The best replacement for buffering is streaming.

The best alternatives to buffering are rated as following:
★★★★★  streaming
★★★★  caching
★★★★  spooling
★★★  downloading
★★  adaptive vsync
★★  loading
★  triple
★  explicit buffering
★  page flipping
★  vsync
  triple buffering

Your alternative for buffering is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about buffering, one probably shouldn't forget about youtube.

Other search terms related to buffering and their ratings are:
★★★★★ youtube
★★ video
★★ vsync
★★ blinkbox
adaptive vsync
some videos
You have in mind a companion for buffering and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of buffering in all years. Click on graph for more.
buffering
streaming
caching