My Radio is Buffering / Skipping

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
This is a problem which a very small portion of streamers occasionally have. Its usually related to poor connectivity between the DJ (source) and the server. We actively monitor our own servers with network latency tools to ensure there is no problem our end.

Close bandwidth hungry programs

We recommend that you ensure that there are no downloads or uploads (bit torrents, p2p, msn, skype etc...) on your machine. You will need the bandwidth for steady streaming. Secondly if you share your network connection with other users / machines then make sure they are not uploading / downloading while you stream.

Use wired ethernet instead of WiFi.

Streaming over WiFi is not ideal as there can be interference which can affect your radio stream. Its best to connect over Ethernet to avoid the possibility of any problems.

Reset Modem

From a network hardware point of view, we recommend that you use an Ethernet cable to connect to your broadband router. Wireless Internet is more susceptible to interference. You should probably reset your broadband router to ensure its working as it should and not causing any issues. It could occasionally be the problem.

Packet Loss

The root of the problem is 'packet loss' which is where packets that make up your stream are lost in transit to the server. You can analyse the problem with the 'ping' and 'traceroute' commands. This will give you a good idea of where the problem is located. We have a guide for using the 'MTR Tool' to analyse network issues with a traceroute command, this can be found here.

We recommend you monitor the situation as it is quite possible that one of the routers between your Internet connection and the server is overloaded. This could be something that goes away if technicians fix the problem at the ISP level.

Lower Bitrate

You could stream at a lower bitrate. It is possible (although unlikely) that your broadband connection upload speed is insufficient for the bitrate that you are using. There is a useful speed test tool here : Speedtest.net The upstream bandwidth is the important part. It should be higher than your streaming bitrate with a bit of extra room for other network traffic.

Last resort : Change ISP

If none of the above works and you are consistently getting packet loss to the server and others it might be time to just consider changing your ISP.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

JudgeJoey

New Member
Responding FAQ :)

I agree with That, keep all of your downloads off, Btjunkie, Skype or any uploads etc. And what that can do when you are Live on air, (speaking from experience! Just Plain n Simple, just have all the downloads stopped which is best advised. And that is one of the Problems here. Most people do Intend for forget to turn off their downloads or uploads to what ever it might be. Quiet Important to any Internet Radio DJ Out there, Just have all your uploads off, downloads off ETC. (PS) NEVER download when you are down a Live Stream. Hope this has been a help to you there Sir / Madam.

PS: Before you go Live!
Do Check to see if the downloads
are off. Or Completely closed.
=======================
 

dj4listeners

New Member
buffers can cause by above issue, but some other random facts is online games which take many capacity away and even when your connection is closed in upload and downloads.... it is recommended as there are more pc's around that do huge up and down activity to bring down.
 

dj4listeners

New Member
More causes which found buffer and skipping....

- updates virus programs (most annoying if it asks for restart to install updates) :(
- scanning pc during broadcast :(
- as you work with more externals the processor main pc cant always respond quick,
which cause sound buffer.:( solution is place your airplays on desktop and put it in playlist.:)
- check out provider status if there are constructions at the line.
 

Bob Paragon

New Member
buffering problems with mp3 streams

I used MP3tunes for years until it went dead in December, and NEVER had any streaming problems with MP3s what-so-ever. I've since joined some streaming services particularly those that let you upload and play your own mp3 files. The problem I've run into Is that some mp3 files will stream for a few minutes than I get the dreaded <buffer 0%> while others won't.

Then it <Retry>'s the file and the same thing happens. Most of these files area edited and I though that perhaps the editing process was damaging the files ...

It doesn't appear to be related to bit-rate either.

The odd thing is that I can play these files on a PC in fine shape, but they're problematic when streaming to an internet radio.

I've used a few different editing programs with no change. I've even tried different brands of iRadios: Grace, Sanyo, Vtech. I've even tried podcasting the problem file but I get the same results. Runs about 2 minutes and <buffer 0%> appears.

Can anyone help with this. I don't know if its anything in the stream itself or what.
 

Bob Paragon

New Member
RE: Problems withmp3 streaming through stand-alone Internet radios

It could however possibly be that there is some inconsistency's in the number of channels ( mono / stereo) and the samplerates?

I'll certainly check it out. I've tried almost everything else...
 

JudgeJoey

New Member
Turn Virus Programes off

More causes which found buffer and skipping....

- updates virus programs (most annoying if it asks for restart to install updates) :(
- scanning pc during broadcast :(
- as you work with more externals the processor main pc cant always respond quick,
which cause sound buffer.:( solution is place your airplays on desktop and put it in playlist.:)
- check out provider status if there are constructions at the line.

not being an ass to you though this is from 2012, keep the up-dates off while doing a live broadcast on your Radio show, I know what its Like and trust me, its a pain in the rear-end I have to say. Just turn them off while Broadcasting Live. Then when Finished your live show, turn the updates back on :) Hope this has been a help to you.
 

philip evans

New Member
keep the up-dates off while doing a live broadcast on your Radio show, I know what its Like and trust me, its a pain in the rear-end I have to say. Just turn them off while Broadcasting Live. Then when Finished your live show, turn the updates back on :) Hope this has been a help to you.

THIS IS A FACT NO WIFI NO UPDATES USE ALWAYS A Ether net CABLE 100% WILL SOLVE ALL BUFFERING ON YOURE END
anything else is the stream system ...
REGARDS..
 

Support

Level 1 Support
Staff member
I tried streaming yesterday and struggled with a crackling sound, I checked my speeds on speedtest.net and broadbandspeedtest.org.uk and was hitting around 12mbps download speed. Think my router was having a funny 5 minutes because the problem seemed to resolve itself today.

We're pleased to hear this has resolved itself. You may find that if this happens again that reboting your router will help.
 
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