# how to troubleshoot dropped frames? **URL:** \ **Category:** Wowza Streaming Engine\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067 "2012-03-08T06:07:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aaron\_Jenkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Aaron\_Jenkin](https://community.wowza.com/u/Aaron_Jenkin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/1 "2012-03-08T06:07:58Z")
I’m doing VOD multi-bitrate RTMPe streaming with MP4 files and xml playlists. On fullscreen mode, my videos are dropping 5-10 frames per second. They’re droppin’ it like it’s hot, but in this case that’s NOT what’s desired! I’m using JWPlayer’s QualityMonitor plugin to get these stats. (Great plugin btw). My MP4 settings are based off of a lot of research and there should not be a compatibility issue here. How can I troubleshoot this to find the problem? Any ideas? Thanks guys! triple 😕 ![](http://i41.tinypic.com/105rw29.png) ---
**Author:** ![Jason\_Hilton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.wowza.com/jason_hilton/32/437_2.png) [@Jason\_Hilton](https://community.wowza.com/u/Jason_Hilton)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/2 "2012-03-09T12:59:11Z")
Hi It sounds like the PC you are using doesn’t have enough CPU to view the stream in full-screen mode and has no choice but to drop frames. Jason ---
**Author:** ![Randall\_Auriemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Randall\_Auriemma](https://community.wowza.com/u/Randall_Auriemma)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/3 "2012-05-03T03:15:37Z")
Try a very low bitrate/complexity stream. You can download a VOD file to test with here: [BigBuckBunny\_115k.mov](https://www.wowza.com/_h264/BigBuckBunny_115k.mov). ---
**Author:** ![Aaron\_Jenkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Aaron\_Jenkin](https://community.wowza.com/u/Aaron_Jenkin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/4 "2012-03-10T03:59:27Z")
Jason, Thanks for the reply. I am attaching my computer specs. I am running at 60%-65% CPU. If it is indeed a CPU issue, I am worried my average viewers will have playback issues. I have now tested our video playback on 3 other computers. Only one had dropped frames, and not so bad. Should I reconsider my video export settings? Where do you recommend I should I look to solve this? Trying to troubleshoot. Thanks, triple ![](http://i43.tinypic.com/jrczsl.png) ---
**Author:** ![Aaron\_Jenkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Aaron\_Jenkin](https://community.wowza.com/u/Aaron_Jenkin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/5 "2012-03-11T06:57:30Z")
Jason, Turns out the problem is a combination of Chrome or Firefox with Flash (version does not seem to matter) on my specific computer. I am able to play back video using Safari, no problem. Very very strange huh? Any theories are welcome, otherwise case closed. Thanks, triple ---
**Author:** ![Aaron\_Jenkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Aaron\_Jenkin](https://community.wowza.com/u/Aaron_Jenkin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 8:12am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/6 "2012-05-05T08:12:17Z")
Thanks for all of the replies. In my case I was able to solve the problem by simply realizing it was a flash/browser issue. Chrome and Firefox play back terribly, but Safari has absolutely no problem. If others are having the same problem, my advise is to try a different browser to see if it makes a difference. Good luck! triple ---
**Author:** ![Jason\_Hilton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.wowza.com/jason_hilton/32/437_2.png) [@Jason\_Hilton](https://community.wowza.com/u/Jason_Hilton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/7 "2012-05-15T12:47:09Z")
Hi @ Tripleaaadelay Please let us know how you get on with the above post as this will be very helpful to others who use Chrome and Firefox. @ Flobog Thank you for taking the time to post this work around! Jason ---
**Author:** ![Florian\_Bogner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@Florian\_Bogner](https://community.wowza.com/u/Florian_Bogner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/8 "2012-05-03T13:00:13Z")
> Jason, > > Turns out the problem is a combination of Chrome or Firefox with Flash (version does not seem to matter) on my specific computer. I am able to play back video using Safari, no problem. Very very strange huh? Any theories are welcome, otherwise case closed. > > Thanks, > > triple Well, even if I can’t be of help regarding this matter, I’m inclined to let you know that I’m facing similar problems. On some Windows-based computers I see a lot of dropped frames with flash player streaming a mp4-video using Wowza with rtmp(e) protocol. Most computers will playback just fine. It’s definitely not a matter of cpu / graphics card performance, because even an i7 notebook drops frames while lots of older dual core computers don’t have any problems. I’ll get back to this topic if there’s some new insight. Best regards, FloBog ---
**Author:** ![Florian\_Bogner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@Florian\_Bogner](https://community.wowza.com/u/Florian_Bogner)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/how-to-troubleshoot-dropped-frames/37067/9 "2012-05-15T13:24:43Z")
> Thanks for all of the replies. In my case I was able to solve the problem by simply realizing it was a flash/browser issue. Chrome and Firefox play back terribly, but Safari has absolutely no problem. If others are having the same problem, my advise is to try a different browser to see if it makes a difference. > > Good luck! > > triple Hi there, finally I think I was able to solve this issue. Using JWplayer und the built-in embed mechanism, you could try the parameter ```auto wmode: 'window' ``` I recognized a boost in performance and no dropped frames at all afterwards. Byebye, Flo