Recent Issue With Streaming

[SilentPenguins]

Up front: I have think I have "decent" internet. 25 down / 3 up / ~17 ms, per Speedtest.net. And I get superb speeds when I strictly download something - on Steam I can exceed 2MB/s downloads.
EDIT - I'd like to add that my PC and Xbox are hard-wired, not over wireless.

Recently I have become unable to stream videos. The issue began recently in the past few weeks. Youtube videos won't buffer - it's so bad that I can't even watch a 5secondfilm video without it pausing halfway through the video. And I don't know if it's Youtube or what, but it won't buffer more than a handful of seconds. This has basically made YouTube unwatchable.

Similarly, websites like Yahoo and GameTrailers and Vimeo also fail to stream at all. I have tried multiple browsers and multiple computers and the issue persists.

On my Xbox, Netflix cannot maintain a buffer greater than 1bar, which is hardly watchable.

I found this tutorial on the internet:
http://mitchribar.com/2013/02/time-warner-cable-sucks-for-youtube-twitchtv/

But unfortunately the tutorial didn't seem to do much for me.

I have tried resetting my router and power cycling it, but it didn't solve any issues.

I think this graph from YouTube shows how the problem has come up.

Can anybody help me with this? What information is missing? What diagnostics can I perform? I'm pretty much out of my element here.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Have you plugged your PC directly into the modem and tested?

 

[Fardringle]

Who is your ISP? The speeds you listed make me suspect Comcast. I have a similar connection with Comcast (22 down/4.5 up per Speedtest.net) in Salt Lake and don't have any issues streaming at all except occasionally in the evening when more people are online, and even then it only happens a few times per month.

As Cheez said, try connecting directly to the modem to see if it makes a difference. If not, I'd recommend calling the local office to ask if there's a known issue in your neighborhood. I've had pretty good luck with the local folks actually being helpful and generally knowing what they are talking about so it's worth a try.

 

[SilentPenguins]

Thanks for the responses.

I do have Comcast, and I am in an apartment complex. However I can go immediately from Speedtest at my regular speeds to another tab that can't play Youtube, or Netflix. Also, as I think the Youtube graph shows, this issue is relatively recent - starting in mid-March, although I guess I only noticed it as a recurring issue in the past week or two.

I have a self bought modem / router combo (not rented from Comcast). Motorola SBG6580. My PC and Xbox are both connected directly to the device.

I'll call Comcast in a few days. I tend to think of contacting ISPs as a last resort, especially since I've had horrible past experiences.

 

[Fardringle]

Does your XBOX have the same problems streaming video directly, or does this only happen on the PC?

 

[SilentPenguins]

Does your XBOX have the same problems streaming video directly, or does this only happen on the PC?

Yes, my Xbox has similar problems streaming. I think that my Xbox "fails to buffer" less often, although it almost always resorts to 1-bar quality (Netflix). HBO Go rarely streams in HD, but usually in better than 'bottom' quality. Is there anything else I can use to benchmark it from my Xbox?

I just ran through a minute of HBO Go and a minute of Netflix on my 360. HBO Go had a few hitches at the beginning maintaining a buffer, but then proceeded to maintain HD. Netflix took several minutes to load and then failed to maintain 1-bar video quality without interruption. I don't know why the connection would be so dependent on application?

Also, for more information, I've noticed that when trying to view Youtube on my PC, if the buffer fails and I rewind a few seconds, it quickly loads the next 'portion' of the video. If I fast forward or click to a time stamp that hasn't loaded, it often will never load anything at all. I'm not sure what I just typed makes sense, but I don't know another way to explain it.

 

[Fardringle]

Go to this link and click the Show Test Video link at the bottom of the page. Change the video quality to 720p and watch the "HTTPVideoPlayer,HTTP" line on the left to see what it shows for a bit rate. It will help determine the actual speed you are getting from YouTube so we can narrow down the possibilities. For reference, on Comcast's 20/4 speed tier in Utah, that test bounces around between 8300 and 9900kbps.

note: You don't actually have to change the video quality setting to run the test, but for me the test information box doesn't show up until I do.

 

[SilentPenguins]

Go to this link and click the Show Test Video link at the bottom of the page. Change the video quality to 720p and watch the "HTTPVideoPlayer,HTTP" line on the left to see what it shows for a bit rate. It will help determine the actual speed you are getting from YouTube so we can narrow down the possibilities. For reference, on Comcast's 20/4 speed tier in Utah, that test bounces around between 8300 and 9900kbps.

note: You don't actually have to change the video quality setting to run the test, but for me the test information box doesn't show up until I do.

Hi Fardringle,

I'd tried that test before, but was never able to get the speed to appear. Changing it to HD works, so thanks for the suggestion!

That video (the speed test) is loading at 22000kbps.

If I try another video, like say "Kick Ass 2 - Official Trailer" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucGQFYqnEzg), it is loading at 0-500kbps (skewing towards the low end, 0-100kbps -with blips towards the 500kbps range) and failing to play. Other videos give similar results. I don't know how to see a similar speed test with non-HTML5 videos, but the end result (failure to buffer) is the same.

Sample Video Debug Info

timestamp seconds 4.796
320x240, 284 average kbps, 46% volume
TagStreamPlayer, HTTP, 197 kbps
24 stage fps, 0 video fps, 3 dropped, 0 kbps
accelerated video rendering, software video decoding
NaN db, 1 audio factor

As well, looking at my speed over time is showing continued inconsistency.

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EDIT (4/16/13)

I want to add that I tried clearing my browser's cache, cookies, history, etc. This did not appear to produce any improvement.

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EDIT 2 (4/16/13)

Playing around on GameTrailers.com, I noticed that when I select a "Progressive" streaming option, I get maximum quality, no hiccups, and flawless playback. When I select "Streaming" streaming quality, it struggles to play at minimum quality and has frequent hiccups and basically "won't play" (as is similar to the issue I'm having in YouTube).

Does this indicate that for some reason a certain type of streaming 'protocol' (forgive me if I used that term incorrectly) is failing to play nice with my network configuration?

Also interesting:
I disabled my ad-block on YouTube. Pre-video advertisements play without a problem, and then the actual video stutters and won't load. I have sense re-enabled my ad-blocker.

Also, information!
On my phone, YouTube fails to buffer on my wifi connection. But, on my 4G connection, videos play flawlessly. This seems to continue to support that this is not a problem from the content host's end (as most forums usually conclude on internet searches regarding this problem...)