Image Flow
This is not a technical discussion.
It is devoted to "what you see" from a practical, user-at-home standpoint.
Issues with Uninterrupted Flow
1. Interruptions, "freezing" of picture flow
Data en-route from overseas
Streams originate from distant places and are broken into packets that are often routed over various routes and "reassembled" at their end destinations.
Streams that are broken at origin will usually result in you seeing a screen that asks for your patience while the program is resurrected. Streams that are broken at a point en-route, that the broadcaster doesn't know about, will cause the film you see to "freeze" - to simply stop. It's like a film being beamed from a satellite that stops when a rainstorm passes above one's home satellite dish (or the dish of a cable company that feeds programs into cables that it gets from satellites). The points where a stream can break in the internet can be at the server of any operator through whose facility the internet routes packets of picture data.
As you can probably conclude, these conditions are not something you can do much about, especially when you are trying to receive a program from another continent. As a home viewer, you will have to count on developing technology and improvements in the quality of services provided by everyone en-route. Actually, technology is quite good and more than capable of providing steady enjoyment. At home is where the frozen picture problems usually surface.
At your home receiver
In spite of what is written above, interruptions in picture flow that you may experience are, more often than not, occurring because of inadequate service being delivered at your home, office or mobile smart phone.
Streams come into your home from your internet service offeror at inconsistent speeds. To receive internet motion video decently (i.e, to view a large, clear picture on a TV set with steady motion), you need a high speed internet connection and a quality player (set-top / decoder) box. The faster the connection the better. The faster it is, the higher the overall average input is that you get.
"Caching". Computers and set top boxes are outfitted with memory chips that receive and store video data from the internet and then dish it out to your TV set in a steady stream. "Cache" is a term that refers to the "pool" of stored data in the set top box or on your computer's video card that is waiting to be rationed out steadily. If the internet stream of data into the pool stops, the feeder that dishes the steady stream out to your TV set will, at some point, run out of the supply of data that was in the "pool". When that happens, your picture stops. You have to wait until the network pause ends and until the program data starts and fills the pool again. If the flow from the internet stops completely, the cache will usually run out of data to feed after about 5-7 seconds. If the internet stoppage was only for a short period of a few seconds, set-top boxes are usually able to reset themselves and resume automatically. When the picture doesn't start again automatically (after 20-30 seconds, for instance), try returning to the program guide menu with the remote control and then choose the channel again. In the worst case, you might have to "reboot" the set-top box (there's usually a button for that on the remote).
If your internet connection isn't very fast on average, and the varying speed of the incoming stream slows too often to where the average incoming flow is below what the cache needs to keep the feeder happy, you may experience many short stoppages - so many interruptions that you can't enjoy what you are watching. That's because the feeder needs to always send data to the TV at a rate that is faster than the average speed of the incoming data from the internet. The pool is draining slowly in this case - the connection you have is simply too slow to keep up with the average speed that is needed for a steady video picture. If you are watching the program on a computer, and can make the picture smaller, you can overcome the problem to a great extent because a small picture doesn't need as much data as it takes to fill a big TV screen. On a television set, however, there is rarely any way of making pictures larger or smaller.
2. Sound that is "out of sync" with video images.
There are essentially two streams that make up a TV show - the video and the audio. Some set top boxes have difficulty keeping to the two properly parallel with each other. Even a delay of one-half of a second in a video picture can make it look like an actor is moving his or her lips after he or she has already finished a line. It can be irritating. A small "hiccup" in the steady stream the feeder puts out from the box to the TV is the cause. A short spike in the 110v/220v electric supply to your home can cause it. You can usually get the sound to easily match the picture once again by changing to a different channel with the remote and then quickly returning to the channel you were watching.
Data en-route from overseas
Streams originate from distant places and are broken into packets that are often routed over various routes and "reassembled" at their end destinations.
Streams that are broken at origin will usually result in you seeing a screen that asks for your patience while the program is resurrected. Streams that are broken at a point en-route, that the broadcaster doesn't know about, will cause the film you see to "freeze" - to simply stop. It's like a film being beamed from a satellite that stops when a rainstorm passes above one's home satellite dish (or the dish of a cable company that feeds programs into cables that it gets from satellites). The points where a stream can break in the internet can be at the server of any operator through whose facility the internet routes packets of picture data.
As you can probably conclude, these conditions are not something you can do much about, especially when you are trying to receive a program from another continent. As a home viewer, you will have to count on developing technology and improvements in the quality of services provided by everyone en-route. Actually, technology is quite good and more than capable of providing steady enjoyment. At home is where the frozen picture problems usually surface.
At your home receiver
In spite of what is written above, interruptions in picture flow that you may experience are, more often than not, occurring because of inadequate service being delivered at your home, office or mobile smart phone.
Streams come into your home from your internet service offeror at inconsistent speeds. To receive internet motion video decently (i.e, to view a large, clear picture on a TV set with steady motion), you need a high speed internet connection and a quality player (set-top / decoder) box. The faster the connection the better. The faster it is, the higher the overall average input is that you get.
"Caching". Computers and set top boxes are outfitted with memory chips that receive and store video data from the internet and then dish it out to your TV set in a steady stream. "Cache" is a term that refers to the "pool" of stored data in the set top box or on your computer's video card that is waiting to be rationed out steadily. If the internet stream of data into the pool stops, the feeder that dishes the steady stream out to your TV set will, at some point, run out of the supply of data that was in the "pool". When that happens, your picture stops. You have to wait until the network pause ends and until the program data starts and fills the pool again. If the flow from the internet stops completely, the cache will usually run out of data to feed after about 5-7 seconds. If the internet stoppage was only for a short period of a few seconds, set-top boxes are usually able to reset themselves and resume automatically. When the picture doesn't start again automatically (after 20-30 seconds, for instance), try returning to the program guide menu with the remote control and then choose the channel again. In the worst case, you might have to "reboot" the set-top box (there's usually a button for that on the remote).
If your internet connection isn't very fast on average, and the varying speed of the incoming stream slows too often to where the average incoming flow is below what the cache needs to keep the feeder happy, you may experience many short stoppages - so many interruptions that you can't enjoy what you are watching. That's because the feeder needs to always send data to the TV at a rate that is faster than the average speed of the incoming data from the internet. The pool is draining slowly in this case - the connection you have is simply too slow to keep up with the average speed that is needed for a steady video picture. If you are watching the program on a computer, and can make the picture smaller, you can overcome the problem to a great extent because a small picture doesn't need as much data as it takes to fill a big TV screen. On a television set, however, there is rarely any way of making pictures larger or smaller.
2. Sound that is "out of sync" with video images.
There are essentially two streams that make up a TV show - the video and the audio. Some set top boxes have difficulty keeping to the two properly parallel with each other. Even a delay of one-half of a second in a video picture can make it look like an actor is moving his or her lips after he or she has already finished a line. It can be irritating. A small "hiccup" in the steady stream the feeder puts out from the box to the TV is the cause. A short spike in the 110v/220v electric supply to your home can cause it. You can usually get the sound to easily match the picture once again by changing to a different channel with the remote and then quickly returning to the channel you were watching.
Try the tests below.
Understanding the Cache
The 30 minute video here is a normal file (not HD). The beginning is a modern day (but not a live) traffic image, followed by a German news program from 30 years ago.
Watch the rectangle at the bottom as the video plays. It will show you the relative speed of the incoming stream, and overlaid from the left, a shorter line begins to show how much of the "pool" of data has been consumed as the video has been playing. You need the inbound stream to stay way ahead of what has been played.
Watch the rectangle at the bottom as the video plays. It will show you the relative speed of the incoming stream, and overlaid from the left, a shorter line begins to show how much of the "pool" of data has been consumed as the video has been playing. You need the inbound stream to stay way ahead of what has been played.
Note: If you stop the play, your computer will continue
to load the file - the ratio showing on the indicators at the bottom won't be accurate any longer once you
re-start play. This is because the loading of the file had a chance to get
ahead of the feed to the viewing screen that you stopped. That continued loading doesn't occur when using a set-top box.
Also, if you enlargen this image and play it full screen size on your computer
monitor (using the symbol at the lower right),
it will not look as good as it would on a TV. Don't use this as a picture clarity comparison with anything.
Now Try a Connection Speed Test
Use your browser's BACK or "<" arrow button to return.
Try a Ping Test, too.
When you visit the speed test site, you can also try a "Ping" test. The purpose of it is explained there.
As you try the speed test, you can select Internet servers in other countries to see how the international connections work in comparison to the default server nearest you.
As you try the speed test, you can select Internet servers in other countries to see how the international connections work in comparison to the default server nearest you.