BBC Iplayer buffering and dropping out a lot?

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  • edited 8 January 2015, 4:53PM
    (Welcome Phil!)
    I tried iPlayer again this afternoon and once again it was unuseable (I tried several different programmes).
    I'm with TalkTalk and my download speed is 14Mbps. (Checked today.)
    I then tried streaming a movie from Now TV and this was fine.
    It would be good to establish whether these problems stem from the BBC or from my ISP. My guess is that it's a problem with the BBC .
  • BoDBoD Member Posts: 69
    edited 14 June 2013, 6:37PM
    Phil8 said:

    Hi guys,

    If you are encountering issues with programme playback on the iplayer app you could try restarting the YouView box to see if this stops the problem. Sometimes it can be caused by Traffic management, although this is not the case with every ISP so you may want to check with them to confirm.

    If the issue persists you can also contact YouView viewer support which can be found at http://www.youview.com/support/kb/use.... Alternatively the BBC iplayer help page can be found here iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help.

    Thanks,

    Phil

    Phil,
    you need to read through my posts. The YouView boxes implementation of the iPlayer does not work and it's been proven by myself in this thread and by others.
  • Peter Thompson1Peter Thompson1 Member Posts: 15
    edited 15 June 2013, 7:48AM
    Ok, just to add to this, I have the same problem - specifically with iPlayer on the YouView box. I somehow wish I'd not upgraded my BT Vision box to YouView, as that worked flawlessly!

    For reference, my Infinity connection gives me 63Mbps download, and 14MBps upload.
  • edited 8 January 2015, 4:53PM
    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.
  • BoDBoD Member Posts: 69
    edited 15 June 2013, 8:51AM
    gwatuk said:

    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.

    You need to be a bit more analytical than that.
  • edited 8 January 2015, 4:53PM
    gwatuk said:

    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.

    OK... several times I've had problems trying to use iPlayer on YouView, and then tried to access the same content with a Roku box which displayed the same symptoms. Also checked connection speed (14Mbps) each time. Seems convincing to me. What other analysis would you like?
  • BoDBoD Member Posts: 69
    edited 15 June 2013, 5:51PM
    gwatuk said:

    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.

    Ability to test a using a different ISP? Does it work on a PClaptop?
  • Peter Thompson1Peter Thompson1 Member Posts: 15
    edited 15 June 2013, 6:01PM
    gwatuk said:

    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.

    It works fine on a PC or laptop (both wired or wireless). It also worked fine on a BT vision box. I'm afraid I've no option to try another ISP.
  • John WebbJohn Webb Member Posts: 83
    edited 15 June 2013, 6:11PM
    I dont have other PVRs with Iplayer but it seems to me to be the Youview implementation that it is at fault. I have a Samknows white box that monitors the broadband performance and that is consistenly about 9Mbs and there are no dropouts etc recorded. Iplayer works OK on the PCs and tablets. It is only Iplayer on Youview that hangs.
  • gomezgomez Member Posts: 2,073 ✭✭
    edited 15 June 2013, 6:16PM
    gwatuk said:

    I'm not convinced that the current iPlayer problems are YouView related. I also have a Roku box and iPlayer on that has been showing the same failures.

    I had faultless iPlayer playback of the last Springwatch on my Foxsat HDR yesterday. This is in contrast to the earlier in the week when iPlayer on the Youview box hung and needed restarting a couple of times to get through a one hour programme.
  • sam1sam1 Member Posts: 1,182 ✭✭
    edited 25 September 2013, 10:47AM
    I also have had several failures recently.

    No more, because I've stopped using the YouView iplayer until the problem is diagnosed and fixed, be it YouView, BBC, or both
  • John WebbJohn Webb Member Posts: 83
    edited 15 June 2013, 11:32PM
    sam1 said:

    I also have had several failures recently.

    No more, because I've stopped using the YouView iplayer until the problem is diagnosed and fixed, be it YouView, BBC, or both

    It seems the only solution as the problem has existed from the beginning and neither party is prepared to take ownership. I dont understand how a consumer device such as still has this problem.
  • Peter Thompson1Peter Thompson1 Member Posts: 15
    edited 16 June 2013, 11:33AM
    Ok - spoke to BT this morning, and they've suggested I 'reset' the YouView box (i.e. select the reset option under 'device management' from the menu screen). Apparently this has cured the problem for some. I'll try that later on, but my gut feel is that it won't solve the problem (and I'll lose all my recordings to boot!).

    I'll let you know whether this makes a difference.
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,796 ✭✭✭
    edited 6 March 2017, 10:48PM
    That might be a less than optimum suggestion. Look up 'YouView Maintenance Mode' with Google for a range of resetting options that are quite comprehensive but stop short of trashing all your recordings, a move of rather dubious value.
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • John WebbJohn Webb Member Posts: 83
    edited 16 June 2013, 2:40PM
    Roy1 said:

    That might be a less than optimum suggestion. Look up 'YouView Maintenance Mode' with Google for a range of resetting options that are quite comprehensive but stop short of trashing all your recordings, a move of rather dubious value.

    And probably wont work! I have been through all the reset modes, had a new box for other reasons and guess what; Iplayer still hangs.
  • Lbear1Lbear1 Member Posts: 741
    edited 16 June 2013, 7:46PM
    Roy1 said:

    That might be a less than optimum suggestion. Look up 'YouView Maintenance Mode' with Google for a range of resetting options that are quite comprehensive but stop short of trashing all your recordings, a move of rather dubious value.

    Rather than doing a factory reset, try a hard reboot by turning the box off (when not scheduled to record), turn off the mains switch at the back, wait 30 seconds and turn back on both the rear mains switch and the front ring.
  • david1david1 Member Posts: 76 ✭✭
    edited 25 July 2013, 8:19PM
    Well I now have this problem. Can't user iPlayer at all on my YV Retail box. It just buffers all the time. I noticed the Guide didn't have any info for programmes that had passed so I turned it off and unplugged from the wall. After turning back on the Guide then worked properly. The buffering however did not stop so switched it from HD to SD and it worked for about 5 minutes before constantly buffering again - unusable!

    The only things that have changed recently are the June Update and changing broadband from 4.5mb/s O2 to 30mbps Virgin Media. iPlayer still works fine on my PC so it is clearly not a problem with Virgin Media and my broadband speed checker shows I am getting the full 30mb/s.

    Come on YV fix this problem.
  • John WebbJohn Webb Member Posts: 83
    edited 19 July 2013, 9:10AM
    Please can Youview staff tell us when this problem will be resolved? Has anyone even accepted ownership of the problem. it has been with us for a year now.
  • Lbear1Lbear1 Member Posts: 741
    edited 18 July 2013, 11:53PM
    david1 said:

    Well I now have this problem. Can't user iPlayer at all on my YV Retail box. It just buffers all the time. I noticed the Guide didn't have any info for programmes that had passed so I turned it off and unplugged from the wall. After turning back on the Guide then worked properly. The buffering however did not stop so switched it from HD to SD and it worked for about 5 minutes before constantly buffering again - unusable!

    The only things that have changed recently are the June Update and changing broadband from 4.5mb/s O2 to 30mbps Virgin Media. iPlayer still works fine on my PC so it is clearly not a problem with Virgin Media and my broadband speed checker shows I am getting the full 30mb/s.

    Come on YV fix this problem.

    I presume you have a Mk1 Virginmedia Superhub and are using a direct ethernet cable connection to it. If so, that is your problem, not YouView.

    The mark one Superhub is notorious for this problem for some reason. I initially go round it by using a wifi connection (a wifi router in "bridge" mode) and that solved most of the problems unless there were problems with the wifi connection. If you do this, download one of the free apps that allow you to check wifi signals using your phone. In my flat I pick up about 12 other wifi networks in the building and there are two clusters where up to four share the same wifi channel. That slows down their wifi.

    I eventually had a row with Virginmedia about how much more they were charging me and making the point that the reason I first asked them about when this was to be double speeded was that I needed a Superhub 2 because of the problems I was having with their original model. They sent me a Shub 2 for self install and that seems to have cured the problem.
  • Peter Thompson1Peter Thompson1 Member Posts: 15
    edited 19 July 2013, 8:50AM
    Needless to say, the reset didn't work :-(
  • PiersPiers Member Posts: 561 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited 9 March 2017, 4:15PM
    Hi all. We're looking into it but this is one of these problems that most people are not affected by and it's not possible to reproduce it at YouView HQ. That said, we know it's frustrating and we'll do our best to get to the bottom of it. Here's what we know now:

    1) We can't reproduce on the ISP lines we have here in the office. (mainly TalkTalk & BT).
    2) From the reports on the forum and elsewhere, it doesn't seem to be limited to a single ISP, and both BT, TalkTalk and Virgin have been mentioned. In at least one case, the ISP supplied router seems to be to blame (Virgin SuperHub)
    3) It's not obviously associated with being on the "wrong" ISP tarrif.
    4) Those affected don't seem to have the same problem with PC/web iPlayer.
    5) BBC iPlayer on YouView uses a different method of video playback from the other YouView apps and this could explain why it doesn't behave the same way.
    6) There's no YouView managed software involved, so any fixes will need to come from the BBC or from Humax and Huawei. We'll co-ordinate with their tech teams as needed.

    We'll try to to build up a pattern of what's going on, so any specific reports would be useful, including:

    date, time, programme you were trying to watch, when the buffering occurred (start, middle or end etc.), SD or HD, ISP, connection type (ADSL/Fibre), download and upload speed. router make and model, type of YouView box (Humax/BT or TalkTalk)

    thanks.
  • John WebbJohn Webb Member Posts: 83
    edited 19 July 2013, 10:13PM
    I will log more details in future but:
    1) As you say, the problem is unique to Youview, same means of connection on a PC or Tablet has no problem.
    2) We are TalkTalk with a HG533 ADSL router with a speed up of about 9MBps down and 0.83 up as reported by my SamKnows box..
    3) We watch HD
    4) The buffering is generally about the middle. Recently the box locked at the end of a program.
    5) The youview box is recent model Humax as it is a replacement for the trial box I had. I will experiment with the TalkTalk box I also have.

    Please let me know what else you would like me to do.
  • J CarringtonJ Carrington Member Posts: 5
    edited 20 July 2013, 10:54AM
    Date: 20/07/13
    Time: 10:15
    Programme you were trying to watch: BBC Click
    When the buffering occurred: Middle (approx 12 mins into programme)
    SD or HD: SD
    ISP: BT
    Connection type: Fibre
    Download and upload speed: 74/17
    Router make and model: ASUS N66
    Type of YouView box: Humax (Retail)
  • Robin1Robin1 Member Posts: 7
    edited 13 September 2013, 10:10AM
    Date: 20/07/2013
    Time 21:30-22:30
    Programme The Apprentice HD
    When occurred - many many times throughout the programme it buffered and stopped and had to b re-started.
    ISP: BT
    Connection Type Fibre (Infinitiy 2)
    Download/upoad speed : approx. 70/15
    Router Make/model - BT Hub 3 + Infinity Modem.
    Youview box: BT/Humax.
  • Peter Thompson1Peter Thompson1 Member Posts: 15
    edited 22 July 2013, 8:12AM
    Date: 21/07/2013
    Time: 9:45-11:00am
    Programme Top Gear
    When occurred - twice during playback for 5/6 seconds or so,
    ISP: BT
    Connection type: fibre Infinity
    Download/upload speed: approx. 74/16
    Router make/model - Draytak Vigor 2760n VDSL modem
    Youview box: BT/Humax
  • BoDBoD Member Posts: 69
    edited 25 July 2013, 8:13PM
    Virgin Media 60Mb & BT Infinity 40Mb.

    Draytek 2920 - dual WAN so I can switch ISP at a click of button.

    Box is a retail Humax.

    Rebooting YV box helped. Memory leak or poorly written code.
  • BoDBoD Member Posts: 69
    edited 25 July 2013, 8:19PM
    david1 said:

    Well I now have this problem. Can't user iPlayer at all on my YV Retail box. It just buffers all the time. I noticed the Guide didn't have any info for programmes that had passed so I turned it off and unplugged from the wall. After turning back on the Guide then worked properly. The buffering however did not stop so switched it from HD to SD and it worked for about 5 minutes before constantly buffering again - unusable!

    The only things that have changed recently are the June Update and changing broadband from 4.5mb/s O2 to 30mbps Virgin Media. iPlayer still works fine on my PC so it is clearly not a problem with Virgin Media and my broadband speed checker shows I am getting the full 30mb/s.

    Come on YV fix this problem.

    @Peter Wells. It's not notorious at all. Whilst I hate the Superhub (and I have one but run it in modem only mode), this is not the problem. I have tried it in modem only and router and it makes no difference. It maybe that your router had it's own particular issue. But the same buffering issue exists using VM Superblub (modem or router mode) & BT infinitys modem.
  • Iain RhindIain Rhind Member Posts: 1
    edited 25 July 2013, 11:29PM
    Date: 25/07/13
    Time: 9.30pm
    Programme: Top Gear
    When occurred: about 30 seconds into the programme
    ISP: Virgin
    Speed: 20mb download 1mb up
    Router: TP-Link, wired connection
    Youview box: retail

    This happens every time I try to use the iPlayer in Youview, most often about half way through, and the buffering never recovers (long wait and error message). No problems with Sony Bravia Internet TV.
  • PiersPiers Member Posts: 561 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited 23 February 2017, 2:13PM
    Thanks for the results everyone. Please keep them coming. It's almost impossible to say with certainty where the problem lies but our first area of suspicion is the BBC iPlayer buffering software as it's unique to BBC iPlayer on YouView. We'll contact the iPlayer tech team for comments.
  • Peter DayPeter Day Member Posts: 14
    edited 28 July 2013, 7:55PM
    Date 28/07/13
    Time 18:30
    Prog: Count Arthur Strong Episode 1
    ISP BT Infinity
    Speed: speedtest.net says better than 50 Mbps
    Router: BT Home hub, connected to TV through devolo dLan 200. devolo utility reports connection to TV is 157 Mbps.
    YouView box is from BT.

    We cannot watch anything from iPlayer without buffering and the programme stopping, geberally once in a 30 minute programme and twice in 60 minutes. Our TV has Freesat and connects to iPlayer directly and we don't have this problem there.
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