What is buffering?
Buffering is RealOne Player’s way of receiving and storing data before it is played back. Buffering lets RealOne Player play back more of the actual file, providing for better picture and sound quality. For example, before you are able to see a video or listen to a file on the Internet, RealOne Player downloads a portion of the file into its buffer and then starts to play it. This type of buffering is called pre-roll. This lets RealOne Player begin playing the file from data already stored in the buffer while it downloads the rest of the file. If the file stops playing and RealOne Player displays a message saying it is buffering, RealOne Player is giving the downloading information time to catch up to the speed of the actual presentation.
Media players convert incoming data and present it to the viewer in the form of an audio or video clip. However, as your data is passed over busy networks, often times the network’s available bandwidth is not sufficient for continuous playback. To avoid interruption of your data, media players buffer a certain amount of data before playing the clip.
After you select a video, Window’s Media Player (WMP) begins to pull the video from SurgeryU’s servers, a process known as buffering. The video is broken down into several small “packets” to increase the speed with which the video is streamed to your computer. Your computer detects the speed of your Internet connection and reassembles the packets to provide you with uninterrupted viewing of the procedure. While buffering is taking place, you will see an animated WMP icon in the middle of the screen indicating that the process is working. Individual buffering times vary depending on the speed of your Internet connection. You can see the progress of the buffering process in the bottom left hand corner of the WMP window (i.e. “Buffering 79%”).
