Miguel Carrasco's Real World: Speeding up video playback

There are so many reasons why your video playback could be choppy or slow. I wont speak to the independent variables that you can not control, instead I will tell you how to speed up video playback right now! Let's get down to business!

TCP IP Optimizer
One of the main reasons your video could be running slow is your computers inability to handle all the traffic its receiving. Windows by default sets this extremely low and tweaked for dial up connections believe it or not. Don't worry about all the details, just follow the steps bellow to get it up and running quickly:

1. Set your connection speed

2. Select your network adapter

3. Select "Optimal settings" and choose "Apply Changes"

4. Your done!

Download this tool here:
http://www.speedguide.net/files/TCPOptimizer.exe

Windows Media Player Tips

If you are still having issues at this point, you can start tweaking some settings yourself. Although Windows Media Player does a pretty good job on its own, sometimes it definitely gets it wrong. Just load up media player, go into tools, options. In there you will see a "Performance" tab.

Within this section, select "Choose connection speed" and select your correct connection speed manually. Next move down to the buffering section and set this yourself to 60 seconds or more. This will cause a longer buffering time up front, but will remove constant choppiness!

Lastly for this tab, make sure the Video Acceleration is set to full and you are ready to go!

Next make sure to select the Network tab and ensure all check boxes are selected. Specifically, ensure UDP is selected.

Latest Drivers and Software

Make sure you are using the latest version of your software! This could actually be the largest contributor to your issues, and the easiest to fix. Below are links to update to the latest most popular web streaming video playback software:

You will also want to make sure you have the latest drivers for your video cards and sound cards, as well your motherboard!

Finally...

Now that your tweaked out, make sure to check out the best free TV sites on the Internet! There are a series of articles on this web site below:

That's it for the tips on optimizing your video playback. Internet connection speed plays a great deal to do with your streaming media quality, as well as how many hops you are from your destination server. If you are still having issues, please feel free to post comments below and I will gladly answer your questions or another user will certainly help you out!