Forum Discussion

bcs001's avatar
bcs001
Sophomore
5 years ago

Streaming Video Constant Buffering

I know this has been addressed in a variety of previous posts but I haven’t really seen a good explanation. Using Netflix or Amazon Prime in the evenings, the stream stops to buffer every few minutes....
buffering
Performance
streaming
  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    5 years ago
    bcs001 wrote:
    I am considering setting up a home network PC based server that possibly could be used as the recording device and then fed to my Smart TV thru an Ethernet connection.  

    If your smart TV or some other connected media device, such as a Blu Ray player, has a USB port, you may be able to watch the downloaded items via USB flash drive or external HDD/SSD as well.  This is what I do.  I've got all of my PlayOn Cloud files written to a 1TB external SSD.  Though I dind't know it until I tried, my smart TV has a built in file playing app which plays the .mp4 format of the PlayOn Cloud files, as does my Blu Ray player. 

     

    I also write the files to DVDs and/or Blu Rays for more permanent storage.

bcs001's avatar
bcs001
Sophomore
I’ve seen that discussed here and started to look into so options for using the PC based software version. I am considering setting up a home network PC based server that possibly could be used as the recording device and then fed to my Smart TV thru an Ethernet connection. I haven’t figured out if this could be a viable option but any recommendations from the experts here would be much appreciated.
GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
5 years ago
bcs001 wrote:
I am considering setting up a home network PC based server that possibly could be used as the recording device and then fed to my Smart TV thru an Ethernet connection.  

If your smart TV or some other connected media device, such as a Blu Ray player, has a USB port, you may be able to watch the downloaded items via USB flash drive or external HDD/SSD as well.  This is what I do.  I've got all of my PlayOn Cloud files written to a 1TB external SSD.  Though I dind't know it until I tried, my smart TV has a built in file playing app which plays the .mp4 format of the PlayOn Cloud files, as does my Blu Ray player. 

 

I also write the files to DVDs and/or Blu Rays for more permanent storage.

  • bcs001's avatar
    bcs001
    Sophomore
    5 years ago
    Great suggestion. I signed up with PlayOn Cloud for a trial service and found it to be a very good solution that gives me unbuffered HD video and by downloading the cloud files at work, saves my data as well.
    I set up the app on my phone, que’d all my recording to the cloud, downloaded and set up the Playin Cloud Downloader on my work PC and set it up to automatically download to my PC between 12am and 5am so as not to interrupt any business hours. Then I bring my external USB HDD to work and transfer all the downloads to play at home thru the USB on the TV.
    With this service all you pay is the cost of each download which if you buy their larger packages will only cost 13-20 cents per.
    Even if I can’t get the downloads from work, you can set up downloads to home overnight and they would be available the next morning.
    The only downside is you have to plan ahead a few hours or overnight before watching a stream.
    Thanks GabeU.
    • maratsade's avatar
      maratsade
      Distinguished Professor IV
      5 years ago

      PlayOn Cloud rocks. I've been using it for quite a while now, and since it keeps recordings for 7 days (I have the free option with the 7-day limit), I don't have to plan too much, just set up the recording and download it during bonus times (or elsewhere where it won't affect my data), and watch whenever.  Great product. 

    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      5 years ago

      bcs001 

       

      That's great to hear!  I'm glad it's working well for you.  

       

      It definitely makes it a lot easier than trying to stream the traditional way.  🙂

       

      Keep an eye out for the Anytime Credits sales emails too, as they often have really good ones in which you don't end up having to buy a ton of them to get a great per credit price.  They're sometimes as low as 10 cents per.