When streaming video, nothing kills the mood more than a buffering issue or other related problems. Here’s how to avoid it, with anything from quick fixes to the best long-term solutions.
Video buffering is an undesirable byproduct of video streaming. We experience uninterrupted signals when we watch a movie on a television set. Streaming is a different story.
When watching a video, even a basic YouTube video, you may encounter buffering issues. In this post, we’ll explain to you how to reduce video streaming issues while watching your favorite movie or online TV show.
1. Give it a Break!
If buffering continuously interrupts your streaming video, relax a little. It is frustrating, but it could be tempting to resume the video after each buffering pause. Instead, momentarily stop the broadcast for a few minutes to allow the video to build a larger buffer. When you resume play, the buffering is reduced. At the very least, you will have fewer interruptions!
2. Check Your Internet Connection
Slow internet is one of the most common causes of video streaming issues. To stream Netflix in high definition, you’ll need a connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps (megabits per second). If you’re paying for these speeds, it’s worth double-checking that you’re getting them.
Always get the best possible internet service because these days it’s not just one device using the connection. Almost every household has a couple of smartphones, laptops, and a smart TV.
If you are a Disney fan, you might as well get Disney Plus on Roku for better quality streaming.
For greater speed, you don’t have to (necessarily) pay more money to your ISP. There are other methods to improve your internet connection quicker, and exploring them will be worthwhile. They are as follows:
- Reboot your router and modem. This just entails disconnecting them, counting to 10, and reconnecting them. Often, that’s all that’s required. It’s a good idea to do this every time you feel the need.
- Set your wireless network to utilize the 5GHz spectrum instead of the 2.4GHz channel. At a higher frequency, it will experience less interference.
- Check to make sure you haven’t used all your monthly traffic allowance. Remember, some ISPs throttle customers who utilize an excessive amount of bandwidth. Binge-watching will cause this.
- Modify your DNS server. If you don’t know, a DNS server looks up a website’s IP address by name. Your ISP’s connection may be extremely slow. Set your router to utilize Cloud Flare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8), both of which have extremely fast public DNS servers.
3. Minimize Buffering By Closing Other Programs
If your computer is doing a lot of other things or running a lot of apps at the same time, it may not be able to provide you with flawless streaming. Even if the other apps run in the background, doing nothing, or have been minimized, they continue to consume system resources. Some streaming services require more resources as a prerequisite to watching movies/shows on any device.
For instance, an application may access the internet for updates or download data in the background without your knowledge. This is most noticeable when using browsers with many tabs open. Online games also discreetly use system resources.
So the first thing you need to do is close any unnecessary applications if you’re experiencing buffering issues. However, this might be difficult if you are unaware of which programs execute background activities even when they are not open. Also, even if you disable these applications, they usually restart as soon as you restart your computer.
4. Turn off Wi-Fi for Other Devices
Wherever possible, free up bandwidth. Wi-Fi devices continually ping your wireless router, even when you are not using them. If you have many computers, cellphones, tablets, and other smart gadgets in your home, this may quickly add up. Try turning off the Wi-Fi for these devices when they are not in use.
5. Scan the Device for Viruses
A virus on your computer might cause significant delay, especially if it’s transferring data to the internet or utilizing your computer as a base to expand further. A jerky video might be a sign of a virus. Conduct a comprehensive check of your computer using antivirus software to ensure that nothing is wreaking havoc on your device.
6. Clean up the Browser Setting
Remember that it’s not always your internet connection’s fault! The issue can also be related to your local computer, namely in your web browser. Browsers keep a local cache of previously viewed websites. When you return to a site, your web browser checks the cache and if the local material is up to date, the browser loads it from there instead of downloading it.
What’s the issue? Your browser may get overburdened with cached and temporary data, slowing it down.
Conclusion
There can be many reasons for experiencing video streaming issues however, not all of them require technical assistance from professionals. Some of the most common issues can easily be fixed just by following the easy solutions provided above. So try them out and see which one works best for you.
