All video files choppy at beginning while playing with Media Player

[rijir2001]

Ok. I tried re-installing Windows Media Player a few times. I even upgraded to the new beta version. But it is the same problem for all video types played through it. They are choppy at the beginning where it freezes up for a few seconds, stalls, etc. Once it gets about a minute into the video it will play fine. It is very annoying. And I haven't a clue as to why. It all started a month or so ago. I have a Pentium 1GB processor and 512MB RAM. Not the top machine. But I don't really have any other problems.

Any ideas?

[redwudz]

You didn't mention if you have tried other players and still have the same issues. That makes it impossible to guess if it's a WMP problem or a general computer problem, which would be the more likely answer if it does the same on other players.

Try VLC media player. It uses it's own codecs and is one way to test if the problem is codecs (Unlikely) or a WMP or a system problem. If you get the same problem with different videos, then you want to check if your hard drive is too full or needs a defrag or you have something running in the background stealing CPU cycles. A virus checker would be my first guess.

More information would help considerably.

[rijir2001]

My virus protection is up to date. I do regular scans as well as spyware. My hard drives are defragged regularly. This will even happen on a video file played from a CDrom. Video files played through Quicktime seem to play okay. I haven't tried any other player.

[Krispy Kritter]

Are the files on your HD or are you streaming across the internet? Sounds about normal for streaming/downloading files, depending on your internet connection. If the files are on your HD, then you should definetly try a different player.

You may also want to check your buffer settings.

[rijir2001]

these are files on my HD. Mpeg1, Mpeg2, DV, etc...

[redwudz]

You still didn't really answer my questions. If the videos play OK on everything but WMP, then WMP is the problem. Simple as that.

If you haven't tried a different player, do so. I removed WMP from my system because it is intrusive and is not a very good player. Just my preference. If you like WMP, try Media Player Classic. It has a lot less overhead than WMP. VLC is even better, IMO. Even with Quicktime files, I use Quicktime Alternative.

Some antivirus programs insist on checking a video or about anything you run, even if it's been on the computer for a long time, and that can cause those kind of delays. If that's it, dump that antivirus and use a better one or find the settings that prevent those type of checks.

[OldAmateur]

That happens to me with Media Player Classic. I have not explored it rigorously, but I'm pretty sure it is related to the state of the hard drive memory cache. My guess is that it happens when another process has left the cache full enough so that the operating system wants to swap some old data out. Meanwhile the media player is trying to fill its buffer from the drive, but has to wait occasionally for access to the drive. After ten or fifteen seconds, typically, the buffer gets full enough to stay ahead of the playback, and the player performance smooths out.

[rijir2001]

I tried VLC player and it works great. This solves my problem.

Thanks!!!!