a video during playback. For example, the video title says it is 3m50s and that is what it shows when you start playing. Then it suddenly stops playing at 1:01 and it shows that the total length is 1:01When you then restart the video it still says that the total length is 1:01 but it plays till 3:50. It made me seriously consider abandoning alcohol but it also happens when I'm not drinking

author: casper.bang
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:42:02 pm
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 07:20:38 pmDoubt so; Google makes the same amount of money from showing an ad on a webpage than via a dedicated Android app. Also, lots of Android phones are now with 720p and even 1080p displays, taking the same bandwith.QuoteWell, you could always try to block the IP's serving your location.This guyhere has written a few blog entries about doing this.

author: Thor-Arne
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:48:23 pm
content: Strange....I just tried #443 and #453, both streamed 720p to the end while paused.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 07:53:26 pm
content: The yt player is fubar. One way that works for me, to buffer, is to change to a higher resolution and then back again. THE most annoying thing though is that every time I try to touch the slider the buffer goes away...I tend to use youtube-dl more and more.Alexander.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:00:14 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 14, 2013, 07:53:26 pmHey! This seems to work!Manually selecting HD (instead of the default auto detect) gave me real time playback and buffering on my own video.

author: ecat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:09:45 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 14, 2013, 07:53:26 pmOr lower resolution than backI just switched a non-buffering vid from its max 480p down to 360p then back to 480 and down it comes. Great tip, ty

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:15:59 pm
content: YouTube has been like this for months now. The net is full of complaints and sarcastic comments, like for example:"Use case #1: You click on a video and you watch it"It doesn't seem hard, but the YouTube team seems unable to grasp it.Experience varies, I think in part because Google does not serve up the content any more. It's all farmed out to third party content delivery networks, and they don't appear to be working to any effective service level agreements. If your local CDN sucks, you get no video.One trick is to change resolution while paused (not while running). That occasionally triggers faster download and buffering.I noticed also the lack of a local cache if you try to replay the video. That's just stupidly annoying and wastes even more bandwidth. I might guess that the original smart developers have moved on and this stuff is being developed by kids now.

author: mrflibble
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:24:46 pm
content: Yeah, it's a tad annoying. But nothing that can't be fixed by just downloading it with whatever tool you like and then watching that. Besides, I often like to watch those online lectures not-so-much-online but very much offline on my tv. Less bandwidth usage because I only have to download it precisely once. And less chance of getting distracted by oh this video oh that video *clicky*

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:31:18 pm
content: I have to blame PSY - I think that the bandwidth allocated for GANGNAM STYLE alone broke YouTube!Here.... I'll break it some more!PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (??) M/V

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 08:41:15 pm
content: What the fuck is this? 1+ billion views?What yt had in mind is correct. Only buffer enough for a smooth play. It was a waste of bandwidth to buffer the entire video. I bet that a big amount of user would close the video before the end. Or jump to the end.The implementation though sucks sweat from a dead dog's balls.Alexander.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 09:00:32 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 14, 2013, 08:41:15 pmYes..... Bow down before your beloved Leader - PSY! Ruler of all YouTube!And breaker of YouTube.

author: RCMR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 09:29:30 pm
content: I wonder if YT are trying to circumvent the increasingly popular YT downloader plugins that let you capture the stream to a file for "off-line" viewing?Although I haven't for a while, I used to capture a lot of YT content (movies etc) and then burn them to DVD or a portable USB drive so I could watch them on "the big screen" in my living room. Perhaps the RIAA/MPAA are putting more pressure on YT to try and stop this type of "blatant theft of intellectual property"

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:06:27 pm
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 09:00:32 pmI can;t decide what sucks more. This video/song or the yt player... I couldn't even watch more than a minute.Alexander.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:19:17 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on April 14, 2013, 06:21:55 pmIf you do that you are just:- fragmenting your stats- fragmenting your comments and community- losing the snowball effect on youtube search ranking- losing incomeThat's why hardly any successful content producers use anything but youtube exclusively.

author: mrflibble
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:22:50 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 14, 2013, 10:06:27 pmDon't hate the player...

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:24:12 pm
content: I agree. You should marry the devil you know. I also agree that YouTube may have peaked, and perhaps is taking the downward slide. What will we use in 2 years?

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:45:43 pm
content: Quote from: mrflibble on April 14, 2013, 10:22:50 pmWell played.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 10:55:27 pm
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 10:24:12 pmYoutube.Bet the farm on it.BTW, my youtube playback seems to instantly buffer about 5% ahead (e.g. if I jump forward), and stays about 5% ahead in real time playing.No problems really.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 11:10:28 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 14, 2013, 10:55:27 pmI have my doubts. I have watched far fewer YouTube videos over the last few months since it became so terribly broken. I am seriously looking for alternatives like Vimeo these days. I figure that if YouTube doesn't care enough about the viewing experience to fix their technical problems, why should I put up with their incompetence?Also, I am much less likely to watch videos over 20 minutes long even if the playback was smooth. As YouTube content starts to compete with professional video like you might see on TV it is becoming critically important for content producers to learn how to edit down and remove every unnecessary minute of padding. Cut, pare, trim, excise! When you leave the editing room there should be far more tape on the cutting room floor than what is kept.A typical TV newsreel/current affairs program can cover three or four topics in a half hour time slot and do justice to them all. Once you get over 20 minutes on a single subject the topic has to be stunningly exciting to maintain viewer interest beyond that.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 11:32:53 pm
content: I've noticed some weird youtube buffering issues with some browsers.I think its to do with flash/html5 and newer video codecs.HTML5 can use system codecs which maybe corrupt, old or incompatible with the video.Try install a different web browser and see if you still have the issue.Even if you don't want to switch browsers it may narrow down the problem to your existing browser.I know firefox can get a bit weird if your profile has been around for a while. (eg if you repeatedly copy your firefox profile to new OS installs instead of creating a new one)Youtube regularly switch the video servers around and test new features. Sometimes you keep getting a video server which uses new codecs etc.. So things can change even when your PC is exactly the same.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 11:46:38 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on April 14, 2013, 11:32:53 pmI've seen that suggestion before.But I and many others have the playback problems when using Chrome. Both Chrome and YouTube are Google products, so if Google can't make their own content work with their own browser, something is badly wrong

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2013, 11:53:57 pm
content: You could try enter/leave the youtube HTML5 trialhttps://www.youtube.com/html5Since that will change how your PC plays youtube vids it may solve your problem.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 12:13:32 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 14, 2013, 10:19:17 pmQuote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 10:24:12 pmI guess you'll have to swallow what yt is feeding you without any complain at all.Btw, Vimeo does full buffering.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 12:24:05 am
content: Quote from: Psi on April 14, 2013, 11:53:57 pmWeirdly, I was even now faced with the "video won't play" problem. Not at any resolution, no way, no how. So I tried IE10. And what do you know? It fully buffered at 720p and is playing smoothly.Google, WTF?

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:18:46 am
content: Quote from: IanB on April 15, 2013, 12:24:05 amAnd I'm having the same issue mentioned under IE10.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:21:47 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 14, 2013, 10:55:27 pmIn the USA betting the farm is synonymous with losing the farm. Or buying the farm. Either way you're f%*ked!

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:36:12 am
content: Quote from: nanofrog on April 15, 2013, 01:18:46 amYeah, me too, now.I wonder why Google doesn't just withdraw YouTube from service, like Reader and other products? Since they are clearly not interested in making it work, they might as well make a clear statement about abandoning it so everyone knows where they stand...

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 02:37:40 am
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 14, 2013, 07:20:38 pmIn the end isn't that a bandwidth problem?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 03:55:48 am
content: The main issue i get in youtube is seeking. The progress bar snaps back to the original position 70% of the time.In order to seek i sometimes have to do it 3 or 4 times before it works.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 04:22:33 am
content: Quote from: Psi on April 15, 2013, 03:55:48 amI've seen that quite a bit, and it is getting bit annoying.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 04:31:07 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 15, 2013, 04:22:33 amI have a theory that its a firefox issue but i haven't been able to confirm/disprove it yet.So far everyone who's told me they have the same issue has been using firefox.I've also noticed that sometimes when i click links on my igoogle page the browser loads another igoogle window instead of the link i clicked on.It maybe part of the same problem.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 04:36:26 am
content: Quote from: Psi on April 15, 2013, 04:31:07 amChrome here, same problem.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 04:38:40 am
content: Quote from: IanB on April 15, 2013, 04:36:26 amok, time for a new theory.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 04:50:38 am
content: I think we can all agree on the evidence that regardless of your platform or browser that these issues are one way or another based in YouTube itself. If Google is farming out the business of hosting and managing YouTube to third party companies then it could all come apart one day. Less oversight, more problems, like everything else.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 07:33:25 am
content: Try HTML5.https://www.youtube.com/html5Alexander.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 07:37:41 am
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 15, 2013, 07:33:25 amHTML5 will only work for videos without monetization, and whilst i am a fan of alternatives to flash, unfortunately youtube's html5 player just isn't up to scratch, it buffers SLOWER and has issues with pausing videos.

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 09:28:46 am
content: I have two issues with YouTube which haven't been mentioned by anyone else so far:#1 When I play it in the Chrome browser, it won't maximise when I click on the "full screen" button. So I resort to copying the link and using IE where it maximises fine.#2 Often, the picture freezes in fits and starts whilst the sound continues to play out. Does the video and audio content somehow get buffered seperately?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2013, 04:04:45 am
content: Just came across this on another forum, dunno how well it works.Quote

author: Randall W. Lott
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2013, 04:04:57 pm
content: I like to listen to YouTube videos as work and I have a 100/80 Mb connection and it still stops every few minutes to buffer 480 videos.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 12:55:08 am
content: The 'switching resolution up and down' trick had been working for me since Saturday, but today I tried viewing Dave's new Teardown Tuesday and I cannot get it to run at any resolution. The video stopped at :05 seconds and would not restart, at either HD setting.

author: Randall W. Lott
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 01:17:09 am
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 17, 2013, 12:55:08 amThe "auto" feature never seemed to work the way it should either! Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 02:20:43 am
content: I'm having the same problems as everyone else. I can't even watch Dave's JVC camera teardown. I've tried swapping resolutions, tried using IE (I normally use FireFox), tried the HTML5 opt-in, and nothing is working. The video plays for 3-4 seconds... then pauses for several minutes... then I get maybe 5-10 seconds more run time, then many minutes more pause.I seem to notice that it doesn't happen nearly so much at off-hours, but my bandwidth is pretty high and nothing else is slow - so I believe the ideas that it's YouTube throttling videos is correct. I don't think it's on my end. And it makes watching Dave's videos very, very hard.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 06:42:09 am
content: It should something related with the particular video. I wasn't able to watch Dave's new video. Every other video was ok. I used youtube-dl to download it and the speed was dead slow.Alexander.

author: Thor-Arne
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 09:11:35 am
content: I have no issues with #454. (Win7 32bit/FireFox 20.0.1).I just click the video window (start and then pause) and select 720p, and it buffers all the way to the end.Perhaps this is related to what server one is connected to?

author: JuiceKing
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 10:23:58 am
content: I wonder if this is "bufferbloat". If so, it's not YouTube's fault, it's an industry-wide problem.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BufferbloatBig players like Google have an interest and responsibility to get this resolved, but it won't be easy.

author: justanothercanuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 11:20:44 am
content: I'm guessing this might have something to do with the change they made a couple years ago with regards to how much the player caches during playback. Back in the day it would pull the video down at full speed until you have the whole thing cached, but then they changed it so that it only caches about a minute or so. I guess it saves them bandwidth that way if you decide you don't want to watch that particular video. Problem now is, it's too sensitive and it stops playback dead. The "my speed" video still uses the old behaviour. I find hitting the refresh button snaps the video back to the right spot, albeit annoying.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 04:53:48 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 17, 2013, 06:42:09 amI think Fran may have hit the nail on the head with her guess that bandwidth is allocated to more popular videos first... I don't have a problem watching Dave's older videos, so I wonder if they rise up the popularity chart after enough people watch them, and their bandwidth allocation goes up? I could not watch that video at all last night.... but today, it worked fine.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 05:53:21 pm
content: It could be the location someone receives the stream from. For example a new added video haven't yet synced (are the various data center always in sync or every ones save different videos?) with the optimal yt server for my location. So the stream route changes in result lower speed.Alexander.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 07:56:01 pm
content: This has turned out to be an insightful thread - and I was finally able to view Dave's latest video today as well in HD.One thing that is not thought of much these days, like when these streaming issues arise, is that the internet was never designed for the way we use it today. I think that as sites like YouTube become more decentralized that the problems will be more common. But I think that these problems with volume of users will prompt other kinds of delivery for video. I am surprised that cable and satellite providers have been sitting on their hands in creating the "cable box - living room - YouTube". Perhaps right around the corner? Who knows.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 07:59:12 pm
content: Many cable boxes provide direct access to YouTube on your TV (at least in the UK). Here in the US, you have Internet boxes like NetFlix that plug directly into your TV, but I don't know if they also deliver YouTube.

author: Frantone
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 08:04:02 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on April 17, 2013, 07:59:12 pmTrue - there are special services, but they all use the WWW for access, which is compounding the problem. I think that these providers that have their own dedicated networks could be their own "YouTube" of sorts. Imagine that in that case anyone (like Dave for example) could have their own dedicated channel. Tear Down Tuesday? Check out channel #23486409576 on your satellite provider!That is the future!

author: Randall W. Lott
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 08:05:38 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on April 17, 2013, 07:59:12 pmYes, my Blu-ray player has YouTube, Netflix, and other applications.

author: senso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 08:49:17 pm
content: Quote from: Frantone on April 17, 2013, 08:04:02 pmPortugal Telecom, owner of the MEO tv provider already has something like that, you can have your own tv channel where you can put whatever you want, and anyone in Portugal can watch your channel.As far as I know it is a unique service in the world, it may catch on, who knows..

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 09:56:17 pm
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on April 17, 2013, 04:53:48 pmI've been told by Youtube directly that their playback algorithms are designed to dynamically change and are given priority over things like uploads, comments, processing, stats update, etc. After all, it is a video playback site, and they know that, so that's what it's optimised for. So it would not surprise me that popular videos get more priority.

author: PuterGeek
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2013, 01:16:07 am
content: My experience doesn't really support the 'more popular --> better playback'.On some days, everything I try plays back fine. Other days virtually nothing plays back well.By the way, I tried the firewall hack mentioned above and it didn't seem to make any difference. YMMV>

author: JuiceKing
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2013, 02:01:55 am
content: From the Wikipedia article I referenced earlier on "buffer bloat":This problem is caused mainly by router and switch manufacturers making incorrect assumptions and buffering packets for too long in cases where they should be dropped. This can lead to TCP's congestion-avoidance algorithms breaking, causing problems such as high and variable latency, and choking network bottlenecks for all other flows as the buffer becomes full of the packets of one TCP stream and other packets are then dropped. The buffers then take some time to drain, before the TCP connection ramps back up to speed and then floods the buffers again.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 18, 2013, 03:38:54 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 17, 2013, 09:56:17 pmInteresting - thanks for the insight Dave. Actually, I think it's so cool that you are so open with the whole business you have in general... I never really know how YouTube works (from a revenue standpoint), or how to make $$ on website ads and blogs until you talked about it in your videos and on this forum. The openness is something I find refreshing and addicting - keeps me wanting to see more and more of your content.

author: ResR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 03:43:29 pm
content: This video (48 seconds long) freezed 3 times while on playback when the gangnam style didn't so there is a popular-video-streaming-faster fish somehow.

author: arekm
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 04:05:28 pm
content: Here you can check which GGC (Google Global Cache) node is being used for streaming youtube videos to you:http://redirector.c.youtube.com/report_mapping

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 04:26:20 pm
content: Quote from: firewalker on April 15, 2013, 07:33:25 amLast time I tried YouTube HTML5, it would only work on some videos. I think it didn't work for monetized vids.I have given up trying to actually view youtube videos on youtube. I get about 2 seconds of video followed by 10 seconds of buffering ... lather, rinse, repeat.I use a youtube 'downloader', kick it off before bed, watch the vids the next day. It can take hours to download a 20 minute vid at 720p. Mind you, I have a symmetric 30Mbit fiber connection. I routinely download other things at 3MBytes/sec.P.S. To clarify, it used to be better. I noticed the problem about the same time this thread started. Before when playback was problematic I would open several vids, pause them all and watch a little later when a bunch had buffered.

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 04:33:08 pm
content: Quote from: arekm on April 23, 2013, 04:05:28 pmOk, it spits out a series of numbers/letters ... how does that help me?