[Camera.Ken]

Hi All:

This is a new thread because I wanted to deliver new information not specifically discussed elsewhere in this forum.

BTW, this unit plays DVDs and Blu-Ray discs like a dream. Really nice.

But the wheels come off the wagon with NetFlix. I am getting some "rebuffering" delays while watching. It's hit and miss.

Clearly, one aspect of troubleshooting is to check network speeds. This Samsung has a built-in network speed test -- but it clocks an unlikely 1.5 - 1.9 Mb/sec when wired directly to my router. Other computers on this network clock in at 15-20 Mb/sec.

It turns out that this Samsung built-in speed test calls in to a server in Korea, and there is some sort of bottleneck there, or along the way. It's always slow, for everyone. So there is no way to know if the Samsung, its networking HW and SW, is slow or fast-- other than by inferring the conclusion from ongoing usage.

This seems sort of goofy, for an otherwise pretty hip gadget.

And Samsung's support is abysmal. The first telephone rep I spent 16 minutes with this morning was not able to understand what a built-in network speed test was, let alone answer my request for an alternative way to accurately test network download speed of the Samsung.

The second telephone support person gave me a pre-paid delivery label to send the unit in for repair. Seems like a waste of time at this stage.

The online trouble ticket transaction failed, asking me to put data in a mandatory "support type" field that did not exist on the form.

 

[Jake]

Ken, Other than Netflix how do the other net apps work, speedwise?

 

[Camera.Ken]

Not Much To Say . . .

Hi Jake:

I have not used the other apps very much. A short YouTube session worked just fine.

For me, NetFlix is the big test, since it is capable of delivering hi-quality video if conditions are right. It's content is also what I'm most interested in.

 

[Jake]

Streaming a 10 minute HD youttube video would be a worthwhile test. If you can check your router log see if anything is appearing there. Try pinging the player (if you can) to see if any packets are being dropped.

 

[Camera.Ken]

Great Ideas

Hi Jake:

Last night I ran an application on my PC called "PingPlotter", and set it to ping the Samsung every 15 seconds. It ran from about 8:30 to about 10 pm. There was no packet loss during that time, and trip times were typically 1 ms with a very occasional 6 ms.

At about 9:20, I started up a NetFlix movie through the Samsung. Ping time then climbed for a few minutes into occasional 150-190 ms during initial buffering, but with the majority still being in the 1-2 ms range. The rest of the time, ping times were 70% 1-2 ms with the rest a higher number.

During this time, both the Samsung and my laptop were connected to the router via 802.11g. The laptop, in the same room, showed consistent network speed tests in the 10 Mb/sec range. Both reported "4 bars" of signal strength.

My conclusion is that the Samsung may not be a problem as far as network speed is concerned.

 

[danbcman]

I got the same re buffereing message for the first time yesterday also on a 5500T so I thought about it did a speed test and then remembered the email I got from shaw say they are doing upgrades in my area so I let the 5500T cold start again and it was not appearing for me again.

 

[Jake]

Ken, I presume you have the latest firmware. I wonder if you are being affected by throttling? 1.5Mbps is pretty slow. When you say 15Mbps for your PC is that while running Netflix via Silverlight?

PS: Is it rebuffering or buffering?

 

[Camera.Ken]

Hi Jake:

I do have the latest firmware on the Samsung.

1.5 Mb/sec is an illusionary number. It is low because the Samsung's built-in speed test is being run from Vancouver to Korea, and there is a slow server or some other sort of bottleneck in the way.

Real network speeds are likely to be much higher.

My PC's speed is measured as an average of 3 web-based speed tests, and does not involve NetFlix and does not involve Silverlight.

 

[Jake]

Ok. When you are streaming from Netflix what does your router tell you the bitrate is? Oh just a sec I have a Tomato router so I can see these stats real-time. Perhaps you can't.

But yeah the speed-test is not bad for Asia.

 

[Camera.Ken]

Plain Vanilla, Not Tomato

Hi Jake:

My router, a D-Link, does not show bit-rate. It does show internal statistics like packets sent and received, collisions, error rates and so on.

It would seem that with a little record-keeping and arithmetic, I could calculate the bit rate. But for now I'm satisfied that the Samsung is unlikely to be my problem when it comes to NetFlix.

 

[Jake]

I agree. FYI ATV2 folks were having issues with Netflix buffering so it was most likely on their end.

 

[Camera.Ken]

Thanks, Jake

Hi Jake:

Thanks for your input and thoughts.

Chasing network stuff is sometimes like chasing ghosts in the fog.

 

[cannon_fodder]

I ordered one of these during the Boxing Day deals. Are there minimum requirements in my router's abilities in order to be able to use the various streaming features? In other words, should I expect to also upgrade my current 802.11a/b/g router?

 

[737]

To improve streaming, I always check for QoS and Wi-Fi Multimedia options. These options allow to prioritize network connections for video streaming and gaming and reduce re-buffering. I have a BD-C5500 and except for the odd movie, all my streaming is fine with Netflix. I used to have the same issue streaming videos on my PS3 and after enabling the QoS and Wi-Fi Multimedia options on my router (Netgear WNDR3700), streaming is flawless.

 

[Samad]

802.11 G or N

Does the BD-C6500T have 802.11G or N? also, does need any wi-fi adapter or it's really built-in?

 

[dcaley]

Does the BD-C6500T have 802.11G or N? also, does need any wi-fi adapter or it's really built-in?

i believe it is G, and is built-in.

 

[DCrane]

Netflix re-buffering

This has nothing to do with the Samsung Blu-ray player. The problem lies at Netflix. They simply do not have the bandwidth that they need to handle maximum workload. I have a 10mb Internet pipe and am connected to it with 802.11n wireless. Everything is fine except on weekends, like tonight.

Despite the "try later" messages and other re-buffering waits, I find I can always recover by going back to the entry screen and resuming play. It's a pain, but it's clearly not the fault of my setup.

Netflix needs to get their act in gear.

 

[Camera.Ken]

Something Changed

For those who like to follow stuff like this . . . .

I ran a network speed test yesterday from the Samsung BD-C6500T. It clocked around 9 Mb/sec., pretty much the same as my laptop always gets from the same room over Wi-Fi.

Samsung has changed something.

BTW -- I also dropped my Netflix account months ago since their selection was really poor.