So I'm watching a movie on Netflix streaming, when right before a crucial part of the story, the Verizon FIOS connection interrupts and starts buffering. The Netflix interface tells me the throughput is 1.9 MBps. But at the same time, checking speedtest.net on my laptop, I get a 15 MBps download speed.

I don't think the problem is with my own network settings or hardware. I'm accessing Netflix on a Sony DVD player with a wireless router connection (firmware fully updated). Laptop connection is also wireless. I also tested the throughput using speedtest.net via a browser app on the DVD player, and also got 15 MBps. It's only Netflix that has this problem.

So what's the deal, is Verizon FIOS purposely slowing down Netflix streaming? Are there just too many people watching Netflix at the same time? Does anybody else out there experience this?

BTW, the buffer/interruption problem happens every couple of minutes, a real pain, and lasts about a minute each time.

T Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I'm watching a movie on Netflix streaming, when
> right before a crucial part of the story, the
> Verizon FIOS connection interrupts and starts
> buffering. The Netflix interface tells me the
> throughput is 1.9 MBps. But at the same time,
> checking speedtest.net on my laptop, I get a 15
> MBps download speed.
>
> I don't think the problem is with my own network
> settings or hardware. I'm accessing Netflix on a
> Sony DVD player with a wireless router connection
> (firmware fully updated). Laptop connection is
> also wireless. I also tested the throughput using
> speedtest.net via a browser app on the DVD player,
> and also got 15 MBps. It's only Netflix that has
> this problem.
>
> So what's the deal, is Verizon FIOS purposely
> slowing down Netflix streaming? Are there just too
> many people watching Netflix at the same time?
> Does anybody else out there experience this?

Apparently this has been going on for a while. This article is from June.

http://consumerist.com/2013/06/18/is-verizon-deliberately-slowing-down-netflix-streaming-to-customers/

Anyone relying on "consumerist" for technical data deserves what they get. Meanwhile, back in realville, NFLX does a pi$$ poor job - but hey, it's only $7/month, right? Oh, and Hoag's multiple swimming pools won't clean themselves...

blame verizon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Apparently this has been going on for a while.
> This article is from June.
>
> http://consumerist.com/2013/06/18/is-verizon-delib
> erately-slowing-down-netflix-streaming-to-customer
> s/


If you continue to observe this, then write to the following goto list for broadband policy problems

Julie Veach, Chief of the FCC Wireline Bureau
Your congressman and representative
Your state representative

cc
Susan crawford at Cardozo Law
Michael Calabrese at the New America Foundation
verizon consumer affairs


Tell them how much you are already paying Verizon for broadband internet access and ask why its 2x what you would expect to pay in UK, France, Japan etc
use the comparisons at http://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/oecdbroadbandportal.htm#prices
e.g. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932799798

Explain that it should not be acceptable for them to charge you twice the rate as in competitive economies and then attempt to restrict your legitimate access

Describe your experience and quote the article above or other analysis

Describe any content/experience that is available or important to you that is available via netflix etc but not via Verizon (e.g. particular legal programming or content that you access elsewhere and shouldn't pay twice for etc)

Ask that the support the FCC's ability to ensure fairness on the consumer internet

Ask that they prevent Verizon from discriminating against the legal content that you are trying to access over a service that you have paid for

I ditched Verizon in part due to this as well. Then I went and bought stock in them because there's no way this congress is going to allow any meaningful regulation of telecoms anytime soon.

yeah999 Wrote:
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> I ditched Verizon in part due to this as well.
> Then I went and bought stock in them because
> there's no way this congress is going to allow any
> meaningful regulation of telecoms anytime soon.

Don't expect the cableco's to behave any better.

Comcast take the biscuit for regulatory disregard e.g. getting caught packing an FCC hearing with street people so that their critics couldn't attend

Kick the repubs out of the house and you'd have meaningful regulation within months - and we'd all be better off for it, even Verizon in the long run

Psycho grandstander Cruz is trying to block the new chairman over whether donors for political TV ads should be disclosed. From the party that brought you Citizens United...

If you have a cbl box in that room order a moca adapter(gives you a Ethernet line over coax). Put a two way splitter on the coax coming from the wall . One for the cbl box the other for the moca after and hardwire your streaming device. Or upgrade to quantum For 10$ more and get 50/25 and get the new rev. I router.

So, Netflix is a clusterfark; http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/14/4098896/netflix-chief-product-officer-neil-hunt-expect-4k-streaming-within-a-year-or-two

but it's the reeeeepublicanscablecompanymysteriousconspiracy fault.

Got it.

Heh.

This is all very interesting, but doesn't jive with my experience. Had Fios since 2009, Netflix since about that timeframe as well. Never had a buffering problem.

We had this problem starting this summer, after having Fios and Netflix streaming for about a year with no problem. Suddenly frequent buffering on movies in evenings and weekends. At first I thought it was peak demand time, but after doing research (it's just just the consumerist article) I decided that, whatever the merits, there clearly was a spat between Verizon and Netflix and it was the consumer who was getting hurt. I complained to the FCC (sent Verizon into a panic while constantly denying they did anything wrong and didn't fix it), and submitted complaint after complaint to Netflix about streaming quality problems. Never got an email from Netflix; canceled it. Unfortunately, signed up for a contract with Verizon that has us locked in for a while and, otherwise, we're happy with the service.

So, blame Netflix or blame Verizon, but yes, there is a problem. Submit a complaint to the FCC and watch how many phone calls you'll start to get from Verizon.

I don't know how tech savvy you may be, but if your router supports 5GHz signals, enable that feature. I have an Apple Time Capsule that has 5GHz abilities. If you don't have too much distance between your router and whatever you are connecting to wirelessly, 5GHz greatly enhances the effectiveness of the signal. Over longer distances though, you're better with the standard 2.4GHz broadcasting.

This helped 2 of the 4 devices I use Netflix on in my home. The Time Capsule still broadcasts in 2.4 with 5 enabled which is nice. Not sure about other routers.

We live in Silver Spring, and we have problems everytime we use the FIOS On-Demand movies. If we take the time to telephone a complaint, we may get a refund. We don't have these problems using YouTube and ChromeCast on the same internet connection and using the same HDMI/Monitor system. It's surprising that we can stream wirelessly to the ChromeCast and get a better more stable stream than using a hardwired network connection to the same system.

So, the independent variable is the FIOS On-Demand system - not the bandwidth to our house, not the router in our house, not the HDMI connection, etc, etc.

The problem is with the On-Demand service.

Do you have a secondary router? Its not fios. Your router is dropping your connection. Very very common amongst all aging wireless routers. Either get a new router from verizon or buy a a new wireless router and turn off the wireless feature on the verizon router and only usemit as a modem.

In the mean time you can try things like router reboots, firmware updates or turning off features such as QOS.