[Lisa Butler]

Hi all hope i can get help as i have bought my Playbook just for the watching of youtube in bed!!
For a while now on both the App and the web page of YouTube on my Playbook i have been having issues. It plays the video at the start then from 5 to 10 seconds in it skips a few seconds then just stops! it started about a month ago occasionally doing it but i would slide the player on a few seconds and it would start again but now for two day it does it every video and i cannot get it working again, the wifi is good i have restarted the playbook and changed from App to web page and it still does it..please help!

[ChrisMay]

Hi Lisa,

Welcome to CB.

EDIT: The first question should have been 'Has anything changed since it used to work - new broadband upplier, new WiFi router, moved house, moved WiFi equipment, changed bedrooms etc etc etc.'

Generally, as far as I know, YouTube should work fine with a PlayBook. A couple of things to check though, Maybe your broadband/internet speed is not quick enough, and is causing problems. Do you have another device (a laptop or another table or phone etc) that you can connect to the same WiFi router to see if that has a similar problem. (Though I have found that the PlayBook seems to be a bit more sensitive to broadband speed issues than some other devices...
Maybe try a broadband speed test to see what sort of connection speed you are getting. (just do a Google search for 'Broadband speed test' and you'll find several options).

What about other streaming sites (BBC iPlayer for example. Don't try ITV Player though, that never seems to work for me)
EDIT: I wrote the above line based on the assumption that you are in the UK - if not, these examples won't work, so just try your own countries TV streaming sites)

Have you tried a 'hard' restart of your Playbook. (This involves holding down the power button and the volume buttons at the same time - if you search these forums then you'll find more details)

Also, you could try using a different browser. There are several altenatives available in the BB app store. I'd recommend Origami. It is free, and seems to be quite a bit better than the standard, built in browser.

[Lisa Butler]

Hi Chrismay thanks for the reply,
The signal from wifi is strong and i have no problems with my iphone, and BBC player works great when i check it on PB it is full signal, tried the hard reboot and downloaded the Origami yes it is faster thanks for the tip but still no youtube playback, it plays for 5 secs then goes black i get no buffering sign or anything and the grey line that shows its uploading still goes up, thats what i dont get it,it has only been this bad for 2 days i have even left it running to see if it will restart but i get nothing but a black screen

[pacoman03]

Maybe try one of the ported android browsers available in app world- Maxthon or Dolphin. While I generally don't recommend these browsers, I think that they may buffer ahead further than the native browser does and may be less susceptible to the problems you're encountering. Plus, it's my understanding that Origami and the other native browsers are built upon the stock browser, so if your having problems with one, you'll likely have problems with them all. The android browsers are not built upon the native browser. It's worth a try, and they're free.

[Lisa Butler]

My signal strength is 39-42 dBm

[ChrisMay]

I have to say that I haven't tried YouTube for a while (week or two). As you say it has only been a problem for the last couple of days, I will try YouTube out when I get a chance (lunchtime, or maybe this evening). I'll let you know if it works ok for me or not...

[Lisa Butler]

Tried them same thing happened, all other videos playbacks ie BBC iplayer works fine only slight buffering at the beginning but youtube is a no go

[bambinoitaliano]

There's one app you should consider Stereotube. It's a pay app. The native YouTube app seems to be hit and miss. StereoTube is more consistent.

[ChrisMay]

One other thought, in the meantime. I have had a similar problem with YouTube, but only when I've been linked to a video from another site (mainly FaceBook). In my case, it doesn't play any of the video, just shows a black empty 'frame'. I found that refreshing the page once or twice usually gets the video to play properly. (wait for the page to fully redraw before refreshing a second time). Don't know if you have tried that.

Also, as I said, I'll try playing a video directly from the YouTube site later and let you know how it goes...

[ChrisMay]

Another thought... (after which, I really must get on with some work!!)
This is a bit of a bodgey workaround, and is only really an option if there are some specific videos you want to watch, rather than random browsing of YouTube...
Origami has an option to use 'KeepVid' which will let you download the YouTube video onto the playbook in a couple of clicks, and then you can watch it in the PlayBook video player. Might be an option for longer videos, but probably a bit more effort than its worth for a 30s clip of someone falling off their skateboard or some cute kittens (or whatever your YouTube preference is)

[bambinoitaliano]

I just tried both YouTube and Stereotube. Seems to be running fine for me. No lag or stoppage.

[ChrisMay]

Ok, in the car at lunchtime, and youtube seems to be working fine, even with a fairly weak wifi connection. To compare like with like, just watched this

Featuring some of my little cousins, and it played all the way through with one brief - a second or so - hiccup.
Really not sure why you are having problems, not much else I can suggest, sorry.
EDIT: Just watched it again from the imbedded link in this post, and played perfectly all the way through. I love the little fella on the right with the scrunched ears...

[Ann Brown1]

Swettie I came here because I have the same problem!!! I do not understand all the tech talk I would just like YouTube to work......not happy with playbook

[Carl Estes]

Did you try clearing the cache/cookies? If it was working then slowly degrade, I would try this.
As mentioned earlier, did you try your Playbook at another wifi spot, like a neighbor you are on good terms with, and try to set up and run on their wifi to test. You can delete their wifi profile after said test is done.
c

[sad_old_man]

I don't even know how to become a member!

Posted via CB10

[Carl Estes]

I don't even know how to become a member!

Posted via CB10

Shhhh, were still voting...

c

[sad_old_man]

Shhhh, were still voting...

c

Ok!

[Carl Estes]

Ok!

You're in. By 1 Vote....

c

[sad_old_man]

You're in. By 1 Vote....

c

Cool what do I do next?

Posted via CB10

[pacoman03]

Swettie I came here because I have the same problem!!! I do not understand all the tech talk I would just like YouTube to work......not happy with playbook

How are you accessing YouTube- the Browser, the YouTube app? If neither work, try using another browser, either Origami or Simple Browser, or one of the android browsers, Maxthon or Dolphin, all free in app world.

[Carl Estes]

Cool what do I do next?

Posted via CB10

You can come out of the rubber room now...time out is over..

c

[Carl Estes]

Hi all hope i can get help as i have bought my Playbook just for the watching of youtube in bed!!
For a while now on both the App and the web page of YouTube on my Playbook i have been having issues. It plays the video at the start then from 5 to 10 seconds in it skips a few seconds then just stops! it started about a month ago occasionally doing it but i would slide the player on a few seconds and it would start again but now for two day it does it every video and i cannot get it working again, the wifi is good i have restarted the playbook and changed from App to web page and it still does it..please help!

Do you have your wifi security enabled, and still SECURE? Could be someone hacked it, or a neighbor you allowed access for a time may be eating up your bandwidth. Does this happen through out the day, or just "sporadically" for lack of abetter word??

Also, did you do a reset on your router(cycle power wait about a minute, then plug it back in.

c

[sad_old_man]

You can come out of the rubber room now...time out is over..

c

But I likes it in ere. I'm safe from icebergs.