BleepingComputer.com: Videos Freeze

I'm having problems with watching videos in browsers. Whenever I watch a video on Viki.com or youtube, the player freezes after a couple of minutes of playing. the image freezes but the sound continues playing. It even pauses if I hit the space bar. It's only when I'm watching videos in a browser. This problem doesn't occur when I'm watching videos on my computer with VLC, windows media player etc...

To "solve" the problem, I usually log off my administrator account and log back in however, this means that I have to restart new browser sessions and it's annoying- esp. since the videos have recently been freezing up more than previously.

I've tried updating Adobe flash player and I have the latest Viki desktop plugin installed so I don't know what the problem is. I hope someone can help.

Thank you.

Windows 7, 64 bit.

This post has been edited by velvetsky: 22 October 2011 - 01:01 AM

Video freezing mostly has to do with a graphic card over-heating issue which usually occurs in laptops but since you have clarified that you can play videos in VLC it may or may not be the problem.And it not only depends on your Adobe Flash Player but other factors for example your Browser also plays a key role in the video playback since different browsers run on different engines and interpret the webpage differently people might need to know your browser and its version in order to solve the problem.While I am not a Subject Matter Expert,but I guess I can suggest a few things given that I had some problems with the subject.

--> If you are using a laptop(especially ultra portable) with an integrated Nvidia mobile graphics processing unit,Purchasing a Notebook cooler might help you get over the problem.

--> Use Ccleaner it might make your system faster in general.Well at least it does it for me.

--> Try updating the your video card driver that just might solve the problem.

--> Try updating your current browser and Microsoft's silverlight the given website might be using silverlight which is a different technology and can play videos.

--> While its unlikely but there might be a possibility that the videos might be coded in HTML5, people usually get confused with a ADOBE video and an HTML5 video. Make sure that your browser supports HTML 5.

These things might be elementary but these just might solve your problem.

If you don't get a solution out of this. please wait patiently for an appropriate person to solve the problem

I'm having a similar problem, I just got a new Dell XPS and youtube videos will try to play but stop after 10 or 20 seconds. They play fine on my Dell that is wired directly to the router but my two Dell laptops wont play a complete video. Not sure what to try next, could it be the Linksys router? Anyone else run into this problem? Thanks in advance-Dan

So this morning i connect directly to my cable modem and videos play fine, could the router be causing this? Do they have a setting that might need to be changed? Cant figure this out?? thanks Dan

Have you tried hooking up the laptops to the router with a Ethernet cable?
I am guessing that since they are laptops you are going wireless currently.

Have you performed a speed test of your internet connection?
You have eliminated the Modem and the laptop from the equation.
The test I suggested above will show if it is the router.

If they still do not play properly with the Ethernet cable then, Is the router where it is not overheating?
How old is the router?

It would not hurt to get the Make and Model so a check can be performed to see if that model has known problems.

speedtest.net can be used to check your speeds. It also would not hurt for you to look at your speeds at different times of the day. It happens that nighttime when everyone is on the Internet is when things get slowest.

Good Luck

This post has been edited by rotor123: 13 December 2011 - 02:11 PM

So this morning I bring my laptop to work (Dell-XPS) and Youtube videos work perfect. Same Router (Linksys WRT-54G) and same provider (Time Warner cable) Is my router bad? Maybe a setting...not sure. Guess maybe time to upgrade to a better router...any suggestions?

thanks Dan

Did you run the Ethernet cable to the router test and did you run a speedtest when the videos are not playing? Did you also try going direct to the modem as a test with the laptop when the problem occurs? Over subscription on a cable internet connection shows up when everybody is using it.

I would hold off on spending money til I tested as above. I have seen tests from users in Brooklyn, NY where there are too many users on their node and the speed drops to nil in the evening.

Have you tried power cycling the router. I have one at work where every so often I have to pull the power for a ten count to get it working again. The Boss does not want to spend for a replacement so several times a year I pull the power and reboot it.

One other thought have you tried the Time Warner WiFi hotspot, if available where you are, to see if that works. Around where I am they are co-located where the same free WiFi is available for Cablevision, Timewarner & Xfinity (Comcast). Keep in mind they are not secured so I would not do any financial activities on them.

This post has been edited by rotor123: 14 December 2011 - 12:01 PM