Maximizing Video Performance

Fred44 · Jan 28, 2010

I have a 1 year old HP Pavilion slimline with 3 GB memory and 320 GB hard drive with way over 3/4 of the drive free. When I first got this PC I never had any problems playing videos (on YouTube, etc.). Lately however, I have a problem with videos stalling (little circle turning round while video is stopped) quite frequently. This does not happen with all videos, so I'm wondering if this could just be a problem with the source or a problem with my system. I have my defragmenter on a once a month schedule, clean up hard disk pretty regularly, etc. My question is, what can I do to maximize my video performance?

Fred

stoneys-nutz · Jan 29, 2010

Hello Fred44,
Try these two free and easy to use apps to speed up your system.

Malwarebytes.org

Piriform - Download Backup Registry When Prompted.

These will clear out all junk files and malware.

Follow this tutorial. It will ensure that your file system is in good order.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

Go to the manufacturers site and update all your drivers, sound, video, chipset, and any others they have on offer.

Also, go to Run, type "msconfig" (no quotes), click on startup tab, take a look there at what is being started with Windows, uncheck anything that is not needed by Vista. Anything you stop, can be started manually when needed.
If you are not sure as to what you can close, take a picture and upload it, we can advise as to what you can shut off.

The problems with the you tube videos are likely to be with the server, however, check to see if there are any updates for your flash player, and disable all the add-ons you don't use in IE.

Follow these steps, and it will ensure that your system is malware free, and your files and drivers are in good order.

Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.

Fred44 · Jan 30, 2010

Thanks for the suggestions. I already run the Malwarebytes program and use Advanced Disk Cleaner. I also just ran the HP Update but there were no driver updates listed for video, sound, etc. I agree that the stalling video may be a source issue, as it always seems to be the same ones that stall and others play perfectly. Some that stall will play if I play them at 360p instead of 460. Also, I'm wondering if my graphics card could be the problem. It's a NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE. I Googled it and read some pretty negative information. I do know that it's integrated with the motherboard and not a graphics card. My specs say Chipset: GeForce 6150SE nForce 430. Most of the negatives I read were regarding gaming which I'm not in to at all. This should be sufficient for running videos on YouTube should it not? I visited the NVIDIA website to see if there were new drivers and it tried to install a Direct X add-on to check out my system, but I declined until I checked here to see if it was OK to allow installition of the add-on. I looked at my startup menu and everything is checked. How do I "take a picture" to upload for your evaluation? Thanks again.

Fred

stoneys-nutz · Jan 31, 2010

Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Snipping Tool, open what you want to take a shot of and use the snipping tool, save it and upload with your next post.

Fred44 · Jan 31, 2010

OK....Here's a shot of all items in my startup menu. Regarding the stalling videos..I've found that I can start the video, then hit "pause" and allow it to load (watch the faint red line on bottom), then the video will play without interruption. However, this is a real pain in the a^!!. I don't know if you got the edited version of my first reply, but I mentioned that I had the NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE graphics chip, which, if I understand correctly, is not really a graphics card but a chip intergrated onto the motherboard? My specs say Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430. I visited the NVIDIA website to check for new drivers and was prompted to install a Direct X add-on which will analyze my system for updated driver. Is this safe? Thanks for your assistance. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you RE what startup items I can disable and also info on my graphics chip. (I've read some pretty negative things about the 6150, but would think it's sufficient for playing videos. I don't do any gaming). Thanks.

Fred

stoneys-nutz · Jan 31, 2010

There is not a lot you can disable, not anything that is going to impact on your video, but you can stop these from loading and running in the background.
Java and both adobe items.
Try disabling the cyberlink bits too.
What are you using to play the videos ?, Windows media player or the cyberlink software, what ever one you use, try the other to see if there is any improvement.

As for the drivers, it is quite safe to install the software they (NVidia) need to scan your system.
You may have to go to the makers site to get the drivers, but try NVidia first.
I think my money would be on the server, as your machine is malware free, and the file system is in good order.

Fred44 · Jan 31, 2010

I can play DVDs using the HP Media Smart DVD player. This works fine. I'm having a problem with YouTube videos basically, playing online videos. As far as I know there's no way to change the application that plays those, right? As I said, I can wait until the video loads completely and it will play (start, pause and wait for the faint red line to go all the way to the end. This takes a while and I don't have to do it with all videos). I'm having no problem playing DVDs so I guess it may just be a source problem or is there something I can change on my internet settings that could help? Thanks.

Fred

stoneys-nutz · Jan 31, 2010

About the only thing you can do is to set IE back to defaults and try, but i think you will find its the servers.
If you want to reset IE, go to Tools > Internet options > Advanced > Reset.

brummyfan · Jan 31, 2010

Hi Fred44,
Samething happened to me while I watch any HD youtube videos, I resolved that by setting my virtual memory to 1 1/2 the size of my RAM and keeping initial and maximum same size. I don't know this will help you but worth a try.

Fred44 · Jan 31, 2010

I'll give that a try.

Fred44 · Jan 31, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
About the only thing you can do is to set IE back to defaults and try, but i think you will find its the servers.
If you want to reset IE, go to Tools > Internet options > Advanced > Reset.

When you say "servers" do you mean my ISP or the YouTube servers?

stoneys-nutz · Jan 31, 2010

I would say its the You Tube servers, if you download a large file do you find it slow to dowbload or is it ok ?.
Try a broadband speed test, just to check you connection.

Fred44 · Jan 31, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
I would say its the You Tube servers, if you download a large file do you find it slow to dowbload or is it ok ?.
Try a broadband speed test, just to check you connection.

Most load real slow. However, some are fine. I'm a jazz fan and some of the old black and white videos (Bill Evans, Miles Davis, etc.) usually load right up. You can see the buffer way ahead. It just depends on the video. The thing is, I've had this computer for a year and this just started to happen recently. I hate to keep asking questions but....How do you do a broadband speed test? I have cable connection (Comcast).

brummyfan · Feb 1, 2010

These will test your Internet speed:speed.io - Internet DSL Speedtest

Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Fred44 · Feb 1, 2010

Download speed 3137 KBit/s and Upload 1095 K. Download and upload speeds were evaluated as "excellent". So I guess it's a Youtube problem, or could it be my crappy grahics chip?
Thanks so much for your assistance. Here's a shot of the test results.

Fred

Fred44 · Feb 1, 2010

Here's a shot of the speed test. Everything looks good, right?

stoneys-nutz · Feb 2, 2010

It all looks great, its not your video chip, its the You Tube servers, if it was your chip, it would do it all the time, not now and again.

JoeJoe2 · Feb 2, 2010

There are some network tweaks provided by Speed Up the Performance of Vista - Vista Forums that might help. There are also programs like Auslogic boostspeed that work with the TCP/IP and network reg values.
Just a thought
Joe

Fred44 · Feb 2, 2010

JoeJoe2 said:
There are some network tweaks provided by Speed Up the Performance of Vista - Vista Forums that might help. There are also programs like Auslogic boostspeed that work with the TCP/IP and network reg values.
Just a thought
Joe

I disabled transparency and unchecked the boxes shown on the attachments and it worked like a charm. System is much faster and I went to the one video that was loading at a snail's pace and it loaded and played perfectly...with the buffer about 1 inch ahead of the position button. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

JoeJoe2 · Feb 4, 2010

So Glad it helped, but all credit goes to Shawn.
Joe

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