Problems Streaming Content with Windows Media Player (WMP)

This article was published by Microsoft under Q307650

SYMPTOMS
When you try to connect to a stream by using Windows Media Player (WMP), you may experience very poor quality throughout the course of the connection. The symptoms include, but are not limited to, the following:

The Windows Media Player goes into a buffering loop; that is, the buffering percentage may change from 16% to 58%, then to 96%, then to 58%, then to 75%, then to 98%, then to 30%, and so on.
The Windows Media Player reports a large amount of packet loss.
The Windows Media Player freezes in a "Buffering", "Waiting", or "Connecting" stage.

CAUSE
This may be caused by some cable or digital subscriber line (DSL) modems that use Network Address Translation (NAT). Some NAT devices do not properly forward UDP packets.

Similar behavior may be caused by personal firewall software.

RESOLUTION
To resolve the buffering problem, make sure that UDP protocol is disabled in your Windows Media Player. If UDP protocol is disabled, the player connects to streaming content through TCP or HTTP (if these are enabled on the Windows Media Server).

To disable the UDP protocol, follow these steps in the Windows Media Player:

In Windows Media Player select the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the Network tab.
Under Protocols, clear UDP.
On the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the Network tab.
Under Protocols, clear UDP.