Troubleshoot Windows 10/11 Video Buffering/Video Streaming Problems

Many users are suffering video buffering problems in Windows 10 when playing videos on Windows Media Player Player, VLC, KMPlayer, and other players. When streaming YouTube/Netflix/Amazon Prime, the buffering/stuttering video issue can also occur on Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc. There are a lot of causes. Below we share some reasons and solutions to solve the problem.

Part 1. What Causes Video Buffering/Stuttering Problems on Windows 10/11

• Slow or unstable internet connection.
• Other improper settings.
• Outdated video player and graphic driver on Windows 10. Check the updated list of best free video players for Windows 10.
• The problem with the source video file you are playing or the streaming video site you are viewing.
• The problem with the source video file you are playing or the streaming video site you are viewing.

Part 2. What to Do If Video Buffers, Stutters or Freezes on Windows 10/11

1. Check Internet Connection Speed

When you are having slow streaming video, or streaming video buffers and freezes, the first thing you need to do is to check your internet connection. There are quite a few free services that can test the internet connection speed. Your internet connection should meet the following requirements to stream the video smoothly.

• 3.0 Mbps for SD quality video streaming.
• 5.0 Mbps for HD quality video.
• 25 Mbps or higher for streaming 4K Ultra HD content.

2. Clear Caches

Web cache can cause slow video streaming. Try following the steps below to clean the web cache.

1. Shut down the web browser you are using.
2. Click Start > Control Panel, select the Internet Options.
3. On the General tab, select Delete Files under Temporary Internet Files.
4. Click the Delete all offline content checkbox, and click OK to clear all the web cache.

3. Disable Windows 10 Startup Programs

Preventing programs from starting automatically in Windows 10 can speed up your computer and streaming video. You can remove startup apps in Windows 10 using Task Manager.

1. Open the Task Manager. Right-click on the taskbar and select it from the popping up list.
2. Select More details at the bottom of the window to get more apps and tabs. Find the tab options with Startup.
3. Select the apps you want to disable from startup, and click Disabled.

4. Change Settings in Media Player

Windows Media Player

If you are suffering choppy/freezing/slow/buffering video playback in Windows Media Player for Windows 10, it's a good way to go to tweak the settings on Windows Media Player.

1. Open Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options… and get to the settings menu.
2. Click the Performance button, find the Network Buffering section, click the radio button next to the Buffer tab, enter 15 (max 60). Note that the larger buffer size is, the more memory will be used.
3. Click the Apply button, and click the OK to save the settings and close the window.

Change WMP's Connection to The Internet

When you have Windows 10 video streaming issues with WMP that may be caused by internet connection, go to Windows Media Player's options menu, click the Player tab, In the settings section, enable the Connect to the Internet option. Then click Apply, and OK button to make the change valid.

VLC Media Player

Use the following steps to increase the streaming buffer in VLC to prevent streaming video stutter in Windows 10.

1. Launch VLC Media Player on Windows 10. Head to Tools > Preferences.
2. On the Settings Windows, select All to get more settings.
3. Scroll down to the Stream output. Under the Stream output section, set the streaming output muxer caching to a larger number.

5. Change Hardware Acceleration Setting on Windows 10

Turn the hardware acceleration feature off if it's enabled and on if disabled to see if the video buffering problems are fixed on Windows 10.

1. Click Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced.
2. Click the Troubleshoot tab.
3. Disable or enable the hardware acceleration option by dragging the slider.

In Google Chrome

1. Go to Settings > Advanced >System, and you should see the "Use hardware acceleration when available".
2. Switch the hardware acceleration option. Turn off Chrome and re-launch it to apply the change.

On Firefox

1. Launch the browser, click the menu button, and select options.
2. Uncheck "Use recommended performance settings". Enable or disable "Use hardware acceleration when available." Re-launch the browser.

6. Disable Proxy Connection

1. Open the player on Windows 10, for example, Windows Media Player.
2. Go to Organize > Options > Network > streaming proxy settings > HTTP protocol.
3. Select Configure, and then select do not use a proxy server. Click OK to make the setting valid.
4. Close the player and re-launch it.

7. Manage Windows 10 Virtual Memory

The lack of RAM can slow your computer. When running into Windows 10 video buffering/stuttering problem, try increasing virtual memory on Windows 10.

1. Click the Start menu, click Settings > Performance, and select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
2. Go to the Virtual memory section, click the Advanced button, select Change.
3. Compare the Currently allocated and Recommended value, uncheck the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives box if the current setting is less than the recommended.
4. Click Custom size, enter the value in the initial size box, and a larger number in the Maximum size box.
5. Click OK to save the change.

8. Update or reinstall drives in Windows 10

Update the drive

1. Type device manager in the search box on the taskbar, and click on Device Manager.
2. Press and hold the name of your device, and click on uninstall.
3. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software, and select Update Driver.

b>Reinstall the driver

1. In the Search box on the taskbar, enter the device manager, and click on Device Manager.
2. Right-click the device you will update.
3. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
4. Select Update Driver.