How Server Speeds Affect Streaming Video
Web servers power the online pages we view as we surf the Internet, and the speed of our online experience is affected by the speed of the server. If a server is running slowly or lots of people are using it at one time, the page might load slowly on your computer. The speed with which a server can send the Web page's information to your computer also affects how you stream videos.
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About
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The speed of a server affects the quality and speed of video streaming: the slower the server speed, the slower the streaming speed. If the server speed is too low, this interferes with your ability to stream video online, affecting the picture and audio quality and potentially causing the video to cut out. If you are trying to stream a video online and are having problems with the speed and quality, this might be due to a slow server.
Timing
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When you stream a video, your computer sends a request to the server, which then sends the video file back to your computer, where it is stored temporarily and played through a medium such as an Internet browser. Because the file size is large, you can start streaming the clip while the rest of the file is being sent from the server to your computer. With a slow server speed, this process take longer, so you might want to wait for a few minutes to let the clip load before starting to watch.
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Proxy Servers
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If you are having problems watching video clips online due to a slow server, consider using a video-specific proxy server. These servers are designed for streaming videos and might transmit the video files quicker than normal servers. A proxy server acts as a middleman in the communication between your computer and the server, meaning the server communicates only with the proxy, not your computer. Video proxy servers cache online videos, speeding up the streaming process.
Considerations
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Other factors can affect the speed of your video streaming in addition to the server speed, and checking these issues could help speed up your video streaming experience. Video streaming can be affected by the speed of your Internet connection and is difficult to do with a dial-up connection. Running lots of other programs on your computer while trying to stream a video can also affect the speed with which your computer receives and processes the video file from the computer, so shut down all other programs and browsers to optimize your streaming experience.
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