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Intermittent video streaming

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n191cg
Freshman

Intermittent video streaming

I'm relatively new here, and probably don't speak Hughes speak, but heres the problem in lay terms. While attempting to view a movie or You tube video, I see the little dotted circle for several seconds while (I guess) it's downloading data. This is fine, it's to be expected, but all during the viewing experience, it does this same thing about every 30 seconds. It is maddining. What's the solution? This can't be the normal way one views video's on Hughes Net. Come on, the great Howard Hughes would have never allowed this to be the norm.

Thanks I'll await your solution, and oh please, don't tell me to just learn to live with it. 

Thanks

9 REPLIES 9
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

That's called buffering, and it's to be expected with satellite internet connections.  It usually happens during times of congestion, when a lot of people in your area are online and engaging in data-intensive behaviour such as streaming.   There is little you can do about it. 

 

Do you watch videos directly on YouTube's website or through an app on your TV? If the latter, you may want to try watching directly on their website and see if that improves the quality. 

 

EDIT: Hughes was founded in 1971 by John Puente and Dr. Burton Edelson. Hughes introduced a satellite service in 1996 (DirecPC, later DirecWay).  Currently HN is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar.  Nothing (EDIT: or rather, quite little) to do with Howard Hughes. And Howard would not have been able to change the laws of physics, especially after his death.

This buffering renders streaming almost useless. It would seem like there would be a equitable solution to this nusance.

I'll take you advice and go specifically to their web site.

Thanks for the clarification on Howard Hughes's involvement.

Having worked for NASA during the 60's, we might have had some envolvement in placing the Echo satellite into orbit. Are you still using that same satellite?

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

There are things you can try to attempt to minimise the buffering, such as disconnecting everything from the network except the device you want to use to stream,  but there's no guarantee these methods will work, and in fact, HughesNet does not guarantee speeds or uninterrupted service, likely due to the realities of satellite signals, limitations in the overall amount of data, and others.   

 

I'm only speaking as a fellow subscriber, based on my experience as a subscriber for over a decade. I'm not affiliated with HughesNet; the employees have the word MOD or ADMIN next to their handles. 

 

HughesNet uses the Jupiter satellites

 

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@n191cg 

 

A couple of things you can try are reducing the resolution of the YouTube video and turning off, or snoozing, the Video Data Saver.  I would at least try the latter.  Keep in mind, though, that if you watch videos in HD, turning off (or snoozing) the Video Data Saver may very well cause you to use more data while viewing said video(s).  

 

Again, these are just a couple of things to try, but if congestion is the main cause of the issue, they may not make much of a difference.  Unfortunately, the combination of the high latency that's inherent to geostationary satellite internet and the congestion that can be encountered, especially from late afternoon through the evening, can cause streaming to be a bit "touchy".

I have Video Data Saver turned off and notice no change. It looks like to me that Hughes Net can not support video streaming. There are a lot of smarter people out there than me, but this seems like not such of a good idea about how to transmit video images.

 

Would it be too much to ask to have Hughes Net download the entire movie and then make it available for the customer to watch rather than the "scrambled egg" approach? 

 

We at NASA flew many missions where we transmitted a lot of data, and I can remember in no case did we have this phenominon.

 

If there is no resolution, I'll just have to go somewhere else for service.

 

Thanks, CLG

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

CLG, Sounds like it's really not working for you.  Do you have alternatives you could explore in your area?

 


@n191cg wrote:

I have Video Data Saver turned off and notice no change. It looks like to me that Hughes Net can not support video streaming. There are a lot of smarter people out there than me, but this seems like not such of a good idea about how to transmit video images.

 

Would it be too much to ask to have Hughes Net download the entire movie and then make it available for the customer to watch rather than the "scrambled egg" approach? 

 

We at NASA flew many missions where we transmitted a lot of data, and I can remember in no case did we have this phenominon.

 

If there is no resolution, I'll just have to go somewhere else for service.

 

Thanks, CLG


 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@n191cg wrote:

Would it be too much to ask to have Hughes Net download the entire movie and then make it available for the customer to watch rather than the "scrambled egg" approach? 


You may want to look into PlayOn Cloud, which does that very thing, and which some of us with HughesNet use very well.  It converts the chosen streamed item into an mp4, which you then download and watch on anything that can play an mp4 file.  Because you're watching it from an already downloaded file, there is no buffering.  

 


@n191cg wrote:

We at NASA flew many missions where we transmitted a lot of data, and I can remember in no case did we have this phenominon. 


NASA wasn't trying to transmit data to over 1.5 million distinct customers with two satellites that have a combined, finite throughput of about 325Gbps, and a large number of those customers who are overwhelming a system with an activity for which was never its primary design... regular streaming.  The overall increase in streaming over the last 2-3 years, and the tremendous pandemic related increase in streaming and at-home schooling and work on top of it, is taxing the system like never before.  The resulting congestion, combined with the high latency already inherent to geo sat internet, can cause buffering with any type of streaming.  It also varies from location to location because of different beam loads, so while one customer may be able to stream with no problem at all, another may see buffering at the same time while trying to stream the exact same thing from the same source.

it has gotten exponentially worse over the last two weeks.  sadly, I just filled out a performance survey a week ago, and can't go back to change my answers.  more sadly, I'm also going to be repairing my roof next weekend, and sure as heck don't want to be compromising the new roofing remounting their dish if I'm just going to be canceling their service, anyway.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

@thelightworks ,

 

Please start your own ticket if you want tech support. Go to the main page, then to Tech Support, then click on the blue button labeled Start a topic.  The thread you have posted to is for tech support for someone else. Thanks.