The below sample messages have been encoded at different default stream rates. Messages/videos encoded at higher stream rates are larger in size and therefore more information must be streamed to the recipient. If a viewer's Internet connection is slower, or is fast, but for some reason cannot currently stream files that are larger in size, during playback, recipients may see excessive "Buffering," repeated starts or stops, or possibly situations where the audio is heard, but the video does not appear. Testing each of the below messsages in succession can help troubleshoot one or more of the following: - If a recipient's Internet connection is able view a message at a given stream rate
- If there might be a problem with the message player on the recipient's computer
- What range of message streaming rates may work best for a given audience
For example, if the "Dial Up" version of the message plays successfully, this means that messages in general should play successfully for the recipient and problems related to software can be ruled out. Next, if the "Medium" version does not play successfully, then the evidence would suggest that the recipient's Internet connection does not currently have the bandwidth available to stream the message properly. If Dial Up through XX-High play successfully, then the Internet connection supports a wide variety of streaming rates.
This message defaults to our Dial Up streaming rate (30k): This message defaults to Low (100k):
It should also be noted that playback performance can also be effected by other factors, such as maintenance being performed by telecoms, or ISPs, and general Internet congestion related to time-of-day traffic. It may be helpful to launch these samples at different times in the day to determine if performance is better or worse due to the Internet traffic that may be typical for your location.
For other articles related to this topic, please see the list of Related Issues below. |
