Netflix+Roku= download meltdown...line forms here

jazzcourier · « **on:** 14 Feb 2011, 05:37 am »

A sunny day in late November my new Roku HD top o' the line little box arrived...a quick hook up and we are downloading and streaming the available Netflix movies like there is no tomorrow.Everything looks great,the popcorn is flowing and we are happy as furry little bears in barcaloungers.In fact we no longer leave the house and have everything delivered.Hey,go away we are watching movies! Now here it is February and the little black box that warmed our hearts has turned to a lump of coal. Download? Five minutes and the thing just sits there,we just sit there waiting for that bar to cross the expanse of the screen.....it creeps,it creeps....wait! Movie not available at this time? You mean the last FIVE movies,and the five before that....wait,my god ,one got through.
Seriously,the box is working fine on "other" channels but Netflix must have bought the old server from the the Veg-o-matic company.Nobody will admit fault here and they still promote this device,but will not support it.
I have done everything but hire a mentalist to elevate this thing.This is the shortest marriage of man vs. product performance since the vac-u-jack.Of course that was banned in some states and could never deliver on the promise.
There must be others with that can share problems,solutions and frustrations!!??

mjosef · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Feb 2011, 05:42 am »

ummm..maybe you are now on the "throttle" list?

Try disconnecting the box and reconnect...<reboot>
If you are on Comcast....

Pez · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Feb 2011, 06:53 am »

Most likely culprit is your IP. Run some speed tests and call me in the morning.

skunark · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Feb 2011, 07:03 am »

Speedtest and pingtest are both great to test with, but make sure to try multiple servers. Also make note that the "dns" settings can also slow down Netflix. For streaming google's 8.8.8.8 dns server hasn't been known to be fast but is worth a shot. As mentioned ISPs have been throttling streaming services, so if your speeds are greater than 1.5 Mbps for SD or 4Mbps for what Netflix calls HD then might call your ISP and complain.

jazzcourier · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Feb 2011, 03:29 pm »

Thanks.......We "re-booted" and disabled the "search" option as suggested by someone.Our speed and IP are fine and are handling other applications quickly and without issue.There are tons of people that are in the same situation!

ratso · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Feb 2011, 05:52 pm »

netflix can use up to 20% of the nation's bandwidth during peak hours

http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Netflix+Will+Clobber+US+Internet+Bandwidth/article20075.htm

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 05:07 pm »

Watched a Netflix movie last night through the PS3. Worked great, no buffering.
Although the picture quality was just a hair better than VHS was.

Good luck.

Bob

Levi · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 05:27 pm »

I wonder when is netflix going to start broadcasting in 5.1 audio. Hmmm...

jazzcourier · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 06:20 pm »

Actually got one through the tangled mess of the Roku stream.Downloaded slowly and the re booted twice during the first five minutes but played through with OK quality.I am reminded of my vintage Volkswagen i had to push start and when i got going my bootleg 4 track of "Fresh Cream" used to change songs in the middle at random.In a few years we will be laughing at this stuff.Echostarr corp-who owns "Dish" just bought more "internet" satellites and are planning a full on attack on Netflix it is reported.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 06:33 pm »

Quote from: jazzcourier on 15 Feb 2011, 06:20 pm

Echostarr corp-who owns "Dish" just bought more "internet" satellites and are planning a full on attack on Netflix it is reported.

Hmm...Interesting.
It would have to be a killer deal for me to jump from Netflix. They've gone above and beyond for me over the years several times. So much so that I'll "pay them back" with my monthly subscription even if some new kid on the block comes out with a better deal. I believe in dancing with the one you came with......

Or whatever that phrase is.

Bob

chip · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 07:47 pm »

I have seen people recommend OpenDNS and some alternative DNS flavor(dont' recall at the moment) and that helped out.

jazzcourier · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 08:45 pm »

Master Bob, the Saint of Louis is speaking ,and we are listening...YES.....Loyalty counts! Riddle me this.....Middle of last year i purchased a new HD tv and had to upgrade sat provider....13 years with Dish Network,and i call them and all i want them to do is match the Direct tv offer.I call THREE times and i remind them that i had to PURCHASE the system at over 1,000 samolians to get the service initially and i am LOYAL .....i get the customer service supervisor's supervisor ...i get no love on this. So one call to Direct tv and i am good to go. Two weeks later some mucky muck from Dish calls and wants to know why i canceled.......It was my pleasure to recount the story and his reaction was...."gee,that was ALL you wanted,we could have done that!" The moral to this story is the loyalty door swings both ways and don't get hit on the butt on the way out.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 09:58 pm »

The word "Loyalty" is much like the word "Handshake".

To some they actually mean something.
Others, not so much.

I have no love for Dish, DirecTv, or AT&T.
They're all too big to care about individual customers.

Bob

acresm22 · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 11:31 pm »

I'd be curious to hear from all you movie streamers out there...how is the video quality when you stream from Netflix? I've been thinking of making the move (finally) to a Netflix ready BR player, but if the streaming is generally hiccup prone and the video quality is poor, I think I'll stick with the shiny discs instead...

jazzcourier · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 12:09 am »

My issue with the sporadic wireless downloading of movies might be resolved by a 25 foot ethernet line directly into the Roku to get the best picture and the golden 4 dots of reception.By the way,Direct tv are no princes of technology-a power outage took out the receiving gizmo in the sat dish and had to be replaced.After all those years with Dish i had the same "dish".It was my pleasure to put it curbside with a "free" sign on it.

lcrim · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 12:41 am »

I've had a Panasonic DMP BD65 BlueRay player for at least six months. It cost about $100, a true entertaiment bargain. I have it wired, the LAN card is of the 10/100 variety.
I've been a Netflix subscriber almost since it started.
I've changed my membership recently to just streaming, less than $8 per month. My ISP is Comcast.
The quality of streaming video depends pretty much on the quality of the DVD transfer. If its a good transfer, the quality of the streaming is about the same as HD quality from what I get from directv.

If Comcast is limiting my bandwidth, I've never noticed it. The available programming selection is good enough that I tend to watch that rather than directv.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 01:28 am »

I'm right along there with Larry.

I have a VERY inexpensive Insignia Blu-Ray/Netflix streaming player I picked up refurbished from E-Bay for less than $65.00.

The DVDs are at least as good as my hyper modded old Oppo. Blu-Ray is fantastic. The streaming quality is not quite up to HD broadcasts. As Larry mentions, a lot depends on the source. A lot of what I watch are old BBC tv shows. Picture quality is not as important to me as the content.

On new content, such as the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, the picture quality is very close to HD broadcast.

I'm keep my Netflix three at once for a little while longer for the Blu-Ray. That will be subject to change at any time.

I also have mine run with wired Ethernet with Comcast and have never had a problem with drops.

If you are thinking about this, search on E-Bay using Blu-Ray and Netflix. You should be able to find some Sony and Insignia players for $65.00 or less. I feel this is a far better deal than a Roku box.

ajzepp · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 06:42 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 15 Feb 2011, 06:33 pm

Hmm...Interesting.
It would have to be a killer deal for me to jump from Netflix. They've gone above and beyond for me over the years several times. So much so that I'll "pay them back" with my monthly subscription even if some new kid on the block comes out with a better deal. I believe in dancing with the one you came with......

Or whatever that phrase is.

Bob

Same here, Bob....I'm very loyal to Netflix...I can't imagine getting better value anywhere else. I'm going on 9 years as a customer and it's been a wonderful relationship

skunark · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 07:03 am »

I cancelled my netflix membership about 4 years ago as I never could seem to align my taste of the day with what was sent in the queue. I'm back now since the new Apple TV added netflix's streaming service. I must say that I rarely watch TV shows on a weekly basis now, nor do I partake in renting or purchasing tv shows or movies (other than Top Gear

) Sports and news is the only reason why I still pay for basic cable and I can't see paying anymore than that. If your goal is for the highest quality video, over-the-air reception or blu-ray is it. If you want compressed video go for cable/sat (barely HD) for $50+ with the commercials or netflix for less than $10 and no commercials. I also no longer care about "must-see-tv" on thursday nights... those days are over.

Just think how the world would spin differently if Sports were finally streamed like netflix. (don't ask me to use a computer to stream sports...)

wilsynet · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 11:50 am »

I've seen quite a few Netflix implementations, including Tivo Premiere, Roku, various BD players and televisions. The AppleTV (available only on the 2010 hardware version) implementation is easily the best I've seen.

Quality is more consistently good -- the system buffers better and more reliably so you always get the best quality available, regardless if your ISP or the Internet is transiently slow.

User interface is also ahead of everyone else. Nice menus, able to search and modify playlist, have full functionality without ever needing to log in through your desktop.

If you can stretch to the AppleTV, it's quite clearly to me the best device out there for Netflix.