# Amazon Prime Video on Mini "Low Bandwidth" Message



## mcsanders59 (Sep 4, 2018)

Last night I fired up Amazon Prime video on one of my TiVo Minis for the first time. About a minute into the video stream, I received a low bandwidth warning from the Prime Video app followed by stuttering that made the stream unwatchable. This issue seems to be exclusive to Prime Video because Netflix, Hulu, Plex, and DVR streams from the TiVo Bolt all work flawlessly.

Additional Information:

I have two TiVo Minis connected to a 4 tuner TiVo Bolt.
I have a gigabit internet connection from Verizon (940 down/860 up), so bandwidth should not be an issue.
Each TiVo is connected to my home network using Actiontec's ECB6200 bonded MoCa 2.0 adapter. There are four adapters total (one at the router, one at each TiVo location). Using iperf3, I have verified that network speeds are ~900 Mbps at each TiVo location.
Prime Video works flawlessly on the primary TiVo Bolt. The issue seems isolated to the Minis.
Is this kind of stuttering streaming common for Prime Video? Does anyone have any insight into how to fix this issue?

Edit: Attaching a home network diagram that better articulates my setup.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mcsanders59 said:


> Is this kind of stuttering streaming common for Prime Video? Does anyone have any insight into how to fix this issue?


Try YouTube. Most of the content is 1080i or better. I have Prime but seldom use it on a Mini. Are you still running TE3 or have you upgraded to Hydra?

Note: streaming internet content does not use the host.

update. My "benchmark" for audio and video quality is the movie "Fury". I played the trailer (2.5 minutes) and got 1080/p24 and DD+ on my A93 Mini. The trailer is free.

I wish TiVo had their own speed benchmark.


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## mcsanders59 (Sep 4, 2018)

I've upgraded to Hydra.



JoeKustra said:


> Note: when steaming internet content does not use the host.


I'm aware internet streaming does not use the host box. I reread what I originally posted and realize I probably should have reordered my comma separated list for clarity.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mcsanders59 said:


> I've upgraded to Hydra.
> I'm aware internet streaming does not use the host box. I reread what I originally posted and realize I probably should have reordered my comma separated list for clarity.


My Mini VOX is without a host right now. I did a rollback and I'm waiting for the app from TiVo. It won't let me do anything without a host. Sorry.

I have streamed YouTube for hours at 1080p on the Mini VOX a few weeks ago.


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## jaredmwright (Sep 6, 2004)

Couple questions. Why use MoCa if you have Ethernet going to everything else already? Also, why use MoCa adapters at each device, the Mini supports MoCa and Ethernet natively and seems redundant?

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## mcsanders59 (Sep 4, 2018)

@jaredmwright : I realize using MoCa adapter --> ethernet --> Minis seems redundant--especially given that MoCa 1.1 is actually faster than the 100 Mbps ethernet port on the older Minis. I'm using MoCa adapters at each device because I eventually plan to place gigabit switches near each MoCa adapter (similar to the 1st floor in the diagram), which will allow me to wire the other devices near the Mini with ethernet (via bonded MoCa) at full 1 Gbps speeds. Also, I don't have ethernet wired everywhere. There's actually only one live ethernet jack in my entire house (in the office by the router). The rest of the network in my house is supported by MoCa and Mesh wifi.

Additionally, I also performed an internet test at the location of the Mini this afternoon. I unplugged the Mini's ethernet cable and plugged the cable into my laptop. I ran Google Fiber's speed test and got ~700 Mbps down/up, so the network appears to be functioning as expected both internally (iperf) and externally. I'm really not sure why the Prime Video app has issues. Maybe it's just not an optimized app?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Have you tried, as a test, removing the ECB6200 from either Mini location, and just having that Mini connect via its built-in MoCA interface?


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## mcsanders59 (Sep 4, 2018)

@krkaufman : I haven't done that yet (but I will, and I'll report back), but I do have an additional data point. My wife and I sat down this evening to watch House in our family room on Prime Video using the TiVo Bolt. We made it through one episode without issue. Two minutes in to the second episode, we got the "low bandwidth" warning on the Bolt. Our XBox one is co-located with the Bolt and is running off the same gigabit switch, so as a test, I switched to the XBox One to watch the rest of the episode. We've been watching for a little over an hour now and have had no issues, yet.

I've also noticed that the XBox Prime Video app just seems snappier overall. Maybe it is just an issue with the app and not the Bolt/Minis.

Edit: I realize my original post said the Prime app on the Bolt worked "flawlessly." That was true until tonight. I'm not sure what, if anything, has changed with respect to the Bolt.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

FYI...

Amazon Streaming App Consistently Freezing - Tivo Loses Network Connectivity

I stumbled across this one post; there may be more.

edit: At least one more ... Amazon App and Tivo Mini


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## jaredmwright (Sep 6, 2004)

mcsanders59 said:


> @jaredmwright : I realize using MoCa adapter --> ethernet --> Minis seems redundant--especially given that MoCa 1.1 is actually faster than the 100 Mbps ethernet port on the older Minis. I'm using MoCa adapters at each device because I eventually plan to place gigabit switches near each MoCa adapter (similar to the 1st floor in the diagram), which will allow me to wire the other devices near the Mini with ethernet (via bonded MoCa) at full 1 Gbps speeds. Also, I don't have ethernet wired everywhere. There's actually only one live ethernet jack in my entire house (in the office by the router). The rest of the network in my house is supported by MoCa and Mesh wifi.
> 
> Additionally, I also performed an internet test at the location of the Mini this afternoon. I unplugged the Mini's ethernet cable and plugged the cable into my laptop. I ran Google Fiber's speed test and got ~700 Mbps down/up, so the network appears to be functioning as expected both internally (iperf) and externally. I'm really not sure why the Prime Video app has issues. Maybe it's just not an optimized app?


That makes sense, so you are using MoCa to deliver network to those locations.

I wonder if you could have some sort of network loop going on? Seems odd, but perhaps your iperf isn't exposing if there are packets building up until saturation point, therefore causing issues obtaining the necessary bandwidth. Not sure of your routing and network design outside of your very well illustrated network diagram. Something to look at. I have also seen a bad port cause odd issues on network switches. I am assuming you have tested each cable end to end. I would also consider disconnecting major parts of your network during testing and slowly adding back to see if anything changes if you haven't already.

Also, your laptop should show routes and hops with latency, that would be an interesting metric to evaluate while streaming to see if anything changes.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## The Merg (Dec 2, 2007)

I’m still having the issue on my Tivo Mini as well. I have FIOS and am connected via MOCA.

I’m not sure what it causing this issue. Last night, I tried watching Man in the High Castle. The first episode played flawlessly, but as the second episode started, so did the stuttering issue.

- Merg 


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