Video streaming forms an important part of our whole entertainment experience today. Be it catching up with your favorite movies, series or Live TV the viewing experience should be smooth and uninterrupted. However, these joyful moments could easily get disrupted by technical glitches or buffering issues on your OTT player.
This step-by-step guide empowers you with the knowledge of troubleshooting common issues faced by video streaming players on live and on-demand platforms. With these steps, you can solve the most common issues faced by most people while streaming content online.
Identifying the Problem:
It’s important to know what to fix before moving to the solution. Some of the common issues and what might be causing them are:
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Buffering: Buffering occurs when there is not enough data being processed in your device to support the speed of the playback. This occurs due to many factors ranging from a slow internet connection to overloaded servers at the streaming platform’s end, or even the hardware limitations of the devices.
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Error Messages: The error messages can be frustrating, but most of the time, they hold a clue to what the problem is. Common error messages might indicate issues with your OTT app settings.
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Live video streaming player settings, incompatible playlists, or temporary server outages.
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Video Freezing: The picture might freeze while the audio continues playing. This normally happens due to buffering issues or momentary glitches within the streaming platform.
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Poor Quality Video: If the video looks blurry, it is likely that the speed and quality of the internet connection are low, or the device you are using to stream is not able to support a high-quality video streaming experience.
Troubleshooting Steps
We have seen the common issues you are most likely to face with your video streaming player, here is the complete guide to troubleshooting steps.
1. Take a Look at Your Internet Connection
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Speed Test: The very first thing to do is check your internet speed. Go ahead and run a test through online tools like https://www.speedtest.net/ to evaluate your download speed. Most streaming providers recommend 5 Mbps for standard definition (SD) and 25 Mbps for high definition (HD).
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Wired vs. Wireless: If possible, connect your device to your router via an Ethernet cable. This offers a much more stable connection than Wi-Fi, which is bound to interference and other fluxes.
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Conserve Bandwidth: If you are sharing your internet connection with different devices using bandwidth-heavy applications like video calls or downloads, your streaming will be slow. Try suspending those activities while you stream.
2. Reset Your Device and Router
Simple restarts sometimes fix issues. Power off whatever device or platform you’re using—iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Web TV—and also your router. Wait a few seconds before powering it back up. This will clear cached data and refresh the connection.
3. Update Your OTT Streaming App and Device Software
Outdated software can raise compatibility and security concerns. Make sure you are running the latest version of the problematic streaming app. Keep updating the operating system of your device regularly as well, for sometimes such updates may include performance improvements and bug fixes.
4. Adjust video quality settings
Many streaming services allow you to adjust the video quality. If you are buffering, it can lower the video quality from HD to SD and reduce the amount of data required for smooth video playback.
5. Turn off background applications that aren’t in use
Background applications can consume resources and compete for bandwidth. Close any apps running in the background on your device that you don’t need before you begin streaming to release all the resources and possibly improve playback.
6. Disable Browser Extensions (if using):
If you are having issues in a web browser that you are running for streaming, certain browser extensions might disturb the video play. Sometimes, just turning these off will fix the problem.
7. Issues Specific to Live Streaming
There are a few factors unique to live streaming, which I will talk about below:
Server Overload: Live streams may occasionally buffer when servers take on too many viewers. In such a case, there’s little consumers can do but wait and try to reconnect a bit later.
8. Troubleshooting on Your Devices: iOS and Android
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Clear App Cache: You would generally be able to clear the app cache of Smarters Pro or whatever streaming app is installed on your iOS or Android device. It will clean some storage space and could troubleshoot problems in playback.
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Reinstall the App: If flushing the cache doesn’t work, try to reinstall the streaming app. This will normally ensure a nice, clean installation and clear all corrupted data within the app.
Deep Troubleshooting
If none of the above steps solves your problem, then you may be forced to do some deeper troubleshooting techniques:
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Contact Your ISP( Internet Service Provider): If all of the prior measures have failed, contact your ISP. It can help in diagnosing issues related to your internet.
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Check for Hardware Limitations: Rarely, the problem could be from your device’s hardware. Particularly for older devices, they lack sufficient processing power, which is needed to run your high-resolution content smoothly. In that case, you will have to upgrade or replace the device with a streaming device specifically designed for video playback.
Switch to The Best Streaming App
Even though there are different types of OTT players in the market, some may give you problems while streaming. If you apply any of the above troubleshooting methods and still experience no change, you may want to find another OTT app that will work well on your device. You can get the best video streaming player for iOS or any other platform you are using.
Smarters Pro is a video streaming player that is highly recommended because it is properly designed and tested for any issues by experienced OTT app developers. The app is compatible with different platforms such as iPhone, iPad, Android TV, and WebTV payer. It also has an easy-to-use interface so that anyone can use it to stream their content. The interface also includes features such as the ability to stream movies, series, and Live TV. It is also compatible with different types of playlists and comes with a parental control feature for content viewing safety.
Finally
These troubleshooting steps will arm you to solve any kind of malfunctioning in the majority of players used in video streaming. Be patient and orderly, and that would bring you closer to success. Do not hesitate to reach out to customer support in case of some annoying and continuous issues while streaming the platform. More importantly, switch to the best video streaming player such as Smarters Pro which is known to stream content without much interruption.