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New Customer as of April. Constant video buffering.

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chrmyr
New Member

New Customer as of April. Constant video buffering.

We signed up in April with the expectation of having faster speeds than our Verizon DSL.  I can't say that is the case.  We have a smart TV and when trying to watch anything on Amazon Prime the movies typically buffer throughout viewing.  Unfortunately, this month we somehow went over our usage limit (I think it was the result of downloading Office 2016 which took two days because of slowness).  I've done some research and tried several things to correct the buffering issue, but so far nothing has worked.  I have an AC wireless router installed.  I can't see that being the issue.  But I'd welcome any suggestions.  We tested the speed and from what I've seen from other posts it seems normal.  Ping time is a little high.
17 REPLIES 17
Amanda
Moderator

Hello chrmyr,

Welcome to our community and thank you for your post. We're very sorry to hear you're having so much trouble with the service and would love to lend a helping hand. Generally we recommend to our customer to switch to standard definition when streaming or downloading movies online because high definition can use about 1.3GB an hour and is very straining on your home network. Unfortunately, as far as I know, with Amazon Prime you cannot switch the definition of video manually. This will cause both buffering and large amounts of data usage. What speeds are you currently getting and on what device? Ping times for satellite will always be high as that is the natural round trip time for a ground to space connection.

Thanks
Amanda
billmiller43
New Member

Please do some research! DSL speed is stated in speed within one mile of the switching station. Max distance is about 10 miles. Speed decreases the farther away you are.
 Hughesnet is not suitable for movies, they are too large at about 2gb each. When I monitor the download speed it starts out slow and continues to speed up to the max at that time. This is all based on traffic. If all users tried to watch a movie at the same time, speed would be very slow. If I wanted to watch a movie, I would download it during "Bonus" hours.
BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Bill, my wife and I watch Netflix frequently set at low definition. An hour uses about 250-300 MB.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87
Pawnee County
New Member

I watched the Five on Fox News yesterday and the one hour show used 200MB and never buffered.  I don't  know the resolution as it was streamed on the Fox News website but from the quality I think it was 360p a bit fuzzy at times.   I think Chrmyr must be watching in HD and that smart TV will also eat up data at an alarming rate.
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

chrmyr,

Just a couple of things that can help you to avoid running out of data.

The Hughesnet Status Meter, which will show how much data you've already used and what you have remaining.  It's at the following address...


http://my.hughesnet.com/


Then there's Glasswire, which will give you a much more detailed breakdown of your usage.  With this, you can see exactly how much data is used for streaming, downloading programs, updates, etc.  It's free, and it's at the following address...


https://www.glasswire.com/


GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

True, but they can at least see the stuff they are doing on the computer and what it's using.  The OP said they though that the data ran out as a result of downloading Office 2016.  This would help in showing them how large that download is, and others, as well, and how much those files are affecting their data.   
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Of course, but anything that helps someone be aware of their usage is a plus. 
Chris11
Alum

Hello chrmyr,

If you can also provide which website you use when running tests, this will help too.

- Chris
chrmyr
New Member

I research this a lot.  Everything I saw led me to Hughesnet.  My data overage was due to a Office download, my own fault for not running it after 2AM, but I didn't plan on being up at that time.  However, HughesNet advertising amazing speeds.  If that isn't the case, then it's blatant false advertisement.
chrmyr
New Member

Yes, the overage was the result of an Office download as I mentioned.  Not the video streaming.  I'm more concerned about the constant buffering that occurs when trying to watch videos from Amazon Prime.

chrmyr
New Member

Chris,

I will try to get some screen shots and all this weekend.  My usage does not reset until tomorrow.

Thanks,

Myriah

chrmyr
New Member

I did some research.  I'm in a very rural area which is why I thought the move to Hughesnet would be better.  And HughesNet advertising the quality and speed.  I read several reviews on it as well.  Unfortunately, you can't access this community forum until your a customer so you don't see all of the streaming issues people have.  I'm not sure about the HD on the Smart TV for Amazon.  I haven't found how to determine if it's HD or SD and where to set it.  Nothing through the Amazon app allows me to choose that.  Now watching through DirectTV is HD, but that's through them. 
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

"Amazing  speeds" isn't an exact amount.  For someone who lost cable and switched to Hughesnet, that moniker probably won't fit.  Yet for someone coming from dialup, it certainly would.  That's normally who Hughesnet customers are...former dialup users who just got tired of it and cannot get a land based (or even cell type) service. 

From what I've read, Amazon Prime requires a speed of 3.5Mbps for HD, and 1.5Mbps for SD.  For many, during the evening peak usage hours, the 3.5Mbps speed requirement can be hard to meet.  Occasionally even the 1.5Mbps speed requirement can be difficult to meet.  Hughesnet has a finite amount of throughput that is more restricted than a land based ISP, and when many people get on at a certain time, everybody's speed slows.

For some it may work, and for others not so much.  It all depends on how many people are online on a beam, on a gateway and on in total, and what they are doing.     

chrmyr
New Member

As an FYI - we experienced buffering issues when we had DSL as well.  What's funny is the HughesNet guy that did my install told me we didn't need to worry about competing usage by neighbors.  That our line is exclusive to us.  Anyway, I guess we just have to live with the issue.
krjilson
New Member

We have had this service for a year and a half and it is HORRIBLE! The constant buffering is so annoying and aggravating. We too switched because we are in a rural area and HUGHESNET bosts how great they are. We did the research or so we thought. My job allows me to work from home and I never do because of the internet speed. We have not and never will recommend HUGHESNET to anyone. We are done as soon as contract is up! Counting down the days.
Amanda
Moderator

Hello krjilson,

We recommend creating a new post for yourself (not in one already made) along with a case number or the serial number of your modem. This will allow us to help both you and the original poster of this thread get better assistance.

Thank you
Amanda
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Your "line" IS exclusive to you, however, your beam is not.  With that said, your neighbors' usage will barely affect yours.  The numerous people on your beam (and gateway (and the entire system)), in addition to your neighbors, on the other hand, will.  Your installer could have explained it a little more thoroughly.