YouTube no longer buffering?

[Frantone]

There have been many changes going on at YouTube this weekend, and one problem that has come up at least on my end is that videos no longer buffer enough to play in real time.  I cannot even view my own videos on my own channel when logged into my account.  Videos no longer continue to buffer when paused, regardless of image quality selected.  Is anyone else having this issue??   

[c4757p]

Videos no longer continue to buffer when paused, regardless of image quality selected.

I noticed that a while ago. Years back, they used to buffer straight to the end no matter what, and now they take pauses (presumably to lighten the load on YT's bandwidth). It's really freaking annoying.  Seems to be worse some times than others (probably depending on the load of the server you're connected to), so maybe it's just particularly bad right now for you.

[ecat]

Annoying indeed and it's been this way for quite some time, for me at least. Your post prompted me to double check FlashPlayerSettings->LocalStorage, but changes here do nothing.

In my case between the hours of 2am and 6am my usage is effectively unlimited, at other times more costly rates apply 9am to 6pm is a bit of a killer . Back in the day if I was around before 9am I'd maybe buffer a couple of vids for later viewing so this buffer limit was proving to be a bit of a bastard.

DownloadHelper is a Firefox plugin, other such utilities exist. It allows for one click download of the video in the current browser window and pre-buffering is back on my agenda I understand Google do not approve of manually downloading for later viewing so use at your own risk!

In general it appears the more the 'net develops the less freedom we users are allowed - remember the days when almost every web page would resize to your browser window?
 

[Frantone]

Yea - I have noticed simillar issues in years past, but this is definitely a new level of annoying.  I do notice that this move seems to allocate more of the bandwidth for embeds and videos on sponsored channels, which seem to run at or near real time (you're in the clear Dave!)  at the expense of lesser channels.   YouTube has spent years encouraging everyone to upload full HD videos - and now they will not buffer HD on their own site!             Crazy Bastards!   

[PA0PBZ]

I noticed the same here, it's been going on for about 2 weeks I think. And yes, they also changed the way it is buffering, some time ago you could pause the video and it would go on loading, so that was a nice workaround. Nowadays it just stops loading on pause 
The strange thing is that one time you can't play a video real time, and 10 minutes later it is ok and even plays in HD without a problem.
I really hope this is something temporary, it takes the fun out of watching videos...

[Frantone]

I noticed the same here, it's been going on for about 2 weeks I think. And yes, they also changed the way it is buffering, some time ago you could pause the video and it would go on loading, so that was a nice workaround. Nowadays it just stops loading on pause 
The strange thing is that one time you can't play a video real time, and 10 minutes later it is ok and even plays in HD without a problem.
I really hope this is something temporary, it takes the fun out of watching videos...

Oh - its even worse than that - I noticed that there is no longer any cache for the video once you get through the whole thing - the 'replay' button begins the download all over again - from scratch!  Aaaargggghhh!!!!

[BravoV]

If I were a constant content producer, I'd upload to secondary site whenever a new video was made, say like Vimeo for example.

Its easier to jump to "other boat" when needed. 

[ResR]

I have seen it in Estonia too and sometimes it just freezes on playback, I used to let it buffer some time before watching so it dosen't freeze but now it's impossible.

In general it appears the more the 'net develops the less freedom we users are allowed - remember the days when almost every web page would resize to your browser window?

Yes, that is the most annoying "feature" ever, specially if you want to search the component for the project from digikey, you have to scroll the screen right to left, because the half of the page is at the other side of the screen border (component package data like Dil-8, on-reel or cut tape version).

[Frantone]

If I were a constant content producer, I'd upload to secondary site whenever a new video was made, say like Vimeo for example.

Its easier to jump to "other boat" when needed. 

My experience with Vimeo is mixed - I find that their embeds often don't play, and they suffer from major bandwidth issues too.  No real winner between these two at this point...

[PA0PBZ]

It doesn't solve anything but have you seen this?  https://www.youtube.com/my_speed

[Frantone]

It doesn't solve anything but have you seen this?  https://www.youtube.com/my_speed

That's a cool feature!   Yea, it is not a bandwidth issue here, but selective allocation of resources on the part of YouTube.  No way around it I think....   

[ecat]

Curiously the Android Youtube app has a dedicated pre-load setting, I guess vids in the watch later list will download in background when wifi is detected.

Stretching this favouritism one step further, I wonder if the old auto buffering  has been disabled to save our mobile, battery operated friends from dead phones and excessive bills?

[SeanB]

It has been happening for months for me, some will buffer all the way through, some will do a short buffer that grows as you watch while others just will not work. Often if you pause it will not resume when you select play, and you have to note where you are and reload the page. Vimeo often does odd things, and will not play some. Blip.tv does even odder things.

At least for the YT stuff flashgot mostly works, just grab the file and lay it in a media player that understands the stream. I notice a lot of YT content is available in multiple formats, from 3GP to webm, and quality from just abysmal ( for phones) to 720p as well. Multiple sizes in there as well.

[hans]

It says my average has been 34Mbps, but is very fluctuating lately....

I've noticed that:
- New video's are slow
- Impopular video's are slow (very little views)
- Sometimes 1080p buffers better than 720p, or vice versa. I always mess around with the quality to see which streams best. However, I won't watch most vids on 360p or lower. Or.. if fullscreen, must be atleast 720p

Last few weeks it was horrible (if it wasn't already, right?) I was watching some teardown vids and it hang like 10 times in <5 minutes. It was a pretty new video on a small channel (probably has slower distribution, I suspect!).. Quality didn't matter, even on 240p.
I tried downloading the episode with video downloader addins for my browser, but after 20MB the connection just dropped.

In other words, their servers have been shit lately.

[Frantone]

It says my average has been 34Mbps, but is very fluctuating lately....

I've noticed that:
- New video's are slow
- Impopular video's are slow (very little views)
- Sometimes 1080p buffers better than 720p, or vice versa. I always mess around with the quality to see which streams best. However, I won't watch most vids on 360p or lower. Or.. if fullscreen, must be atleast 720p

Last few weeks it was horrible (if it wasn't already, right?) I was watching some teardown vids and it hang like 10 times in <5 minutes. It was a pretty new video on a small channel (probably has slower distribution, I suspect!).. Quality didn't matter, even on 240p.
I tried downloading the episode with video downloader addins for my browser, but after 20MB the connection just dropped.

In other words, their servers have been shit lately.

Yea - I tried all resolution settings - and it would still freeze, even at 240p!  It is clearly not about bandwidth, but favoring certain content and certain channels over others.      

My android does not suffer this issue either - again suggesting that YouTube is sacrificing PC based HD users in favor of providing uninterrupted viewing for mobile devices, which are at much lower resolutions.

[PA0PBZ]

Another thing I noticed is that sometimes it just alters the length of a video during playback. For example, the video title says it is 3m50s and that is what it shows when you start playing. Then it suddenly stops playing at 1:01 and it shows that the total length is 1:01 
When you then restart the video it still says that the total length is 1:01 but it plays till 3:50. It made me seriously consider abandoning alcohol but it also happens when I'm not drinking 

[casper.bang]

My android does not suffer this issue either - again suggesting that YouTube is sacrificing PC based HD users in favor of providing uninterrupted viewing for mobile devices, which are at much lower resolutions.

Doubt so; Google makes the same amount of money from showing an ad on a webpage than via a dedicated Android app. Also, lots of Android phones are now with 720p and even 1080p displays, taking the same bandwith.

Yea, it is not a bandwidth issue here, but selective allocation of resources on the part of YouTube.  No way around it I think....   

Well, you could always try to block the IP's serving your location. This guy here has written a few blog entries about doing this.

[Thor-Arne]

Strange....
I just tried #443 and #453, both streamed 720p to the end while paused.

[firewalker]

The yt player is fubar. One way that works for me, to buffer, is to change to a higher resolution and then back again. THE most annoying thing though is that every time I try to touch the slider the buffer goes away...

I tend to use youtube-dl more and more.

Alexander.

[Frantone]

The yt player is fubar. One way that works for me, to buffer, is to change to a higher resolution and then back again. THE most annoying thing though is that every time I try to touch the slider the buffer goes away...

I tend to use youtube-dl more and more.

Alexander.

Hey!  This seems to work!      

Manually selecting HD (instead of the default auto detect) gave me real time playback and buffering on my own video.

[ecat]

The yt player is fubar. One way that works for me, to buffer, is to change to a higher resolution and then back again. THE most annoying thing though is that every time I try to touch the slider the buffer goes away...

I tend to use youtube-dl more and more.

Alexander.

Or lower resolution than back I just switched a non-buffering vid from its max 480p down to 360p then back to 480 and down it comes. Great tip, ty

[IanB]

YouTube has been like this for months now. The net is full of complaints and sarcastic comments, like for example:

"Use case #1: You click on a video and you watch it"

It doesn't seem hard, but the YouTube team seems unable to grasp it.

Experience varies, I think in part because Google does not serve up the content any more. It's all farmed out to third party content delivery networks, and they don't appear to be working to any effective service level agreements. If your local CDN sucks, you get no video.

One trick is to change resolution while paused (not while running). That occasionally triggers faster download and buffering.

I noticed also the lack of a local cache if you try to replay the video. That's just stupidly annoying and wastes even more bandwidth. I might guess that the original smart developers have moved on and this stuff is being developed by kids now.

[mrflibble]

Yeah, it's a tad annoying. But nothing that can't be fixed by just downloading it with whatever tool you like and then watching that. Besides, I often like to watch those online lectures not-so-much-online but very much offline on my tv. Less bandwidth usage because I only have to download it precisely once. And less chance of getting distracted by oh this video oh that video *clicky*

[Frantone]

I have to blame PSY -  I think that the bandwidth allocated for GANGNAM STYLE alone broke YouTube! 

Here.... I'll break it some more!

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (??) M/V

[firewalker]

What the fuck is this? 1+ billion views?

What yt had in mind is correct. Only buffer enough for a smooth play. It was a waste of bandwidth to buffer the entire video. I bet that a big amount of user would close the video before the end. Or jump to the end.

The implementation though sucks sweat from a dead dog's balls.

Alexander.