Optimizing Download Speed And Problem With Hanging Vid Feeds

Hi. I had posted and since deleted this in PCPitstop due to no comments so I thought I'd try you folks if you don't mind. I'm starting to think I've been black-balled from the internet, lately. Anyhow…..

I am having a problem with video feeds freezing during playback, for example, Comcast front page regular news and sports videos about whatever. They load and play for a short time(10-20 seconds) then freeze up. I even have freeze problems when running some download tests at pcpitstop and other bandwidth testers where the test will freeze.

I am also trying to bring my download times and connection up to speed. I currently have Comcast's 8MB connection, but my system doesn't even come close to utilizing that right now. I know I have two old pieces of equipment in the line, but not sure how much they are contributing to the problem. Linksys BEFSR41 ver. 3 wired router and a several years old Motorola SB4100 cable modem. Are these two pieces my bottleneck?

Here is a Tech Express link from PCPitstop if anyone cares to review it. http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=GF3CHW1C94VS7K7V

Any ideas are welcome. Thanks for looking.

—Purp

Hi Purplexion

Your internet connectivity/upload/download – look pretty darn good.
Heck, the rest of your machine looks to be tuned up quite well also.

Bandwidth Down 2059 Kbits/sec
Bandwidth Up 720 Kbits/sec

I've used both of those pieces of hardware myself, with no problems at all.
The "bottle-necking" really starts showing itself when folks connect wirelessly.

If you intend to go wireless in the near future, be sure to get al least the G compatible version.
And if you can wait for several months, the E version promises to be even better.

But I would have no problem staying with what you have.

Think about what actually "Limits" download speeds…..
The source site traffic
The number of "hops" between you and the source
The overall internet traffic
The speed/bandwidth limitations placed by the source site

I rarely see downloads to my machine in the 200-300 kb/s range, because of the above.
It wouldn't make much difference (if any) for you to change your hardware.
You already have more bandwidth potential that you probably never use.

Sure there are folks getting somewhat to much better internet speeds, but not many.

Take a look at this Thread over at the Pit for recent comparisons that folks have posted.
You'll see mine there too.
http://forums.pcpitstop.com/index.php?show…=142909&hl=

Best Regards

Hiya Doug. I'm not upset about the speeds themselves, really. They just don't match what I'm paying for which is 8Megs down, 1Meg up. When I don't have a car or truck to mess with I play with this machine. I am concerned about my downloads freezing, though. I'm guessing it's a quick fix, but I'm baffled at the moment. I saw all the postings….there's a guy in Indiana which is where I am who had 18Kish I believe. I'm guessing that's with the boost which is, OF COURSE!, not available in my area, yet. <_< See ya around

Have you checked for Possible Heat related problems?

No, I haven't checked with my system's temperature sensor lately. I quit playing online games a couple months ago which heated things up about as much as anything is going to and had no problems. I've considered my processor failing (about 3.5 years old now) or some other part. I don't think it's my video card. It's only about 6-8 months old and has the proper driver. ATI Radeon 1600. I think I may try unloading all my video players and reloading. I really hate to reload Quicktime, but I guess it's a necessary thing. Again, any ideas are appreciated.

QuickTime Alternative <–better and smaller footprint (in my opinion)
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickT…Alternative.htm
or consider downloading/installing the full K-Lite Codec pack that will configure your Media Player to handle QuickTime formated media, RealPlayer formated media, and the other usual media formats.

K Lite Mega Codec Pack

http://www.majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack_d5230.html

K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools. Codec is short for Compressor-Decompressor. Codecs are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video. This Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. You should be able to play all the popular movie formats and even some rare formats.

The K-Lite Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs: It it always very up-to-date with the latest versions of the codecs; It is very user-friendly and the installation is fully customizable, meaning that you can install only those components that you really want; It has been very well tested, so that the package doesn't contain any conflicting codecs; It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies; and has different packages.

The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack combines the contents of three codec packs:
* K-Lite Codec Pack Full
* Real Alternative

Awesome! I wasn't aware there were alternatives to Quicktime and Real Player like that. I hate the way both of those take over everything, especially Real Player. I avoid it like the plague. Thanks a lot for the link. I'm afraid my freezing problem is in configuration SOMEwhere. I must assume it's related to my ISP setup somehow. If it's in XP, I may have to totally reformat etc, etc. Anyhow…off to try the new vid setup.