Millions of laptop users use their computers for streaming so that they can watch videos, listen to music, download interviews, and much more on their laptops. Streaming is typical among many professions, and these professions include bloggers, writers, musicians, critics, gamers, among many others.
When you need to stream on your laptop, you want to be sure that it is optimized appropriately. Since several factors can affect the performance of your computer when streaming, you want to make sure to maximize your browser accordingly. There are a few things you can do to prevent your laptop from starting and constantly stopping during the streaming process.
How to Optimize your Laptop for Improved Video Streaming?
Disabling video acceleration
Installing a video accelerator
Create a line of sight to your router
Disable other internet connections
Stream during low activity times
Check Your Internet Speeds
Make sure your computer is up to date
Optimize your Laptop for Streaming
If you spend copious amounts of time online, and you enjoy streaming, then you need the best laptops for streaming possible because they need to keep up with the multiple web applications you are going to have open at any given time. What you may not be aware of is that all these web applications will impact your streaming capabilities directly.
Opening up multiple web applications leaves your computer vulnerable to what is called caching. Your laptop is downloading thousands of small files that are needed to display these pages, and that is going to slow down the streaming capabilities.
Therefore, you want to either restart your computer, which should delete those temporary files or clear your cache. In doing so, your laptop should find it easier to stream.
1. Disable Windows Video Hardware Acceleration
- Disable Windows Video Hardware Acceleration
When you watch a movie on a Windows application like the Media Player, it is not going to require any real demands of your laptop. However, when you are streaming internet videos, your laptop relies on software encoders that will perform much more slowly when the hardware acceleration is enabled. If you have a newer video card, this mainly applies to you.
How you disable the hardware acceleration is by going to your control panel and look for display settings. If you have a newer laptop, you will see a hardware acceleration control in the display settings window. Simply slide it from full to none.
- Disable Windows Video Hardware Acceleration
2. Install a Software Video Accelerator
If you aren’t very familiar with laptops, you may be thinking that this is redundant, given the disabling the hardware acceleration in the last tip, but they aren’t the same thing. A software video accelerator like Speedbit Video Accelerator is a free application that tweaks Windows Internet settings and enables streaming with improved performance.
After you download the accelerator, you close your web browser before you go about installing it. You will more than likely need to restart your computer before it is fully integrated. You will then have improved streaming performance by enabling the use of more download threads in your browser using this software. This is especially helpful for streaming from twitch with a laptop.
3. Create a Line of Sight
..sometimes when you are streaming, it is much easier for you if your laptop and router can see each other…
Routers are amazing things, and they allow you to have wireless internet connectivity throughout your home and workplace. However, sometimes when you are streaming, it is much easier for you if your laptop and router can see each other.
By establishing a line of sight, you are creating a much more explicit connection that will help you stream more effectively and speedily. When things hinder that line of view, the signal has to bounce off other technology, and that can delay the stream considerably. Along with a router, there are other gadgets for streaming that might make things easier.
4. Disable your other Internet Connections
Temporarily disable anything else in your home using internet connections so that your streaming can be done faster. If you have other computers, phones, or tablets taking up the internet connection while you are streaming, simply remove them as you are sharing the connection with them.
By turning off these other devices while you stream, you are minimizing other distractions from your internet browser.
5. Stream During Low Activity Times
There are times of the day that are more taxing on your internet providers network, and those times of day should be avoided when you are streaming. When other people are using the internet to stream, download, or otherwise take up large quantities of your connection, your streaming will suffer.
Avoid streaming during these times to help you optimize your laptop streaming. Likewise, pay attention to when most people in your geographical location are home and most likely using the internet. When you avoid peak times, there is more speed available for your streaming activities.
6. Check Your Internet Speeds
There are multiple places online that allow you to check your internet speed connection. Sites such as Speedtest.net will test your internet speed, and it will enable you to check if your internet is running optimally.
You should already know what you download speed you are paying for with your provider, and if your test isn’t remotely close to this, call your provider and get your ISP to check.
7. Updates
Whether you are streaming videos or music, your streaming item may need to have updates done. If your updates aren’t up to date, then you are going to experience issues with streaming. Check your computer to see if it is caught up on all the latest updates or not. If it isn’t and updates are pending, make sure to get those updates done before you try streaming.
Also, if you are streaming through a streaming site such as Netflix or Disney, you want to make sure that the app is also up to date, and you are using the most recent version.
Conclusion
When you are trying to stream using your laptop, you don’t want to wait all day while it buffers or always has to start over. Following these tips will help you to make sure your streaming is much more successful.
Sometimes issues with streaming are just making sure you have a line of sight between your laptop and your router. Other times it is much more complicated than that.
Regardless of your profession, if you are trying to stream at home, you don’t want the headache that comes with poor streaming quality. Follow these tips to help you achieve optimal streaming performance.