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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?
 
#30 ·
The Netflix app that's loaded on the TiVo comes from Netflix, whenever you see a change in the UI, the way content is displayed for example, that means that Netflix has loaded a new app on the TiVo, it's not coming from TiVo itself. These apps are often specific to the platform, the app that's on the TiVo will likely not work on a PS3 or Roku for example.

That said, I tend to think this is a problem created by TiVo as well, it seems lately that every time there's a new software update they break something that was working before. It's the same story with the audio dropout issue, it was fine, and then it wasn't. With Netflix, it was working fine for years, and now it doesn't, extremely annoying. It's annoyed me to the point that I purchased a used Sony BD player just to use the Netflix app on it as it will output 1080p/24Hz, a playback format that's not possible on my Oppo 103D, Roku 3, Fire Tv Stick or Chromecast.
 
#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.
 
#76 ·
I have the same problem with my Roamio. In the last month the quality of the picture from Netflix is horrible. Does nice for a while and then back down to a crap stream. Netflix works fine on my Roku and Apple TV. Both are hardwired as is the TiVo. This has been a change in quality as before it was near perfect, all the time.
 
#98 ·
I know this is an old thread but I may have some new information. I was actually referred to this thread by someone from Netflix as I was trying to figure out why Netflix titles that should have been in 1080p were in fact playing at 480 in spite of a very fast connection.

If you want to skip my long winded explanation, scroll down ;)

First of all, Netflix checked my settings and network and said everything was fine. They said that they were "sending me" a 1080 file, the Tivo player was written by Tivo, not Netflix, and that this was therefore a Tivo issue.

So I called Tivo. Well, that is an hour I'll never get back :( Basically, during the conversation, Tivo said:

1. Netflix wrote the player.
2. This was NOT a known issue.
3. This is a Netflix issue.
4. Tivo would escalate the issue to see if anyone else reported it.
5. There WAS an issue in February but it was resolved.
4. Tivo was willing to replace my Bolt in an attempt to fix what they admitted looked like a software issue. Huh????

After I hung up with Tivo I noticed that one or two Netflix titles played back at 720 but most played at 480. The resolution never changed once playback started and the playback resolution was consistent per title. So I called Netflix again.

Netflix checked my account settings. AGAIN. I have two profiles.... the playback quality on the one I was using for these tests (and the one they checked on the first call) was set to "highest" and the other was set to "medium". In the conversation, the Netflix person suggested setting both profiles to AUTO and implied that setting anything other than AUTO might cause playback to get stuck at whatever resolution it started at initially and not actually ramp up to "highest".

The bottom line:
I set the playback quality on both Netflix account profiles to AUTO and now playback on all titles eventually ramps up to 1080. This WAS a Netflix issue.

This probably does not address issues of variable playback quality, but it does seem to be a possible cause for lower than expected quality that never changes once playback begins.

Paul
 
#15 ·
Well I went ahead and cancelled Netflix about a week ago, even if it's Tivo's issue. I need Tivo for all the other OTA programs I record, plus Prime and YouTube. None of those are affected. I can live without Netflix awhile until it's remedied. Funny enough, as I have a couple of weeks left on the membership, I watched a complete movie after I cancelled and it played fine. :rolleyes::mad: But that was short-lived, as it again got worse with subsequent programs.
 
#26 ·
I have exact same problem, Netflix streaming fluctuates from 7.12-0.12Mbps. Awful ... even my 18 month old pointed at the picture and said "Broken" :)

I contacted Tivo support 3 times and sadly i have to say: they are worthless. They cant even listen to what the problem is. Suggestions were: from connecting to the Tivo Service (several times), to removing/re-adding NetFlix App and of course restarting Tivo & my router. I tried to explain that my Amazon Streaming and You tube work just fine, that i un-plugged the network cable from Tivo and plugged it into AppleTV and my laptop. It works just fine & picture quality is awesome and clear.
That means something is wrong with Netflix App on the Tivo.

Who is responsible for Netflix App on Tivo? Netflix or Tivo?
 
#27 ·
Netflix, but that's not to say that all the responsibility lies with them to fix it. Something TiVo may have done might have "broken" how the app communicates with the TiVo's Ethernet interface, or it might even be how the TiVo caches the data on the HDD while streaming.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that TiVo is the guilty party here and not Netflix. And from a practical standpoint, given that the number of Netflix subscribers who also access the service via a TiVo device is going to be extremely small I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Netflix to fix the problem if they are in fact at fault.
 
#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.
 
#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.).
 
#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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#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.
 
#77 ·
Glad I found this thread cause have same problem with my Roamio Pro. On Netflix thru Roamio go from HD to SD and back again very annoying. Switched to Netflix on my OLED TV and bingo no more SD.. Now my wife is totally confused and I have to explain all these hoops she has to do to watch her favorites on Netflix
 
#90 ·
I have been watching this thread for a fix to the problem. I haven't seen the drop in quality for a while either, and it seemed to be quite frequent before. Running a Roamio Basic on OTA.
 
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#96 ·
Sorry to hear this is still a problem. This worked for me. I described it (in far too many words) in post # 40 of this thread a few months back. The fix was: stop fighting it. Just accept the fact that the TiVo's Netflix app isn't going to cut it. Add an inexpensive Roku player to your home theater. Done.

I still use tivo's Netflix app to add titles to my wishlist when the GUI suggests something I may like, and I really value that, but beyond that I prefer using a stable streamer for viewing. Now my Netflix time is spent enjoying content, rather than struggling with erratic picture quality.
 
#2 ·
It might be more a case of Netflix playing around with their encoding system than any sort of connection issue. I was watching Watch Bordertown Online | Netflix over the past two weeks and was getting what appeared to be two different encode profiles. I would get one that ran at 7.15 Mbps but several times during the episode it would drop all the way down to less than 1 Mbps and slowly ramp back up to 7.15. Other episodes would start at 4.22 Mbps and run the complete length without issue. A couple times when getting a 7.15 encode I would back all the way out from the Netflix app and then go back in and occasionally I would get a 4.22 encode instead of the problematic 7.15 but that only worked once or twice.

Now, that's the only content I've watched on Netflix over the last 2 weeks so it's an extremely small sample size, but that's my guess at what you might be seeing.
 
#3 ·
I'm seeing the same problem for the past 2-3 weeks. My Internet connection is 200Mbps, but the Netflix speed test shows only 25Mbps. Streaming from Netflix has been stuttering for several weeks. For some reason, if I exit the Nextflix app and start playout again, the stuttering usually clears up.

Up until this time, I've found Netflix to be very responsive and reliable on TiVo, while the Amazon app has always been much slower to respond.
 
#4 ·
I'm having the same issue with my Tivo Roamio Pro. I can watch Netflix shows in 1080p but every few minutes it drops to 240p and then slowly builds up to 1080p. This started in the last few weeks. In the past I had no problem watching shows in 1080p.

I am using a 1Gbps wired Ethernet connection connected to a ~225mbit internet connection. My internet connection is mostly idle so I'm wondering if this is an issue with the Netflix app.
 
#5 ·
Same here. This started about a month ago when I got the slightly "updated" Netflix UI on my Roamio.

Another (lesser priority) bug is that it now takes much more time to ramp to 1080p. It used to ramp to that resolution within a few seconds of starting a show; now it takes about a minute and a half.
 
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