About comp-joe

Same or similar issue here.   5 year old 17" Dell Inspiron Laptop I3 CPU (dual core + hyper-threading) AMD 4300 series discrete graphics 6GB RAM Qualcomm Atheros AR3012 bluetooth 4.0 Windows 10 (fully updated) Latest update of IE11, Chrome, Firefox browsers Latest available updates of all drivers Latest updates of Flash and Java   Don't recall when issue started, but two to three months ago seems about right.   I prefer IE11 over other browsers but loaded Chrome and Firefox to troubleshoot the issue. Problem is most noticeable in IE11 and least noticeable in Firefox, but still noticeable enough to be an unpleasant viewing experience.   The issue presents itself as a halt or freeze of just the video (not the audio) at a one second interval then the video will skip frames to catch up with audio. In IE11 the video freeze will last almost a full second, whereas in Firefox the freeze is only around 2/10ths of a second (but still very noticeable). As noted in some of the above posts, this issue only happens with Xfinity Stream Website. It is not an issue with other streaming sources such as Netflix, Hulu, Broadcast Network sites, Youtube, etc.   Through trial and error, I think I have narrowed my problem down to an issue between Comcast's iteration of Flash Player used on the streaming site and my Bluetooth, which I use to broadcast my laptop audio to my external speakers.   Sometimes I can get a smooth video by going to the Flash Player Manager in the Windows Control Panel and  choosing "delete all site data and settings", "delete all audio and video license files" and "deauthorize this computer" and then restart the computer but that does not always work and will usually only work for the first video played. Next video, the problem is back.   If I turn off my Bluetooth radio during playback (using the Bluetooth button on the  notification panel) the video and audio will lock up (permanent pause). I can use the jump forward/back buttons but it will not play again without restarting the browser. If I disable my Bluetooth adapter through the Windows Device Manager and then try to play a video, it plays normally, but I'm stuck with laptop speakers and if I try to re-enable the Bluetooth Adapter after I've started the video, I get a BSOD with KERNAL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.   I'm thinking maybe that the issue might be associated with the DRM in the Xfinity version of Flash Player. That would also explain why the commercials preceding some of the content play smoothly and the following video play with the chop. The commercials are unprotected media, whereas the videos are DRM protected. It might also explain the multiple monitors/graphics adapters problems. I'm figuring that Xfinity's version of Flash Player either has problems with recognizing legitimate external or multiple media devices like Bluetooth speakers or multiple graphics adapters, or the security in their player is dialed down so tight that it is purposefully downgrading or crippling the stream when it detects any of these "suspcious" devices because they might be trying to pirate the stream. ... View more

@RobertWy wrote:   Strange.  I use the Stream website every day on my Win10 Chrome computer.  It sounds like you have some kind of connection issue.   Strange. It sounds like you didn't read the post.   What kind of "connection issue" (more than likely a Comcast connection) would only screw up one streaming site out of dozens, especially considering it's Comcast's own freakin site. ... View more

Same or similar issue here.   5 year old 17" Dell Inspiron Laptop I3 CPU (dual core + hyper-threading) AMD 4300 series discrete graphics 6GB RAM Qualcomm Atheros AR3012 bluetooth 4.0 Windows 10 (fully updated) Latest update of IE11, Chrome, Firefox browsers Latest available updates of all drivers Latest updates of Flash and Java   Don't recall when issue started, but two to three months ago seems about right.   I prefer IE11 over other browsers but loaded Chrome and Firefox to troubleshoot the issue. Problem is most noticeable in IE11 and least noticeable in Firefox, but still noticeable enough to be an unpleasant viewing experience.   The issue presents itself as a halt or freeze of just the video (not the audio) at a one second interval then the video will skip frames to catch up with audio. In IE11 the video freeze will last almost a full second, whereas in Firefox the freeze is only around 2/10ths of a second (but still very noticeable). As noted in some of the above posts, this issue only happens with Xfinity Stream Website. It is not an issue with other streaming sources such as Netflix, Hulu, Broadcast Network sites, Youtube, etc.   Through trial and error, I think I have narrowed my problem down to an issue between Comcast's iteration of Flash Player used on the streaming site and my Bluetooth, which I use to broadcast my laptop audio to my external speakers.   Sometimes I can get a smooth video by going to the Flash Player Manager in the Windows Control Panel and  choosing "delete all site data and settings", "delete all audio and video license files" and "deauthorize this computer" and then restart the computer but that does not always work and will usually only work for the first video played. Next video, the problem is back.   If I turn off my Bluetooth radio during playback (using the Bluetooth button on the  notification panel) the video and audio will lock up (permanent pause). I can use the jump forward/back buttons but it will not play again without restarting the browser. If I disable my Bluetooth adapter through the Windows Device Manager and then try to play a video, it plays normally, but I'm stuck with laptop speakers and if I try to re-enable the Bluetooth Adapter after I've started the video, I get a BSOD with KERNAL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.   I'm thinking maybe that the issue might be associated with the DRM in the Xfinity version of Flash Player. That would also explain why the commercials preceding some of the content play smoothly and the following video play with the chop. The commercials are unprotected media, whereas the videos are DRM protected. It might also explain the multiple monitors/graphics adapters problems. I'm figuring that Xfinity's version of Flash Player either has problems with recognizing legitimate external or multiple media devices like Bluetooth speakers or multiple graphics adapters, or the security in their player is dialed down so tight that it is purposefully downgrading or crippling the stream when it detects any of these "suspcious" devices because they might be trying to pirate the stream. ... View more

Same or similar issue here.   5 year old 17" Dell Inspiron Laptop I3 CPU (dual core + hyper-threading) AMD 4300 series discrete graphics 6GB RAM Qualcomm Atheros AR3012 bluetooth 4.0 Windows 10 (fully updated) Latest update of IE11, Chrome, Firefox browsers Latest available updates of all drivers Latest updates of Flash and Java   Don't recall when issue started, but two to three months ago seems about right.   I prefer IE11 over other browsers but loaded Chrome and Firefox to troubleshoot the issue. Problem is most noticeable in IE11 and least noticeable in Firefox, but still noticeable enough to be an unpleasant viewing experience.   The issue presents itself as a halt or freeze of just the video (not the audio) at a one second interval then the video will skip frames to catch up with audio. In IE11 the video freeze will last almost a full second, whereas in Firefox the freeze is only around 2/10ths of a second (but still very noticeable). As noted in some of the above posts, this issue only happens with Xfinity Stream Website. It is not an issue with other streaming sources such as Netflix, Hulu, Broadcast Network sites, Youtube, etc.   Through trial and error, I think I have narrowed my problem down to an issue between Comcast's iteration of Flash Player used on the streaming site and my Bluetooth, which I use to broadcast my laptop audio to my external speakers.   Sometimes I can get a smooth video by going to the Flash Player Manager in the Windows Control Panel and  choosing "delete all site data and settings", "delete all audio and video license files" and "deauthorize this computer" and then restart the computer but that does not always work and will usually only work for the first video played. Next video, the problem is back.   If I turn off my Bluetooth radio during playback (using the Bluetooth button on the  notification panel) the video and audio will lock up (permanent pause). I can use the jump forward/back buttons but it will not play again without restarting the browser. If I disable my Bluetooth adapter through the Windows Device Manager and then try to play a video, it plays normally, but I'm stuck with laptop speakers and if I try to re-enable the Bluetooth Adapter after I've started the video, I get a BSOD with KERNAL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.   I'm thinking maybe that the issue might be associated with the DRM in the Xfinity version of Flash Player. That would also explain why the commercials preceding some of the content play smoothly and the following video play with the chop. The commercials are unprotected media, whereas the videos are DRM protected. It might also explain the multiple monitors/graphics adapters problems. I'm figuring that Xfinity's version of Flash Player either has problems with recognizing legitimate external or multiple media devices like Bluetooth speakers or multiple graphics adapters, or the security in their player is dialed down so tight that it is purposefully downgrading or crippling the stream when it detects any of these "suspcious" devices because they might be trying to pirate the stream. ... View more