
Why are the videos choppy or freezing?
The quality of the video clip you are watching mainly depends on two factors: (a) the speed of your Internet connection and (b) the bit rate (speed) of the video clip. The faster the bit rate of the video clip, the better the quality. However, the speed of your Internet connection will limit which video clip bit rate that you can watch. For example, if you only have a 56kbs dial up connection to the Internet, the highest video clip bit rate that you will be able to watch will be 56kbs or less (most likely less as the majority of dial-up connections only get speeds of 28kbs or less due to phone line issues). If you try to watch a video clip with a bit rate of 300kbs over a dial up connection, the video will not play. That is why we offer multiple bit rates for each video clip. Each bit rate is optimized for the different types of Internet connections available (Dial-up/DSL/Cable Modem/T1). As you can see, it is very important that you select the proper video clip bit rate for your Internet connection. For the best viewing experience, we recommend a high speed Internet connection such as DSL or Cable Modem.
It is important to note that even if you have a high-speed (DSL/ Cable Modem/ T1), Internet traffic congestion affects your connection speed and/or video performance. You will get slower or faster speeds at different times depending on peak or off-peak use hours. You may also get slower speeds during the morning and afternoon, but faster speeds late at night when fewer people are online. Also, streaming quality decreases when multiple people share the same Internet connection (e.g. at work or on a home network).