*Official* Roku 2 Media Streamer Thread - Page 24

I didn't test on PC. Other streams on the Roku played just fine. Hulu, MLB. Must just been a Netflix thing.

I have a Roku 2XS and i have to agree.Hulu+ has a few HD movies and i have not noticed the fluctuations in PQ that i have seen with Netflix,so it must certainly be a Netflix issue,and not a Roku issue.

So how often does this happen?

Are you still seeing the problem on a Monday evening?

Nope. Just watched about 45 min with no issue.

If you run into that problem again and it's persistent (no matter what you do you end up with a crappy low bit rate video encode from Netflix), try streaming on your BDT210 and see if you get the same from it. It'll be limited to 720p and you'll no doubt see the infamous "black flash" problem of the 2011 Panasonic BD players' Netflix player.

It's relatively rare, maybe once a month. My typical connection speed is 15-20 Mbps (Cable modem).

You say this as if it's netflix's problem, it's not. At least not entirely. If your ISP can't handle the amount of traffic that you and the other customers are trying to use then you need to find a different ISP. But first you need to determine if it's really a connection issue. the easiest way is using another player right when the problem happens. That and you're sure there's nothing else in the house also trying to use your connection during this time? Like someone else doing downloads, torrents, skype and the like? Narrowing down where YOU are having the problem is the key. Yes, others might have the same issue but there are way more variables that could be involved. Finding a good fix involves knowing what's going on with YOUR connection.

We are definitely not using other devices on the network when this happens. I've even checked at times to see if unauthorized devices are using my network. I've had my ISP come out and sweep the line and there were no errors (it was actually a favor from my friend who works for the ISP, so I know he's credible). My other friend who works for the ISP sat at my wireless computer and pinged the ISP server continually and we saw excellent and consistent numbers. He said my power levels are not only in range, but that my connection is "the stuff that dreams are made of." This is a friend, working off the clock. I know this doesn't rule out something happening when a tech is NOT monitoring the line, but so far, there has been no indication of ISP issues. I am really not looking for someone to blame, I'm just trying to figure out if there IS something on my end I can change, because I certainly would if it would resolve the issue. What I fear is that if it is Netflix's lack of infrastructure, then there is nothing I can do, and no way to track that down. They told me themselves that they don't even have a tier-level support structure, but rather, they "refer you" to someone (like your ISP or the device manufacturer) if they cannot discover the problem through the "CSR" or "Supervisor". Now who is blaming who? Anyway, if it's only going to do it about once a month or so as pbarak has experienced, I can probably get over it, knowing how many factors go into media streaming. If I want perfection, I need to pull out the discs.

Michael, I'm afraid that probably by the time I got another device such as the BDT 210 up and streaming that title, that the issue would have resolved on the Roku anyway. It only persists for a minute or two when it happens, and this actually would be the same as pbarach's workaround (post #685) of stopping the stream, and going back to the Netflix homescreen before starting the title again. Also, I have Samsung BD player that is wireless, 720p limitation, and I've never seen the issue. I really think it has something to do with the data load of 1080p.

Netflix server issues are not uncommon. When you are having issues cross reference them with this site "http://downrightnow.com/netflix" and you may see a trend.

Thanks, Hilde, I will! This may help me pinpoint some things.
Edited by Gracepreacher - 8/21/12 at 7:39am

Comparing Netflix streaming quality between different players, even if it's the same title, may not necessarily be a good way to benchmark your connection to Netflix. Not only do you need to consider the stream quality available to each player (480p vs 720p vs 1080p), but you also need to consider where each player gets its stream from. Unless you can verify both players are grabbing the same quality stream from the same data center location, you won't be comparing apples to apples. And even then, you're assuming there are no firmware issues or something else that could be affecting one player differently than the other. There are just too many variables.

So either use another player of exactly the same make/model,

Or another player as a rough guide to see if the problem exists there as well. Meanwhile making sure you know the content quality meets or exceeds that of the problem player. That would have seemed obvious.

And of course there are other behind the scenes issues like content distribution data sources but those aren't readily exposed nor detectable at the player end.

Otherwise just blame netflix and get nowhere. That'd certainly reduce the number of variables by quite a bit.

Exactly. I don't know that it's worth all of this discussion if it's a problem that only persists for a few minutes. It's common with all devices and with all adaptive bit rate video streaming services (Netflix, VUDU, Zune) that conditions occasional occur during which the player will dip into low bit rate streams, though there are some lucky people who never see this. Internet streaming video is not an AV-ophile oriented experience; it's about convenience, not the highest PQ and AQ (though at its best it's pretty good these days, particularly VUDU and Zune).

I believe this is part of the problem. The public doesn't have access to the data or the tools to troubleshoot, and Netflix, Roku (and most other device manufacturers that I've dealt with), and ISP's typically don't equip their support personnel with the proper resources either. Maybe the open sourcing of Netflix servers will give way to some detection tools in the future? http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/04/netflix-introduces-its-own-cdn-open-connect-network/?a_dgi=aolshare_twitter

The suggestion was to compare the Roku stream to a PC or BD player stream. That's the main reason I even brought this up.


Even as a rough guide, it's debatable how useful it really is. The two players could be having stream quality problems due to completely unrelated issues. Different hardware, different firmware, and as noted potentially different source locations (even if they're the same quality). All I'm saying is, you've got to take a comparison like this with a grain of salt, because easily or reliably narrowing it down to one common source for the problem is an inherently difficult task given all the variables involved.

Yes, blame Netflix. Works for me.
Edited by hps70w - 8/21/12 at 11:35am

I just purchased a Roku LT and it will sometimes reset itself while we're watching HBOGo. Does anyone else experience this?

I've only seen a couple of posts on the Roku forums about HBOGo locking up and eventually rebooting the box. I don't recall ever seeing a good answer or resolution. If no one here can provide some insight, I'd suggest heading to the Roku forums (forums.roku.com) and doing some searching or making a post yourself.

Figures it does it seemingly without explanation. I guess we'll just deal with it. It doesn't happen to often but it is annoying.

I apologize if this has come up already. I can't seem to get Amazon to stream 5.1 audio. Roku setup is correct for 5.1 audio in the main settings. HDMI is being used from Roku to Anthem MRX-500. 5.1 works fine on Netflix streaming.

I only found one web article that suggested a Roku reboot (power cycle). I actually got 5.1 for a minute or so and then it went back to 2.0pcm. Going to reboot one more time

Anyone else?

Update: It would appear that the wireless radio in the Roku is pretty weak. If I run an ethernet cable to the device it streams HD (and 5.1) with no issues. On wireless, it tries to serve up Amazon HD but then stutters and steps down to pcm audio (and presumably non-HD video).
Edited by scirica - 8/26/12 at 7:07pm

Are you sure the issue is not with your AP? I have no issue streaming wireless to my Roku2 boxes at my place or my GFs. Wireless performance is identical to the wired performance. Everything is just as fast. I get excellent signal strength no matter where my Roku2 is located. And the APs also send out a very strong signal. I have my APs set for max signal output on uncrowded channels.

I have my AP set to max signal and I'm getting about a 35mbs download speed via wireless in the general area of my Roku. When I go "wired" it is actually a cable from an AP express connected wirelessly to my AP extreme. Doesn't make sense to me either.

It could be local interference based on the placement of the Roku in my equipment area. I would like to be able to go wireless again and leave that cable for my Anthem A/V that doesn't have an option for wireless.

Update: I did move the unit to the top of the rack. I'm watching "The Shooter" on Amazon (Prime) right now after changing back to wireless. So far so good. Quality before (wired) and after appears to be equal. Thanks again for your help.
Edited by scirica - 8/27/12 at 4:32pm

HBOGo HD 5.1)) contents stream in 5.1 Dolby Digital (5.1DD) on all Roku models over hdmi & optical - here

Absolutely! Watching True Blood on my XS in glorious 5.1 DD.

This thing seems to be very picky about having other wireless things near it. I have a second router acting as a repeater in my den where the Roku is and I was having constant reception problems. I got rid of the repeater and now pick up a weaker signal from my AP and it performs much better. Strange.

Roku gets a new update, ver 4.8 b 3339 (try a manual update).

VUDU is now in the Roku Channel Store! (If you read the "best Netflix player" and "Master VUDU" threads please forgive the re-posts).

Complete w/1080p HDX and Dolby Plus sound. It no doubt requires a downstream device--AVR, television, etc--capable of decoding Dolby Plus; I did not notice an option for stereo sound like Netflix so it might require a DD+ decoding AVR for use, period.

The Roku has just become my perfect streamer, with full-featured (well, mostly) versions of Netflix, Amazon, VUDU, Hulu Plus and HBO Go. (I say "mostly" because Netflix players on other devices have superior search--with separate people-name and title results, superior episode browsing, with a season selection instead of a monolithic list of all episodes and that new automatic next-television-episode start featire that I'm not sure that I actually like). Now I'll only use my BD player for playing BDs, something which I rarely do--it's gonna gather some dust .

The cherry on top is the $6 credit for adding a new HDX-capable device to my account .
Edited by michaeltscott - 9/20/12 at 12:51am

Still waiting for Youtube...

This PC is connected to the same 46" 1080p LCD panel and AVR as the rest of my A/V toys, so I could personally care less about embedded YouTube players.

So is it able to play the 3 bar HDX titles? Another VUDU credit is always nice too.

Thanks for the heads UP. I looked at the channel store last night when I added the FUNimation channel and didn't see VUDU. I would have never know about it otherwise.

EDIT: Although I forgot. My only complaint with VUDU is that you can't have more than five devices linked to your account. So I need to drop a device to add the Roku. But to get the credit it's worth it. Especially if I can get a credit for each of my Roku boxes. Although I don;t know if that will still be the case. When they added Vudu to the Xbox 360 I got a credit for each of my three boxes so I hope it's the same with the Roku box.