If you got poor results on your test, you should let a member of the support team know as soon as possible via the Help Chat button at the top of your nyu.smashcut dashboard.
Using an older computer, or having a slow internet connection could negatively affect performance. You may see laggy video feeds, or buffering and jittery playback when you or your instructor present media.
Sometimes even if you show a fast wifi connection you could still experience an issue called "packet loss" which makes your computer and network struggle keep a connection, and play videos back smoothly.
Try these steps:
Restart your router: This could give your network the kickstart it needs to cure any glitches or bugs especially if it's been a while since you turned it off and on again.
Use an ethernet cable instead of wifi: Since everything is connected via wifi nowadays, packets are more likely to get lost. Try using an ethernet cable instead of wifi to help move things along.
Don't have an ethernet cable? Get as close to your router as possible. But it's a good idea to get one for your meetings.
Quit applications and switch off other devices using wifi
Update your software: Make sure you computer and Chrome browser are fully up-to-date. An up-to-date operating system is less likely to have bugs, which usually means fewer opportunities to experience packet loss.
Note: You should always use the Chrome web browser while on nyu.smashcut.com
Here are the best practices for improving your experience:
Get as close to your wifi router as possible. If you can, plug directly into your router with an ethernet cable.
Free up your computer processing power. Smaschut video meetings can demand significant memory and processing power from your computer. Closing other applications will help your video conference run better.
Close out of unneeded open tabs on your Chrome web browser.
Save bandwidth by turning off your camera and microphone when you're not actively participating in the class discussion.
Avoid activities that will steal bandwidth -- this goes for other people on your wifi network as well. Ask your family or roommates to avoid downloading, online gaming, streaming video (netflix, youtube, hulu), etc. while you're on your video conference.