Firefox users, fixing choppy Youtube videos

[RknRusty]

Anyone have herky jerky interruptions when you're trying to watch a video? It's especially aggravating when you're trying to watch a flight. I finally found a fix that really works well.

Before you read on and make any changes, I should mention that videos embedded in forum posts are usually smoother if you simply click the Youtube logo at the bottom right of the video box and watch it on the Youtube site. And you can click the gear icon and select a lower resolution than HD, such as 480p. Closing extra tabs can help too. If that doesn't do an adequate job, here is a better fix:

By default, the time interval between each browser session save is set at 10 seconds. If a number of tabs are opened and the web pages loaded on these tabs are heavy (images, Flash etc), this periodic saving of session can cause Firefox to momentarily stop responding during each save, every 10 seconds. You might not notice this during casual surfing but if you are watching an online video, you might notice this irritating repeating glitch.

Most users attribute choppy videos to poor Internet connection, but in some cases the problem might lie in the browser’s small session-saving interval.
The solution

Increase the refresh interval. To do this:

Type about:config into your address bar.
Read the notice and click the mandatory "I'll be careful, I promise!"
In the “Filter” box type browser.sessionstore.interval to locate this parameter. You can also get to it by scrolling down.
Double-click on the item and change the value to 60000 (60 seconds) or more. I set mine to 120000. You can enter a larger value, but remember that a large value means less frequent saves and higher the chance of losing opened tabs in case of browser crash.

After I changed it, it works much more smoothly. I still frequently find that 480p is smoother than HD 720p, so I still do that. I've been much happier with my video watching experience since making this change.
Here is a picture of where I made the change.


Hope this helps,
Rusty

[Gene Martine]

   
  Thanks Rusty.
  Gene
   

[RknRusty]

   
  Thanks Rusty.
  Gene
   

You're welcome Gene. Thanks for helping me with my Shoestring and dead silly homemade battery pack in H'ville in October.
Rusty

[john e. holliday]

Well my problem is that after several weeks of watching videos on the new computer with no problems, last week I now get the video just started when it just quits with a black screen and a message,   "an error has accurred" and will not play.  At least the lap top still works.

[RknRusty]

John, re-installing Flash will probably fix it.
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Just make sure you un-check any extras they want to slip in, like McAfee.
Rusty