quick question with regards to vlc and other video players...

[revenge2]

Quick question, why do some videos "buffer" when their not streaming off the net?, when its a file in your HDD. for example if you see the bottom right corner it says "buff"... hmm whys that?

http://img269.imageshack.us/i/screenknp.jpg/

 

[KSoD]

Because it is basically loading the video into the buffer for continuous play. If it didnt "buffer" the video, even offline, then you would have to wait for the video to load that part when it finished the part it is started with.

It is basically like SuperFetch, PreFetch or loading something into RAM for a CPU. It is something that is done so that it will have continuous play without interruption.