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View Full Version : Netflix Stays on "Retrieving..." Screen


datavortex
12-13-2008, 02:15 PM
I am using the Netflix streaming functionality for the first time today. I am trying to find out if someone else has had this problem.

My setup:
Series 3 Tivo running 11.0-01-2-648, updated 12/12/08.
12MB/1MB Cable connection (currently speed testing at 8M/900K)
Gigabit ethernet throughout my home, good switch/router with no QoS
Verified no bandwidth-hogging applications from other systems or users

My experience:
Setup my Netflix account on my Tivo
Added some movies to my netflix instant queue for testing
Tried playing 3 different movies, all with the same result: Movie starts as if it is going to play (goes into letterbox display, resets resolution, shows gray screen), but then the Tivo just continues to display the gray background while switching back and forth from the "Retrieving..." dialog box with the quality rating (quality bars are all full except the last one, without fail) and the bar showing the progress of the program (but the progress is not correct, for example it shows it is 1:15 into the current program, but it has only been trying to retrieve it for maybe 10 minutes).

What I have tried so far:
Played different movies - same result.
Played the movies that failed to work on my PC using the same internet connection - it worked, great quality, no delays.
Rebooted the Tivo - same result.
Called Tivo tech support - transferred me to Netflix, not helpful.

EDITED TO ADD: Tivo support transferred me to netflix support, who verified that they saw my requests on the video servers, and from their end it looks like the video stream is working. The number of minutes they think I watched the video is equal to the number of minutes I allowed the Tivo to attempt to play it. They suggested that Tivo has a software bug preventing the video from playing properly. This sounds plausible to me.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

datavortex
12-14-2008, 02:02 AM
More research has shown that the problem is also affecting YouTube video. This is the only other streaming service I have available besides NetFlix, but implies to me that all foreground streaming video services were broken in the 11.0 software. The background downloaded videos that show up in the now playing list do play properly, even if they are not fully downloaded.

I have made a video showing the symptoms I am having:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKpJiJAjxc

datavortex
12-18-2008, 03:16 PM
Today I talked to a helpful guy at Tivo tech support who watched my video and opened a bug for the engineers. Hopefully this problem will get some attention.

JeffKusnitz
12-19-2008, 09:52 AM
Today I talked to a helpful guy at Tivo tech support who watched my video and opened a bug for the engineers. Hopefully this problem will get some attention.

Thanks for the video. I noticed that when you tried to watch a Youtube video that it's progress bar indicated that some of the video had started to download; I assume it never played?

Was that a Harmony One remote? How do you like it?