Streaming video

I'm trying to stream TV program videos available from my TV provider on my W8 laptop (Firefox from the desktop). I get a black screen and no audio. On my W7 desktop it works flawlessly. Can anyone help me out?

don't get it really ,are you streaming to a device or just trying to watch tv program videos from the internet on your laptop ,

Sorry. It's the latter

True streaming video requires a very fast connection so maybe the difference is that you are watching the streaming video via a wired connection on your desktop and you are using a wifi connection on your laptop which may not be as fast as the wired connection would be. With that said, try the laptop over a direct ethernet connection to the router and make sure you have hardware acceleration enabled in your laptop's browser. Let us know.

So I did as you suggested, hardware acceleration is enabled, made a wired connection the net but unfortunately the problem continues to exist.

navkan said:

So I did as you suggested, hardware acceleration is enabled, made a wired connection the net but unfortunately the problem continues to exist.

Click to expand...

OK, thanks for that. So, if you have an option to plug the output of your laptop into the input of your desktop monitor, I think that would be a logical next step. This would help to eliminate any minimum resolution requirements. I assume your desktop moniotr resolution is greater than your laptop's; yes?

Can you tell me what program you are using? I use VLC Streamer between my PC and my iPhone, it works flawlessly. But you say it's streaming from a Provider?

I also have an app from Cox Cable that streams TV content into the device from my Home Cable Connection. Maybe you have something that is the same deal, it has to be connected to your personal TV provider?

Also, on your working W7 Desktop, does it have an INPUT for the cable connection on the back, as with a TV card?

XweAponX said:

Can you tell me what program you are using? I use VLC Streamer between my PC and my iPhone, it works flawlessly. But you say it's streaming from a Provider?

I also have an app from Cox Cable that streams TV content into the device from my Home Cable Connection. Maybe you have something that is the same deal, it has to be connected to your personal TV provider?

Also, on your working W7 Desktop, does it have an INPUT for the cable connection on the back, as with a TV card?

Click to expand...

Hello XweAponx,

You can take it from here because too many suggestions at the same time will only confuse the OP so I tried my two best guesses. Now you can handle it from here. Good luck.

Oh crap sorry, I just wanted to know what he was using and got carried away.

However, I read your response, and in some cases, it may well be the case, but most Laptops today have at least N band WiFi, which is 150Mbps. plenty for streaming, and I do fine on my iphone with 54mbps.

His laptop may be buffering the playback for an inordinately long time, you think?

navkan said:

So I did as you suggested, hardware acceleration is enabled, made a wired connection the net but unfortunately the problem continues to exist.

Click to expand...

who is your internet provider ,Bell perhaps

my internet provider is Bell (DSL). My cable provider is Rogers. I am using their rogersondemand.com service to access available tv program files

So it streams no problem from a desktop? So, this runs from within a browser, right? It may be your Wifi is not connected at the highest speed it can be connected. b, g, or n? Even on G it should stream. IS the Wifi built right in to the DSL modem? You may need to get into it's configuration settings and see how you have the Wifi set up. The address should be 192.168.1.254 and the log and pass will be on the bottom of the router.

I checked the modem configuration. It is set up as "auto(b,g,n)"

Frankly I don't think it is a wifi issue. I ran the laptop with a direct connection, just like my desktop and the laptop still wouldn't work. I think it has something to do with the way the laptop handles video (at least this video).

By the way, it handles other video (eg UTube etc) fine. Also it plays streaming video (TV programs) from ITunes without a problem

Did you try my previous suggestion which was to extend your laptop to use the desktop monitor and test? This would be the final test to isolate the problem (based on what I asked you to do previously). So, if you do the above, and your laptop works with the desktop monitor, then you know for sure it is a resolution issue. However, if your laptop does not work with the desktop monitor, then it is clearly an issue with your laptop graphics.

Yes, what JustAtest says is valid - Plug in an extension monitor and see if that works. It could also be an issue with the Browser on the Laptop, it could be missing a needed Flash Plugin. Download Flash ONLY from the Adobe site for it. Also, the Rogers website should have a troubleshooting section, it would not hurt to go through that and see if there is an FAQ for this issue.

ok, I connected my desktop monitor to my laptop and tried to run the video again. Unfortunately, no dice.

I will see if I can find some help on the Rogers support site

navkan said:

ok, I connected my desktop monitor to my laptop and tried to run the video again. Unfortunately, no dice.

I will see if I can find some help on the Rogers support site

Click to expand...

Did you change the laptop resolution to match the desktop monitor? And you did the test using a wired ethernet connection? If so, that points the issue back towards your laptop. Try disabling all laptop startup programs in task manager and retest. We just had an issue where SkyDrive was messing up Youtube videos. Do the test and let us know. Good luck.

My desktop monitor has a resolution of 1280x1024. My laptop is wide screen with a native vertical resolution of 768.
I can do a custom resolution that would match the desktop resolution but I am a bit loath to try it (I have occasionally read of hardware problems when dicking around with resolutions).

OK, try disableing the startups then and see what happens.

I don't see how the resolution would affect playback, they should get SOMETHING. Is this anything like using EPIX? Epix will have to log you in using your Rogers account (if Epix is part of the service). If Rogers does not have Epix, it will have a different Free Movie provider of some sort. Make sure you are logged in properly, and your account settings are all set properly. Epix shunts me over to a Cox login, then it brings me back to Epix. Is this how your provider works?

This works well on my main hardwired PC, my iPhone and on any laptops I connect through my WiFi.