Netflix/Amazon Prime NFL question

[fisherscatfan]

So I am wondering if anyone might have some suggestions on what to try. Every time I try to watch an NFL game on either of these the quality is horrible. When the game is on and trouble starts immediately I check the following:

-Internet download speed—it is always over 300Mbps
-Roku connection-signal strength always good, wireless connection always good, download speed good.
-try using the apps on the smart tv vs Roku, no improvements
-Have the Sunday ticket through YouTube tv which I stream through the Roku sometimes and just the app in the tv sometimes never any quality issues.
-No other issues beyond sporting events on the two services.
-Roku up to date. TV is up to date.

My brother in law was here and couldn’t believe the quality. When he got home he had no issues.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what to try?

 

[Glenn's take]

I didn't have any problems today. Picture was clear 100% of the time.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

So I am wondering if anyone might have some suggestions on what to try. Every time I try to watch an NFL game on either of these the quality is horrible. When the game is on and trouble starts immediately I check the following:

-Internet download speed—it is always over 300Mbps
-Roku connection-signal strength always good, wireless connection always good, download speed good.
-try using the apps on the smart tv vs Roku, no improvements
-Have the Sunday ticket through YouTube tv which I stream through the Roku sometimes and just the app in the tv sometimes never any quality issues.
-No other issues beyond sporting events on the two services.
-Roku up to date. TV is up to date.

My brother in law was here and couldn’t believe the quality. When he got home he had no issues.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what to try?

Did he use a roku device? Jmo and im not a huge tech person, but a roku plug in has bottleneck issues with newer higher res streams. I have some family members that have the same issue. I got them a smart tv so they no longer needed the plug in and it solved the entire problem.

Maybe thats just anecdotal, but i legitimately think those (especially depending on its age) struggle to handle current streaming content.

 

[fisherscatfan]

Did he use a roku device? Jmo and im not a huge tech person, but a roku plug in has bottleneck issues with newer higher res streams. I have some family members that have the same issue. I got them a smart tv so they no longer needed the plug in and it solved the entire problem.

Maybe thats just anecdotal, but i legitimately think those (especially depending on its age) struggle to handle current streaming content.

I tried just using the Netflix app within the smart tv versus using the Roku as well. Same issue.

Edit-Thank you for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated!

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'm guessing it's something with your router possibly. Sounds like you did all the right things and you're seeing slowness on multiple devices, that tellls me the problem lies with the bandwidth from the modem to the router, or the router to the devices (or the router/modem if its all in one), assuming there's not some sort of outage with Roku devices .

I would run some speeds tests from www.speedtest.net and see what sort of speeds you're getting from your phone, but also try your laptop or computer. Send me the results and we can see what we're working with.

If those are low, than that points to the router/modem. If they are good, then id be thinking your router is maybe having a tough time covering your house. Maybe the TV/roku device isn't in a good area of the house for reception.

 

[fisherscatfan]

First-I really appreciate you taking time to respond. Thank you.

Speedtest results right now are 515 Mbps. We had the system installed with WiFi extenders as well. I’m not the best at this stuff. The Roku’s (have several installed-family room, basement big screen, master bedroom all show good signal strength but nowhere near that download speed).

The download on my Ipad and IPhone when standing right next to the tv is over 500Mbps. The Roku shows download speed of 170 Mbps in master bedroom. During the game it was lower like around 25 Mbps on Roku in family room while IPad was over 300.

When I switched from Netflix on Roku to the Netflix app on the Smart TV (LG OLED65CPUA) to avoid the Roku and 43 Mbps. Standing right next to family room tv IPad download is over 500Mbps. Literally holding IPad touching the tv.

So something is happening with both the smart tv and the Roku or they don’t have the same download speed capabilities (is that even a thing??).

But I can stream the Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV to watch any football game on any tv in the house (through the Rokus) and have excellent quality. Stream ESPN plus through Roku to watch UK basketball games, perfect picture.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Hmm this is an odd one then. You checked all the right thinga and your internet speeds seem fine from all around the house.

Now I would think it's something possibly having to do with the Roku/Netflix app on the Roku, throttling things down. I don't have much info on Rokus as I've only really used Firesticks.. but I do know that the YouTube TV app (on my smart TV) will sometimes throttle settings down at random, and I have to go back in the fix it usually with a quick Google search. No idea why that happens, possibly because the kids sometimes mess with the remote lol.

Sorry is this was mentioned but how about updating the streaming apps ON the roku or smart TV? Those can sometimes be out of date.. but it also seems like these apps are perfect fine at other times.

 

[fisherscatfan]

Hmm this is an odd one then. You checked all the right thinga and your internet speeds seem fine from all around the house.

Now I would think it's something possibly having to do with the Roku/Netflix app on the Roku, throttling things down. I don't have much info on Rokus as I've only really used Firesticks.. but I do know that the YouTube TV app (on my smart TV) will sometimes throttle settings down at random, and I have to go back in the fix it usually with a quick Google search. No idea why that happens, possibly because the kids sometimes mess with the remote lol.

Sorry is this was mentioned but how about updating the streaming apps ON the roku or smart TV? Those can sometimes be out of date.. but it also seems like these apps are perfect fine at other times.

Thanks again. I did check updates and ok.

To show my ignorance, I have tried googling for solutions but when you google for solutions do you specifically google Firestick throttling issue? I’m going to try that.

One other thing I’ve seen and am curious if the Rokus are overheating. I’ve not found a good solution for that other than simply unplugging.

 

[I am stupid]

What Roku are you using? From my experience the small/cheaper ones can be slow and have bad picture quality, but I've never had issues with the Roku Ultimate.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Thanks again. I did check updates and ok.

To show my ignorance, I have tried googling for solutions but when you google for solutions do you specifically google Firestick throttling issue? I’m going to try that.

One other thing I’ve seen and am curious if the Rokus are overheating. I’ve not found a good solution for that other than simply unplugging.

Yeah Google exactly what the make and model is, and then exactly what the problem is. So like "Roku Stick Netflix App is low quality but internet speeds are fine".. so that search and then do that exact same search with "reddit" at the end so you can also check forums. I guarantee there are others who have had this issue.

If you unplug it and plug it back in, does the problem resolve at all? Even if just temporarily? Or no, not at all?

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I was actually curious about that too. It's possible the roku you have might be an older and/or mid-tier model, and you might want to look at getting whatever their newest one is.

 

[Bill Cosby]

Hadn’t ever thought about it, but built a new house and the AV company suggested we wire ethernet wherever we planned to have TVs. The picture is noticeably better with ethernet into a smart tv than it was with Roku on WiFi.

 

[BigBlueDave]

I was actually curious about that too. It's possible the roku you have might be an older and/or mid-tier model, and you might want to look at getting whatever their newest one is.

I had a first gen TCL Roku that is now 11 years old. When I signed up for yttv five years ago, the guide loading and channel flipping would be painfully slow. All other stream services were fine. That tv became a kids tv and a new TV solved the problem.

That tv went to college with my son and is now used as a monitor surfing with a $30 Roku stick in a HDMI port.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Hadn’t ever thought about it, but built a new house and the AV company suggested we wire ethernet wherever we planned to have TVs. The picture is noticeably better with ethernet into a smart tv than it was with Roku on WiFi.

It shouldn't matter anymore, really. A good mesh network will cover all the bases and then some. I can get 4-500mbs down on various wireless devices around the house.

And ethernet is still only as strong as it's weakest conponent also. Still means you need the proper modem and router. But also the cabling itself has limitations. Cat5e only has 1gig speeds, which is good for now, but will eventually be outdated. We've been running cat6 and cat7 in our data centers as some pipes actually need the 10gig speeds.

Not that this work was a bad thing or anything, pretty sweet to have the ethernet jacks ready to go. I just suspect that homes will have no need for wired ethernet at all, if not already.

 

[fisherscatfan]

Thanks to all. I guess what I cannot wrap my head around is why I can stream NFL Sunday Ticket games with Roku or just with YouTubeTV app on the all the Smart tvs and no issues but the minute try to watch on Netflix or Prime it is horrific. I don’t get buffering but just horrific video quality.

I may just go buy a new Roku and try it just to see.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Thanks to all. I guess what I cannot wrap my head around is why I can stream NFL Sunday Ticket games with Roku or just with YouTubeTV app on the all the Smart tvs and no issues but the minute try to watch on Netflix or Prime it is horrific. I don’t get buffering but just horrific video quality.

I may just go buy a new Roku and try it just to see.

Could be some weird support thing Roku has with those apps. If your Roku happens to be old, say like 4 or 5 years or older, it's possible that their developers aren't keeping up with support with all the various apps on the older Rokus.

Do this, go buy a new, one and if the problems are fixed, you know what it is. If the problems persists then you can just take the new one back. Of course, you still have to figure out what the problem is, but it sounds like it may just be the Roku