20mbit package cant stream BBC HD ?

Efour · 07-10-2010, 17:17

I Try streaming BBC HD channel on iplayer and after about 10 minutes it stops and tells me that not enough bandwidth (3.5mbits) is available and it advises me to download the show instead.

How can this be possible ? A speed tester shows 15mbit down 0.7mbit up.

Milambar · 07-10-2010, 18:38

To be exact, a speed tester shows that you have 15mbit down and 0.7mbit up, to that speed tester. It does not mean that there aren't any congestion issues or bottlenecks between you and the BBC servers.

blade85 · 07-10-2010, 23:37

something isnt right as I am on the 10Mb connection and I can stream it just fine.

adzii_nufc · 08-10-2010, 03:59

stuff like this happens from time to time, I get a 5 minute window where I cant stream youtube in HD on 50mbit but then it will be fine again a few minutes later.

If its a persistent problem let us know

Chrysalis · 08-10-2010, 09:05

also a speedtester is only testing for a short period of time, streaming requires your conenction to be working well enough during the time of the show.

either a transit issue to bbc servers or you got some congestion.

15mbit to speedtest.net which uses multiple streams is not a good result. So there was congestion when you did the speedtest.

pabscars · 08-10-2010, 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efour

I Try streaming BBC HD channel on iplayer and after about 10 minutes it stops and tells me that not enough bandwidth (3.5mbits) is available and it advises me to download the show instead.

How can this be possible ? A speed tester shows 15mbit down 0.7mbit up.

Is it possible you could be hitting vms STM,

---------- Post added at 09:11 ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 ----------

Virgin's Traffic Management

Efour · 08-10-2010, 10:00

So there is nothing I can do? upto 20 mbit means ? not 3.5mbit when you really need it ?

So im paying more for something that wont work between 5pm and 10pm peak hours for a residential area?

RobboEdin · 08-10-2010, 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efour

So there is nothing I can do? upto 20 mbit means ? not 3.5mbit when you really need it ?

So im paying more for something that wont work between 5pm and 10pm peak hours for a residential area?

This is fairly typical for all ISPs, not just Virgin Media.

pabscars · 08-10-2010, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efour

So there is nothing I can do? upto 20 mbit means ? not 3.5mbit when you really need it ?

So im paying more for something that wont work between 5pm and 10pm peak hours for a residential area?

A very good analogy recently conveyed to me was that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The problem might not be with your broadband connection, just one of the links along the way.

Have you tried doing a traceroute to where your streaming from, just a thought.

Also I asked earlier "Could" you be triggering VM's traffic management? as only you will know how much you have downloaded and at what time.

I recently experienced a similar issue whilst downloading a HD 9gig movie via xbox live, which should only require a broadband speed of 10Mbps.

Needless to say it kept buffering and I,m on a reasonably healthy 50Mbps connection, so my point is there was obviously some congestion along the route at that time.

Efour · 08-10-2010, 10:55

Hello sorry I was venting some anger!

No i couldn't have triggered the traffic management it was the first usage of the day.

ill check a few things, trace a few routes.

I upgraded from 10mbit as it was doing the same, tbh its more or less identical i cant tell the difference. I guess its just too busy or like you say there is a weak link somewhere.

It was liek this 2 years ago, i thought they might have updated by now...

pabscars · 08-10-2010, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efour

Hello sorry I was venting some anger!

No i couldn't have triggered the traffic management it was the first usage of the day.

ill check a few things, trace a few routes.

I upgraded from 10mbit as it was doing the same, tbh its more or less identical i cant tell the difference. I guess its just too busy or like you say there is a weak link somewhere.

It was liek this 2 years ago, i thought they might have updated by now...

Just for kicks, can you post your modem downstream/upstream power levels including SNR, are you getting any T3/T4 timeouts etc, anything to indicate the problem might be at your end.

Are you wired/wireless, what have you tried/replaced so far etc, the more info the better.

I,m not a tecky but there are plenty on here that are so we may be able to eliminate a few things.

Dont worry about having a rant we all do it, including myself at times

,

Efour · 09-10-2010, 12:53

Cable Modem Upstream Upstream Lock : Locked Upstream Channel ID : 2 Upstream Frequency : 29200000 Hz Upstream Modulation : QAM16 Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec Upstream transmit Power Level : 48.5 dBmV Upstream Mini-Slot Size :

Cable Modem Downstream Downstream Lock : Locked Downstream Channel Id : 2 Downstream Frequency : 586750000 Hz Downstream Modulation : QAM64 Downstream Symbol Rate : 6952 Ksym/sec Downstream Interleave Depth : taps12Increment17 Downstream Receive Power Level : 0.9 dBmV Downstream SNR : 38.3 dB

Fri Oct 08 11:15:10 2010 Fri Oct 08 11:15:10 2010 Critical (3) Resetting the cable modem due to docsDevResetNow Thu Oct 07 15:34:27 2010 Thu Oct 07 15:34:27 2010 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Un... Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out Thu Oct 07 15:16:20 2010 Thu Oct 07 15:16:20 2010 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response. Time Not Established Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out Thu Oct 07 15:15:47 2010 Thu Oct 07 15:15:47 2010 Critical (3) Resetting the cable modem due to docsDevResetNow

ITs a Black ambit VM modem connected to a Linksys Wireless router.
The main PC is wired to the router, 2 laptops are wireless connected. It is rare that more than 2 are on at the same time and connected.

I looked on the log and saw those T3s on there... no idea what that means can you explain ? thanks

and thanks to anyone that helps.

oh and i have a 3db forward path attenuator on there at the moment, an engineer fitted it previously and i take it off put it on when the signal level falls in or our of the 5db range.. i think thats ok to do that..

pip08456 · 09-10-2010, 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efour

oh and i have a 3db forward path attenuator on there at the moment, an engineer fitted it previously and i take it off put it on when the signal level falls in or our of the 5db range.. i think thats ok to do that..

Are you saying your downstream fluctuates that much? It's OK to remove and replace the FPA but it should not be necessary to do so. IMO that would indicate a connection problem.

Your signal levels look fine ATM I'm just concerned of the 5dBv varience you are reporting which is unusual. A couple of dB due to local conditions (temp etc) is acceptable but I wouldn't expect as much as 5dBv.

Efour · 09-10-2010, 13:42

no sorry i meant over the year - yes in winter i need it and in summer i need it...

its not a daily thing... lol sorry if that wasn't clear.

AdamD · 10-10-2010, 18:50

I had constant issues with youtube and other sites not playing/buffering video properly, but ironically, it wasn't Virgin's fault, it was Kaspersky's internet security suite I had installed.

Removed it and replaced it with MS's security essentials, not had a problem since heh