Macintosh

[WanGar]

When I click on a Fancast movie or TV episode, the movie and sound are jerky, not running smoothly.  The sound and video appear to be in sync, just not continuous.  What can I do to fix this?  It used to work until when we updated some software.   Now we can't watch anything on Fancast.  I currently have Mactintosh OSX 10.5.8. and Safari 4.04.  Perhaps my audio and video software needs to be updated as well.  Can anyone tell me what versions of software(audio & video)  I need?   I am a senior & beginner, so please keep the vocabulary simple.  Thanks!   

[capefish1]

Hello,

I would suggest that you check that all your software is up-to-date.

You may also want to run Safari in 32-bit mode, I made the change and my Fancast works better. The directions to 32-bit are at http://www.fancast.com/help/technical-support/the-fancast-player/. I'm not sure if this is only for Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6) or both Leopard(10.5)/Snow Leopard(10.6).

Hope this helps! :-)

Message Edited by capefish1 on 02-03-2010 09:43 PM

Message Edited by capefish1 on 02-03-2010 09:45 PM

[WanGar]

Dear Capefish,  thanks!  I will try it.  Do I need a specific version of Adobe Flash player as well?

[Barmar]

64 bit Safari was first introduced in Snow Leopard, so he doesn't need to worry about that. Fancast won't play at all in 64-bit mode, so this wouldn't be the reason for the jerkiness.

Fancast doesn't use Flash, it uses Move Media Player.

Is Fancast the only video site that has this playback problem? Do Hulu and YouTube play smoothly? 

[Joel]

Also, you mentioned a recent software update. What exactly did you update prior to your current problem?

[WanGar]

Hi Barmar, Thanks for your response and clarification!  It is very helpful in helping me narrow things down. I tried hulu and was unable to stream any video.  I tried using Firefox instead of Safari, and was still unable to watch any video.  The funny thing is, I used to be able to.  I suspect that it is some update that I did that is incompatible with something else.  I don't know how to find a history of my downloads and updates.  I think I must have deleted the download history, the download folder is blank.  Any advice would be appreciated.  I have Mac OS X 10.5.8 and Safari 4.04.  Does Move Media Player need to be updated?  Thanks.

[WanGar]

Hi Joel,  Thanks for your help.  I don't really know what I updated.  Everytime I get the prompt about software updates available when I go on the computer, I click on the update button and don't really look at what I'm updating!  I was unable to find the history of downloads, I am a beginner and a senior, so things are hard for me!  Where would I look for it?  Any advice is appreciated.

[Barmar]

To see the history of updates done through Software Update, go to System Preferences -> Software Update -> Installed Software.

I think Joel was assuming you were referring to updating something else manually, not an Apple software update. I haven't had any problems with Hulu since any of the recent Apple updates. But I'm running Snow Leopard, not Leopard.

[Joel]

I've been watching Super Bowl commercials in Fancast today in both Firefox and Safari, and it seems to actually use Flash. Try going to http://www.adobe.com/ and click on the Get Adobe Flash banner. Download and run the installer (it will update your previous version of Flash, make sure you Quit Safari before running the installer). After you run the installer and before you relaunch Safari, be sure to Repair Disc Permissions (/Applications/Utilities/Disc Utility>>Highlight "Macintosh HD" in the left sidebar>>click the Repair Permission button). Adobe installers usually install files with erroneous file permissions. Once that completes (may take a few minutes), go ahead and launch Safari and check for better performance.

[Anon923503]

I have the same problem with hulu and utube also

[beneshelman]

What computer and OS are you using?

[Anon923503]

Hi

I am running an hp pavillion laptop with 64 bit windows vista

Thanks

[Barmar]

---

Anon923503 wrote:

Hi

I am running an hp pavillion laptop with 64 bit windows vista

Thanks

---

Then why are you posting in the Macintosh forum?

[Anon923503]

I didn't realize that this forum was for Mac users ONLY.

EXCUSE ME!!

i JUST RESPONDED TO A SEARCH FOR THIS SUBJECT.

Would you be so kind  as to tell me where to go (not really)  :>) to find out about MY problem?

Thanks.

Jim

[beneshelman]

If it's anything like on the Mac you have to run firefox in 32 bit mode to use xfinity so maybe the same is true for hulu and youtube. I'd try different browsers. I've had the best luck with streaming video using google chrome.

[Anon923503]

Thank you.

I will load it and give it a try.

Jim

[Barmar]

---

Anon923503 wrote:

I didn't realize that this forum was for Mac users ONLY.

EXCUSE ME!!

i JUST RESPONDED TO A SEARCH FOR THIS SUBJECT.

Would you be so kind  as to tell me where to go (not really)  :>) to find out about MY problem?

Thanks.

Jim

---

Sorry, I thought the forum name "Macintosh" made it obvious that this forum was specifically for Macintosh issues.

it's pretty rare that the solution to a Mac problem would be applicable to Windows. And you're not likely to find as many people here who know how to solve complicated Windows problems.

The "Comcast Websites" forum is a good place to go for general help with Fancast.

As far as I know, the 32-bit requirement only applies to Safari on Macs, not Windows, and only to Fancast, not Hulu or Youtube. Also, if you don't have the correct mode set, the movies don't play at all, it doesn't cause them to play jerkily. Asking for help in this forum is likely to result in unlikely guesses like this.

Jerky video playing, with lots of "buffering", is almost always a problem with your Internet connection or computer performance problems. Go to a speedtest web site and verify that you're getting good throughput.

[beneshelman]

Actually the 32bit/64bit issue applies to Firefox 4 as well. Some of us have experience on multiple platforms and I prefer to be polite even to those who may have arrived here mistakenly.

[Barmar]

---

beneshelman wrote:

Actually the 32bit/64bit issue applies to Firefox 4 as well. Some of us have experience on multiple platforms and I prefer to be polite even to those who may have arrived here mistakenly.

---

But it's still a go/no-go issue, not smooth vs. jerky, right?

The basic issue is that the Move Media Player for Macintosh only works in 32-bit mode.

[beneshelman]

Many windows software problems arise out of users attempting to install and use 64 bit apps on 32 bit OS.

You would think that the installer would not let you install the wrong version but that is not always the case.

We on the Mac side don't have to worry about it beacause our OS has native support for 32 and 64 bit apps. For us the problem having to restart the app in 32 bit mode (a minor inconvenience).

[beneshelman]

As I said above, I get great quality playback on xfinity, hulu and netflix with google chrome. Firefox 4 seems to be very buggy still. Safari has never been my browser of choice