The VideoLAN Forums

Hello,

Simple question about streaming settings. Here's my set-up: I have a HD filled with documentaries, movies, television episodes, etc... My wife would like to be able to watch them on her MacBook. Once our computers are connected through our router (Apple file sharing), she can access the drive and play the videos using VLC.

Thing is, VLC "streams" the videos in huge transfer spikes (probably filling a buffer) and then stops all network activity until that buffer is emptied. That means that ever 15 seconds or so, the video pauses for about 2 seconds, when VLC "downloads" another huge chunk of the video data at a huge rate. Well, a pause every 15 seconds means that the video is unwatchable.

Using Quicktime, the videos are streamed constantly at a much lower rate, but there is absolutely no pauses or hiccups.

Now Quicktime is very nice, but we're used to VLC and I'd really like to know how I can change VLC's prefs/settings so that we can stream videos over our network without having to endure the pauses.

Thanks

Loa

Hello,

Hmmm, I can't get VLC to work over a network and nobody can help me?

If the answer is in a FAQ somewhere, just point me in the right direction: I haven't been able to find the answer online.

Thanks

Loa

You might want to play around with VLC's caching settings. Have a look at the Input category of VLC's Preferences.

If you want to do it the nice way, click on "all" at the bottom of the window and expand the following categories on the left:
Input/Codecs -> access modules -> file
There you can set the cache value in ms. Depending on your setup, you'll need to enlarge or increase this value.

Thanks,

I'll give it a try!

Loa