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QuickTime and UTube movies stop & start. How can I re-set for slow internet connection?

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UTube will start the movie OK, but stops a few seconds in, then buffers the feed?, and then continues. Sometimes it doesn't continue. I have a rather slow dsl connection - ethernet to my 2011 imac running 10.7.5. My question is: Is there some way to re-set the buffer settings so the videos play without stopping?

UTube will start the movie OK, but stops a few seconds in, then buffers the feed?, and then continues. Sometimes it doesn't continue. I have a rather slow dsl connection - ethernet to my 2011 imac running 10.7.5. My question is: Is there some way to re-set the buffer settings so the videos play without stopping?

Chosen solution

Some problems with Flash video playback can be resolved by disabling hardware acceleration in your Flash Player settings. (See this article for more information on using the Flash plugin in Firefox).

To disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player:

  1. Go to this Adobe Flash Player Help page.
  2. Right-click on the Flash Player animation near the bottom of the page.
  3. Click Settings in the context menu. The Adobe Flash Player Settings screen will open.
  4. Click on the icon at the bottom-left of the Adobe Flash Player Settings window to open the Display panel.

    The image "fpSettings1.PNG" does not exist.
  5. Remove the check mark from Enable hardware acceleration.
  6. Click Close to close the Adobe Flash Player Settings Window.
  7. Restart Firefox.

This Flash Player Help - Display Settings page has more information on Flash Player hardware acceleration, if you're interested.

Does this solve the problem? Let us know.

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All Replies (3)

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Depending on your internet speed, this may not be possible.


Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches.

You might need to restart Firefox in order for this to take effect, so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).

Then perform these steps:

  • Click the orange Firefox button at the top left, then select the "Options" button, or, if there is no Firefox button at the top, go to Tools > Options.
  • In the Firefox options window click the Advanced tab, then select "General".
  • In the settings list, you should find the Use hardware acceleration when available checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
  • Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.

Additionally, please check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in the following Knowledge base articles:

Did this fix your problems? Please report back soon.

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Chosen Solution

Some problems with Flash video playback can be resolved by disabling hardware acceleration in your Flash Player settings. (See this article for more information on using the Flash plugin in Firefox).

To disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player:

  1. Go to this Adobe Flash Player Help page.
  2. Right-click on the Flash Player animation near the bottom of the page.
  3. Click Settings in the context menu. The Adobe Flash Player Settings screen will open.
  4. Click on the icon at the bottom-left of the Adobe Flash Player Settings window to open the Display panel.

    The image "fpSettings1.PNG" does not exist.
  5. Remove the check mark from Enable hardware acceleration.
  6. Click Close to close the Adobe Flash Player Settings Window.
  7. Restart Firefox.

This Flash Player Help - Display Settings page has more information on Flash Player hardware acceleration, if you're interested.

Does this solve the problem? Let us know.

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If none of the above works, please try the below.


Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

  • On Windows you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
  • Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

FirefoxSafeMode

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode" Safe Mode Fx 15 - Win

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

Please report back soon.