How do you get a smooth streaming video for slower connections?

[Duc851]

I realized I was asking the wrong question after getting one response.

What I really wanted to know is....Is there an encoding method that works best for providing smooth streaming to people like me with slower connections. (I've got fastest DSL my neighborhood offers which isn't very fast).

I have been experimenting with mp4 which seems to stream smooth but sacrifices sound quality.
My emphasis is on sound quality rather than video quality so I've had some success uploading WMV files using the WMA 10 Professional codec for audio (higher bit rate) however these WMV videos buffer frequently. It varis bit sometimes I get stalls every 3 seconds on my connection. Others aren't as bad but it seems to be hit and miss. Is there an encoding method formula I should be using to get what I want?

Which is good audio with no buffer stalling. Here's an example of one that offers great audio yet stalls frequently. I've also gotten messages this is happening for others as well. Most listeners don't have the patience to hit pause and wait a couple of minutes for it to load. So you end up losing listeners. What's the fix?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRWoNlTWz54

[aedipuss]

it's your internet connection that's too slow. they play fine here with absolutely no stalling. the HD versions play fine also.

[Duc851]

it's your internet connection that's too slow. they play fine here with absolutely no stalling. the HD versions play fine also.

Thanks for your response. You made me realize I was asking the wrong quaestion because people with fast connections would not perceive the problem. My question really was geared toward getting an answer on how to get an uninterrupted video stream uploaded for people with slower connections (like me).

I've gotten that with mp4 files but at the sacrifice of audio quality. So now trying to find out how to retain audio quality (WMV encoded with WMA 10 Professional audio codec works great) and have the video stream smooth with no buffering?

[poisondeathray]

If the translucent red bar isn't downloading ahead of the playback counter - this is definitely a bandwith issue; either Youtube's or on your end. You need to determine if it's Youtube's upload speed to your location that is the bottleneck, vs your download speed. It looks like your connection is the issue, because even in Canada, I'm getting the stream fine.

If Youtube is the culprit, then look for a better host, or pay for one

If you and other users have a download bottleneck, you need a better ISP connection. An analogy is your ISP connection is like 1 lane wide on a highway. You can't possibly fit 2 cars side by side. Also don't use your low bandwith for other activities concurrently (e.g downloading other stuff, torrents, etc...)

One workaround might be to use blank video (black screen), and all audio. This way the total bitrate is less, and all allocated to audio.

[aedipuss]

in order to get good streaming the bitrate of the video has to be lower than the connection speed of your internet. as in if you have a 1mbps dsl download speed than the video has to have been encoded to less than 1mbps total bitrate for it to have any chance of streaming nicely.

for youtube there isn't much you can do. they re-encode everything uploaded to them to their standards. they don't give you any choice to encode to low bitrates.

[Duc851]

Just uploaded this as a 1280x720 WMV file and it is still being processed by YouTube.
On all my uploads the version before YouTube processes it has nice fast streaming and audio sounds fine to me (video qulaity not so good but not my emphasis). Once YouTube processes my video is when I get the problem so whatever they are doing in their process seems to be causing the slow streaming for me. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGITfL0jvQ

BTW, My DSL download speed tests at 555 kb/s which is the fastest available in my area.

[aedipuss]

Just uploaded this as a 1280x720 WMV file and it is still being processed by YouTube.
On all my uploads the version before YouTube processes it has nice fast streaming and audio sounds fine to me (video qulaity not so good but not my emphasis). Once YouTube processes my video is when I get the problem so whatever they are doing in their process seems to be causing the slow streaming for me. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGITfL0jvQ

i'm not sure what you mean by "it has nice fast streaming" before youtube processes it. where are you streaming it from? playing it on your own computer is not streaming.

anyway her are the stats of that flv youtube made, and again it plays fine here. youtube sends it at over 1 mbps which is more than enough for it's encoded bitrate.

General
Complete name : G:\Temp\orbit downloads\video.flv
Format : Flash Video
File size : 20.5 MiB
Duration : 4mn 15s
Overall bit rate : 673 Kbps
totalduration : 254.788
totaldatarate : 672.664
bytelength : 21466942.000
canseekontime : Yes
sourcedata : B4A7DD146

Video
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@3.1
Duration : 4mn 15s
Bit rate : 562 Kbps
Width : 854 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Resolution : 24 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.046
Stream size : 17.1 MiB (84%)

Audio
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 4
Format profile : LC
Format settings, SBR : No
Duration : 4mn 15s
Bit rate : 103 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Resolution : 16 bits
Stream size : 3.13 MiB (15%)

[aedipuss]

BTW, My DSL download speed tests at 555 kb/s which is the fastest available in my area.

that would be the problem, it's under the encoded bitrate of the file. there is no way to stream it nicely. you have to press pause and let it download to you before playing. you'd need to about double your dsl speed to "stream" it.

[Duc851]

Thanks for the responses!
That Led Zeppelin video acxtually doesn't stream badly now that YouTube has "Processed" it. It only stalls very 20 seconds for me but picks up quickly. I encoded with the Windows Media 9 video codec (instead of the Windows Media 9 Advanced Profile) and kept the original frame rate of 29.97 so I think that may have something to do with it.

Here's another (Pink Floyd - Time) that I uploaded that stalls every 11 seconds or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmFKyakta6U

[creamyhorror]

You don't seem to understand that the bottleneck is the speed of transfer between Youtube and you. If network conditions are bad or Youtube is overloaded, the video may not be transferring quickly enough to you to play smoothly.