Gerald Brazil wrote:
> This is a computer question but I don't belong to a computer group but I
> have found this group to have a wide range on knowledge.
>
> Anyway, here is my question....
>
> I listen to a certain distant radio station on the Internet. I have a
> problem with the program cutting in and out and when it cuts out, the little
> dialog box says "Buffering"....after a little time I get the signal back and
> it will last for a while longer and then cut out again.
>
> What is going on? What is buffering? I am sure there must be some setting
> that I need to change to allow it to stream without interruptions.
>
> Can anybody help?
The short answer is that someplace along the line there is a bandwidth
shortage. It could be your local line, it could be the server.
What the buffering does is try to get ahead of part your are listening
to. So when an interruption occurs, you get to hear an uninterrupted
stream.
If the interruption is long enough, then you run out of buffer and the
stream seemingly halts. The program will then try to reload the buffer
before continuing.
If when the stream gets the jitters(or halts), you can still surf the
net and do most everything you are used to doing at normal speed. The
problem most likely isn't on your side. That means there is likely
nothing you can do about it. At least not to live streams.
Harold
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