Youtube Buffering at Peak Times

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Youtube Buffering at Peak Times

Bluntj

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#315101 13-Jun-2024 14:53

I do enjoy Youtube viewing and it is well worth the monthly charge to watch add free. A lot of content is now 4k which is great although not essential.

For a while now I find that during peak hours in the evening I cannot watch in 4k due to bad buffering and need to switch it down.

My connection is ethernet and its 300/100 fibre.

Would this be considered an issue to log or am I being fussy? I understood Youtube was cached in NZ, so 4k should easily be streamable 24/7?

cheers

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#3248442 13-Jun-2024 14:57

Very fussy. Youtube is perfect on Spark.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

richms

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#3248466 13-Jun-2024 15:38

Not sure this is on 2 degrees, as I am on voyager and youtube is sucking for me too.

I am seeing lots of problems on my xbox when I watch youtube. Often going down to potato quality - when I set it back to 4k it will play for a bit then the video lags behind the audio, and when I pause it the video keeps going as the data slowly comes in, till it has caught up. See the stats for nerds showing impossibly low bitrates instead of the usual 200-300 megabit that comes up in there. I have used the feedback thing and chosen buffering a few times but I don't know if it does anything or if I have to use the QR that it shows to actually log a problem.

Sometimes if I back totally out to the subscription list and then play again, it will play fine.

Other times if I revert to 1440 or 1080 it will play OK rather than the dropping back to 480 or worse that it wants to do automatically.

Richard rich.ms

gehenna

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#3248521 13-Jun-2024 16:01

Need more information. Are you using a PC or Mac? Desktop or laptop? TV app or set top box app? Tablet or phone?

Depending on that info, then things like "try a different browser" might show improvements, but there is not enough info yet to make targeted suggestions.

Bluntj

556 posts

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#3248533 13-Jun-2024 16:48

gehenna:

Need more information. Are you using a PC or Mac? Desktop or laptop? TV app or set top box app? Tablet or phone?

Depending on that info, then things like "try a different browser" might show improvements, but there is not enough info yet to make targeted suggestions.

Using nvidea shield as set top box which is plugged into router via ethernet.

Senecio

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#3248540 13-Jun-2024 17:44

Sorry, another question.

Which model of Nvidia Shield? The 2019 tube version was very underpowered but if its the 2019 pro version or the earlier 2015/2017 modle then we can rule out that hardware.

gehenna

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#3248554 13-Jun-2024 19:41

I assume you have another device you could test at the same time the TV is struggling? Eg YouTube on a smartphone or computer. I'd be testing the same content on a variety of devices, over wifi and Ethernet, and potentially mobile data could be another good measure to compare against.

Bluntj

556 posts

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#3248560 13-Jun-2024 20:21

Senecio:

Sorry, another question.

Which model of Nvidia Shield? The 2019 tube version was very underpowered but if its the 2019 pro version or the earlier 2015/2017 modle then we can rule out that hardware.

Shield Pro

and just testing it on the PC now and getting annoying buffering on 4k at 8.30pm. (ethernet to modem)

Its all good during the day, just buffering peak hours in the evening.

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gehenna

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#3248688 14-Jun-2024 07:06

Reset your router and try again later. If it's the same let your ISP know.

Rikkitic

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#3248716 14-Jun-2024 10:40

Don't know if this is related, but I have also been having buffering and other issues over the past month or so, mainly when streaming SBS and other Australian content and especially in the evening hours around 9 pm and after. This never used to happen. I don't have access to fibre and my Internet connection is by a WISP that is usually fixed at 30 Mbps down.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

gehenna

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#3249208 14-Jun-2024 20:27

Is "peak" even a thing anymore? I haven't had a real world experience of peak congestion since my copper days in the mid-2010s. Even WFH ramp-up early into COVID-19 lockdowns was fine on my fibre. If there's an issue with buffering at certain times, I'd be surprised if it's a peak traffic or congestion issue. Probably more like a routing issue to the CDN or beyond. But I have no basis for that assertion.

saf

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#3249214 14-Jun-2024 20:32

gehenna:

Is "peak" even a thing anymore? I haven't had a real world experience of peak congestion since my copper days in the mid-2010s. Even WFH ramp-up early into COVID-19 lockdowns was fine on my fibre. If there's an issue with buffering at certain times, I'd be surprised if it's a peak traffic or congestion issue. Probably more like a routing issue to the CDN or beyond. But I have no basis for that assertion.

Peak is definitely still a thing from an ISP network point of view. Especially when certain game updates get released!

My views are as unique as a unicorn riding a unicycle. They do not reflect the opinions of my employer, my cat, or the sentient coffee machine in the break room.

MaxineN

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#3249216 14-Jun-2024 20:34

saf:

gehenna:

Is "peak" even a thing anymore? I haven't had a real world experience of peak congestion since my copper days in the mid-2010s. Even WFH ramp-up early into COVID-19 lockdowns was fine on my fibre. If there's an issue with buffering at certain times, I'd be surprised if it's a peak traffic or congestion issue. Probably more like a routing issue to the CDN or beyond. But I have no basis for that assertion.

Peak is definitely still a thing from an ISP network point of view. Especially when certain game updates get released!

Or when CDN partners dump their routes on another route that wasn't meant to handle it (Mickey Mouse and Equinix).

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

gehenna

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#3249220 14-Jun-2024 20:49

MaxineN:

Or when CDN partners dump their routes on another route that wasn't meant to handle it (Mickey Mouse and Equinix).

I can understand that kind of root cause, for sure, less so the customer influenced causes.. but just because I don't experience them doesn't mean they don't happen.

saf:

Especially when certain game updates get released!

That's not happening every evening though, which is the issue at hand here (acknowledging I did ask a general question about peak, I should have been clearer about it being in the context of Op's issue. I was more relating the question to the after-school / after-work peaks we used to get in the 90s and 00s)

nzkc

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#3249221 14-Jun-2024 20:49

2degrees customer (in Auckland). Regularly watch YouTube (my kids do especially). Never get buffering. Yes Im on 900/500 but 300/100 should be fine - I dont think the plan is the problem here. I watch over Wifi but have ensured I have set up my wifi well. Only difference _might be_ that i'm on a static IP. But I doubt it.

Bluntj

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#3249228 14-Jun-2024 21:25

nzkc:

2degrees customer (in Auckland). Regularly watch YouTube (my kids do especially). Never get buffering. Yes Im on 900/500 but 300/100 should be fine - I dont think the plan is the problem here. I watch over Wifi but have ensured I have set up my wifi well. Only difference _might be_ that i'm on a static IP. But I doubt it.

I could have some kind of local congestion in my part of the Country. Will call 2 Degrees next week if I can get through.

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