Why do Videos keep Buffering?

Why do Videos keep Buffering?

Most of the programs in computer make use of temporary storage in the memory called buffers which gets filled with the data first and then transfer it to the hard disk. These buffers take up the digital data safely and assure the data quality before it is sent to the hard drive. The direct data transfer to the hard disk might damage the data sometimes.

In an internet connection, the efficiency of it can be determined by the bandwidth and latency. These features also can change often based on how much busy the ISP network and remote server are. The bandwidth efficiency also depends on the extent of network sharing by the number of local applications. Video that is displayed from the DVD player or cable or digital TV broadcast will need only small buffers as the data transfer is predetermined with regular delay time and rate of data transfer. Here, there will not be any drop in the data as everything happens independent of any lengthy data travel.

But video displayed through internet protocol network has some problems. Here, the rate of data transfer and delay time is not predetermined. The server will send data to the client from where data is sent to the buffer and gradually, when the buffer is full, the video starts playing. The rate of data flow should be sufficient enough to keep the buffer full otherwise the buffer gets erased and again starts from the beginning.

If the buffer is small, then the video is played immediately. If it is large, it changes accordingly with the bandwidth variations. If there is small buffer, it gets erased easily when there is any drop in the rate of flow and is influenced by any bad channel conditions. If the buffer is large, it takes lots of time for the End user to view the video, but it is more reliable. Both the cases might be unsatisfactory at some situations.