Playback Issues
Why does my video start and stop (buffer) during playback?
If you’re experiencing excessive buffering during playback, it’s probably because your Internet connection cannot support continuous playback of the selected video quality. Switch to “Auto” in the quality menu if available. This will allow the player to select the best quality video file to stream. If “Auto” is not available, switch to one of the lower quality options.
You may also want to try one of the following:
You may also want to try one of the following:
- Close extra browser tabs or other applications that may be using up your bandwidth.
- Make sure you’re using the latest version of your browser.
What browser can I use with Vimeo?
We support Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer. Whichever browser you prefer, please use the most up-to-date version available to ensure that everything on the site works smoothly — like butter! You can update your browser(s) here:
You've asked me to clear cache on a page or the browser. How do I do that?
To clear the cache in your browser hold down the shift button and reload the page. This method resets the information about the page that's stored in your browser.
How can I start watching Vimeo videos in HD right now?
Visit the Vimeo Staff Picks Channel and watch any of the videos in full screen mode. You'll quickly see why HD is amazing.
The color of my video looks different on Vimeo than in my source file. Why is that?
Here are some common causes of color variation:
1. Player decoding variation. There is some normal variation in the way your video looks across different players and browsers. For example, your video will look slightly different on Safari (which uses Vimeo's HTML5 player and Apple's QuickTime decoding software) from what you see on Firefox (which uses Vimeo's Flash player, and Adobe Flash’s decoding software). These variations are part of the experience of online playback, and not in Vimeo's control. Solution: To minimize effects, make sure your browser and Flash are both up to date.
2. Hardware-accelerated decoding. Your video may look different depending on the hardware used to interpret your video. Solution: Try disabling hardware-accelerated decoding to see whether this affects your video's color.
If you're not quite sure what's causing your color variation issue, please contact us so we can investigate further. Please provide a link to the video(s) in question and a description of the places in the video where the color variation is especially apparent.
1. Player decoding variation. There is some normal variation in the way your video looks across different players and browsers. For example, your video will look slightly different on Safari (which uses Vimeo's HTML5 player and Apple's QuickTime decoding software) from what you see on Firefox (which uses Vimeo's Flash player, and Adobe Flash’s decoding software). These variations are part of the experience of online playback, and not in Vimeo's control. Solution: To minimize effects, make sure your browser and Flash are both up to date.
2. Hardware-accelerated decoding. Your video may look different depending on the hardware used to interpret your video. Solution: Try disabling hardware-accelerated decoding to see whether this affects your video's color.
If you're not quite sure what's causing your color variation issue, please contact us so we can investigate further. Please provide a link to the video(s) in question and a description of the places in the video where the color variation is especially apparent.
The audio is out of sync on the video I uploaded. How do I fix that?
The easiest way to avoid sync issues is to compress your video following our Video Compression Guidelines. Here are some common causes for loss of audio sync:
- Your source file is out of sync. Double-check to ensure the file you are uploading to Vimeo is perfectly in sync, and that you are following our recommended Compression Guidelines.
- Variation between decoding technologies. Your video may look or sound slightly different across different players and browsers. Solution: To minimize effects, make sure your browser and Flash are both up-to-date.
- Your video is encoded with a variable frame rate. Solution: Make sure you are using a constant frame rate.
- Your video contains multiple edit list entries. This affects videos edited with QuickTime technology. Solution: Use "Export" feature instead of "Save" or "Save As."
If you're not quite sure what's causing your sync issue, please contact us so we can investigate further. Be sure to provide a link to the video(s) in question and a description of the places in the video where the loss of sync is especially apparent.
And finally, we made it through this whole article without one cheesy *NSync reference. We deserve a high five.
Why can’t I play videos on Linux / Ubuntu?
In order to play Vimeo videos on Ubuntu (and some other Linux operating systems), you will need the following packages:
Chromium:
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
Firefox:
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good
streamer0.10-ffmpeg
If you’re using a Linux OS other than Ubuntu and this doesn’t do the trick, we recommend reaching out to the OS community for assistance.
Chromium:
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
Firefox:
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good
streamer0.10-ffmpeg
If you’re using a Linux OS other than Ubuntu and this doesn’t do the trick, we recommend reaching out to the OS community for assistance.
Why can’t I watch Vimeo videos through my private network, firewall, or proxy server?
If you have a firewall or anti-virus software enabled—or if you're connected to the Internet through a proxy server—you may need to whitelist the domains below in order to access Vimeo videos. This may also be necessary if you’re embedding videos on your company’s intranet or accessing them through a private network.
*.vimeo.com
*.vimeo.com
What is hardware acceleration, and what problems can it cause?
Hardware acceleration is a technology that modern web browsers use to increase the performance of your computer. Browsers utilize it when trying to load something that requires more computing power than normal. This can range from things like online gaming to video playback.
Unfortunately, hardware acceleration doesn't work well with certain graphics cards, especially older card models. As a result, certain issues may occur in your browser, including during video playback. In most cases involving video playback, these issues manifest in one of three ways:
A) Video doesn't display, although audio may be playing in the background
B) Severe video pixelation
C) Whites in videos appear as grays
You can resolve these issues on your own computer by disabling hardware acceleration in your browser:
Chrome:
Unfortunately, hardware acceleration doesn't work well with certain graphics cards, especially older card models. As a result, certain issues may occur in your browser, including during video playback. In most cases involving video playback, these issues manifest in one of three ways:
A) Video doesn't display, although audio may be playing in the background
B) Severe video pixelation
C) Whites in videos appear as grays
You can resolve these issues on your own computer by disabling hardware acceleration in your browser:
Chrome:
- Open a new tab and go to "chrome://flags"
- Find "Disable hardware-accelerated video decode" and click "Enable"
- Restart Chrome
- Click the Firefox button at the top-right of the Menu bar
- Go to the "Options" menu and then click "Options" again
- Click the "Advanced" tab at the top, then "General" below that
- Uncheck "Use hardware acceleration when available"
- Click OK and restart Firefox
- Click the Settings (gear) icon
- Choose Internet Options
- Select the Advanced tab
- Check the box under Accelerated Graphics that reads "Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering"
- Click Apply, then click OK
- Restart Internet Explorer 11
- Open Chrome and in the address bar type "chrome://gpu"
- Copy and paste everything on this page into pastebin.com
- Submit the form at vimeo.com/help/contact with a link to the pastebin.com file, a list of the affected browser(s), and a brief description of the specific issue you were experiencing
What is adaptive streaming, and how does it impact my videos?
Adaptive streaming means that viewers will no longer need to choose the quality of the video they're viewing. Instead, the player will intelligently choose the highest quality possible based on the viewer's network connection, graphics processing ability, and other factors.
This has several benefits for you, the video creator:
If you're looking for a way to default an embedded video to a particular quality, check this out.
This has several benefits for you, the video creator:
- You'll no longer need to specify that your videos should default to HD during playback. Instead, viewers with HD-compatible playback environments will automatically view your videos in HD quality.
- Viewers won't have to worry about the HD toggle anymore. Over the course of viewing a video, the quality will change (hence the term "adaptive streaming") to accommodate any changes in network connection or graphics processing. We'll make sure they always receive the highest quality video possible, whether that's 720p, 1080p, or even 4K.
- Viewers with poor connection speeds or low resolution monitors won't be bogged down with unnecessarily large playback files. For these viewers, playback will be adjusted for their particular setup, to keep things running smoothly.
If you're looking for a way to default an embedded video to a particular quality, check this out.
I uploaded an HD video, but it isn’t playing back in HD. Why?
The Vimeo player uses adaptive streaming technology to pick the best quality video file for playback depending the strength of your network connection, the size of the player, and other factors. If you aren’t seeing HD video, it’s probably because your playback environment is not optimized for HD.
If you’d like, you can force HD playback by choosing one of the HD qualities in the quality picker menu:
Please note that you’ll likely experience buffering delays and reduced performance when forcing a higher quality. To switch back to adaptive streaming, select “Auto” in the quality menu.
If you’d like, you can force HD playback by choosing one of the HD qualities in the quality picker menu:
Please note that you’ll likely experience buffering delays and reduced performance when forcing a higher quality. To switch back to adaptive streaming, select “Auto” in the quality menu.
Why does the quality of my video keep changing during playback?
Our player can intelligently detect the particulars of your playback environment (Internet speed, graphics processing, etc.), and will stream the best quality video file based on this information. If your video is changing quality, it means your connection is fluctuating during the course of playback. Previously, this would have resulted in buffering delays.
If you’d like to lock-in a particular quality, you can select one from the quality menu in the lower right-hand corner of the player.
Please note that you’ll likely experience buffering delays and reduced performance when forcing a higher quality. To switch back to adaptive streaming, select “Auto” in the quality menu.
If you’d like to lock-in a particular quality, you can select one from the quality menu in the lower right-hand corner of the player.
Please note that you’ll likely experience buffering delays and reduced performance when forcing a higher quality. To switch back to adaptive streaming, select “Auto” in the quality menu.
Why can’t I upgrade my video to 1080p anymore?
Good news: Plus and PRO members no longer need to manually upgrade their videos to 1080p. If you’ve uploaded a 1080p source file, we’ll automatically make both a 720p and 1080p version. (Please note that Basic members are limited to 720p video at this time.)
We’ll also automatically make 2K and 4K versions for Plus and PRO members who upload 4K UHD video.
Our player will stream the best quality for the viewer’s particular playback environment.
We’ll also automatically make 2K and 4K versions for Plus and PRO members who upload 4K UHD video.
Our player will stream the best quality for the viewer’s particular playback environment.
How do I default my videos to play in HD?
The new Vimeo player uses adaptive streaming technology to ensure that viewers receive the highest quality version of the video for their particular playback environment. This means your viewers will no longer experience choppy playback or endless buffering.
Compared to other video services, Vimeo errs on the side of quality and we always serve HD video wherever possible.
If you'd prefer to view a specific quality, switch from "Auto" mode to that particular quality in the HD menu (in the lower right-hand corner of the player).
Compared to other video services, Vimeo errs on the side of quality and we always serve HD video wherever possible.
If you'd prefer to view a specific quality, switch from "Auto" mode to that particular quality in the HD menu (in the lower right-hand corner of the player).
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Try searching:
Still stumped? Email us or visit the Forums.