# Well that's annoying - Netflix



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

So I just got a new TV that supports all the video formats including 1080p/24. I don't like the resolution switch that can happen during some shows so I only enabled 1080i and 1080p on the TiVo. Last night I was watching Netflix and it kept switching between the two causing a brief blank of the audio and video. It was really annoying. Eventually I just went back and turned 1080p off. My question is why would it do that? I have a 30mbps internet connection so I don't think it's a bandwidth problem. 

Dan


----------



## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

Dan203 said:


> So I just got a new TV that supports all the video formats including 1080p/24. I don't like the resolution switch that can happen during some shows so I only enabled 1080i and 1080p on the TiVo. Last night I was watching Netflix and it kept switching between the two causing a brief blank of the audio and video. It was really annoying. Eventually I just went back and turned 1080p off. My question is why would it do that? I have a 30mbps internet connection so I don't think it's a bandwidth problem.
> 
> Dan


Internet congestion between you and the Netflix servers? Too much demand on the servers? Some other problem on their end? Have speed tests consistently showed that you are getting all the bandwidth you're supposed to get? Can you stream directly to your new TV without problems?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I didn't have an audio cable to connect my TV to my HT system, so I haven't tested the apps on it yet. However I just received the 12' optical cable I ordered so I'll be testing that out tonight. I did briefly play with the Netflix app on the TV and it is significantly faster then the TiVo app, so that in itself might be enough to get me to use it over the TiVo version. In fact the TV has a bunch of cool apps. Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo, Amazon streaming, etc... So it might be my go to device for streaming. 

Dan


----------



## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

Check your DNS servers. Run DNS Bench There is alot of good tips in the I hate the Netflix App thread. Bottom line most people dont have issues but there are some who can not stop the resolution switching


----------



## Davedude (May 26, 2012)

Dan203 said:


> So I just got a new TV that supports all the video formats including 1080p/24. I don't like the resolution switch that can happen during some shows so I only enabled 1080i and 1080p on the TiVo. Last night I was watching Netflix and it kept switching between the two causing a brief blank of the audio and video. It was really annoying. Eventually I just went back and turned 1080p off. My question is why would it do that? I have a 30mbps internet connection so I don't think it's a bandwidth problem.
> 
> Dan


I had the same problem, black screen and no audio every 20 seconds. the picture was fantastic when it was showing. I switched to my HTPC and never had another problem for the rest of the night (White Collar marathon). TIVO, please fix the Netflix app! I use your service so I can access everything "TV" from your box, if it is not reliable, I will drop it like I did DirecTV.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

Davedude said:


> I had the same problem, black screen and no audio every 20 seconds. the picture was fantastic when it was showing. I switched to my HTPC and never had another problem for the rest of the night (White Collar marathon). TIVO, please fix the Netflix app! I use your service so I can access everything "TV" from your box, if it is not reliable, I will drop it like I did DirecTV.


It's not a matter of TiVo reliability, but of stable available bandwidth on your connection to Netflix's servers. If you set TiVo's output resolution to 1080i-only it will be able to drop temporarily down to lower resolutions without the little interruptions which the switch from 720p to 1080p or vice-versa causes for most (if not all) televisions. It'd be nice if you could set your TiVo to 1080p24-only, but TiVo can't scale any other resolution to that, so if Netflix sends it anything other than the 1080p24 video encode it has to switch. That seems to be a TiVo hardware limitation.

The web player and Windows 8 app available on your PC can't output 5.1 sound from Netflix (and not even Netflix's best 192 Kpbs stereo, just mediocre 64 Kbps sound).


----------



## djwilso (Dec 23, 2006)

That really does sound annoying. The way the channel should have been programmed is that if the material is 1080p/24, the TiVo should output that only, regardless of the bandwidth available. This would prevent the annoying disruptions.

I am beta testing a product that behaves this way exactly with Netflix, and it is great. I can saturate my network to reduce bandwidth and all that happens is the picture gets slightly fuzzier. Once I stop that, the sharp picture comes right back. No disruption in video or audio.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

djwilso said:


> That really does sound annoying. The way the channel should have been programmed is that if the material is 1080p/24, the TiVo should output that only, regardless of the bandwidth available. This would prevent the annoying disruptions.


I did say that would be nice, but scaling arbitrary resolutions to 1080p24 would seem to be beyond the Premiere's capability. My Panasonic DMP-BDT220 can output 24 fps from network VOD sources like Netflix and it'll will scale anything Netflix gives it to 1080p24.

Unless you know that you'll get a rock steady connection to Netflix's servers with unwavering bandwidth sufficient to stay ahead of their 1080p stream (or never high enough to get it) it's best to set 1080i-only on TiVo.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I got an audio cable for my TV last night and tried it out. The video quality when using the Netflix app on the TV doesn't look as good as the TiVo, but no annoying video switching and the UI is a lot faster. 

Each device I have for accessing Netflix has it's perks. The TV UI is fast and easy to access because the TV is always on, but the quality isn't as good. The TiVo one can easily be launched from search and start playing the selected show/movie immediately, but the UI is slow and I have the potential for this resolution switch problem. And the PS3 is fast and has good quality, but it's not always on so I have to wait for it to boot, log in and launch the Netflix app before using. 

I wish the TiVo one was faster and could handle the resolution switch better then it wiuld encompass the best of all the devices. 

Dan


----------



## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

You may want to try another HDMI cable.

I never had any issues with Netflix except
For the initial flicker 30 seconds into the film.
Many complaints on stuttering here. 
never made sense. All you need is 6Mb for 
High HD video.
many complaints on GUI but I'm pretty sure
most people don't concern themselves with those
trivial squabbering.

I recently borrowed the HDMI 1.4 media bridge 
cable from the TiVo for laptop use then
took the older HDMI cable from the ps3 and
Plugged it into the TiVo . Then put the one 
From the laptop into the ps3.

Had many problems last two weeks with
Non stop Stuttering on Netflix through TiVo.
got tired of the mislabeled inputs and 
physically switched them back.
Problem solved.

Even if you don't have a 3d tv, the 1.4 media bridge
HDMI cable is $9.99 on amazon.
May be a worthwhile try.

You also can't expect to download full
Bandwidth from usenet and not degrade
Netflix, even with a switch.

Also. Had issue with viewing tv queue.
Some season an episodes were blacked
Out until you highlighted.
Replacing cable resolved that issue also.


----------



## 241705 (Mar 9, 2010)

I had not had any issues with the latest Netflix app on the Premiere until this past weekend. I had a couple of shows that were constantly switching resolution - I finally set the TiVo to output only at 1080i and that solved the problem of the television flashing to accommodate the resolution changes. I am using wired ethernet with FiOS 50MB down. 

It is annoying though - I don't see this from Netflix on my PS3 (in another room) and am thinking about giving the Netflix app on my TV a shot.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

blackngold75 said:


> It is annoying though - I don't see this from Netflix on my PS3 (in another room) and am thinking about giving the Netflix app on my TV a shot.


Apparently Netflix on different devices end up getting connected to different servers so the PS3 may be getting better connections.


----------



## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

blackngold75 said:


> I had not had any issues with the latest Netflix app on the Premiere until this past weekend. I had a couple of shows that were constantly switching resolution - I finally set the TiVo to output only at 1080i and that solved the problem of the television flashing to accommodate the resolution changes. I am using wired ethernet with FiOS 50MB down.
> 
> It is annoying though - I don't see this from Netflix on my PS3 (in another room) and am thinking about giving the Netflix app on my TV a shot.


I did that for a few weeks. 
If you have amazon prime, compare same
movie or tv episode. I found amazon has much superior
video quality over Netflix .
If you know someone with a 3d tv, ask
if you can borrow their 1.4 hdmi cable
for the TiVo .


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

HockeyFan said:


> I found amazon has much superior
> video quality over Netflix.


I'm surprised at how high the video quality of Amazon's encodes are (being 2.5 Mbps for 720p + DD 5.1 sound), but I don't think that it's as good as Netflix's highest quality (3 Mbps for 720, 3.85 Mbps for 1080p, video only).


----------



## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

mikeyts said:


> I'm surprised at how high the video quality of Amazon's encodes are (being 2.5 Mbps for 720p + DD 5.1 sound), but I don't think that it's as good as Netflix's highest quality (3 Mbps for 720, 3.85 Mbps for 1080p, video only).


Yes. Numbers favor Netflix . forgot amazons 
Only 720p.For some reason amazon apears higher. Some shows
look same on both service. Maybe illusion?

interested to hear if new hdmi cable helps
anyone with TiVo. My older hdmi cable works
fine on ps3 with blueray and the tv's
Netflix app but absolutely causes
stuttering on TiVo with Netflix .

Just took second look at older hdmi cable.
no markings. Not sure what version it is.
No longer sure why it only has problems 
on TiVo. Newer purchased cable is 1.4 and
works good on TiVo.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> Apparently Netflix on different devices end up getting connected to different servers so the PS3 may be getting better connections.


For me, Netflix on the TiVo is rock solid. In the past, even though the issues are rare, when they did happen, the streaming problems were on devices like the Roku2, PS3, Xbox 360, Boxee Box etc. The TiVo is typically the device I go to for a rock solid connection. After a few seconds of streaming and it hits 1080P24, it's typically rock solid for the rest of the program. When a bunch of other devices were having issues, I could go to any of my TiVos and have flawless streaming.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> I'm surprised at how high the video quality of Amazon's encodes are (being 2.5 Mbps for 720p + DD 5.1 sound), but I don't think that it's as good as Netflix's highest quality (3 Mbps for 720, 3.85 Mbps for 1080p, video only).


Same here. The quality of Amazon streaming for me is typically noticeably lower than what I see on Netflix. Part of that might be because I typically watch 1080P content from Netflix while Amazon streaming is limited to 720P.

Now the content I typically purchase from Amazon I watch on my TiVos because it can be downloaded and is in 1080P24. Now that video is typically very good. But if I were to stream the same titles they are only in 720P and is visibly lower in quality.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> For me, Netflix on the TiVo is rock solid. In the past, even though the issues are rare, when they did happen, the streaming problems were on devices like the Roku2, PS3, Xbox 360, Boxee Box etc. The TiVo is typically the device I go to for a rock solid connection. After a few seconds of streaming and it hits 1080P24, it's typically rock solid for the rest of the program. When a bunch of other devices were having issues, I could go to any of my TiVos and have flawless streaming.


So probably the servers that you get for TiVo are better for your area than the ones you get for your other Netflix streamers.

As for Amazon streaming quality, I recently re-watched the first four seasons of _Fringe_ as Amazon Prime Instant Video (not available to stream from Netflix) and was fairly impressed by PQ and AQ. They do a really good job with the encoding bit rates that they choose to use, definitely superior to Netflix's "Medium/HD" 720p which is encoded at a similar rate.


----------



## Thedook (Feb 17, 2013)

mikeyts said:


> So probably the servers that you get for TiVo are better for your area than the ones you get for your other Netflix streamers.
> 
> As for Amazon streaming quality, I recently re-watched the first four seasons of _Fringe_ as Amazon Prime Instant Video (not available to stream from Netflix) and was fairly impressed by PQ and AQ. They do a really good job with the encoding bit rates that they choose to use, definitely superior to Netflix's "Medium/HD" 720p which is encoded at a similar rate.


TiVo series 3 with Netflix and THE FIX THAT WORKED for me was to setup the TiVo with an IP and google DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. The TiVo receiver does not take the DHCP DNS from the router.


----------



## Thedook (Feb 17, 2013)

Thedook said:


> TiVo series 3 with Netflix and THE FIX THAT WORKED for me was to setup the TiVo with an IP and google DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. The TiVo receiver does not take the DHCP DNS from the router.


Scratch that. It didn't work. Seems the only way to fix is change resolution to only 720 or 1080i and uncheck the rest when watching Netflix. This sucks.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

The Series 3 can't output 1080P24 so it should only go between 720P and 1080i when both those resolutions are checked. While a Premiere will go between 720P and 1080P24. Well except for content that is 1080P25 and 1080P30. In which case the Premiere will output that as 1080i.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

TiVo Series3's Netflix player won't get any 1080p video at all. Only the adaptive bit rate players do (and I know at least one of them which doesn't, Panasonic's DMP-BDTx10s). 720p is the highest the Series3 gets.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> TiVo Series3's Netflix player won't get any 1080p video at all. Only the adaptive bit rate players do (and I know at least one of them which doesn't, Panasonic's DMP-BDTx10s). 720p is the highest the Series3 gets.


SO with the S3 you never get 1080i output from a stream even when 720P and 1080i are checked? 
My GF has had my last two S3 boxes the last few years. And with her 1.25Mb/s DSL connection, it only fast enough to get the SD encodes so I was unable to actually check.


----------



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> SO with the S3 you never get 1080i output from a stream even when 720P and 1080i are checked?


The S3 gets a completely different set of encodes, VC-1 with WMA stereo sound, I think--lots of older devices never had their players updated to use the newer H.264 with separated sound, so they have to keep generating that. They don't generate 1080p encodes for that set.


----------

