Bravia+Dongle+video on demand

[mikegunnill]

A while ago I posted here after I bought a Bravia and the "matching" dongle. I like watching the video on demand service but at certain times of the days ( ie peak times ), the internet connection seemed to drop causing the video/film to stop and start while buffering was taking place.

I raised this with my internet provider, which is PlusNet in the UK. Someone mentioned that the provider had to allow streaming. I received the following reply and to be frank, I don't know how to answer this question. I would be grateful of some assistance.

I have tried with a cable connection but I get the same buffering results.

with thanks.

*Dear Mr Gunnill,

Thank you for your query.

There is some traffic shaping applied on your current package but not to streaming .You need to identify which port the programme connect on through Sony.

EG Skype voip calling connects through a gaming port so is traffic managed on some packages.

Please do not hesitate to get back in touch online at http://contactus.plus.net or by phone on 0845 140 0200 if we can be of further assistance.

Kind regards,

Matthew Hammond*

[Catmambo]

Strange - what kind of speed are you getting on your connection? Can you run www.speedtestnet.com on your PC and post your results?

Bear in mind BT do throttle iPlayer content at peak times as far as I'm aware ( Plusnet are part of BT) - this might not necessarily affect you, but depends on your package?

Thanks

[mikegunnill]

Thank you for your reply.

I live in the country and a long way from the nearest exchange. I get 2500 most times.  I get the impression I need to tell them I want to stream or watch video on demand. I do not understand what they are asking me.

I have a booster ( Airport Express, Apple Mac ) in the lounge which  is about ten feet from the Sony dongle in the tv. I am getting the best possible signal in the lounge.

I have tried explaining to Plusnet what I want to do, but they don't seem to understand. Wanting to stream video isn't that unusual. I would like this to work, if possible.

I would be grateful for any comments that would help

Many thanks

Mike

[Catmambo]

I think the problem lies in your connection to be honest not necessarily what plusnet are blocking or not. Assuming you are getting 2.5mb which is ok, but if someone else starts browsing the web in your home or you stream HD, then the system will start buffering as your connection cannot cope.

Couple of changes you could consider..

• Get one of these http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-iplate---bt-broadband-accelerator-58LT.html Available from other stores as well. Bang for buck, this is a great value upgrade and indeed has fixed other forums members connection. Easy to fit and if you don't have one fitted and have a compatible socket its well worth doing.
• Maybe consider switching ISP's or getting a faster package if possible? Worth shopping around and getting some advice, but O2 always come out well in the Which? reports. I've used them before and found them to be excellent...

Hope this helps

Thanks

[mikegunnill]

Cat

Thank you for your reply. I will continue my quest!

I have accelerator already, may try switching isp's

Mike

[mikegunnill]

I received the following reply:

*Thank you for getting back to us. The wireless will be connected at 11Mbps which is in excess of your connection speed, so this is not restricting the speed that the TV receives. Since the speed of your connection is most likely sufficient to stream TV, please can you confirm the following:

1. Do you have any other devices connected to the router with a cable or wireless when you're trying to stream TV? If so, are those devices used for internet activities when you are trying to stream TV, or do they use the connection in the background?

2. Your package has certain traffic shaping applied to it. You can see a summary of this on the following page: http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/archive/bb_premier1.shtml
It may be that the Sony TV streming traffic is not being interpreted correctly by our systems. Please try to stream a programme any time between 2am and 12pm, then try again between 6pm and 10pm. As you can see from the link above, these are times when the traffic is restricted.

A final factor that could be affecting your speed is how much usage you used so far this billing period (see under "Product Design" on the page linked to above). However, you have used less than 6GB so far this billing period in peak usage so this does not seem to be applicable.*

I am not sure where to go from here. My video on demand still buffers at high peak times. Can anyone suggest something else?

Thank you