Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
Namronorman
Contributor - Level 2

I'm fully aware how small RCN is. I just think that if one can vote with his or her wallet in a situation like this, one should. Especially with the cost of rotting ONTs... 🙂

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
bzoum
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hello,

I have been experiencing bad quality on Netflix for one month now.

Before December, the quality was perfect. I could watch 3D movies !

And now, the image is bad (it's not HD) and it freezes.

My speedtest.net are very good and when I contact Verizon support, they tell me that everything is fine !!

Edit : I tried to connect to netflix with VPN from my computer and I have obtained good results (good quality, no freeze).

The only problem is that I cannot setup a vpn on my TV !

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
skidram
Newbie

Yes, we are certainly not getting what was promised.   It seems like each evening, Netflix is buffering repeatedly.  It's very disappointing.  The only thing more disappointing is the prospect of trying to contact anybody at Verizon.  That can be a time killer.

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
spave
Newbie

Netflix works fine for me when I turn on the VPN I had to pay extra for just so I could use streaming services and it allows me to avoid the alter.net pathing.

This is an issue they have had for months, I would suggest looking into alternate ISPs if you have any in your area.

It's 100% on verizons end.

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
working4buddha

I have been having similar problems for the last month.  Whenever I play something on Netflix it starts out at terrible quality (worse than SD, it is often completely pixelated). Eventually it switches to what seems to be HD, but  this always takes several minutes. And it happens whenever I pause or rewind too which is even more annoying.

When I watched a cartoon it seemed to have jagged lines the entire time which made me think maybe I wasn't getting HD at all and just going from "terrible" to "good" quality.

I am glad I found this thread. I did not really know whether to call Verizon or Netflix about this.  I am using a PS3 and they are always making changes to the interface so I thought maybe that was why this was happening. 

It is really frustraing to learn that this is a common problem. I switched to FIOS a year ago and thought I was happy with it. But if they are deliberately doing this (or not fixing it) to promote Redbox instant, that  is infuriating and it may be time to switch back. 

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
anonFios
Contributor - Level 2

If anyone is watching something and not sure of what bit rate they are currently able to stream, search for one of the "Example Shorts" on Netflix and play it.

These test videos have the bit rate hard encoded into the video so you can easily see what bitrate you are streaming on (Note: this doesn't work for mobile phones or devices that don't actively switch bitrates like older Rokus).

Some devices like Wii U, Windows 8 app and various televisions allow you to bring up video info so you can see what quality you are currently streaming (minus button on Wii U, Ctr-S or Ctr-D on Windows 8, info button on some TVs)

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Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
NetflixFan
Enthusiast - Level 1

@glugglug wrote:

For the past few weeks I am intermittently getting only 1-2 bars on the bandwidth meter for the XBOX Netflix app, which I think means it is ~1-2Mbps.

I have a 35/35Mbps plan with FIOS, so it should be getting HD all the time. (it used to until recently).

Are others having this problem lately?  Is it a FIOS issue or is Netflix downgrading their service for any customers not on OpenConnect ISPs?



I have been using Roku and Netflix for years but, like others, have experienced an increasingly intolerable slowdown between 8 - 10 PM Eastern for the past couple months.  The number of quality bars is down but worse than that, the Roku repeatedly returns to the "loading" screen and the download takes up to 2 minutes before play resumes.   Last night while watching an episode of Law and Order, the Roku went back to "loading" at least ten times.

I called Netflix and was assured that they have multiple routers in many locations and that the load on their service has not exceeded 70% capacity.  It appears to me that Verizon has begun to throttle back on the bandwidth available to Netflix originated traffic during peak hours.  I don't know that there is anything subscribers can do about it other than complain.  I think that tonight I will stream video from Amazon and see if I encounter the problem. 

Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
eversor1
Enthusiast - Level 1

This likely has something to do with it: http://davesblog.com/blog/2014/02/05/verizon-using-recent-net-neutrality-victory-to-wage-war-against...

For some reason Verizon has figured that limiting bandwidth to particular services is a good business decision. I pay for internet access, and even though I feel that FIOS has been a great service in the past, if this practice continues, I will cancel my account and move elsewhere. 

Are there ANY Verizon reps even looking at this thread?

Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
NetflixFan
Enthusiast - Level 1

Fellow Netflix streamers,

I did some testing yesterday evening starting at 7 P.M. Eastern.  The results indicate to me that the issue outlined in this article is the most likely source of the poor quality of Netflix and the endless buffering I have endured for the past several weeks.  I made an Ethernet connection from the FIOS router to my laptop and tested the download speed at 84 Mbs to confirm that FIOS speed is not the problem.  I used my commercial VPN (Private Internet Access – PIA) to connect (my laptop only) to one of the PIA servers on the East Coast.   I connected to Netflix and started an episode of Leverage simultaneously on my laptop and Roku (which is also Ethernet connected to the router).  The initial buffering took at least 5 – 10 times as long on the Roku as on the laptop.  I restarted the Roku and the second time it attempted an HD download but stalled.  I started it again and it dropped back to 2-bullets and buffered slowly but successfully.  The quality on my HD TV was really crummy while it was HD quality on the laptop.  I did not experience any re-buffering on either device. 

 

After watching Leverage, I reconnected the VPN on my laptop to a PIA server in the Midwest and started an episode of Numbers with the same result – slow load and lousy on the TV while HD on the laptop.

 

Next I disconnected the VPN and simultaneously streamed an episode of Law and Order.  The quality on the laptop was now lousy like on the TV.  It was now nearly 10 P.M. Eastern and both feeds had to re-buffer a couple times.

 

I don’t know which party is to be blamed but it seems to me that our best hope for a resolution is tell Netflix about our increasing dissatisfaction with  the quality of their video streaming service to our homes.  Let them straighten it out through their ISP.  I don’t think that my ISP is the source of the problem since Netflix works just fine over my VPN which also rides my ISPs’ backbone but which by-passes the offending ISP peering point.

NetflixFan

 

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/verizon-bandwidth-provider-blame-each-other-fo...

 

Re: Netflix is slow lately on FIOS
Namronorman
Contributor - Level 2

Netflix buys an appropriate amount of transit. The issue lies with peering between Verizon and other tier 1 providers. Generally, Verizon customers will see Netflix delivered to them via Level 3. It would not surprise me if Verizon is just getting creative with their peering setups in order to degrade Netflix streaming without implementing any actual throttling. You should look into what COMCAST does with running specific TATA links hot on purpose in order to punish specific types of traffic. It was quite the topic back in 2010 on NANOG.

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