5 hacks to get faster streaming video and avoid endless buffering
Sitting down to watch and movie online but your excitement is spoiled by the slow speed and buffering of video Sounds familiar? Read our article and know the hacks that can help you watch your online series without any buffering and in the best quality.
According to reports, online video streaming has increased by 60% over the last four years. Traditional television viewing dropped by 4% in the same period.
Particularly in the US people are becoming used to streaming on the go and using tablets and smartphones to watch their favourite shows. Additionally, they are staying away from expensive cable packages. If you want to get fiber internet that offers amazing speed, then you can check out plans from Xfinity or contact Xfinity phone number to get a quote right away.
Unfortunately, often the content quality is less than perfect when streaming to a smartphone or laptop. The main issue seems to be overloaded networks which lead to videos that will not load well, and sometimes do not load at all.
There is nothing worse than settling down to watch a favourite movie only to find that it loads slowly or not at all and then buffers so badly that you cannot watch it.
There are some things that the avid streamer can do to speed things up and make viewing time a better experience. The MSN watch online guide gives plenty of information about better streaming and we've also looked at five hacks here to speed up your streaming.1. Delete internet and temporary cache files
These files and caches are simply weighing your computer down. Before you start to stream you should go into the browser history (through settings) and clear all the recent history. You should also clear all the temporary internet files.
By clearing the files and deleting the recent history you allow your device to work quicker. Normally when you exit a browser the operating system deletes thousands of small files as a matter of routine.
As you surf the web hundreds of temporary files are downloaded to your system. It is these cookies that help companies track your history and see your browsing habits. An accumulation of cookies and cache will over time affect the speed of your device, making videos load far slower than if the browser history is cleared.
When shutting the computer without closing the browsers correctly the files are stored. With so many being stored it is just a matter of time before the ability to load and stream videos come into play and you can't watch any quality programmes without buffering.2. Fix or disable plugins
Go through the plugins on your device. You may find that there are some that you do not need. Often these plugins have come from a shady site without your permission. They will harm your internet speed so uninstall any that you do not want.
Additionally, you may want to update plugins such as Adobe Flash Player because they help with video streaming. Updating the plugin will improve the performance and fix any bug issues which often lead to crashing.3. Airtime competition
While having many home gadgets connected to the home electronics system you will find that they are all connected to your network and will slow down your connection.
Coffee machines, fridges, security systems and early morning tea-making machines which are all connected to the same network will make your life easier at the risk of slowing down your streaming. While these will make your life easier you should be aware that they do compete for service and having all of them doing this at the same time will only slow down your own device.
Before you start to stream you may want to disable internet sharing and disconnect the services you really do not need at that moment. You can always connect them after you are done streaming.4. Turn off auto updates
Every auto-update will consume your bandwidth without you even knowing it is happening. Whether you use Windows, iOS, Android, or macOS they will update without your permission or knowledge. Some of them you may not even want on your system.
Your operating system tells you that you should update but if you want to save your bandwidth you should turn them off while you stream.
Later when you are finished streaming you can check manually and install any relevant updates.5. Disable hardware acceleration
Particularly on flash-based web players hardware acceleration is used with pixelated graphics and crashing media players.
When you turn off the hardware acceleration your device allows the application you are using to select the resource requirements instead of making use of the universal settings in the computer.
If you want to turn off hardware acceleration just go to your device's control panel and look for the display section. Here you will be able to disable hardware acceleration. Check to turn off hardware acceleration and exit the system.
Remember to switch it back on after you have finished streaming.To sum up
So, these are some ideas to help you stream better quality to your device. There is one other thing you can do.
These ideas are all easy to carry out and will not take up much time at all. It is best to do them before you start to stream any videos so that you can watch your programme uninterrupted.
Sometimes, all your device needs is a fresh start. It is also a good idea to completely shut your device down every so often. Over time internet rubbish builds up in the router making it perform at a slower pace.
To restart you should turn off the router and unplug it from the power source. Leave it unplugged for at least one minute before turning on again.
Restarting the router, along with the above hacks may just be the thing you need for better streaming on your device. They're all easy and quick to do and you'll get a better stream quality afterwards.
