Chrome: Playback Issues on Windows 11 Pro

[Duke-Fort]

I am having playback "jitter" problems on Windows 11 Pro. Almost like buffering issues, but they should be. I am running Chrome in "incognito" mode, but that still doesn't help.

I am running a 6 month old Dell Latitude 7440 with a 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1345U, 1600 Mhz, 10 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s) and 32.0 GB Installed Physical Memory (RAM), so I should have adequate power/resources.

It makes Pandora virtually useless as i can't stand listening to the sound gaps while listening.  Any ideas?

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@Duke-Fort To clarify, does this only happen when streaming Pandora in incognito mode?

Also, do you see a buffering error message on the screen when experience these sound gaps?

Let me know.

[Duke-Fort]

Sorry for the delayed response.

No, this happens running regular Chrome. I only went into incognito mode to see if that would help, it did not.

I verified my drivers were up to date yesterday. Dell loaded a BIOS update that made a big improvement (almost tolerable), but it still has occasional jitter that was not there 3-6 months ago.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Duke-Fort 

Thanks for following up, sorry to hear you're still having trouble.

I'm happy to pass this along to our engineering team for further review and investigation. Can you confirm if this is only happening when playing Pandora through your Google browser, or do you have the same experience when using another browser like Firefox or Edge.

Thank you for your help!

[Duke-Fort]

I will try MS Edge and get back to you.

[AlyssaPandora]

Sounds good, @Duke-Fort. Were you still having trouble? 

Feel free to keep us updated on your progress. 🎧

[Duke-Fort]

yes. Though it still occurs about once every 3-4 songs. My network seems pretty good with rare streaming issues during Teams video conferences, so I don't think that is the problem. I will try to keep good stats for both MS Edge and Chrome over the next week. AT least now I can stand to use it again.....

[Duke-Fort]

Nope, horrible dithering comes and goes again while listening now. Using MS Edge. Is there any diagnostic info I can provide? Let me know.

[AdamPandora]

@Duke-Fort We're sorry to hear that did not resolve your issue.

I'm happy to pass this along to our engineering team, however can you please also confirm if this also happens with other streaming services (such as Spotify or YouTube)?

Or is this only an issue with Pandora?

Thanks again! 

[Duke-Fort]

It appears to only be a Pandora issue. I can stream videos and audio from other sources without any problems. Is there a way to increase my "buffer" or see who much of the song is buffered? Or any other methods to clarify if this problem?

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Duke-Fort

Thanks for the follow up.

I appreciate your patience during this time and willingness to work with us. During my investigation I tried to replicate your experience but was unable to and a review of your playback logs didn't show anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, I don't believe there are any other troubleshooting steps that the community team can recommend that would offer an immediate resolution. We'll have to pass this along to our engineering team to look into further.

Having said that, I did want to confirm if your Audio Quality settings were enabled. If enabled, I would disable to see if this improves your overall experience.

I'd like to include some additional details in my notes to our engineering team. Can you let me know how long you've been experiencing this issue and have you noticed it happening on a particular station. I see that you've been listening to Dynamite (Holiday Remix) Radio more recently.

Thanks again for your help.

[Duke-Fort]

How do i get to "Audio Quality" settings? I get the following error screen if i use the settings selection in the PC app. It seems to be pretty bad today. I will try using MS Edge. I don't seem to have any problems with video Teams Meetings.

This has been happening for about 2 months? 

[Duke-Fort]

Yes, MS Edge is having the same problem during playback.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Duke-Fort 

To adjust the audio quality for Pandora, visit the Pandora website at www.pandora.com. Tap on your Profile (the monogram in the upper right corner of the screen) > Tap Settings > Tap Content Settings > Disable any higher audio quality.

Lastly, thanks for following up about Edge. Would you mind trying Firefox. I'm currently using Firefox when listening on your account and I'm able to listen normally.

In the meantime, I've gone and updated the ticket was created with the information you've recently provided. Thank you again!

[Duke-Fort]

It was ON, I turned it OFF.

I will try firefox next if this doesn't help.

[TannerPandora]

Thanks for trying, @Duke-Fort!