Video problem. Help!

[Aussie-Action]

I hope someone can help with a tech problem. I belong to a couple of pay sites which allow members to download videos and save to their hard drive. Most vids are WMV but there’s the occasional AVI video. On my computer, all videos automatically open in RealPlayer.

The problem is that they intermittently pause/freeze for a second or two before continuing, making the whole scene jerky. This is driving me NUTS! The audio continues smoothly, though.

I have about 40 videos, of which half don’t give any problem at all and never have. The rest are, as I say intermittent … sometimes they play perfectly and other times they stop and start. With these videos I have about a one-in-three success rate in getting them to play right through without a hitch.

When I’ve come across a video which freezes, I have tried the option of playing it in Windows Media Player, which I also have installed on my computer. Same problem.

I thought I’d try Google entering “WMV freeze” and yes, there are a few forums where people have asked about the exact same problem. The trouble is there are either NO answers at all … or the answer is couched in techno-babble and I get lost after the first line! Fair enough, I suppose as these are openly professed geeky techie forums. No help to a techno-no hoper like me … so could someone help in simple layman’s terms?

Thanks

PS: I don’t know if it makes any difference or not, but my Dell has XP Home and IE7.

 

[Paws]

Your problems are Real Players and Windows Media Player.

 

[Aussie-Action]

So, are you suggesting I ditch those two players and try a different player?

If so, what would you suggest?

 

[joshbloggs]

In my experience you can't beat VLC media player, it plays anything without a fault - avi, divX, DVD audio files etc.

And to top it off its free.

 

[Aussie-Action]

Thanks, joshbloggs,

I've just Googled "VLC media player" to find a download site, which was easy enough. There are also some excellent (positive) reviews, too.

Just one thing. Is it safe to leave RealPlayer and Windows Media Player on my computer, or should I remove them first. I know that having more than one anti-virus program can cause problems so is having more than one player installed a no-no?

In fact I did wonder if having both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player installed might be the cause of my stop/start-freezing issue.

It's getting late in my neck of the woods, so I might hit the sack and sort this out in the morning. I'll report back then.

Thanks once more.

 

[Corny]

i would keep windows media player (if you can uninstall it all) as a backup and kill real media player.
with fire.

 

[Samsung]

I’m a little curious about the replies here, not that I’m doubting the sincerity of you guys wishing to help the OP, but I have to question your approach.

It seems the consensus of opinion is that RealPlayer and WMPlayer are the culprits, rather than Aussie_Action’s computer (or some element of it.) Or the files themselves.

Now, if the players in question were only new to the market, that would be one thing. But RealPlayer and WMPlayer are ‘tried and tested’ and are installed on countless computers all over the world. Between them, these players must have downloaded hundreds of millions of audio and video files. If there was a reliability problem with these players we’d all know about it and they wouldn’t be so widespread and popular.

Anyway, let's see if Aussie_Action downloads the VLC Player and how he goes with it. If it works, well and good. However if the problem persists, we're barking up the wrong tree with the installed players (of whatever brand) and I'd give my vote to the files themselves being the problem. If they don't work on any of the three players, the videos must have picked up some sort of glitch during the download process which has affected their absolute reliability.

 

[wirega56]

To check the video files download gspot www.headbands.com/gspot/ and it will tell you what codecs are needed and whether or not they are installed or if the file is corrupt
A good codec pack is www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm
VLC is very good
Real player is #@%& , if you have real media files use real alternative instead www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm

 

[Aussie-Action]

A BRAIN TEASER FOR YOU TECH GURUS!

First of all, let me say PROBLEM SOLVED! I downloaded the VLC Media Player, but unfortunately it performed no better than the RealPlayer or the WM Player, in that some files froze and/or stuttered when playing.

I came to the obvious conclusion that the problem was with my computer or the files themselves, rather than any of the three players.

I was just about to follow up on the post from wirega56 when I had a brain wave!

It suddenly dawned on me that everything worked well (on all three players) when I was working from my home office, but when I moved the computer a few yards to the bedroom (it’s a laptop, obviously) that’s where the freezing and stop/start problems used to happen.

Why, I wondered? Then, Eureka! My brain clicked in and I suddenly realized the answer.

I could simply tell you here … but I’m going to see if you guys can do some lateral thinking and work it out. Why does RealPlayer, WM Player and (now) VLC Player work perfectly when I’m sitting at my desk in my home office - but stuffs up when I’m trying to watch a video in bed!

 

[andysayshi]

Errr... bad wifi reception?

 

[Samsung]

No, can't be. He's trying to play a vid which will be on his hard drive. No wi-fi connection required.

Maybe interference from the electric blanket?

No, seriously I don't know.

 

[GhostPhoenix]

Um...

Without some diagnostic information on the machine I'm going to hazard a couple of educated guesses.

Heat issues? Since it is a laptop and your moving to the bedroom you haven't mentioned if you used it on a hard surface in there (no puns intended). If the cooling vents are blocked it would over heat quickly and drive the processor speed down to its minimal level to prevent it from damage.

Speed step if its an intel processor could be an issue. When intel laptops run on battery alone (depending on your personal settings) they usually reduce the clock speed of the cpu to conserve battery. However, intel's speed step is supposed to adjust clock speed based on how much work the cpu has to do as well.

Curious to know the answer to your issue.

 

[iklier]

Since this is a laptop are you plugging the computer in when in the office and running of battery when in bed? If so your issue may be related to the different power profiles your computer is using. Most computers when plugged in switch to a "High Performance" power profile since there isn't really any reason to conserve power. And when on battery power the laptop will switch to a "Power Saver" profile which throttles power and as a result, it will also throttle CPU and GPU performance.

 

[wirega56]

A BRAIN TEASER FOR YOU TECH GURUS!

First of all, let me say PROBLEM SOLVED! I downloaded the VLC Media Player, but unfortunately it performed no better than the RealPlayer or the WM Player, in that some files froze and/or stuttered when playing.

I came to the obvious conclusion that the problem was with my computer or the files themselves, rather than any of the three players.

I was just about to follow up on the post from wirega56 when I had a brain wave!

It suddenly dawned on me that everything worked well (on all three players) when I was working from my home office, but when I moved the computer a few yards to the bedroom (it’s a laptop, obviously) that’s where the freezing and stop/start problems used to happen.

Why, I wondered? Then, Eureka! My brain clicked in and I suddenly realized the answer.

I could simply tell you here … but I’m going to see if you guys can do some lateral thinking and work it out. Why does RealPlayer, WM Player and (now) VLC Player work perfectly when I’m sitting at my desk in my home office - but stuffs up when I’m trying to watch a video in bed!

Jesus we try to help you then you tease us.We all dont have all have so called laptops" My guess is the ruffles and frills "crow it"

 

[Aussie-Action]

Hi guys!

I knew someone would get it.

In my home-office, the laptop gets plugged into the mains. When I decide to watch a vid in bed, the last thing I want is a trailing mains cable, so I run on battery. It’s the “Power save mode” that affects some videos causing them to freeze and/or stutter. Why only some and not all, I don’t know.

Anyway, all I need to do (I’ve since learned) is go to Control Panel -> Power Options and adjust the setting when needed.

My grateful thanks to all who posted.

PS: wirega56, sorry for the tease!