# Netflix Instant Streaming Buffering Every 5 Minutes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629 "2012-03-13T09:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/1 "2012-03-13T09:10:10Z")
I’m on the trial of this stuff, and am thinking of discontinuing it. At first everything was fine, it would buffer maybe at the beginning of a movie and then not again. Now it’s so frequent I can’t enjoy what I’m watching. Anyone else having a problem? I am watching through XBOXLive. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/2 "2012-03-13T11:39:08Z")
We’ve had Netflix for close to a year now, and we very rarely have buffering issues, and definitely not in the last couple of months. In fact, the only time we seem to have any problems is when a lot of folks along our cable trunk are on line and service in general is slow. Our TV has a dongle, so it talks directly to our wireless router. Maybe the XBOX is your problem? Have you tried watching on your computer to see if you have the same problem? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/3 "2012-03-13T12:30:34Z")
I have _not_, **FCM** , but I will, thanks! Q ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/4 "2012-03-13T12:36:33Z")
It’s also worth checking your bandwidth, try [http://www.speedtest.net/](http://www.speedtest.net/) from your PC. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/5 "2012-03-13T12:50:22Z")
> [@goldmund](#): > > It’s also worth checking your bandwidth, try [http://www.speedtest.net/](http://www.speedtest.net/) from your PC. Yes, do this. Quasi - Didn’t you also recently post about another computer issue you were having that also indicated a low bandwidth problem? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/6 "2012-03-13T13:15:28Z")
**Bob** , Honestly, my friend, I’ve posted about so much lately that I don’t remember! 🙂 The last thing was about not being able to copy and paste an image. **Goldmund** 26.97 (at first) 21.12 (5 minutes later) Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/7 "2012-03-13T13:38:00Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > **Bob** , > > Honestly, my friend, I’ve posted about so much lately that I don’t remember! 🙂 The last thing was about not being able to copy and paste an image. > > **Goldmund** > > 26.97 (at first) > > 21.12 (5 minutes later) > > Thanks > > Q That is plenty fast to stream Netflix with no pauses, assuming it is fairly constant. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/8 "2012-03-13T13:41:19Z")
My Netflix streams quite nicely until the time reaches 8 pm. Once prime time hits, the bandwidth goes down by a huge amount and streaming Netflix is close to worthless. My internet service provider is Cablevision, and part of me thinks that they are just choking the Netflix stream at 8 pm. I’m naturally paranoid though. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/9 "2012-03-13T13:52:58Z")
Okay, **FCM** , et al. I just watched 15 minutes of the Bill Cunningham documentary with nary a buffer on the computer. I’ll put it into the queue and pull it up on the XBOX next. You know, it _could_ be my router. It’s a Netgear which I bought with the XBOX about 5 years ago. I’ll see if it’s updatable.Iif not, I guess I’ll buy a new one. My cable company is Charter, btw. Thanks guys! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/10 "2012-03-13T14:00:26Z")
You might also try another channel on your netgear box. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/11 "2012-03-13T14:05:20Z")
> [@goldmund](#): > > It’s also worth checking your bandwidth, try [http://www.speedtest.net/](http://www.speedtest.net/) from your PC. I did this and have no idea what the numbers mean. How do I know if I’m on par or not? ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/12 "2012-03-13T15:31:55Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > **Bob** , > > Honestly, my friend, I’ve posted about so much lately that I don’t remember! 🙂 The last thing was about not being able to copy and paste an image. > > **Goldmund** > > 26.97 (at first) > > 21.12 (5 minutes later) > > Thanks > > Q I’m assuming these numbers are Mbps and not Kbps. If they’re Kbps then there’s your problem. 🙂 21-26Mbps sounds about right for Comcast though. > [@Shakes](#): > > I did this and have no idea what the numbers mean. How > do I know if I’m on par or not? It depends on a lot of factors. DSL can go anywhere from 768k-15Mbps or so, depending on your provider and your particular plan. Cable nowadays can range from 10Mbps to upwards of 100Mps for DOCSIS3 networks. Similar numbers for Fiber, such as Verizon FIOS. You can click the ‘speed wave’ link on the [speedtest.net](http://speedtest.net) site to compare your results with others, though. You should be able to select your ISP there and compare. ETA: Quasi, is your Xbox on a wireless or wired connection? If it’s on wireless, it’s possible you have poor signal strength where the Xbox is located. There should be somewhere to check signal strength in the Wireless settings on your XBox. Also it’s worth trying a different wireless channel as the poster above said. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/13 "2012-03-13T16:28:07Z")
**Goldmund** , they are Mbps. 🙂 Also we just did an update download on the Netgear router. I’m headed to the track, but will give it a try when I return. The connection IS a wireless, btw. Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/14 "2012-03-13T16:34:09Z")
I run into that with my PS3 sometimes. Restarting it clears up the problem most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/15 "2012-03-13T16:46:47Z")
I’m 99% certain the wireless part is the problem. You don’t happen to use portable phones, do you? If you use one that’s 2.4 GHz, you are going to hurt the wireless reception. Honestly, if at all possible, I think any devices that have a permanent location should have a wired connection. Is it possible to run a wire to the Xbox instead of using a wireless router? ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/16 "2012-03-13T17:02:44Z")
I had trouble streaming Netflix to my PS3 when the router (wireless N) was all of 15 feet away in the next room. Using Cat5e was the only way I could get a reliable connection. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/17 "2012-03-13T17:53:51Z")
Could be a couple of things: Issues with between you/xbox netflix server - it doesn’t use the same one when you hit on the computer, or even on different devices. So you could, IE, get a Roku or other streaming device to fix this. Wireless issues - definitely possible. If you can’t run cat5e try powerline networking - much more steady than wireless in my testing even when the overall speed was no better. Congestion, as mentioned above with the issues at 8pm - other users using netflix & other services nearby can cause your service to degrade. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/18 "2012-03-14T00:36:33Z")
Well, here’s what I did: I went to the Netgear site and downloaded the newest update. Then I went to the XBox and watched 2 movies with no buffering interruptions _this afternoon_. Then, as it got later and later, the bufferings began happening again at about 5-6 minute intervals. XBox Live had been telling me there was something amiss with my NAT settings (whatever that is) and this Netgear Update featured a NAT upgrade, so I haven’t been getting those messages anymore. **BigT** , we do have portable phones, but I’m not sure of the strength, and we just tan about 50 feet ethernet wire under the house to D’s computer, so I don’t know about running more to the XBox. Anywayyyyy… seeing as how I was able to watch movies this afternoon with no buffering, and now it’s going crazy again, leads me to believe the Netflix servers are crowded or Charter’s involved somehow. I did send Netflix some problem reports last night about the starting and stopping of the movies, but they have not yet replied. Thanks, everyone! Q ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/19 "2012-03-14T02:13:27Z")
Recheck the bandwidth when it slows down. Mine went from about 16 Mbps to about 4 or 5 Mbps at the 8 pm hour. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629/20 "2012-03-14T02:34:22Z")
We often have problems streaming Netflix via our XBox, but no problems whatsoever with the Wii. Both are using the same wireless router & cable modem. Sigh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-instant-streaming-buffering-every-5-minutes/615629.md?page=2)