Adobe Flash performance, seeming to be dependent upon browser

cytherian · 02 Oct 2012

As the leading browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome) have gone through their various versions, I've witnessed differences in Adobe Flash plug-in performance. At times, Firefox would playback video smoother than IE so I switched... then newer versions seemed to take a step back, so then I tried Chrome which appeared better at handling streaming flash video. But I'm now finding Chrome is struggling with flash in the latest version. Video play back stutters quite a bit, even when cached.

So, I just started using IE9 because I find the Adobe flash plug-in works better. There is still some stuttering and buffer lag, but it is mostly smooth. On Firefox and Chrome, even fully cached videos will still be choppy.

I don't understand why this happens. Is this due to Adobe having to struggle with different browser API settings? That they can't hit a common ground that works well for all browsers? Mind you, I do not have tons of plug-ins and extensions in my browsers; they mostly run quite lean.

Anyway, I realize that Internet connectivity speeds can fluctuate and that will affect video streaming, but when one browser can demonstrate smooth video, you'd expect the others to do so as well. I'm definitely seeing differences in Adobe flash video playback performance.

dsperber · 06 Oct 2012

Your system specs are absent. What is your video card? If you have an ATI video card, what version of Catalyst driver are you running?

Do you have Tools -> Options -> General tab -> user hardware acceleration when available checked?

cytherian · 07 Oct 2012

Why should it matter what the video card is or my other system specs? All of the browsers are in the same environment, yet, Adobe flash performs differently. That suggests a software discrepancy, not hardware. I do have hardware acceleration selected... so, perhaps some browsers can't take advantage of it.

dsperber · 07 Oct 2012

cytherian said:

Why should it matter what the video card is or my other system specs? All of the browsers are in the same environment, yet, Adobe flash performs differently. That suggests a software discrepancy, not hardware. I do have hardware acceleration selected... so, perhaps some browsers can't take advantage of it.

I asked because Firefox has "blacklisted" Catalyst 12.8 drivers for ATI video cards. So even if you have hardware acceleration checked Firefox will behave as if it was un-checked.

That means you will not get hardware acceleration performance from ATI video cards under Firefox if you have Catalyst 12.8 installed.

And since Flash makes use of hardware acceleration (or not), your performance from Flash with Firefox if Catalyst 12.8 is installed will definitely be inferior to what it would be with an older Catalyst version installed, or from other browsers where perhaps there is no conflict with Catalyst 12.8.

That's why I asked.

cytherian · 07 Oct 2012

Ah, I see. That makes sense. The lag I've been experiencing is in Chrome, though. Firefox seems to be just a tad better, but it's noticeable improvement with IE9. What puzzles me is how this can change over time, as I mentioned before, how I've had to switch my primary browser a couple of times because of performance issues with succeeding versions.

dsperber · 07 Oct 2012

Still keeping your hardware "secret"?

What is your setup?

cytherian · 07 Oct 2012

No big secret, I just hadn't bothered entering it and didn't see it as relevant to the issue. You can click on my profile to see it if you wish, as it is updated.