Firefox - Progressive Downloading

[Train]

Thank you folks.

It works now.

[rwinegar]

In firefox click tools>options>applications and select the file extension(s) that you are trying to play/download from the list shown. You can then change the default action in the drop down box to it's right to either "ask" or use an application of your choosing.

Then next time you click on an mp3 file etc you should get the window shown above asking what you want to do.. ie- open with or save file. Then select the program or plug-in you want to use.

OK I did this. I can now choose to open Firefox mp3 files in WMP. But I have to browse to and select WMP. When set as WMP (default) they still open in Winamp. Even when set to "ask" mp3 and wmv files still download completely before playing. When I left click on a file the download box opens and I see a progress bar indicating the download progress and the download speed. The file will not play until it is completely downloaded. If I select WMP and play, the file will download in it's entirety and play in WMP. If I select save, the file will download to the chosen destination and open in Winamp which is my default mp3 player.

When using IE as my browser both mp3 and wmv will immediately begin to play in WMP as the download progresses when the file is left clicked. In other words, they stream in IE. But they still will not stream in Firefox.

Spyware DR posted 2 test files in this thread - an mp3 file and a wmv file. When I left clicked them in Firefox they both downloaded completely before opening. They would not stream. Opening this thread in IE they streamed. I had to watch very carefully because both files were small enough that they downloaded almost instantly.

The bottom line here is IE will progressively download AKA "stream". Firefox will not.

You guys with fast connections should try to stream some larger files in Firefox. This will give you a better idea of whether they are streaming and playing or downloading first then playing. Try larger files in Usenet or EasyNews if you have it.

By the way Spyware Dr, I loved that short boogie video file.

[fink]

Try disabling Winamp application detector in tools>addons>plugins. Also, if Winamp is your default player for MP3's then try switching to Windows media player instead at least temporarily to see if that makes a difference.

[rwinegar]

Try disabling Winamp application detector in tools>addons>plugins. Also, if Winamp is your default player for MP3's then try switching to Windows media player instead at least temporarily to see if that makes a difference.

There are no references to Winamp in the plugin list. Made WMP mps default. Makes no difference.

I have 3 computers. Late last night I installed Firefox on another of my computers also running Win XP SP3. The download behavior is EXACTLY the same. No progressive downloads. All files download in their entirety and play only when the download is completed.

I wonder if someone here would go on line and left click a large mp3 file and a large wmv file and see what happens. I think the behavior I am experiencing is (hard to believe) exactly the way Firefox was designed to run. Even my iPhone will stream an mp3 file from a usenet music group.

[General Winters]

Streaming media Normally Mozilla-based browsers deal with multimedia files (for example, .wmv and .mpg files) by first downloading them, and then launching the media player

From an old 2007 article@ kb.mozillazine.org/Streaming_media

[rwinegar]

From an old 2007 article@ kb.mozillazine.org/Streaming_media

Thanks for sending this article. I looked into the various methods. Launchy is like going from Trenton to Newark via Sacramento. Downloadwith appears to be a very dated program that no one uses. QuickTime I will not touch. It's like using a hydrogen bomb to kill a mosquito. To use it for the singular purpose of streaming mp3 files is overkill. Additionally, once installed it can never be uninstalled. I can't remember the last time I ever saw a QuickTime file.

I have come to the conclusion that the developers of Firefox never meant it to progressively download or stream any media files. I am amazed by this. Streaming media is what everyone wants in this day and age. Who wants to take the time to wait while large media files are downloaded before they can be viewed or listened to? Did the developers ever hear of Netflix or Hulu? I get streaming music on my cell phone. My television gets Netflix, Hulu, and over 2 dozen more sites that stream video directly to it. Streaming media is where it's at today. But not for Firefox users.

There are some features in Firefox I like and I will keep it. But I will be using Internet Explorer whenever I go to usenet to preview and download media files. In this respect Firefox is a model T in a Corvette world and not suitable for this purpose.

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions. I appreciate it very much.