title: Android MediaPlayer takes long time to prepare and buffer
body: <p>My application takes a long time to prepare and buffer an audio stream. I have read this question <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6582908/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-androids-mediaplayer-to-prepare-some-live-streams">Why does it take so long for Android&#39;s MediaPlayer to prepare some live streams for playback?</a>, however it just says people have experienced this issue, it does not state how to improve the problem.</p>
  
  <p>I am experiencing this in all versions of Android, tested from 2.2 - 4.1.2.</p>
  
  <p>The streams are in a suitable bit-rate for mobile and 3G connection. The same stream takes less than a second to start buffering in the equivalent iOS app.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a way to specify the amount of time that should be buffered? I know that the Tune In radio application offers this feature ( <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player" rel="noreferrer">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player</a> ).</p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>
  
  <p>Edit: I've tested again and found that it only happens on devices running Gingerbread and above (>=2.3). I know that Android changed the underlying framework from OpenCore to StageFright. So how can I optimise the media framework? It just seems wrong that the old HTC Wildfire can prepare, stream and play, literally 10x faster than the brand new HTC One X and Nexus 7.</p>