Choppy audio playback

In general, dialup connections have trouble with streaming audio and streaming video. People who have modem connections usually understand the limitations on what they can actually do in this area :)

To correct the "stuttering" effect, try increasing the "buffer audio" option to a higher value. Something like 10-20 may work better. Or, you may want to consider reducing the overall size of your files by increasing the amount of compression you are suing to generate your MP3 files.

Initial MP3 playback for modem users may be "choppy." Once the entire file is downloaded, however, the file will play normally. In the current version there is no option to force the entire file to download before starting playback. This is something that will be incorporated into future versions. (Upgrading to newer versions of Wimpy is free.)

As for streaming videos, it all depends on how large the videos are in file size. For example, if you put a really large, high-quality photograph on the web, then modem users will have to wait longer to see it because the actual file size is large. Of course, people with faster internet connections will be able to download the file faster. The same thing applies with video, the larger the file, the longer it will take for modem users to download the file. The best thing to do is to test different compression sizes vs. quality.

There are two things you can do to minimize "choppiness" :

1) Use the Customizer Tool  and increase the "Buffer Audio" to a higher value. Something like 10 or 30 seconds will help. For dial-up connections, you may even want to try a higher number such as 45 or 60.

2) Install Wimpy into two separate folders on your web site. One for "Broadband" users, which contains higher quality (and therefore larger files) and the other for "Dial-up" users, which contains lower quality, and therefore smaller files). Then present the user with a choice prior to launching Wimpy.

The following chart can be userd as a guide when creating MP3 files so that you can encode / compress your MP3 files for a "target" internet connection speed.