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. My download speeds using Speedtest.net seem to be good so why is there excessive buffering?
Is there Hughes network congestion even with good download speed?
I have video saver turned off and Netflix video quality at the lowest setting.
Is there anything I can do to improve this?

Thanks,
Bruce.
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.

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

    Sadly, yes, even with good speed, congestion on the beam (loads of people all using the service) especially during prime time, will choke streaming. 

  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    5 years ago
    bcs001 wrote:
    Is there anything I can do to improve this? 

    Unfortunately, with your overall speed being adequate, it's not likely that there's much that can be done, as the primary cause is almost assuredly the combination of the high latency and system congestion, the former of which is inherent to geostationary satellite internet, and the latter of which is due to high system usage.  

     

    Though there is no guarantee that this will help, one thing more you can try is either rebooting or power cycling your HughesNet modem.

     

    --- To reboot the modem, go to this modem page and click Reboot near the top.  If you're connected via WiFi you'll likely temporarily lose your connection while the modem is rebooting.  After the reboot, it would be best to wait a few minutes to try your activity again.  This gives the modem time to be fully back up and ready. 

     

    --- To power cycle the modem, which is like a reboot, but a bit more extensive, unplug the HughesNet modem from the power outlet, wait for at least 30 seconds, then plug it back in.  After waiting for at least five minutes, try your activity again.  When power cycling the modem, it may also be best to first turn off your connected devices, then turn them back on after the five minute wait period.  

     

    What the above can do is set your connection a different "channel", at least temporarily, and this new "channel" can sometimes be cleaner, so to speak.  If it is, you may experience less buffering.  As alluded to, though, the effect may only be temporary, as the channel you're assigned to at the time can fill back up with more people and/or dynamically change.  For reference, the "channel" I'm referring to is the last four digits of your "IPGW Gateway Association State" string, seen here.  

     

    On mine....

     

      

     

    Again, there's no guarantee with this, but it may be worth a try.

    • MarkJFine's avatar
      MarkJFine
      Professor
      5 years ago

      Just to be clear: Congestion causes latency in addition to the inherent kind (~5-600mS due to the round trip distance the signal takes on satellite) as the system plays 'catch-up' to service the demand. There is also some long-delay weirdness in the order of 1-minute gaps taking place on the internet backbone that it outside of HughesNet's control, which doesn't help the matter.

       

      The streaming protocol requires a lot of handshaking with the streaming server. Under severe latency conditions, it often gets delayed past what the server expects and times out. The default result is to force a 'buffering' display until it finally re-syncs.

       

      Bottom line: When you see buffering, 9 times out of 10 it's latency and nothing to do with speed.

  • bcs001's avatar
    bcs001
    Sophomore
    5 years ago
    Thanks for the detailed explanations guys.....that really help me understand what’s going on. When I had ViaSat service I was experiencing buffering because of speed issues (less than .25 down in the evenings GS) which is what made me change to Hughes. While the Hughes speeds are consistently high, I’m assuming my still slow internet performance is mainly a function of this same latency and network congestion that is affecting the streaming. Unfortunately where I’m located, satellite is my only option for now so I will have to learn to tolerate it.
    Thanks again.
    • MarkJFine's avatar
      MarkJFine
      Professor
      5 years ago
      bcs001 wrote:
      Unfortunately where I’m located, satellite is my only option for now so I will have to learn to tolerate it.
      Thanks again.

      Yup, it's the best we can do with what's available.

      Thank you for understanding.

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

      Some of us use PlayOn Cloud, an app available for Android and iOS. It lets you download stuff from several providers (Hulu, Prime, Netflix, and more). Each download costs 25 cents. The app works like a virtual DVR -- it records from the cloud (using no data), and then you download the recordings (this uses data) as MP4 files. You can keep the files forever.  There is zero buffering because you're watching a recording. 

      • bcs001's avatar
        bcs001
        Sophomore
        5 years ago
        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.
  • GailWasiskiMile's avatar
    GailWasiskiMile
    Sophomore
    5 years ago
    I had the same problem..which I have solved..kind of!
    I installed a separate wifi router..and turned off wifi in the Hughes modem. I can now stream amazon prime through my smart tv and through Roku. Amazon prime still does not work with the Amazon firestick tho.
    • maratsade's avatar
      maratsade
      Distinguished Professor IV
      5 years ago

      That's great. I hope other people try this and share how it works for them. 

       

      GailWasiskiMile wrote:
      I had the same problem..which I have solved..kind of!
      I installed a separate wifi router..and turned off wifi in the Hughes modem. I can now stream amazon prime through my smart tv and through Roku. Amazon prime still does not work with the Amazon firestick tho.

       

    • bcs001's avatar
      bcs001
      Sophomore
      5 years ago
      That great this worked for you and maybe it will be a solution for some others. I’m actually running in this configuration and unfortunately didn’t improve anything but it does give me better control of my wired and wireless network. I run wired to my TV where I was streaming video.