iTunes 6.0.4 (#4): Frequent rebuffering of streaming audio -- fixes

We continue to frequent re-buffering of media downloads and streaming media from other computers after updating to iTunes 6.0.4.

Fixes

Change buffer size to large The first procedure you should try if you are receiving rebuffering messages frequently is an increase in the streaming buffer size (set it to "Large").

This can be accomplished by going to the "iTunes" menu and selecting "Preferences", then navigating to the "Advanced" menu, clicking on the "General" tab then modifying the "Streaming Buffer Size" setting.

Download complete previews If you are experiencing frequent rebuffering when attempting to download music store previews, try the following:

1. Go to the "iTunes" menu and selecting "Preferences"
2. Click the Store tab at the top of the window.
3. Check the "Load complete preview before playing" checkbox.

Use an alternative player Some users have been able to access the same radio streams available in iTunes with RealPlayer or another streaming media player without issue.

Avoiding mixing 802.11g and 802.11b For some users, the mixture of 802.11g (AirPort Extreme) and 802.11b (AirPort) networking devices can cause rebuffering issues when music is being shared among locally networked Macs.

MacFixIt reader Geoff Smith writes:

"I have iTunes 6.0.4. serving 3 soundbridge devices. Rebuffering is definately worse with the present releases. Two fixes have improved things a little:

"Determining a fixed wireless channel on the airport and soundbridges setting all wireless devices to 'g' rather than a mix of 'b' and 'g' (soundbridges use the older wireless standard.

"This seems to reduce the amount of rebuffereing. The latest version of the Soundbridge firmware also seems to have helped."

Previous coverage:

• iTunes 6.0.4 (#3): Multi-pass not working for some; Frequent re-buffering of streaming audio
• iTunes 6.0.4 (#2): Problems with shared playlists
• Apple releases iTunes 6.0.4

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