How to stop videos from buffering

Buffering usually occurs when the network/internet connection bandwidth is inadequate or is suffering congestion - such that the incoming data stream cannot "keep up" with playback. Initial symptoms may be a reduction in video quality before playback pauses while sufficient data is received to resume playback.

A useful analogy might be to consider a water tank (your buffer) that is filled with water (the streaming data) from a hose (your internet connection). The hose can fill the tank at a fixed rate determined by the size of the hose (available bandwidth).

Your tank will also have an outlet (your player). If the tank outlet is larger (uses data more quickly) than the hose that fills the tank, the tank (buffer) will empty faster than the tank can fill. Eventually the tank will run dry - and the water will stop flowing from the outlet. At this point, the tank outlet must be closed (playback pauses) so that the tank can at least partially refill (data is buffering) before playback can restart.

There is often very little that you can do to prevent buffering a busy times. Data congestion can occur at any point from the source (sometimes the source itself is too busy or too overloaded) or at any point along the many links that comprise the internet connection to you.