Streaming & Delivery
Buffering
The process of downloading video data ahead of your current playback position, held in reserve to absorb brief network interruptions.
A healthy buffer is what lets a stream survive a momentary network hiccup without visibly pausing — the player draws from the buffered reserve while it waits for the connection to catch up. The visible "buffering" spinner appears specifically when that reserve runs dry faster than new data arrives.
Buffer size involves a genuine trade-off: a larger buffer improves resilience to network dips but slows down how quickly playback starts.