Not fast enough for streaming

[RitaG1]

I wonder if anyone has advice for me on how to improve download speed to my TV. On my computer, the speed is generally around 10MB, which doesn't seem bad, but it is insufficient for decent streaming to my TV, where buffering takes place every few seconds. I have a cable from the modem plugged into the router and a cable to the TV out from the router. What can I do to achieve a better level of streaming or should I just accept the fact that I can't use the TV for streaming as long as I have Verizon?

Thanks!

[somegirl]

What speed are you getting on your network when you do a speedtest? What package are you signed up for?

[RitaG1]

Download speed to my computer is between 10-13 mps. Is this the speed of my network? If not, how do I test it? My curent package includes phone and high speed DSL service. (Would love FIOS but it's not available in my area.).

[somegirl]

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@RitaG wrote:

Download speed to my computer is between 10-13 mps. Is this the speed of my network? If not, how do I test it? My curent package includes phone and high speed DSL service. (Would love FIOS but it's not available in my area.).

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Is the computer hooked up through the router the same way as the TV?

[smith6612]

I suppose the ultimate question is, what are you trying to stream? Is it YouTube? Netflix? Hulu? A 10Mbps circuit (what it sounds like you have) should be plenty fast for much of the 1080p content out there. 

[RetiredDBA]

(Warning: I am not an expert)

Your effective bandwidth is going to depend on your exact hookup as well as your DSL line quality.  The effective bandwidth can be quite different from the nominal bandwidth.  The 10 MB figure you quote sounds like a nominal bandwidth.

For example, my hookup is this:  A 1080p TV set, hooked by an  HDMI cable to a Blu-ray player, hooked by a WiFi channel to a Verizon model 7500 DSLrouter,  hooked by a DSL link to Verizon’s gateway, hooked to the internet.  I see almost no buffering on Netflix but a fair amount on YouTube.

Netflix and YouTube are very different when it comes to buffering.  Netflix conducts a line test when you start a viewing session.  Based on the line test, it will deliver a less dense stream to your TV.  This will eliminate almost all buffering at the cost of perhaps degrading your resolution.  YouTube does not do a line test, AFAIK.

You may want to explore your TV set user manual to see if your TV has a set up mode where it can tell you the effective bandwidth when you watch internet TV.  You might see a figure that’s well below your nominal bandwidth.  And if it varies depending on time of day, etc. you might end up buffering even with Netflix.

[RitaG1]

Sorry for the delay. I've been away.

It seems that the problem has corrected itself. There's a little buffering occasionally, but basically reception is good. I wonder what the issue was.