Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

I'm connecting fine, browsing and pinging perfectly, yet videos seem to buffer so much slower (almost at dial-up speeds), to the point where uninterrupted streaming is impossible. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing it. Just check 2 or 3 videos randomly, see if you can view 'em without the video bufffering. www.Youtube.com

Of course, the usual list of suspect factors to check first and foremost have been investigated (i.e. downloads/uploads in background, connections both internal and external etc.).

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

HELL Yes! And it's Google. They basically ruined Youtube... They now tier the videos with bandwidth throttling. Newer videos will get more bandwidth/speed, old videos MUCH less.
It sucks. Hell, sometimes it takes longer to buffer that the actual video's length.. I don't get it.. a 2 min video taking 3-4 mins to buffer. irritating as hell.

If they don't change this, Youtube will be dead soon. (It's not your connection either) I am seeing reports on the google forums, and everywhere else..
I installed a flash video downloader, and went to youtube, and went to download a video, expecting it to download super fast. nope. 54.3kb a second. That is a joke.
And on a 20mb connection... pings, tracert fine...

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Oh yeah, btw--youtube's 'new' design sucks ass. Whoever did that needs to be fired. twice. :)

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Aha. Well, at least it ain't me. It's usually annoying to talk to my ISP on the phone about elusive bandwidth issues - half the time they have no idea what i'm on about and just keep telling me my advertised internet speed.

Throttling, yuck. So basically, the more obscure your video, the slower it goes. I basically have to queue up videos now as a rule of thumb. I always liked Google but man, with the commercials, flash ads and now this, I am changing my mind.

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Yes I agree. Everything from the index scroller to the volume control and "related videos" section all suck now. I also notice Google.com looks different today, although I can't put my finger on how exactly.

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

The new design is HORRIBLE!!! Especially the "recommended videos" part, or whatever it is. Most of the time they don't even relate to the video you're watching! I liked it before...

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Glad i'm not the only one that thinks the new "design" sucks monkey balls.

It looks like someone just went into the HTML and highlighted half of it and pressed Delete

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

I've just been on Google. What is going on? It looks so strange! It actually seems hard to navigate around it now. What was wrong with it before? Why are people needlessly changing things that work fine as they are? Sigh...........................................

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

I think the Google CEO's get bored or something and decide to 'make it new and improved' (That is a keyword for SHIT!).

And comments don't have a spacer line.. just all together like crap. blah.. whoever designed--er, undesigned it needs a quick beating... :D :hehe:

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

I wonder what would happen if everyone who thinks what they did to youtube sucks suddenly stopped using the site.

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Aye and comments aren't dated until you hover on them. It seems really "dumbed down" or something. The throttling is horrible as hell - absolutely horrible. I cannot watch anything without seeing that stupid buffering shit come up. It sux because such practices don't let you take advantage of high bandwidth speeds, Regardless of your connection you're forced to view it on their terms. It hasn't killed Youtube, but it is certainly a blow. I am hoping this is a testing period of some kind and after all the negative feedback, they will revert back or at least tweak and optimize it.

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Glad every one else is having the same problem with you tube because i thought it was just me.

Yep I agree with everyone else about google. Whoever signed off on those changes should be sacked.

Re: Is Youtube slow for anyone else lately?
 

Sometimes when something changes or "updates" needlessly, it's because one or more people had to justify their salary. Unlikely that beatings will ensue. They'll prolly get a pay rise.

As for youtube, i'm still using IE7 which has been unsupported for a while. I'm not noticing any reduced DL speeds, but it becomes difficult to navigate after 1 or 2 pages, with links and options disappearing with each new page.