16. Troubleshooting YouTube Problems
For most users on most days, using YouTube is a snap. On rare occasions, however, something goes wrong, and you either can't play or upload a given video.
Fortunately, most YouTube problems are easy to diagnose and just as easy to fix. Read on to learn how to troubleshoot the most common YouTube problems.
Playback Problems
Proper playback of YouTube videos requires that you have the Adobe Flash software installed on your PC and that you're connected to a broadband (not dial-up) Internet connection. Failing to meet either of these two requirements accounts for most—but not all—YouTube playback problems.
That said, let's look at some of the most common problems you might encounter with YouTube playback.
Videos Won't Play
The number-one cause for videos not playing is that you don't have the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player (formerly Macromedia Flash Player) software installed on your PC. To download the latest version of the Flash Player (it's free), go to www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/. You may need to reboot your computer following the installation.
Even if you have (or think you have) the Flash Player installed on your system, it may not be the latest version. It's worth downloading and installing the latest version, just in case.
If you have the latest version of the Flash Player installed but still can't play back videos, you may have JavaScript turned off in your web browser; YouTube requires JavaScript for its video playback. In Internet Explorer 7, you can turn this back on by selecting Tools, Internet Options to display the Internet Options dialog box. Select the Security tab and then click the Custom Level button; when the Security Settings dialog box appears, scroll to the Scripting section and select the Enable options for both the Active Scripting and Scripting of Java Applets settings.
You may also need to lower the video acceleration on your computer, as some video content may need lower acceleration to play properly. To lower the hardware acceleration on a Windows XP PC, open the Windows Control Panel, select Appearance & Themes, Display, Settings, Advanced, Troubleshoot, Hardware Acceleration, and make the appropriate changes from there. (In Windows Vista, the path is Control Panel, Personalization, Display Settings, Advanced Settings, Troubleshoot, Change Settings.)
Videos Won't Play—QuickTime Logo Displayed
If you try to play a video and it not only doesn't play but also displays the QuickTime logo on top of the video player, you've accidentally selected QuickTime as your default Flash player, which it shouldn't be. You'll need to reconfigure QuickTime accordingly, which you do by opening the QuickTime Player application and selecting Edit, Preferences, QuickTime Preferences to display the QuickTime dialog box. Select the Browser tab, click the MIME Settings button, and then uncheck the Miscellaneous option. Click OK to apply the changes, and then reboot your computer.
Videos Get Hung Up on the Loading Screen
When your videos start to load but then seem to get stuck on the initial screen, you could have one of a number of different problems.
First, make sure you're connected to a broadband Internet connection of at least 500Kbps. Anything less can cause YouTube videos to freeze like this.
Second, you could have a pop-up blocker (for your web browser) blocking the incoming video stream. Try disabling your browser's pop-up blocker to allow the incoming stream.
Third, your computer's firewall utility could also be blocking the incoming video. Try reconfiguring your firewall to allow incoming video from the YouTube site.
It's also possible that you have another streaming video program running at the same time, and the two programs are competing with each other for your computer's attention. Make sure you've closed Windows Media Player, the QuickTime Player, and similar programs before you try to watch YouTube videos.
Finally, make sure you're not trying to watch a private YouTube video. Unlike normal public videos, YouTube's private videos are restricted for viewing by invited contacts only. Try to play a private video, and, unless you're on the guest list, nothing will happen.
Playback Stops and Starts, or Stutters
Poor playback is typically caused by a single factor—a slow Internet connection. Dial-up connections are particularly problematic and can even cause the incoming video stream to freeze. A long-term solution to this problems is to upgrade to a faster broadband Internet connection; best performance comes from a connection speed of at least 500Kbps.
That said, broadband Internet connections can also cause problems, especially during busy times of the day or if you're trying to download large files or pictures simultaneously with your YouTube viewing. It's also possible that YouTube itself has some slow server problems; again, this tends to happen during the busiest times of the day. Wait a few minutes for the traffic to decrease and then try viewing the video again.
No Audio with the Video
If you play a YouTube video and there's no accompanying audio, first check to see whether you hear audio with other YouTube videos; it's always possible that the person who uploaded the video screwed up and forgot to attach an audio track.
If none of your YouTube videos have sound, check the volume controls both in the YouTube player and on your computer. Make sure your computer speakers (or a set of earphones) are connected, that the volume is cranked up, and that you haven't accidentally muted the sound. If worse comes to worst, reboot your computer and try again.
Videos End Before They're Done
This is an odd problem that sometimes crops up. You're watching a video, and in the middle somewhere the video just stops and shows the end screen.
The cause of this problem is typically a bad copy of the video previously downloaded to your PC. When a download is incomplete, the truncated version of the video file sometimes gets stuck on your hard disk—and then it's this copy of the video that is played by YouTube, and that causes the problem.
To solve this problem, you need to clear your web browser's cache or temporary files. In Internet Explorer 7, this is done by clicking Tools, Delete Browser History, and then clicking the Delete Files button.
You Click a Link to a YouTube Video but Nothing Happens
This is caused by a bad link. (Sometimes YouTube will even display an error message to that effect, or that the URL contained a "malformed video ID.") This happens when someone types a video link URL manually and enters a typo. If this someone was you, go back and copy and paste the correct link to the video.
You Click a Link to a YouTube Video but the Video Has Been Removed
This happens, and it's not your fault. Even live links on the YouTube site sometimes point to videos that have been removed for terms of use (typically copyright) violations, or have been taken down voluntarily by the videos' owners. If you see a message that says a video is no longer available, that's why.
Uploading Problems
Not all YouTube problems are playback-related. You can also run into trouble when you're uploading a video. Here are some of the most common upload-related problems.
It's Taking a Long Time to Upload the Video
Be patient; the longer your video is, the longer it will take to upload. Depending on the size of your upload and the speed of your Internet connection, it might take several hours for the video to be completely uploaded. If it takes more than a few hours, especially for a shorter video, try canceling the upload and starting over again.
You Try to Upload a Video but Receive an "Invalid File Format" Message
This happens when you try to upload a video file that is in a file format that YouTube doesn't accept. You'll need to convert your video to either .AVI, .MOV, .MPG, or .WMV file formats. (And, even though YouTube converts your files to .FLV format, you can't upload an .FLV-format file. Go figure.)
If you have your video in the right file format, it's possible you've used the wrong video compression codec. YouTube recommends saving your videos in the MPEG-4 format with either the DivX or XviD codec.
You Try to Upload a Video but Receive an "Unable to Convert Video File" Message
This is a similar error message to the one discussed previously and is caused by the same problem—you tried to upload a video in an unaccepted file format. Convert your video to an acceptable file format before you upload it again.
You Try to Upload a Video but Receive an "Empty .MOV File" Message
This error message tells you that your upload failed because you tried to upload the wrong QuickTime file. When you save a movie from the QuickTime Player with the Save as a Reference Movie option selected, QuickTime creates a small .MOV file that points to the larger full-length video file located elsewhere on your hard drive. If you accidentally try to upload the smaller pointer file, YouTube objects, because that file doesn't contain actual video content. You'll need to re-save the movie from within the QuickTime Player, this time with the Save as a Self-Contained Movie option selected, and then retry the upload to YouTube.
You Try to Upload a Video but the File Is Rejected as a Duplicate
When YouTube displays the "Rejected (Duplicate Upload)" message, that means you tried to upload a file that already exists on the YouTube site. YouTube checks the content of all files in its system (not the actual content, but rather the checksum of the video bits and bytes) to weed out duplicate videos. Know that simply renaming the file won't get around this limitation; you'll need to re-edit your video to make it somehow different from the existing file before you can complete the upload. (Or don't upload it, since someone else already did.)
You Try to Upload a File but It's Rejected for a Terms of Use Violation
When YouTube displays the "Rejected (Terms of Use Violation)" message, that means you've tried to upload a video that somehow violates YouTube's terms of use. Perhaps the video contains adult content, or maybe it infringes on someone else's copyright. Review YouTube's terms of use (www.youtube.com/t/terms) to see what you've done wrong.
The Audio and Video for Your Uploaded File Are Out of Sync
When a person in your video says one thing but something different comes out of his mouth, you have a sync problem. This is typically caused by the use of an audio codec not supported by YouTube. Try re-encoding your video using the standard MP3 audio codec.
Your Uploaded Video Looks Lousy
Assuming that your video looked good to begin with, there may be three causes for this problem.
First, you may have uploaded a video using the wrong file format, compression scheme, or codec. Remember, YouTube recommends the MPEG-4 format with either the DivX or XviD codec.
Second, if you uploaded a .MOV-format file, know that YouTube doesn't always do a good job converting this type of file to the site's native .FLV format. Try converting the .MOV file to .AVI, .MPG, or .WMV and uploading it again.
Finally, you may have uploaded a video with too large a picture—that is, too high a resolution. The higher the resolution, the more YouTube has to convert that file to a lower resolution—and YouTube's conversion process sometimes produces suck-worthy video quality. It's better for you to reduce the resolution of your video before you upload it; for best results, go for a 320×240 resolution.
Your Uploaded Video Doesn't Show Up When You Search YouTube
First, be patient, it can take 8 hours or more for a new video to show up in YouTube's search index. Second, check the tags you've applied to the video; look for misspellings or other problems that could affect search results. (And make sure you have tags; people can't find a video that doesn't have any tags applied!) Finally, make sure you've added your username as a tag, so that people searching for your videos by your name can find it.