If its possible within the box I'm happy to do some diagnostics if it helps find the cause of the problem as just about every programme we watch buffers or stops at some point - and I have a fibre connection so its not bandwidth..
I suspect there are a lot more people that are affected by this issue but either don't user iPlayer, or they just don't complain about it. I certainly find the problem frustrating, but don't use iPlayer any more than the other 'on demand' players such as ITV player and 4OD (which both work fine by the way). Certainly, the original reason for me purchasing a BT Vision box was because it allowed me to record programs to watch at another time.. I sort of wish I hadn't upgraded to the YouView box because whilst that particular functionality hasn't changed, it's introduced other problems (iPlayer!) which worked fine before...
Im in agreement with Peter , i think if youview asked they may find the issue is more widespread but most people are either not aware of these forums and/or twitter or don't bother to complain possibly assuming its a broadband issue.
I agree that many users probably either haven't complained, putting it down to a slow connection, as I did till I got fast broadband, or they don't use BBCi for whatever reason.
How can YouView be sure it's a limited problem unless they email all YouView users and ask? I've been frustrated with it for months, ever since it was installed. Many, like me, might just be blaming their connection or their distance from the local telephone exchange.
I would be willing to bet that every YouView user has this problem but a lot don't realise because they don't use iPlayer enough to notice. When I "upgraded" to YouView from BT Vision, I kept the Vision box and moved it upstairs - and it is connected to the hub by PLA. Despite bandwidth loss through PLA, I don't get buffering through Vision box playing iPlayer but I do through YouView which is cable connected directly to the hub. It's so obviously an iPlayer/YouView (and when I say YouView, I say it from the perspective of a user who only knows that a box is branded YouView - I appreciate that technically it could be a hardware problem rather than a software problem and so not YouView but Humax/Huawei) problem I just do not believe that this is not being replicated across a majority of tests. Perhaps all people posting here just got a dud batch of boxes? Seems unlikely since you have users here posting who have theirs through BT (like me), some through TalkTalk, others direct buyers etc. This continues to be a ridiculous situation - one of the major selling points of a market leading set-top box is that it can stream multi-channel/provider content. This box can't do it for iPlayer without falling over, and you could argue that the iPlayer content is some of the richest available amongst all the content providers whom have players ported to the YouView system. So it badly fails the market leading measure when compared to other boxes. The company with it's name on the box, YouView, should be working much harder and taking the lead with it's partners, whether hardware manufacturers, software or content providers, to fix this problem.
Judging by the amount of noise in this conversation thread, the issue must be damaging the reputation of YouView - in today's competitive market, if it was my company brand, I'd be pulling out all the stops to get the issue resolved. I find it astounding that nobody appears to be doing so this in this case.. !!
I must admit the phrase from the YouView rep that this is a problem most people don't have has bothered me from the beginning. Is it only me? Is it only my street? Is it only my are BT connection box? Is it my exchange? None of those seem likely. 'Most' people probably just put up with it, don't know there is a forum where they could tell the world they have the same problem, phone BT who forget they called, There is nothing funny about my setup, nothing marginal in terms of bandwidth - the fact that it works fine on other devices proves that. Same seems to be true for most people reporting the problem here. So if it happens to us it probably can, and probably is, affecting other people too. Just they aren't telling YouView - they are telling their neighbours, their colleagues at work.....
The youview humax box has as many problems now as it did a year ago,just different ones,i gave up complaining months ago to BT and will just put up with them till my contract is up,as Peter says, would i recommend youview to friends,family,not a chance,sorry.
This afternoon I dug out my Roku box, resubscribed to Netflix and watched a movie. It was very pleasing to sit there without expecting it to buffer or crash. And as expected it worked perfectly.
Then I remembered it also has BBC iPlayer - big sigh of relief - I no longer need to be driven mad by iPlayer on my YouView box.
I have the BBC iPlayer buffering problem on 35mb+ fibre broadband. The only reason I'm not kicking up a fuss is that I have iPlayer built into my Panasonic TV and Xbox360 which both work fine. I would probably use the iPlayer on my TV regardless of YouView buffering problems in any case as it's quicker to navigate and I can't stand the clicky buttons on the YouView remote but that's another story...
I can't stand the clicky buttons on the YouView remote
That central button drives me insane. I want to buy a different Humax but they've all got that clicky big barely-responsive button. It's making me wonder, do I really want to lumber myself with that again? :-(
Sorry, off-topic for the thread, just a little rant.
I am using YouView supplied by BT, and also get buffering issues on iPlayer, however not on any other on-demand applications. The annoying thing about the buffering on iPlayer is that is usually crashes, you then have to load the whole program again, and then it forgets your position.
Sometimes, just as it says buffering, and before it crashes, I have managed to click the 30 second back button and it has recovered, however this is not often.
I notice it usually happens around 20 minutes into a program, however sometimes it crashes a lot earlier, such as a couple minutes into playing a program on cbeebies.
I am not on fiber, however I get a good ADSL speed of around 17Mb at all times, and I do not get buffering issues with any other iPlayer device. It would be OK if it buffered then resumed, the whole crashing thing for me is annoying.
Hi guys, apologies to those still experiencing this issue, the BBC’s technical team are currently investigating. This is being tracked and they are looking into incidents where this issue has appeared to find out more.
When we have more information and have identified if there is a cause for this we will keep you updated.
Phil, could this be a similar modem settings problem that people have with Virginmedia's original Superhub? Just a suggestion
No - my testing using VMs Superhub (both in router and modem only mode) and BTs VDSL modem and Draytek router elimated this. You have a whole range of ISPs and eqmt here all suffering with the same problem and only with this one app.
Logic dictates therefore that it is the app at fault.
Getting the same issue, bbc iplayer are running fine on my Mac and Playstation no buffering at all. Many programmes seem unwatchable on YouView Iplayer. Very disappointing as I sold the concept of one box does all to my wife and now we are swapping more than ever!
Can I just point out that I would never question any of you, *ever*.
The YouView iPlayer problems are specific to the YouView iPlayer. I was only pointing out that the iPlayer on some other platforms also has problems as well. Which are also unique to those platforms. As each platform hosting the app needs its own unique software coding.
So it's the Redbee iPlayer team that are at fault here, not all the platform's that host it.
So I was not pointing fingers at anyone. And nor would I either.
I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
Phil, could this be a similar modem settings problem that people have with Virginmedia's original Superhub? Just a suggestion
Christine, those are different apps, internally, even though they are all BBC iPlayer apps. The thinking is there's a bug in the YouView version that isn't in the versions for other platforms, which is why it only happens on YouView, and why it happens no matter how fast you broadband is.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Phil, could this be a similar modem settings problem that people have with Virginmedia's original Superhub? Just a suggestion
Piers says in the pink sticky at the top of this page that there's no YouView software involved and the solution must either lie with Humax and Huawei, or with BBCi's method of buffering software.
If the latter, it doesn't explain why other platforms have no trouble. If the former then it does make me wonder what the role of YouView is in all this? They are apparently not responsible for the software in the set top box, nor for the BBC's software. We are in the position of complaining to the man who is posting the ads at the bus stop because our bus has not turned up.
Christine Stibbards Piers says in the pink sticky at the top of this page that there's no YouView software involved and the solution must either lie with Humax and Huawei, or with BBCi's method of buffering software.
If the latter, it doesn't explain why other platforms have no trouble. If the former then it does make me wonder what the role of YouView is in all this? They are apparently not responsible for the software in the set top box, nor for the BBC's software. We are in the position of complaining to the man who is posting the ads at the bus stop because our bus has not turned up.
YouView [or A.N. any other platform] is merely a platform for the hosting of TV channels and internet applications. The reliability of the content of such is the sole responsibility of the providers themselves and not the platforms that host/show the content.
Sorry to tell you that, but it's true.
I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
He says 'YouView managed software'. There's a difference.
Actually, you are in the position of complaining to the central depot that your bus has not arrived, when it has a sealed engine which is not quite like any other bus engine used in this fleet or any other fleet and which keeps conking out en route to you.
You are complaining to exactly the right person, who is taking responsibility and is both willing and able to deal with the issue on your behalf, but the remedy must come from the engine supplier, as there is nothing wrong with the central depot functions of route planning, driver scheduling, bus provisioning, etc.
And even now, the central depot is in active negotiation with the engine supplier as to what might be wrong, and how they propose to fix it.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Another disappointed customer. Bought my YouView box yesterday entirely for the purpose of watching iplayer on my tv. Same symptoms as those described by others, despite a 9Mb connection which streams iplayer perfectly on my android smartphhone, MacBook and PC.
Argh. I hope this doesnt affect all Humax boxes as I have just bought one and iPlayer is an important reason why I did. Oh dear. Might be regreting the purchase even before I plug the box in!
Surely this can't be affecting all boxes else there would be a much bigger outcry than the posts here?
Comments
If its possible within the box I'm happy to do some diagnostics if it helps find the cause of the problem as just about every programme we watch buffers or stops at some point - and I have a fibre connection so its not bandwidth..
As you say - its incredibly frustrating.
Robin
It's buffering because it thinks it's run out of data.
But it hasn't really, and that is the essence of the bug here - what is making it think that, when it's not the case?
How can YouView be sure it's a limited problem unless they email all YouView users and ask? I've been frustrated with it for months, ever since it was installed. Many, like me, might just be blaming their connection or their distance from the local telephone exchange.
This continues to be a ridiculous situation - one of the major selling points of a market leading set-top box is that it can stream multi-channel/provider content. This box can't do it for iPlayer without falling over, and you could argue that the iPlayer content is some of the richest available amongst all the content providers whom have players ported to the YouView system. So it badly fails the market leading measure when compared to other boxes. The company with it's name on the box, YouView, should be working much harder and taking the lead with it's partners, whether hardware manufacturers, software or content providers, to fix this problem.
It was very pleasing to sit there without expecting it to buffer or crash.
And as expected it worked perfectly.
Then I remembered it also has BBC iPlayer - big sigh of relief - I no longer need to be driven mad by iPlayer on my YouView box.
Sorry, off-topic for the thread, just a little rant.
Sometimes, just as it says buffering, and before it crashes, I have managed to click the 30 second back button and it has recovered, however this is not often.
I notice it usually happens around 20 minutes into a program, however sometimes it crashes a lot earlier, such as a couple minutes into playing a program on cbeebies.
I am not on fiber, however I get a good ADSL speed of around 17Mb at all times, and I do not get buffering issues with any other iPlayer device. It would be OK if it buffered then resumed, the whole crashing thing for me is annoying.
When we have more information and have identified if there is a cause for this we will keep you updated.
Phil
Logic dictates therefore that it is the app at fault.
Can I just point out that I would never question any of you, *ever*.
The YouView iPlayer problems are specific to the YouView iPlayer. I was only pointing out that the iPlayer on some other platforms also has problems as well. Which are also unique to those platforms. As each platform hosting the app needs its own unique software coding.
So it's the Redbee iPlayer team that are at fault here, not all the platform's that host it.
So I was not pointing fingers at anyone. And nor would I either.
If the latter, it doesn't explain why other platforms have no trouble. If the former then it does make me wonder what the role of YouView is in all this? They are apparently not responsible for the software in the set top box, nor for the BBC's software. We are in the position of complaining to the man who is posting the ads at the bus stop because our bus has not turned up.
Sorry to tell you that, but it's true.
He says 'YouView managed software'. There's a difference.
Actually, you are in the position of complaining to the central depot that your bus has not arrived, when it has a sealed engine which is not quite like any other bus engine used in this fleet or any other fleet and which keeps conking out en route to you.
You are complaining to exactly the right person, who is taking responsibility and is both willing and able to deal with the issue on your behalf, but the remedy must come from the engine supplier, as there is nothing wrong with the central depot functions of route planning, driver scheduling, bus provisioning, etc.
And even now, the central depot is in active negotiation with the engine supplier as to what might be wrong, and how they propose to fix it.
Surely this can't be affecting all boxes else there would be a much bigger outcry than the posts here?
Just download to the planner already....... Buffering issues, gone.