ESPN 3

[seakm4]

so i keep trying to watch the game on espn 3 and after every 3 min or so it keeps freezing.  i have a brand new comp but no matter what it wont work. i was at work for the game so i want to watch it but i can't.  has anybody else had this problem w/ them?

[downtown85]

same happens for me. Flash keeps crashing. I get about 5 to10 minutes between crashes though.

[Skatastrophy]

so i keep trying to watch the game on espn 3 and after every 3 min or so it keeps freezing.  i have a brand new comp but no matter what it wont work. i was at work for the game so i want to watch it but i can't.  has anybody else had this problem w/ them?

It wasn't every 3 minutes for us.

We were streaming off of an underpowered netbook.  Espn3 froze up once during the Nova game and once during the MU game.  Closing the game's window and relaunching it from the ESPN3 landing page fixed it right up. 

[rocky_warrior]

Hmm, never had that problem.  Sometimes quality drops, so I have to close the current stream and re-start.  But it hardly ever drops/crashes.

Perhaps make sure you have the latest flash player version:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Also - if you're using internet explorer, you might check windows update for any updates.

[downtown85]

Hmm, never had that problem.  Sometimes quality drops, so I have to close the current stream and re-start.  But it hardly ever drops/crashes.

Perhaps make sure you have the latest flash player version:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Also - if you're using internet explorer, you might check windows update for any updates.

I've got Flash 10.2 which I think is the latest.  Also I have tried it on Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.  So far, Firefox has the highest reliability but it still occasionally crashes.

[Mike Deane]

I have called my ISP about that.  They say it has a lot to do with my antivirus software.  So they recommend turning it off during games.

I did, and it does not freeze for a longer amount of time.  However, it still freezes once in a while.  I just re-start the game right away while listening to Homer.

[Benny B]

FWIW - Here is my quick & dirty HTPC / Streaming Video troubleshooting guide:

#1 - Make sure all programs (other than necessary apps) are closed before launching your internet browser, media viewer, etc.  Use Task Manager, don't just rely on closing windows or what's on your toolbar.

#2 - Make sure you have up-to-date software and drivers, specifically: Internet browser or media viewer, Flash, Java, OS, video drivers, audio drivers, monitor drivers, etc.

#3 - Make sure you are hardwired to your cable/DSL modem & all Ethernet cables are firmly plugged in.  Avoid streaming video over Wi-Fi.

#3a - If you are streaming over Wi-Fi, connect your computer directly to your cable/DSL modem; otherwise, if hardwiring isn't an option, at least try to be within LOS (line of sight) of your Wi-Fi antenna and don't run any appliances or electronics (especially cordless phones) anywhere near your Wi-Fi antenna or computer.  Using an 'n' router and adapter may eliminate most, but not all, Wi-Fi related streaming issues.

#4 -  I find that a constant 6 Mbps is an acceptable minimum for streaming the best-quality video, but you can get away with 3 Mbps on most sites if quality is not an issue.  Run a bandwidth test at DSLreports.com (or similar website).  Make sure download speeds are comparable to what is advertised with your data package.  If it isn't, run the test again.  If the results vary, run a few more times until results even out.  If the results are all over the place after 5 or 6 tests, then you have an ISP problem.  If they are consistent but below your advertised speed, see #4a.

#4a - Check the fine print on your ISP service agreement.  Some providers advertise a much higher download speed which is actually a "turbo-boost," e.g. your speed will be 25 Mbps for the first 100 MB of a file you download (or video stream) but will taper off to 2 MBps after that.

#5 - Click Start - Run... - and type 'cmd' (without quotes) & hit enter.  Type 'ping [website name] -n 500' (without quotes) & hit enter.  Let it run (it will take a few minutes... if you have time, replace the 500 with 1000 or 2000... this increases your sample size and helps identify "sporadic" connection problems).  When finished, note the statistics at the end: under 100 ms average round trip is ideal.  If the average is above 500 ms, ping another website.  If you still have an average above 500 ms with multiple websites, you likely have an ISP or connection problem.  If you are losing packets, you definitely have an ISP or connection problem.  Check your cables and repeat this step.  Unplug and replug everything.  Use different Ethernet cables if need be.  If results are similar, the problem is likely with your ISP.

#6 - Try "buffering the video" (if possible).  The usual way to do this is to start a stream and hit pause for 30 seconds or so.  Some websites allow you to do this, others do not.  The buffer will solve most issues for connections that are just "a touch" too slow... if you have a bad connection and/or ISP, this won't eliminate the problem.

#7 - Try streaming live video from another website (or in ESPN3's case, try watching another game) and look for similar results.  If not, the problem is probably a source/overload issue for the website (or specific game) that's giving you problems... nothing you can do about that.

#8 - Run Resource Monitor while your video is up.  If your processor or memory are hitting 100%, look to see what other programs are hogging resources.

[GGGG]

I always use wi-fi and have never had a problem with ESPN3. Not in line of sight either.

[rocky_warrior]

#2 - Make sure you have up-to-date software and drivers, specifically: Internet browser or media viewer, Flash, Java, OS, video drivers, audio drivers, monitor drivers, etc.

All good points in your post, but I wanted to go back to this one - I mentioned flash before, but I beleive ESPN3 also uses java.  The other night I ran a Java update while ESPN3 was running, and it automatically restarted after the update was over.  Perhaps that was just a browser thing, but best to make sure java is up to date too...

[seakm4]

Thanks for the help everyone.  still freezes about every 5 min so i'll just chalk this one up as a game i missed this year.  At least i got to watch up to otule's dunk after refreshing and i saw the great start.