Comcast question

[l2ridehd]

I have a smart TV and have been watching shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime for 6 years with no issues. In the last two weeks it is only working about half the time. It will try to download a show and hang up with a message "Insufficient Bandwidth" It will sometimes hang up so bad that I can't even exit or power down the TV.

Is anyone else having these problems?
Is this a Comcast or Netflix/Amazon problem?
Comcast just announced giga bit speed is now available. Have they slowed down existing customers in order to sell this new service?

[Mleeja]

Comcast has an app to check your internet speed. Have you tried this to find your download speed?

[thetruth]

I have a smart TV and have been watching shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime for 6 years with no issues. In the last two weeks it is only working about half the time. It will try to download a show and hang up with a message "Insufficient Bandwidth" It will sometimes hang up so bad that I can't even exit or power down the TV.

Is anyone else having these problems?
Is this a Comcast or Netflix/Amazon problem?
Comcast just announced giga bit speed is now available. Have they slowed down existing customers in order to sell this new service?

Having declared my anti-comcast prejudice, we had the same problem. I believe the issue is too many customers slowing down you available data. In our case our neighbor changed to spectrum and our problem resolved itself,

If, I am correct see if all works well at odd times. Comcast can check your signal and perhaps boost it remotely.

Whose on first whose on second-I DO NOT KNOW. The only reason comcast is still in business is because Spectrum is just as bad. I've discovered from my experience that Comcast uses contractors to do their repair work-they are usually not comcast employees,
I discovered from comcast contractors that the wiring THAT IS BURIED. BLACK IN COLOR, is not supposed to be buried. The wire designed to be buried is BROWN IN COLOR.

SUGGESTION-call comcast, no pour yourself a cup of coffee, then call comcast, you will have time to drink several cups before you get through their ANNOYING COMPUTER. As for a HUMAN and the computer will start all over again. Far as I know their computer will not be fooled by any of the usual tricks-pound oooo or mumbling.

NOT FOOLING-comcast has hired a new manager out of their Pennsylvania office. HE STARTS APRIL FIRST-NOT A JOKE-APRIL FOOLS DAY.

[photo1902]

I have a smart TV and have been watching shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime for 6 years with no issues. In the last two weeks it is only working about half the time. It will try to download a show and hang up with a message "Insufficient Bandwidth" It will sometimes hang up so bad that I can't even exit or power down the TV.

Is anyone else having these problems?
Is this a Comcast or Netflix/Amazon problem?
Comcast just announced giga bit speed is now available. Have they slowed down existing customers in order to sell this new service?

We have Comcast and have not experienced the issue you described. Request a service call, and have the tech check the line coming into your house. We had them out last year to install a new jack in another room. Before even knocking on the door, the tech check the signal, and noticed it was lacking. Bottom line, at no cost to us, he worked tirelessly installing a new supply line from the box on the corner of our lot. The new line is a larger diameter, and because of the distance to our house, it didn't lose its strength. We could not be happier with Comcast.

[villagetinker]

OP, check to see if you exceeded your "allowed" download limit, if so Comcast may be throttling your speed. You can get the amount of data you downloaded by signing into your account. Also, as stated above, you can check you connection speed, I like Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test (http://www.speedtest.net) for this test, use a hardwired connection to your computer for an accurate test, THEN do the test again using your WIRELESS connection ( I am assuming the TV is wireless). The wireless will be lower than the hardwired. If it is significantly below 30 meg try rebooting your modem and see if that fixes the problem. If not, go online with comcast, choose CHAT, and tery to have them fix remotely.
Hope this helps.

[UpNorth]

Haven't had a problem yet, but on occasion, an "insufficient bandwith" message sometimes appears at the top of my YouTube TV streaming program. No issues yet, but I suspect that a lot of my neighbors are draining the signal at that moment.

[tejas]

I also have Comcast and have had similar problems with Netflix for the past two weeks after 7:30pm. Although the last two night were okay. The Netflix show will run for a few minutes and then an error message appears saying, Unable to access program, select a different program or try again later. I can click on OKAY or MORE DETAILS. More details allows me to check the internet speed which is usually at 20mps (?). Netflix help desk said the speed needs to be at a consistent 25mps or the connection will drop. I can move to the bedroom and have no problems with Netflix but then it is also next to the router.

No problems with Amazon so far.

[biker1]

I am not sure why someone at Netflix would tell you that you need a consistent 25 megabits per second bandwidth because that is just not true. Netflix is adaptive - it will adjust the resolution it sends based on the realized bandwidth. 1080p Hi-Def requires about 5 megabits per second of bandwidth. In the event you have the required hardware (TV and streaming hardware) and you were trying to view some 4K material you would require about 20 megabits per second but, again, Netflix will adjust the resolution based on the realized bandwidth. If you are using Wi-Fi and the results are better close to the router then you may have a Wi-Fi issue.

I also have Comcast and have had similar problems with Netflix for the past two weeks after 7:30pm. Although the last two night were okay. The Netflix show will run for a few minutes and then an error message appears saying, Unable to access program, select a different program or try again later. I can click on OKAY or MORE DETAILS. More details allows me to check the internet speed which is usually at 20mps (?). Netflix help desk said the speed needs to be at a consistent 25mps or the connection will drop. I can move to the bedroom and have no problems with Netflix but then it is also next to the router.

No problems with Amazon so far.

[l2ridehd]

Thanks for the suggestions. The TV in question is actually hard wired to the receiver via a fiber optic cable and the receiver is hard wired via an HDMI gold cable so I would guess that is not the issue. I will give Comcast a call soon as I have an idle couple hours to deal with them via phone.

I did run the speed test and I think it is lower then in the past. I did write down the results someplace from about two years ago and need to find that to compare.

It just seems strange that for 6 years I have never seen that message and now for two weeks see it most every time I try to use NetFlix or Amazon. I actually see it more with Amazon then NetFlix.

[photo1902]

Thanks for the suggestions. The TV in question is actually hard wired to the receiver via a fiber optic cable and the receiver is hard wired via an HDMI gold cable so I would guess that is not the issue. I will give Comcast a call soon as I have an idle couple hours to deal with them via phone.

I did run the speed test and I think it is lower then in the past. I did write down the results someplace from about two years ago and need to find that to compare.

It just seems strange that for 6 years I have never seen that message and now for two weeks see it most every time I try to use NetFlix or Amazon. I actually see it more with Amazon then NetFlix.

As a side note, you could run a Speed Test 20 times a day, and get different results each time. It depends on the server the test is pinging. In addition, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections now days aren't a whole lot different than one another like a few years ago. Point is, you should able to watch Netflix and Amazon just fine from your TV, either using wifi or ethernet.

[retiredguy123]

If you have Comcast and a smart TV, there are 2 ways to use Netflix. Comcast has a Netflix app on their system, accessed with the Xfinity button on your remote. If you use the Comcast app, you are not using your wifi to view the Netflix content. You don't even need to have a router. You are receiving the Netflix content directly through the Comcast cable. But, if you use the smart TV hub, then you are using your wifi signal to receive the Netflix content. This also applies to Youtube, but not to Amazon Video. There is no Comcast app for Amazon Video.

[OpusX1]

The 25 meg for Netflix is required if you want to view in 4K. I think hd only requires 4-5 meg.

[EdFNJ]

Comcrap is The Devil. That being said I had no other option than to make a deal with The Devil when we moved in here because no other available provider (only other was C.L.) in my area could provide more then 25megs. I bought 75megs from The Devil, got a free upgrade to 100megs a few months ago and consistently get 100-120megs from The Devil and haven't had a problem since I moved in. <KNOCK WOOD, KNOCK PLASTIC and knock any other material I can knock>. It even held up during IRMA. Do I ever miss Verizon Fios from up in NJ.

The problem with dealing with The Devil is that he is wonderful until you need him ESPECIALLY FOR BILLING ISSUES. He will then make you burn in Hell.

[EdFNJ]

The 25 meg for Netflix is required if you want to view in 4K. I think hd only requires 4-5 meg.

True, but it auto adjusts res downward depending on available bandwidth,

[retiredguy123]

If you use the Comcast app for Netflix, you are not using your home wifi signal, so your internet speed is irrelevant. In fact, you don't even need to have any internet service to watch Netflix on the Comcast Netflix app. So, are you saying that the Comcast Netflix app does not provide enough bandwidth to play or download a movie? Also, I understand that you need to get a special 4K cable box from Comcast to access 4K content. I have the new box, but have not watched anything in 4K yet.

[OpusX1]

I don't use any of the Comcast apps. I use my TV apps, I also don't use wifi to watch Netflix or Prime, direct wired connect to Tv. Most of the Netflix and Amazon produced movies and series are broadcast in 4K.

[Nucky]

Comcrap is The Devil. That being said I had no other option than to make a deal with The Devil when we moved in here because no other available provider (only other was C.L.) in my area could provide more then 25megs. I bought 75megs from The Devil, got a free upgrade to 100megs a few months ago and consistently get 100-120megs from The Devil and haven't had a problem since I moved in. <KNOCK WOOD, KNOCK PLASTIC and knock any other material I can knock>. It even held up during IRMA. Do I ever miss Verizon Fios from up in NJ.

The problem with dealing with The Devil is that he is wonderful until you need him ESPECIALLY FOR BILLING ISSUES. He will then make you burn in Hell.

You know you reminded me that in beautiful Avenel N.J. the friendly Comcast office where you can pay your bill, pick up new equipment or hand in equipment when your contract was over had beautiful 3" to 4" plexiglass to keep all the satisfied customers from shaking :1rotfl: the hand :1rotfl: of the very polite and professional clerks. :blahblahblah: They are deceptive worms. The things they said and didn't do for many fine people is repulsive.

We had a Comcrap lady canvassing our Villages neighborhood about 6 months ago with all sorts of promises including buying people out of any contract they were trapped in and from $200 to $400 in Visa gift cards. Many got caught up in the hoopla. It really hasn't worked out well for 3 out of the 4 that changed. Not me never again.

I remember you had to for some reason. You will be able to escape soon to Spectrum, that's my guess.

[JimC55]

While I don't want to get caught up in the customer service discussion, I can tell you Comcast monitors signal quality to their modems. As a professional engineer, I can tell you most issues Comcast and other providers experience is poor wiring in the home. Splitters, loose connectors, mis-wired RJ45 connectors, Wi-Fi sharing the same channel as the neighbor's house all cause poor performance. You can check your cable modem/TV status at XFINITY Status Center - Check for Service Outages In Your Area (https://www.xfinity.com/support/status/). FYI, Comcast does not throttle your modem speed. You only need 5Mbps for quality Netflix movies at Mpeg 4 on a large screen TV.

[tophcfa]

I don't know if this is the answer, but could this be the beginning of what we can expect as a result of the elimination of net-neutrality regulations?

[biker1]

See post #8.

The 25 meg for Netflix is required if you want to view in 4K. I think hd only requires 4-5 meg.

[OpusX1]

From Netflix


Robert
Help Center Can I stream Netflix in Ultra HD?
Can I stream Netflix in Ultra HD?

Ultra HD streaming is available on Netflix!

What do I need to stream Ultra HD?

A TV compatible with Ultra HD streaming from Netflix. See below for more details.

A plan that supports streaming in Ultra HD. You can check which plan you're currently on or upgrade your plan at netflix.com/ChangePlan.

A steady internet connection speed of 25 megabits per second or higher. See below for more details.

Streaming quality set to High or Auto. More information about video quality settings can be found in our Playback Settings article.

Which TVs support Ultra HD streaming with Netflix?
Do other devices support Ultra HD streaming with Netflix?
Can I watch Netflix in Ultra HD on my computer?
How fast does my internet need to be to stream in Ultra HD?
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[Radioman41]

If your system is not secure, somebody could be using your wifi and eating up your bandwith.