About spydermike

Not even close...about 2000 satellites up there now I think.  I think you are referring to a single launch of about 50 satellites that went up when the flare hit and some /most of those were affected before they were positioned.  The service is working fine as far as we can tell.  We are getting over 100 times better speed not to mention the much improved latency.  The way it should be.    Oh, and I installed the system in about 10 minutes as the antenna assembly self aligns.   ... View more

Just got Starlink...initial test show min 120 to 220Mbps down, 18Mbps up and 18ms latency.  My need for Playon as a crutch is over. ... View more

And all I am saying is that the FAQ method still works as confirmed by Bill at Playon:   ...those specific steps are absolutely still valid for getting subtitles burned in for Netflix recordings.   I think we are talking about two different issues here.  You have a method that works for you and I have one that works for me.  Both are valid.   ... View more

I appreciate what he is saying...perhaps in response to a slightly different question.  He states "it is no longer necessary to...".  For my application it seems that it is.  My Samsung TV could not access the CC files apparently.  However, when I used the method in their FAQ, it was recorded with CC visible and that is how we watched it.  Users of Playon Cloud - there is more than one method to achieve this one goal it seems.  There might be even another if there is a Netflix profile option to always have CC displaying. ... View more

If you read the last two sentences of their FAQ, they state that if you do it that way once,  from then on it is the norm for you.  We continue to get CC available since then.  I don't have to do it every thime.  It must update their profile of us.  Just a guess. ... View more

""To get captions from Netflix, it was suggested to watch a show with captions on for at least 6 minutes."   This is the way it used to be, but PlayOn changed that over a year ago, and now the captions are embedded. and you no longer have to do the 6 minute thing.  For me, they only show if I play the files with VLC player, but if I do, the captions work every time."   My TV has its own player software (not VLC) and the method I mentioend as told to me by Playon works (play at least 6 minutes with captions on first, then download)...I used it just a few weeks ago.  It was on their website FAQs too:   PlayOn supports closed captioning for Netflix recordings. To enable closed captioning on your recordings, follow these instructions: 1. Log into your Netflix account in a computer browser (or the Netflix app) 2. Select any video, start watching it with the captions enabled 3. Let the video play for at least 6 minutes This will become the new playback preference for your account and will carry over to your PlayOn recordings. To disable closed captioning in PlayOn recordings, follow the same steps as above with the captions off. ... View more

From our experience, PlayOn is the only solution that makes this HNS service somewhat useable for streaming.  Sad but true. ... View more

Oh, and as far as the audio lagging, I found that if I pause for a couple of seconds right near the start of the show then the audio synchs up.  This has been very repeatable.   I have to wait until the audio and video stop struggling and relax...usually in the first 30 seconds.  It could be an issue with my Samsung TV reading a cheap USB Memory stick. ... View more

I have figured out a way to make it work fairly consistently for me.  I use the phone app to establish the queue that I want to download.  That gets the files copied and ready to download during the day.  I then used their downloader app on my laptop to schedule the downloads during the bonus time from 2am to 8am.  It has served me well    To get captions from Netflix, it was suggested to watch a show with captions on for at least 6 minutes.  That sets the expected captions setting.  Then when I recorded and downloaded the series, the captions were all there.    Kind of a kluge...but what isn't with HNS.  I can't t even email my wife a photo file as I am considered spam.  Well I guess they have a point there.... ... View more

Two nights ago, I was able to download 5 shows totalling about 6 hours of viewing from Netflix and Amazon.  I am having to use the Cloud App on a phone to get the record the shows to the cloud, then shutting the phone off at night and turning on a dedicated laptop with the Windows Cloud Dowloading app at night before the bonus zone starts.  I keep another laptop with Playon Desktop off during the night time as well.  So far this is the combination that has worked the best for me...although I am just starting out and don't have too much data yet.   The only odd things I notice are: 1. Inconsistencies in closed captioning - some shows have it and some do not.  I need to see if there are settings for this. 2. In quite a few cases, the audio lags the video by about a second or two...kind of annoying as you can't really get into the program.  Not sure what can be done about this one. ... View more

This worked for me last night. All four episodes downloaded. Each episode is about an hour in SD downloaded in 3-4 minutes each. I have two longer movies scheduled for tonight. ... View more

Yes, I have kept the cloud clear once I download.  You can also select the show from the cloud list and then click the trashcan icon.    So what I have left is four episodes in the cloud that show (in the lower right hand corner of each) a blue download indicator.  If I recall correctly, this indicates that these have been selected for downloading already.   I would like to clear the scheduled download queue, but I can not find a way.   I would like to get just one show lined up for download.     ... View more

I will be trying the downloader tonight.  I am trying to deselect the download queue I already have (the one that doesn't seem to work).  I don't see a way to cancel scheduled downloads in the cloud phone app.  Any clues out there? ... View more

Now that is very helpful!  Thank you - downloading it now.  I wonder why the Playon support didn't mention this? ... View more

No worries.    I am not ruling out that the issue with downloading to the phone is mine to resolve lcoally...I am looking to Playon support for some insight, but they haven't been responsive lately.  I need to investigate further on my end.  I am trying other shows/episodes tonight and each night until...I come to a conclusion.   I really think Playon seems like a viable soution for buffer free streaming if I can get it to reliably download during Bonus Zone.  It makes up for one of the biggest deficiencies of our internet service provider.  It is a shame that they can't help out with work arounds like this. ... View more

@GabeU wrote: @spydermike    Since you ultimately ended up having success with it, I would continue to use the computer for the downloading and use the phone only for setting up the recordings.     I hope you have better luck going forward.  Thanks, but the PC defeats the purpose of me having Playon.  The desktop version doesn't work well with Amazon Priime due to latency.  The cloud version, so far, doesn't download relaliably using their scheduled download.  We want to download at bonus zone so as not to have the poor internet service we are experiencing impact us even further.  I need to troubleshoot the phone download issue as try to understand what is happening. ... View more

@maratsade wrote: "No comparison with your statement.  Everyone's experience with POC is different, varied."   Wow.  Okay.  Hmmm.      Hey, one could pretty much replace "POC" in that statement above with just about anything and you would hit it out of the support forum park pretty much every time.     "Yes. Mileage. Varies. "   Your point in posting this helpful hint on my thread documenting our woes is...somehow...lost on me.  Thanks for trying though.           ... View more

@GabeU wrote: Are you downloading the Cloud items to your phone or directly to your PC?   Initial attemtps were via phone.  The final download was to PC through the emailed link.  I need to use the phone so that the scheduled download feature (the most important one in my mind) can be utilized.   ... View more

Sorry, part of your statement was a comparison from my viewpoint: Me saying I am unable to download reliably vs. you - "I have no issues downloading POC content...".    I think it has been demonstrated through testing and data that my HNS experience and system performance is not nearly as good as yours - not by a long shot.  Nothing personal here...just facts.  If we got your performance at our location,  then I wouldn't be posting here on a support forum.    Yes, I agree that it is most likely due to our overcrowded beam, our lack of access to Jupiter 2,  being merely Gen4, and having decided to live in the HNS black hole (and whole knows what else that has not be determined).  Believe me we definitely understand that. ... View more

Not a true/fair comparison...I have seen your download speeds!  Much much much much much much much better than ours.  We reside in the black hole on the west coast. ... View more

well, after several attempts, I decided to try downloading the Playon Cloud content NOT during Bonus Zone but during the day so that I could observe.  A couple fo attempts stalled out, failed and restarted.  I thought the file might be corrupted somehow, so I recorded it again and tried download it again.  It still failed.  Finally, I mus have hit the right window of opportunity with my internet service and, although it took about 20 minutes, I got the episode down.   I will continue to try the Playon Cloud, because 1) my internet service provider can not provide this streaming service, and 2) although it doesn't work perfectly over the last few attempts, it does provide a much needed solution, and 3) I have 358 more attempts available to me (bought and paid for).  I will spend more time trying to determine the origins of our download issue.   It could be a phone setting, or a bug in their software, or, heaven help me, my ISP. ... View more

From Playon regarding their Desktop app failure to record/download on off peak hours:   "It is a timing issue. The latency is so much worse than what is considered normal that adding extra steps is going to make our product worse overall. It will cause all failed recordings to be delayed."   The second part of that statement relates a question I had about a possible work around.    What happens, primarily with Amazon content, but also with Netflix sometimes, is that the download starts off soooo slow that Amazon puts up an error code 7017 called streaming delay.  They ask if you want to "stop" or "continue waiting".  If you select "continue waiting" the video starts playing within 10 seconds and everything seems to work.  I just can't get past the error code without manually selecting "continue waiting".  If this happens during off peak recording/downloading and no one is present, then about 30 seconds after the error code pops up, the attemp fails, and the effort terminates.    I asked if they could recognize the error code and auto answer with a selection of "continue waiting".  That was the second part of their reply above.   Ugh. ... View more

Thanks   I have to imagine that HNS can monitor each beam's traffic as part of their normal metrics.  A simple chart showing the typical beam traffic pattern that is updated once in a while would make a huge difference in helping us manage what beam width we all are fighting to use.  I would think. It would keep me from posting here as much...now that would be a benefit! ... View more

It would be really helpful if HNS put a congestion meter on the system so we could manage our expectations.  I know I am dreaming here, but for us to spend so much effort on trying to work solutions that have no hope of working really just pushes the dagger deeper in.   The closest cell signal from us is 7 miles away.  We are in rural area (the kind of area that Hughesnet was supposed to help with).  Our friends live in that cellular coverage area and I am helping them with a cellular internet solution...pretty easy really.  Recently, I needed to respond to someone and drove the 7 miles only to not have cellular data capability.  I drove further into town and still had issues.  I ended up not being able to deal with it - not sure why the data pipeline was down except for maybe the consolidation going on with two of the majors which has caused issues here recently.   The neighbors are petitioning the local and state government.  It is a safety issue because we live in a rural fire zone (you saw this on national news this year where whole towns got wiped out - that was here), we can not connect with fire or law enforcement and kids are not able to learn without decent internet.  Seems like a worthy cause.  Basic internet service, in this day and age and country, should be as available as a utility like water or electricity...in my opinion.  We are not that far from a fairly large metropolitan area and a major highway corridor.   No company is yet willing to step up and provide the services, and the company(ies) that do provide a service (like HNS and some cellular providers), render the service unreliable due to whatever reason.  Not enough profit in it...until the governement steps in it seems. ... View more

I don't see Hughesnet doing anything to help.  They gave up a while ago...offering a trite $20 monthly discount for 6 months for our "patience and understanding".     Funny thing is, last night was the end of our last month's data cycle.  While still having a gig of data to go, we decided to try to stream a show at 11:30pm...it worked flawlessly.    To me this supports that they have simply oversold the capacity of their system in my area.  There is nothing they can do about that.  They don't offer solutions to try to help us, they just continue to try to sell the service.  Our local friends get offers to join still and we advise them to stay away.  They have cell service and even basic cell service kicks HNS to the curb.   We have neighbors that are putting a petition together for better internet service for safety and learning issues...the current poor cell and satellite internet optionsin our immediate area are simply not working.     I am hoping that Playon can step up with a solution on their end...for the downloading failures on the Cloud app (it failed again last night) and for Amazon recording/downloading failures on the desktop version - both seemingly due to the unstable internet service.   Why is the Bonus Zone performance as bad as during the day?  Is there any way to get data from that besides doing it myself?     ... View more

Other downloads in the last two days have included attempts at Playon desktop downloads during Bonus Zone time - those are failing too due to Amazon detecting an "unstable internet connection".    We don't download much at all due to continually slow and bad internet service.  We are down to just light browsing, no videos at all, and email.  Kinda sux.     ... View more

Okay, so I also tried Playon Cloud and it is not working very well...yet another support ticket for that.  The cloud records fine, but my downloads fail.  Hmmm, unstable internet connection?  Fun Fun Fun. ... View more

40 minutes and 47MB downloaded....15MB more to go! ... View more

okay, 30 minutes into the download and 36MB downloaded...26MB to go.  I might acutally get this app installed! ... View more

Ha, trying to download the cloud app onto my phone using my blazing HNS internet.  So far 10 minutes to download 6MB...fingers crossed...only 56MB more to go! ... View more