No doubt there is an embarassingly obvious answer, but can some wise and kindly Doper tell me what the dickens is going on with my YouTube account? It won’t play videos for me.
I go to the website, it loads the window in which it plays (or should play) the vid, and the pictures and such along the side load OK. All seems well. But the player window is blank black nothingness, and no video ever plays. And I can’t find any setting that says “Play Video Upon Loading”. Double clicking and right clicking on the window achieves nothing.
It works under Firefox, but I can’t stand to use Firefox any more because of the memory spikes. So I am using Internet Explorer (Version 8.0.6001.190IC). I just upgraded to Adobe Flash Player 11.8 this morning. I have an ancient Windows PC running Vista.
I am getting way too much done at work, without proper distraction to keep the dull times away.
Can someone please point out the glaringly obvious step I need to take? Windows Help is about as much good as it usually i, i.e. not even a little.
It’s not a direct answer to your problem, but Chrome has Flash built in if you’re willing to give it a try. If you always browse in incognito mode, it may provide more privacy if that’s why you’re avoiding it.
My guess (and I know that’s not really acceptable in GQ) is that it’s a problem between Flash and IE, not youtube – have you tried other Flash sites? Game sites, VEVO, Vimeo, or Daily[something – the name escapes me]?
You say “youtube account”. Which tells me you’re logged in and viewing.
Have you tried logging out and trying again? That would isolate if it’s something about your account or just your environment (local network, browser, Flash settings, etc.)
Is this from different computers? As suggested upthread, have you tried a different browser?
ETA: you mention “getting too much done at work”. Which tells me you’re using a work-provided network. (Assuming, at least.) So, maybe the network provider put in a web proxy that blocks youtube video streams but not the website itself? It is feasible, but my rather more bloody-minded employer blocks the entire youtube site, including embeds.
Yes, I have logged out and back in. No joy, same problem.
It’s from the same computer, the only one I use.
It does not happen using Firefox, but I can’t use Firefox because it hangs too much and eats memory like a mad bastard.
I was kidding, mostly. I do not access either the Dope or YouTube from work. I have no webproxy on my home PC, which is the one that won’t play YouTube videos. I have a remote PC that I dial into for work. I have no idea if it would access YouTube or not - I don’t even try. Only on my home PC.
So no, I am not using a work-provided network to access YouTube.
I tried at vidoevo.com. That also failed, but for different reasons - the ShockWave Flash plugin crashed, and it wants me to upgrade to Media Player HD. Norton Security says no one has downloaded the FTV player the site wanted me to use, so I am scared to download.
Well, IE 8 is two versions old, so there could be compatibility issues. I’ve never heard of videoevo.com, but if it’s asking you to install some sketchy player, maybe avoid it. What about dailymotion? They serve up their own videos, using flash player I think, and not through youtube.
FWIW, I have IE 7 at work and youtube seems to seems to work with it (at least for embedded videos). Dailymotion causes the browser to crash, though.
There has been discussion in the wild that ISPs are deliberately throttling YouTube (with ATT being a primary culprit). There are also debates wondering if Google (YouTube’s owner) is deliberately throttling non-Chrome YouTube users.
Not as far as I can tell, at least not with Internet Explorer. It appears to work with Firefox, but Firefox hangs a lot and even with Firefox Flash crashes more than 50% of the time.
[QUOTE=Duckster]
There has been discussion in the wild that ISPs are deliberately throttling YouTube (with ATT being a primary culprit). There are also debates wondering if Google (YouTube’s owner) is deliberately throttling non-Chrome YouTube users.
[/QUOTE]
I have Comcast. And the trouble doesn’t seem to be that YouTube is being throttled, but that the videos don’t start up at all. Even the tool bar that used to be at the bottom never appears. As I say, it doesn’t appear to object to Firefox, but Firefox is unworkable for other reasons.
I am trying to update Windows, but Windows update has been running for the last hour or so. I haven’t updated Windows for a while, because it used to install the updates, restart the PC (which takes about fifteen minutes), then announce that the updates were incompatible, back them out, and restart the PC - three times running. In a row. Every fucking time I restarted the PC.
I know I need a new PC, and I am planning to get one in the next few weeks. But this is still ridiculous.
So, it’s not really youtube, it’s something between Flash and IE. You could completely uninstall and reinstall Flash (I think Flash is different for Firefox than IE – it’s an add-on vs. an Active-X object, or something. In fact, you may not have even updated Flash for IE, just for Firefox). Updating IE may be tricky, if you’re stuck in an upgrade loop.
So, give Chrome at try, at least until you get your computer replaced.
