Buffering problem

Information and help in the IT field of computers, internet, ISP's, mobile and fixed line telephones plus satellite TV systems.
User avatar
fincalospinos
Resident
Posts: 1008
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:17 am
Location: Caleta de Velez

Buffering problem

Postby fincalospinos » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:30 am

I have a Huawei 4G router with a 100 GB / month contract with Orange, and live in an area with 4G coverage. Normal download speeds are around 10 MBS.
I have a new Mag 250 IPTV box with a premium monthly TV contract with a local company.
I normaly watch TV for between 3 - 4 hours each day, so there are no usage issues with my Orange contract.
However, around 9.30 pm every evening the TV starts to buffer and becomes unwatchable. I have checked download speeds when this is happening, but they are as normal.
Can anyone shed any light on why this happens and what I can do about it.
Hardworking resident !!

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7777
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: Buffering problem

Postby markwilding » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:24 am

I have 300mbs and still experience some occasional buffering. I normally put it down two things. My router needs rebooting especially when all sources are giving me problems.

The other could be the servers of the company, which supplies you with the service, cannot support the demand.A little clue might be the time, which is when many people sit down to watch.

I've read on here that often these companies also supply a router and VPN service, which also must come under severe pressure when there is a lot of traffic going through their servers.

If you have read my criticisms of these companies, you will realize I am a little biased against them.I really believe there much more cost effective legal ways, using equipment and technology which was built for Smart TV use.

The BBC Iplayer for example uses technology to adjust the strength of the stream depending on the internet speeds so if it drops a little, it will steam at lower strength resulting in slightly lower quality image but avoiding buffering.

User avatar
Martin Page
Resident
Posts: 1805
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2005 4:57 pm
Location: Chiclana de la Frontera - Costa de Luz

Re: Buffering problem

Postby Martin Page » Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:22 am

Just because your car can do 200mph ... doesn't meant that you can average that speed in the traffic jam in rush hour
Seems your networks rush hour is around the 9:30 pm

User avatar
Enrique
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 9488
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:47 am
Location: Mytchett/Alcala La Real

Re: Buffering problem

Postby Enrique » Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:04 pm

Hi,
When the system is running OK, i.e. in the morning.........on a PC/laptop......

Run cmd
In the Black DOS type box type (assuming Windows system)

tracert www.google.co.uk

this will trace a route showing all the Hops to Google

All the results should read under 100ms, mostly 20-30ms

The bit you're interested in is the Route through your ISP i.e. maybe the first 5-6 Hops, you can normally tell when it leaves the ISP, when my ISP has been slow I've seen 1000+ms

If you get * then its timing out on that Hop and indicates a slow route

Then try the exercise again in the evening. Please post results

:D
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.

User avatar
Flexo
Resident
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 10:14 am
Location: Cordoba province

Re: Buffering problem

Postby Flexo » Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:46 pm

Like Enrique pointed out, it is probably not a bandwidth issue but a ping/ response time issue. When you use mobile broadband you usually have a much worse pingtime than if you had a fiber connection regardless of bandwidth.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 21 guests