Datacommunications Essentials

What should I do if my video will not play?

There are many things that can affect the quality of your video so we have put together these instructions to help you review all the things that need to be tested in order to trouble-shoot video quality.

The first thing we want to assure you is that we have done everything possible to make sure that our videos will play well.  Our videos are hosted in the cloud by Akamai.  Akamai has servers around the world to make sure that your videos are sent from the server that is closest to you.  By hosting our videos with Akamai we make sure that you receive the highest video quality. If you are experiencing video buffering or freezing at home or at the office there are a number of things you can do to help us troubleshoot.

• Proper Video Quality: Although the player will attempt to match the video quality with your bandwidth, you may find that setting your video quality manually will give you better performance.
• Popup Blockers: Please check to make sure that your pop-up blocker is turned off when you go to our website. This will prevent the video window from opening.
• Your Connection Speed: Internet speed needs to be 2.0 Mbps upload and download to successfully watch the videos.  You will want to check and see if your connection speed is 2.0 Mbps or higher.  You can do this by clicking on this link and running a speed test.
  • www.speedtest.net
• Jitter and Packet Loss: Your Jitter rate lets us know if your connection speed is consistent while your Packet Loss rate lets us know if your internet connection could be losing pieces of the video.
  • Go to https://www.dotcom-tools.com/ping-test.aspx to determine if there is any Jitter or Packet Loss on your connection.
  • This is measured by a letter scale with A being the best.
    • If your Packet Loss is below a B, your connection is losing pieces of the video and causing the video to skip.
    • If your Jitter is below a B, your connection speed is very inconsistent and may be changing while you are watching the video which will result in buffering issues.
    • If either of these is the case you will need to contact your internet provider.
• Shared Internet Connection: If you are on a shared internet connection, test playing videos during non-peak hours when usage by others on your network is low.
• Reset Your Browser: If you've tried all the previous steps, your browser may be retaining data that needs to be deleted, and this requires a reset. If you are using Chrome, use the instructions in this link to reset your browser. If you are using Internet Explorer (IE) you may need to reset it. You can do this by clicking on the cog icon on the top right of your page. Then click on tools, internet options, advanced and reset. If you are using Firefox, use the instructions in this link to reset your browser.
• Other things to check:
  • At home or at work, test using different browsers and computers to see if you get the same result.
    • Make sure you have the latest version of the browser you are using.
  • If you are using Internet Explorer (IE) you may need to reset it. You can do this by clicking on the cog icon on the top right of your page. Then click on tools, internet options, advanced and reset.
  • Try from a different location using a different network.
  • If you are on a wireless connection try a wired solution.
  • If you are on a home network:
    • Test playing the videos when you are the only user on the network.
    • Try by-passing your router to eliminate it as the point of failure. A direct plug from your ISP to your computer will take care of this and will make sure that neither your router nor other users are affecting your connection.
  • If you are running Firefox, you can check your plugins here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/
• Make sure you do not have any other programs open. File sharing and peer to peer sharing programs, even when limited to low bandwidth, can make it almost impossible to stream properly.
• Tracking Progress on Mobile Devices: The GogoTraining site is designed to use the native player found in your browser. If you are taking your course on a mobile device and want to make sure your progress is tracked, then you will need to play the videos from the native player that is in your browser. Do not download any third party apps to play the videos as they do not allow your progress to be recorded. If you have installed a third party app and want to receive a Letter of Course Attendance, then you will need to uninstall the 3rd party app or see if the app has the ability for you to disable it for certain sites.
• Submitting Debugging Information If you have tried everything else and still are having trouble viewing the videos, you can visit this page where you can help us debug your particular setup by following the instructions on the page and submit the debugging information to us.