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Netflix poor quality

12K views 98 replies 38 participants last post by  302481 
#1 ·
Has anybody seen poor/inconsistent picture quality on Netflix Tivo app in the past several weeks? My Roamio ethernet is hard wired to a 10Gbps switch, and ISP speed is 65Mbps. Other devices on the same switch see full port speed and full internet speed. However, Netflix quality is extremely variable. Starts out ok, then drops very low every few minutes, then back to good quality. Used to be good for hours at a time in months prior.

If I watch the same exact program on a Fire TV stick over wifi, quality is constantly the highest, no issues at all, in spite of slower connection.

I'm thinking something weird is going on with the app, not the network connection, since I can have several Minis streaming from it simultaneously with no issues.

So can anybody watch Netflix on Tivo, say 30 minutes, with no quality drops?
 
#34 ·
Also having a better experience the last few days. Watched the latest season of House of Cards and a few other things. Slow start at 480p but within a minute it was up to 1080p where it remained for the entirety of each episode.
 
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#35 ·
I haven't experienced the random quality drops in the last 6 week or so.

I still have a slow ramp to 1080p when I start shows from the beginning. I've been watching Bloodline recently, and I noticed if I immediately fast forward to about 1:10 (end of opening credits), as soon as I hit play it's giving me 1080p without a ramp.
 
#37 ·
Just to add to the discussion... I haven't used my TiVo for Netflix in a long time due to this issue. I always use my AppleTV.

Really defeats the OnePass feature that adds Netflix shows.

Also, my ATV never needs to "ramp up" as the TiVo dID to watch a show in 1080p. It always starts in HD.

I do use it for Amazin Prime. Never any issues with picture quality.
 
#39 ·
REally thankful I found this thread. I was beginning to think I was the only one even though I have eliminated all other possibilities in terms of what it could be. Gone the phone "support" route. Took my ethernet hub out of the equation. Swapped out HDMI cables. Nope, nope, nope, nope. Did a direct connection from modem to Tivo. Took my surround sound receiver out of the equation. I also have an Nvidia Shield. For those that don't know it is an Android streaming box. It has no issues at all streaming Netflix. Same content coming from the Tivo, with exactly the same wire route does the intermittent drop in quality and back again routine. So frustrating! For those that don't know, if you hit the info button on your remote while watching Netflix you will see the numbers everyone is talking about here. My last contact with Tivo was Sunday the 20th.(day before yesterday) I engaged in lengthy chat conversations with Tivo during which time they tried all of the measures that have already been mentioned in this thread(insert rolling eyes here). Scripted stuff to be sure. The end result was advice that a three way call would be required between Tivo, Netflix and myself but... that could not be done via chat(2nd rolling eyes here). And so I called Tivo. I advised the chat conversation number and asked that he review it. I told him that the end result of that chat was the suggestion we engage in a three way call to resolve the issue. After much prodding that he read that chat and then after answering a battery of questions that had he even glanced at that chat would have been answered,(whew) he made the call to Netflix. Surprise, Netflix is apparently closed on Sunday! Or so he advised(Another rolling eyes). In any case I wanted to add my voice here. I am another thoroughly disgusted Tivo subscriber! Tivo, please make that three way call to Netflix! Please? We are your bread and butter. Either that or get rid of Netflix as an offering! It should work right or not work at all. It would also be nice if you made public that this is an issue. This so your customer base can stop troubleshooting looking for issues in their setups that are not there!
 
#40 · (Edited)
Hey guys, I am hearing all this, it hits home with me personally, and I'm going to share my solution, which cost a little cash but I'm now ecstatic.

I was starting to get subjectively dissatisfied with the video quality of the Netflix app in the TiVo Roamio (even on a good day)... especially after I watched home theater at my friends' homes where streaming looked marginally better. (My Roamio's Netflix app was good, but not as good... I felt.)

Since I already have a stable 40/20 internet connection, 1 GB home network on Cat6, and an extra port available in my home theater, I was ready to add an additional streaming appliance. I chose the Roku Ultra 4K, even though my TV is only 1080p, believing the stream appliance was the weak link and I wanted to throw a better output to the TV, at a reasonable cost.

Results: absolutely a transformative experience. (Three months, so far.) Absolutely blows the Roamio player out of the water (even when Roamio has an optimal streaming day.) I've run demos for my guests where I compare Roku's Netflix stream to a Blu-ray of the same film: and my guests are hard-pressed to tell the difference. It's that good. Out of pocket this cost me a little over 100 but I'm thrilled and I'm happy.

I still use the Roamio Netflix player since it makes suggestions for me in the Roamio interface, which I'll add to Netflix and Amazon favorites. But for sitting down and viewing, the Roku is now clearly my streaming player of choice.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Great idea. Since Tivo appears to have no interest in ever fixing this, many of us have resorted to alternate streaming devices. I use the $29 Roku Express which also works flawlessly. Adding a universal remote for another $10 or so makes switching between Tivo and Netflix on Roku effortless (1 button press). That's fewer button presses than using Tivo's Netflix app. Plus the universal can control all your devices (Tivo, Roku, AVR, TV, etc.).
 
#42 ·
Yep, I've been using a used(Ebay) Sony BDP-S6700 for my Netflix viewing and have been perfectly happy with the experience. It also works well as a DNLA viewing device though I prefer my Oppo 103D for watching LAN-sourced content.

TiVo has responded to my support ticket with the usual nonsense which I, of course, responded with, no, none of that helps, and they sent another email saying I should call their support number. Frankly, I just don't have the energy to go through those hoops since it's very likely to be just more of the same.
 
#43 ·
I would think the Netflix app on the Tivo is probably the most used of the apps. It's not like it's one of those that few people bother with like VUDU, HSN, or Yahoo. So it's bothersome that it's still an issue after almost 3 months for a popular app.
 
#44 ·
Bought the Fire to get Amazon before Tivo added the Amazon app. Once they did, it became easier to use their apps for Amazon and Netflix. Tivo seems to have no interest in keeping these apps running properly so, in the last week, I have gone back to the Fire. Rock steady with both Amazon and Netflix. So sad to see what Tivo has become.
 
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#45 ·
I have a Bolt, and a Sony XBR-49X800D TV, with Android.

Since getting the TV, we stopped using the HTPC for watching stuff, and switched to using the TV's apps for Netflix, Amazon, etc.

Got the Bolt, and have started using it more for Netflix, since frankly, its remote is easier to use (and much better laid-out) than the Sony TV remote.

I haven't noticed Netflix quality problems. But our connection is only 3Mbps DSL, so we're at the low-end of streaming quality anyhow.

But I have been using Amazon's streaming recently, and noticed that I get a lower-resolution result when using the Bolt's Amazon app, vs the TV's Amazon app. Using the Bolt for Amazon, even by the end of an hour-long show, when I pause, the "HD" indicator is still greyed out. But using the TV's Amazon app, after a few minutes, it will show "HD" when I pause. And later, it will show "HD 1080" when I pause. So I'm now using the TV's Amazon app, and dealing with the clunky remote (or using my Harmony, which is unfortunately a bit hit-or-miss with this TV).

Both the TV and Bolt are on the same switch, using wired Ethernet.
 
#49 ·
Grrrr... I picked up a free month of Netflix (come back program) and while it happened occasionally on some shows, on Sense8 it seems to happen all the time. Looks like I've got to use my Roku, like I need to do for HBO Go (that's a lack of Comcast/TiVo agreement issue though.) I much prefer everything going through my TiVo.
 
#52 ·
Perhaps there is a newer thread on this...

Came here to see if others are having problem with Netflix on TiVo. I recently upgraded to Bolt+ and have been experiencing issues similar to those reported here (or worse). What I don't see mentioned though is that there seems to be a Netflix traffic component to all this. I can stream Netflix on TiVo during off-peak times in HD no problem. During peak times it ranges from crappy to "unavailable".
 
#55 ·
My provider is Cox with a high tier "premium" internet connection. So in the evening (high Netflix traffic time) using the Netflix app on TiVo I get crappy, slow or "unavailable" content. When I run the "check your network" tool in TiVos Netflix app it will typically result in connection to, say, one or maybe two of three Netflix servers and, say, a 4.x or 5.x Mbps connection speed when I'm experiencing poor quality and connection wait times and as little as no connection to any server at all and 0 Mbps when content is "unavailable".

In real time if I break out my iPad and go to fast.com which measures my ISPs download speeds through Netfix servers I typically get 20+ Mbps. And when I use the Netflix app on the iPad and cast to Chromecast all is well.

During the day (low Netflix traffic times) Tivos Netflix app works fine with typically 20+ Mbps connection speeds using the same tool.

So if Cox is throttling Netflix during high traffic times would I not experience this on my iPad as well? Barring this the only other variable I can figure is that Netflix traffic during evening hours is somehow impacting the TiVo app.
 
#57 ·
Same results with cabled and WiFi. Also Chromecast is WiFi.

I can't make any sense of this either. Another poster wondered if Netflix is throttling the TiVo app during peak times but why would they single out TiVo for such treatment? Especially given their support for net neutrality.
 
#58 ·
I suppose it could the same problem, I just haven't seen anyone post that they couldn't even access the streams, it's always been about the stream dropping in bitrate and then slowly building up again to just later doing it again, never not being able to even access it.
 
#59 ·
So I think I'm down to one of three possibilities -

1. Cox recognizes the TiVo Netflix app and is throttling the connection to Netflix servers during peak times. It doesn't do this with fast.com (which was set up by Netflix to catch ISPs doing exactly this so customers like me can complain) and it doesn't throttle Netflix traffic on my iPad or Chromecast.

2. Neflix recognizes the TiVo app and throttles the connection during peak times.

3. There is some bug-a-boo with Tivo hardware/software under these specific conditions.
 
#60 ·
I am done trying to fix this.

I am hard wired

I have changed the DNS ... I don't even know what this does but I used googles... still no fix

Reboot ... no fix

Unplugged..... no fix

I am hooked up via component to my Pioneer Kuro never had an issue before

50+Mbps internet and that's via wifi... 100mbps service and the TiVo is hard wired.


All 3 minis on the same network have the HD with no problems at all... it is only the Roamio... the main feeder of the whole MoCa network....

This has to be a TiVo issue they did something. When I am on Netflix and looking at movie options on the Roamio... the HD symbol is no where to be seen...

Xfinity in Seattle here
 
#64 ·
I've been using my Blu-ray player to watch Netflix. Every once in awhile, I'll see how it looks on Tivo. After seeing nothing has gotten better, I'll roll my eyes and wonder just who the heck is running things at Tivo. This has been going on since at least March. It can't be that hard to remedy.
 
#69 ·
I've now located my issue , question is how do I make TiVo aware of it?

Apparently an update made it that when the TiVo is hooked up HDMI it is what drives the Netflix app to offer HD as an option.
I am in a situation that I had to switch over to component (shows hd via cable) because of HDCP issue with my Pioneer Kuro. This HDCP issue appeared out of the blue .... the TiVo and TV worked just fine in the past but this solved my issue.


Previously Netflix showed in HD via component so an update must have caused that to go away. Anyone know who I can contact? Anyone else run into this?

Note : I can pull the component and hook up via hdmi. Netflix works no cable... but the HD option is there.
When I go back to component which I need for TV ... Netflix works no HD.

Every time same thing rinse and repeat.
 
#70 ·
But I already have a streaming capable Blu-ray player. It would be silly to buy something else when I have what I need.
I was talking to the previous poster who apparently doesn't have a BD player. I have lots of streaming BD players too, but I get a heck of a lot more content on Roku and a great quality Netflix stream. Far better than Tivo.

Regarding 24p, I can't see any difference between that and 60p, so it's not a concern at all to me. Roku is fine.

@sync22, the point of this thread is that consistent HD Netflix on Tivo is currently impossible. Even if you get component working again, it's not going to make any difference. I wish you luck contacting them and getting them to fix it.
 
#71 ·
I've now located my issue , question is how do I make TiVo aware of it?

Apparently an update made it that when the TiVo is hooked up HDMI it is what drives the Netflix app to offer HD as an option.
I am in a situation that I had to switch over to component (shows hd via cable) because of HDCP issue with my Pioneer Kuro. This HDCP issue appeared out of the blue .... the TiVo and TV worked just fine in the past but this solved my issue.

Previously Netflix showed in HD via component so an update must have caused that to go away. Anyone know who I can contact? Anyone else run into this?

Note : I can pull the component and hook up via hdmi. Netflix works no cable... but the HD option is there.
When I go back to component which I need for TV ... Netflix works no HD.

Every time same thing rinse and repeat.
Hmm I think that I'm seeing the same thing with component (which we use as our older Onkyo receiver does not have HDMI). I've been watching older Anime lately that's not in HD so had not really noticed it.

Scott
 
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