Streaming can be unwatchable

[ShaunIOW]

I moved form Plusnet to Vodaphone in November, my speed with Plusnet was 51Mbps down, with Vodaphone I get 41Mbps down (althogh the router reports 45Mbps down and a max of 55Mbps), and when I try streaming football on an evening or weekend it's nearly unwatchable at times with almost constant buffering (something I didn't get with Plusnet).  Does Vodaphone throttle speeds at certain times?

[ShaunIOW]

Cheers for the reply.

I live alone so there is no-one else using my broadband.

The only devices connected/using it all the time are a couple of IP cameras, Amazon Echo devices and a Hive hub for lights.  When I watch streaming then there is normally nothing else in use and the streaming is mainly HD not 4K butI ge tthe buffering sometimes when watching sport in SD as well.  What makes me think it's a Vodaphone issue is the fact I was getting 51Mbps down with Plusnet and no buffering even when downloading something as well at the same time, using Skype or Zoom and having an online PC game running, whereas with Vodaphone I can't do any of that.

Good idea about resetting the router during the night, I'll try that.

[gipjon]

how did it go , did you get any closer to working out the issue 

[ShaunIOW]

Nope, it still buffers badly during live sport, the only way it's watchable is if I choose an SD stream. Strangely TV shows and films even in 4k all play perfectly, although that may be because I don' t tend to stream films or TV shows till after 10.30pm, where as sport tends to be prime time evening during the week and Saturday/Sunday afternoons and evenings.  I've done a speed test while it's buffering and am gettiing 32-36Mbit down still.

[gipjon]

sounds like you got plenty of bandwidth maybe it's the route the internet takes to the streaming site . have you tried running through one of the free VPN. The reason I ask is that the VPN will take a different route to the streaming site.  proton VPN is free to download and use, and to say it's free I can stream ok using it. 

https://protonvpn.com/free-vpn

have you reboot the router yet and did it improve your sync speed 

[Anonymous]

Just a quickie - the reason for pre-recorded 4K content streaming okay, is that when there is the time higher compression ratios - hence less data to stream - can be created in comparison to the on the fly compression use for live/near-live streams.

[johnpa]

Video streaming problems may occur due to several factors including Internet speed and the type of media player you're using. If you're experiencing video streaming problems in your system, there are a few checks you need to consider before troubleshooting, including:

• Your Internet connection, whether it is wired or wireless
• The browser you use to stream videos
• The kind of video file you are trying to play
• The quality of video you’re trying to play – high or low
• The website you’re streaming the video from

If your Internet network connectivity is constantly fluctuating, then you may have video streaming problems such as slow and inconstant buffering.

[ShaunIOW]

A quick update:

Nothing seems to have improved with the service and when i contacted Vodaphone, they just said according to their records i'm getting the minimum line speed so aren't interested.  What I have noticed though is that since they started pushing the new Pro service with sim backup and I 've been geting regular offers to 'upgrade' , my connection has had more drops/disconnects and downtime this year than in my previous 15 years with other ISP's (Sky, BT and Plusnet), coincidence?