Presenter buffering problem

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Presenter buffering problem

Postby jaywils » Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:05 am

I have two PCs, a desktop and a laptop, both 64-bit, Win 7, Norton 360 and a fast WiFi connection. The laptop is a Dell Studio XPS, 2.13 GHz and 4 GB ram and my download speed measures 5 Mbs.

The desktop is the workhouse but I use the laptop to connect to big screen presentations. Recently, the laptop has problems starting a .px show from my Photodex website. Some shows buffer for minutes before starting, then sometimes stall during playpack. Others start right up but there is no apparent consistency. I have the similar problems with YouTube starting but no problem streaming 1080p movies from Directv. The desktop has no startup issues. I prefer using Photodex Presenter (when it works) because it's smoother.

I've done all the obvious stuff, reinstalled Presenter, deleted cookies and browser history, turned off Norton protection, set Chrome as the default browser (IE has become increasingly buggy) run full Norton scans, etc. Nothing seems to help.

My workaround is playing the PSP shows as video files directly from the hard drive, so it must be some kind of a connection problem but I'd like to figure it out.

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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby debngar » Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:20 am

If the laptop is connected via wifi, sometimes that can be the source of slow loading and/or time out problems. A wifi connection can be slower than if the computer is connected hardwired to the internet not through a wifi router.

Shows with video clips in them tend to take longer to load to view via Presenter online than those with only still images. Some ProShow transitions have video clips embedded in them which might affect the speed of Presenter versions loading to be viewed online.This has been my experience when all other possibilities have been checked, i.e. what you mentioned in regards to the speed of your machine, etc.

5 Mbps is not all that speedy by the way. I have a Fiber Optic connection that is purportedly 18 Mbps. There are even faster options than that in some places. When companies brag how they have "high speed" internet connection to get me to switch, etc. I ask them what speed. They usually will not say exactly or only will say when pressed, only to find out it's only high speed in relation to dial-up. Anything is faster than that! LOL :D But if one is going to be trying to view videos online, the faster connection the better IMO. Else one could wait all day for a show to load, if it ever completes in the first place.
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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby jaywils » Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:49 am

debngar wrote:If the laptop is connected via wifi, sometimes that can be the source of slow loading and/or time out problems. A wifi connection can be slower than if the computer is connected hardwired to the internet not through a wifi router.


Having a hardwired connection to the media room would be somewhat difficult. Besides both PCs are WiFi connected to the same router, and the laptop used start playing quickly. Moving it closer to the Router doesn't seem to make any difference.

BTW, I've noticed that sometimes the buffering time actually goes up and down, rather than a steady countdown.

I know having video files does slow Presenter, and cause buffering, but it's usually worse if the video is the first slide. I've found it helps get things started if there are one or more stills before the video.

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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby debngar » Sat Sep 21, 2013 11:23 am

I once had to download a large amount of extra files that went along with a piece of software I bought. Numerous attempts to to do it via wifi would start but never finish. When I took my CPU into the room where I could boot it up directly connected to the outlet via the RS232 cable, it downloaded in no time with no trouble at all. A hardwired connection does make a difference. Service providers state the same thing, as well as my tech guy friend that helps me when I'm in a jam.

One more thing though, routers don't last forever. I've had mine go in and out of working in the past. By connecting directly and it then working fine that way, the conclusion was that the router was on its last leg and time to buy a new one. :roll:
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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby jaywils » Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:47 pm

I connected the laptop,using an ethernet cable which registered 100 Mbs, vs. the 5 mbs with WiFi. The Photodex online files still buffered the same way they did with WiFi.

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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby debngar » Sun Sep 22, 2013 4:45 am

Are you saying your download speed when directly connected is 100 Mbps compared to the 5Mbps? If it still isn't loading shows, then I don't know what else would be the cause of that.

Only other thought would be to uninstall the Presenter plugin and download it again for re-install to be sure you have the latest version. Beyond that, try contacting Photodex to see if they can help or maybe someone else has a solution.

Ohhh wait... Did you try loading a problematic show with Norton turned off? Or at least double check to see that all installed ProShow associated programs are set in Norton to "allow"?

If you wish to run a px show of yours via laptop, you can do that with no Internet connection by rendering the file without uploading to get it. As long as the computer has Presenter installed, it should run the show's px file. I've done that before and it works well for presenting to a large group of people on a big screen. Though I think rendering an avi is better for that as it seems to playback smoother. These days 4Gb of Ram may not be enough. I have 12.
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Re: Presenter buffering problem

Postby jaywils » Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:17 am

debngar wrote:Are you saying your download speed when directly connected is 100 Mbps compared to the 5Mbps? If it still isn't loading shows, then I don't know what else would be the cause of that.

Only other thought would be to uninstall the Presenter plugin and download it again for re-install to be sure you have the latest version. Beyond that, try contacting Photodex to see if they can help or maybe someone else has a solution.

Ohhh wait... Did you try loading a problematic show with Norton turned off? Or at least double check to see that all installed ProShow associated programs are set in Norton to "allow"?
Yes, I have tried all those to no avail. That would be just .pxplay, right?

If you wish to run a px show of yours via laptop, you can do that with no Internet connection by rendering the file without uploading to get it. As long as the computer has Presenter installed, it should run the show's px file. I've done that before and it works well for presenting to a large group of people on a big screen. Though I think rendering an avi is better for that as it seems to playback smoother. These days 4Gb of Ram may not be enough. I have 12.


The .px or .avi files play perfectly from the HD. And, as I said, it used to work fine.

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