I really want to know if anyone else here is having trouble with Youtube. For some reason, most of the videos I try to watch either take forever to load, or most of the time they just simply STOP. Why the hell would that happen? Why would the video just cease to load at all? It's highly annoying.

It doesn't seem to matter what the quality setting is. I can bump it down to 240p and videos will still stop loading. I currently have a video set to 240 that hasn't stopped, but it's been loading for 10 minutes now and the video its self is only 4.5 minutes.

I've cleared my browser cache and my flash storage (I think, it's hard to tell with the terrible flash settings window), and I've tried multiple browsers. I've tried using my ISP's DNS and I've tried Google's own DNS. Still, I get videos just stopping part of the way through!

Is anyone else experiencing this? Does anyone have suggestions for fixing this? I know Youtube is one of the highest bandwidth sites on the web, but it seems like if this were happening for many people there would be more of an out cry. I have a very fast connection, and I've downloaded a file at 3MBps at one point, so the speed issues shouldn't be on my end.

What do I do?

Throw your hands up in the air and hope someone at Google eventually notices. Been seeing bad behaviors from Youtube since probably December, and it's just gotten worse. Had a video just stop earlier today at work, even though the entire video showed loaded in the player. Rewound, and it just kept stopping at the exact same point. Tried to fast forward and it tanked, forcing me to reload.

Most of my initial problems started when I was using an iOS device tapping into the H.264 in .MP4 container versions. It's slowly spread to the web Flash and HTML 5 players too.

Bandwidth at home is rated at 50mbit, and at work at 100mbit, so it's definitely not a bandwidth constraint on my side. Only thing I can figure is the edge servers are either overloaded, or not pulling the video in quick enough from the core storage that holds all the YouTube videos.

Oh yes! I'd forgotten that wonderful treat. I get that too and it's probably the most infuriating because it's reporting that it finished loading, but clearly didn't.

This is yet another instance of Google's complete lack of customer service. If they checked their own "Help" forums, they'd see long threads filled with users experiencing this issue, but that clearly doesn't help anything.


My favorite part? I've noticed that no matter what, every single ad plays PERFECTLY.

Do users spend a long time on those forums? Do they show ads on those forums? Are the ads easier to focus on than when watching videos? This could all be by design.

I have no problems, at least with the one video I tested just now. (It is my favorite youtube video of all time, so I have it bookmarked. If you have not seen it before you simply must watch it.)

It loaded and began playing in less than three seconds and played to completion without a glitch.

I have a reasonably fast internet connection, 7 mb/sec on a cable modem.

tanstaafl.

The problem definitely has nothing to do with connection speeds on the user's end. I have a very fast connection (20/10), and whenever I have these difficulties I tend to also have no problem streaming HD video from sites like vimeo.

I also don't get this problem across all videos, and it doesn't affect all problem videos equally. The video you linked, Doug, does load fine for me, but watching the buffering bar, I saw it zoom to about two minutes in, then sit there until the play marker got really close, then it zoomed a little further. So I'm having a slight issue with that video, but it's not resulting in delays. (btw, you did post that video to one of the video threads here, so I do remember it)

As a sample test, here's a video (I'm researching blenders) I was trying in vain to watch earlier. Make sure to put it in 480p mode. For me it freezes at ~36 seconds. If I leave it, it'll eventually load the whole thing, but it'll take an unreasonably long time.

What I've also noticed is that with certain problem videos, I can get it to scoot along and load the next bunch of video simply by alternating quality levels. It'll get stuck, I change the quality, and the buffer will shoot out like it should. Then it'll get stuck, I'll change the quality back up, and the buffer shoots out again.

Another weird example: I just tried loading up OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass" video at 1080p to see how high quality video is affected by this problem I'm running into. You would think that it simply wouldn't load, or would get stopped far more often. Instead, the buffer chugged along at a great pace and the video played seamlessly, but I can see that for some reason it just decided to stop completely at 3:17 in the video. Then after about 2 minutes, it advanced to 3:20, 2 minutes later the whole thing.

Youtube was flawless for me last year. It always worked at all quality levels, even those ridiculously high levels they announced a while back. I started having issues with it around the same time that Tom did, late last year. I suspect you're right Tom, that it's their edge servers. It makes sense that a video from OK Go would be more easily played than a blender comparison from Popular Science, so that's probably what I'm seeing, but I still had a problem with the video with 26 million hits...

Your "sample test" video loads and plays more or less instantly in 480p here, and the buffering more than keeps up with the playback, even on our crappy dual-DSL link here.

Cheers.

Maybe its because they're using WebM now? It sounds a bit suspicious that your problems have recently started and they also recently starting switching over to WebM.

I'm pretty sure they moved to WebM for HTML5 video, which you only get when you sign up for the HTML5 program. Otherwise isn't it good ol' Flash video?

Weirdly, both result in the same thing, and it sounds like it did for Tom, too.


That's the kicker. My connection is not the problem, it's something with Google...

What if they're working with Adobe to get the Flash player to load the WebM source videos?

I guess that's possible, but if it were a problem with WebM, I don't really see why that would create the types of problems I'm seeing. Shouldn't it be a problem for everyone and not just Tom and me?

Once the YouTube site came up (2+ seconds) the video begain playing less than 2 seconds later. It finished loading at 2:29 into the playback, and played flawlessly all the way through.

SWMBO's Vita-Mix blender has proven to be quite satisfactory, very powerful and effective. The variable-speed rheostat failed after about 10 years, and their customer service was outstanding. When they found I lived in Mexico, they waived their normal requirement to return the blender for that particular repair and sent me the part with detailed instructions.

I'm not sure I would evaluate a blender based solely on how well it pulverizes an apple. That is an odd task that is obviously affected by the shape of the container and how the apple bounces around in it, and for all we know an "apple-compatible" shape might well be disadvantageous for more normal blending tasks. I think other real-world tests might better indicate true performance.

tanstaafl.

Hi,

I tried tanstaafl's video. I have a DSL connection and it played out until 8:09 then stalled. It had played within the buffered content without any breaks, the buffer was about 20% ahead. It had stopped buffering, used up the current buffer, and just sat there spinning.

I was however, able to download the full video and it played fine with RealPlayer.

Cool video, just another datapoint.

Ross

Naturally I'm leaning towards the "Will it Blend?" Blendtec blenders, but the Vita-Mix blenders have a great reputation as you've noted. The primary concern for me is that quite frankly, the Vita-Mix looks like it'a about 18 feet tall I really doubt it'll fit under my cabinets, and there's just no space elsewhere for it (or to store the carafe).


That was the real kicker. I spent about an hour trying to watch that video, and it ended up being a bad demonstration! Sheesh! I'd like to see her repeat that test, but this time even cut the fruits in half or quarters first. I have a KitchenAid blender, and I know that the result she got from the one they tested is not smooth, which is what I care about, and that's what the Blendtec - particularly with the wider carafe - would get me.

The only problem is the insane cost. All the videos say it saves you money because you don't need a bunch of other equipment...but I already have that other equipment I'm still eager to get one, though, because my Kitchenaid is terrible at its job and it leaks anyway.

It's going to be really hard for any of us to narrow down the problem just due to the way YouTube, and the modern internet in general is set up. There isn't just one YouTube server or datacenter somewhere, it's spread out all over Google's network mixed in with everything else they run. I don't know exact details on their operations, but it's likely run similar to a CDN. Edge servers sit closer to users, avoiding hops over major backbone transfer points. Those edge servers contain the videos popular in that area, and carry lesser requested ones only when demanded. And once a problematic video is found, a later refresh may play just fine since the edge server now has it fully cached.

The other issue is effective bandwidth. YouTube isn't hit as badly by this compared to more real time internet applications, but it still can be a factor. The higher the latency, and the more hops involved with a route, the lower the maximum bandwidth is going to be. Even if you have a great connection from the ISP to your house, it's possible that you aren't being routed to the proper "internet close" edge server, and instead are being sent to one with less then favorable latency possibly with packet loss issues.

Google does seem to be trying to address it though, as recent revisions to their Flash player have several diagnostic options in the right click menu, including report an issue. Might be worthwhile to use, since Google is likely to have much more data on the situation at the time of the problem. Just a shame it's harder to report issues when using the HTML 5 or mobile players.

Thanks for letting me know about the feedback issue, Tom. Not that I'm hopeful for anything to be done about this, but it makes me feel ever so slightly better

I've told you a million times -- stop exaggerating!

tanstaafl.

Hehe, I know

But the fact remains, I can't fit that under my cabinets, so it's out automatically. My cabinets are 17" off the countertop, my current blender is about 15", and I believe the Blendtec is also 15". When you put the two next to each other, like in that video I linked, the Vita-Mix looks positively enormous.

It also looks like a jug attached to an outboard motor...

For what it's worth, a buddy of mine who works on YouTube mentioned:

If you think about it, it's pretty amazing that YouTube works as well as it does, given that (wild guess) it's not exactly Google's most profitable service. Why, I remember, back in the bad old days, when you'd put QuickTime videos on your home page, use a kludgy piece of HTML to link to the QT (via embed and object tags), and it would still not work very well.

I'll try that, thanks Dan.

It's true that it's amazing that Youtube works so well, but that's the problem: you can't go backwards I was very happy the first couple years I lived here and had my super fast Fios, when I could just play video after video in 1080p with no issues...

*edit*
I just ran Google's speed test (I've been running other speed tests), and one suspicion I've had is becoming aparent: I think my connection is extremely erratic. Check out the attached result.

Google's speed test?

Google's speed test, exposed by the right click menu on flash based youtube videos.

Mine seems just as erratic.

Well, I don't know if it's a case of trying to play that video two dozen times, rebooting my Fios equipment a few times, or flushing my DNS, but the video I linked to seems to be loading much better now. It doesn't zoom across like it seemed to in the past, but the buffer is easily keeping ahead of the playback.

I'll have to keep an eye on other videos I watch to see if this is an across the board thing or if it's just Google's servers moving the video around to serve it to me better.

Or maybe when you report trouble with a video, you get your very own Google employee who watches over your videos and makes sure everything goes smoothly! Right?

BTW Matt, start a thread about the blenders please. I'm not kidding.

Update: it looks like, at least for me, much of the issue is/was on my end.

Over the past week, I've been having some issues with my internet connection (Fios, which I still love). Here's the deal:

I kept calling Fios support, and sadly because their 1st tier is not trained to know about my setup, none of them could really help me.

See, in what they call "Multi-Dwelling Units" (MDU's), if the construction company doesn't let Verizon run fiber to the units, instead they'll install an ONT in the telephone closet on each floor, and run VDSL from the closet to the apartment. So I have a DSL modem/router in addition to the standard Verizon router.

Unfortunately, when I call the tier 1 people at Verizon, the second I say I have a DSL modem, they either think I'm a moron or they don't have any clue what to do next.

It wasn't until the modem died completely that I was able to get someone sent out, and fortunately Verizon's installers are very familiar with my weird setup.

In addition to the modem, it seems there was a messed up connection in the telephone closet, but now everything is fixed and it seems like Youtube buffering has improved greatly.