What does buffering mean concerning videos playing when they dont play all the way through.

When you are streaming a video, the machine needs to 'pre load' as much of the file as it can so that it can be played with no interruptions. The streaming process involves sending small parts of the file from the source, thru the network to your machine, and that streaming is subject to hiccups and delays of your particular network set up.

If you are seeing buffer delays, then that is a sign that your connection speed is not fast enough to support reliable streaming.

This is usually not an issue when using a good wifi set up, but will be an issue on a 3 g cell connection.

This is simply not true.

I have continous and tested download speeds of 22 mbps, and get the same problems.

The Apple TV is hooked up directly into the modem.

I cannot see how many hops there are from my modem to the itunes server, but I am starting to suspect this is the problem.

Yes, it's a function of both the transfer rate and the latency in the network connection but pjl123's information is basically correct to answer the question from the original poster (who merely asked what buffering meant).

Sorry,

I was posting in the buffering problems section.

Do not know how I got to this page.

It seems a high download rate with comcast does not prevent the buffering problem.

Have you looked into this?

The problem has become much worse in 2012 than last year. In 2011 we seldom had Itunes buffering problems.

Digital devices usually buffer a portion of the incoming data stream and play from the buffer. If the data is not coming in fast enough to keep the buffer full, it will wait until the buffer is full before it resumes playing. A slow network is the most common cause of this problem. Aside from resolving the network speed problem (if it's on your local network), if the player has an option to reduce the streaming bit rate or the video quality, setting it to a lower level may eliminate or reduce delays due to buffering.

Tried 640x480

same problem.

I do not have a slow network because the Apple TV is plugged into modem directly.

Download speeds are 22 mbps.

Maybe the problem is upload speed from the itunes server?