Innovation and technological progress has made great strides in the speed of internet connections, so much so that today it is possible for everyone to watch movies and videos in streaming without interruptions, with almost instant uploading. Applications such as NetFlix, Amazon Prime Video and Youtube stream high quality videos on the Internet, with very little waiting, allowing users to switch from one video to another almost as if they were changing channels on TV. This functioning was the basis of the success of the streaming platforms, which without fast connections could not have existed.
Like all things in technology, however, occasionally problems arise which, in the case of streaming movies, can lead to interruptions or too long uploads. Hence the viewing of streaming movies on Netflix or videos on Youtube becomes absolutely unsatisfactory, with long initial uploads, continuous interruptions or a decrease in quality.
When this happens and if NetFlix or Youtube videos look bad or take too long to load, we see some quick solutions to restore normal and high quality vision, both on PC and on smartphone, tablet or TV
1) Restart the device
The first thing to try whenever a computer or phone has slowness problems is always to restart it. Therefore, if there are buffering or low quality problems, try to restart the used device (TV, PC or others). If you are using a device connected to the TV such as the Fire TV, you must make sure that it is restarted by detaching it from the USB port and reattaching it after a few seconds.
2) Check the Internet speed
If it doesn't resolve with a reboot, try measuring your current internet speed to see if it's good enough for watching movies and streaming videos. There are various ways of measuring internet speed on PC by visiting some websites. Among these there is also a dedicated one for Netflix, Fast.com to see the maximum streaming speed. For high quality streaming, a minimum speed of approximately 5 MB per second is required for buffering HD content. Precisely, 3 megabits per second is the recommended speed for SD (standard) quality, 5.0 Megabits per second for HD quality and 25 Megabits per second for Ultra HD quality.
Speaking of Netflix, it is possible to check the network directly in its settings. From the main Netflix screen, open the Settings (if they are not present, it means that there are no options on that device) and then go to Check the network . Automatically, Netflix will test the network and say if the connection is good or not.
3) Limit the number of connected devices
Today in the houses there are several devices and devices connected to the internet, using wifi: one or more smartphones, the tablet, one or more computers, the voice assistant, the TV and also other gadgets that we can keep at home. If all the computers and smartphones are turned on and connected to the internet, it is possible that seeing a video on the TV it may stutter, load slowly or see itself in low quality.
To avoid this, try disconnecting all other devices from Wi-Fi and connecting only one device at a time to check if it solves the slow buffering problem.
In some home routers it is also possible to activate QoS to enhance the internet by giving priority to the connection of one device over another.
If then, from the router, two wifi networks can be generated, one at 2.4 GhZ and one at 5Ghz, try to connect only the Smart TV on the 5 GhZ one, leaving all the other devices on the 2.4 GhZ network.
4) Change the video quality
In almost all movie and video streaming services, such as Youtube or Netflix, there is always an option to choose the streaming speed which can be: High, Medium or Low. In general, these services automatically lower the quality when they detect a slower network connection, but you can also change it manually from the settings of the various applications.
A trick that often works is to try to change the streaming speed (on Netflix just go to this page, on Youtube instead just press the wheel button on the video) and go to a lower level. Let the playback work for a while and go back to the original setting.
5) Try a different streaming service
If Netflix doesn't work well, try to see if it depends on them or us, by starting to play a video on Youtube or vice versa. It has happened and, surely, it will happen again in the future that services such as Netflix may have temporary problems that make viewing bad or impossible for a certain period of time. It is therefore worth checking if the other streaming sites and apps work normally. A site like downDetector.com can give further confirmation of any problems with Netflix and any other streaming platform.
6) Check the wifi connection
If streaming does not work or is slow, it may be because of our wifi connection and the router we use at home. On this topic, I refer to the guides:
Why WIFI is slow and how to fix it
What slows down Wifi network speed and internet connection.
In many cases, the best way to solve slow video streaming problems on PC and TV is to buy a new router to connect your home devices .
Like all things in technology, however, occasionally problems arise which, in the case of streaming movies, can lead to interruptions or too long uploads. Hence the viewing of streaming movies on Netflix or videos on Youtube becomes absolutely unsatisfactory, with long initial uploads, continuous interruptions or a decrease in quality.
When this happens and if NetFlix or Youtube videos look bad or take too long to load, we see some quick solutions to restore normal and high quality vision, both on PC and on smartphone, tablet or TV
1) Restart the device
The first thing to try whenever a computer or phone has slowness problems is always to restart it. Therefore, if there are buffering or low quality problems, try to restart the used device (TV, PC or others). If you are using a device connected to the TV such as the Fire TV, you must make sure that it is restarted by detaching it from the USB port and reattaching it after a few seconds.
2) Check the Internet speed
If it doesn't resolve with a reboot, try measuring your current internet speed to see if it's good enough for watching movies and streaming videos. There are various ways of measuring internet speed on PC by visiting some websites. Among these there is also a dedicated one for Netflix, Fast.com to see the maximum streaming speed. For high quality streaming, a minimum speed of approximately 5 MB per second is required for buffering HD content. Precisely, 3 megabits per second is the recommended speed for SD (standard) quality, 5.0 Megabits per second for HD quality and 25 Megabits per second for Ultra HD quality.
Speaking of Netflix, it is possible to check the network directly in its settings. From the main Netflix screen, open the Settings (if they are not present, it means that there are no options on that device) and then go to Check the network . Automatically, Netflix will test the network and say if the connection is good or not.
3) Limit the number of connected devices
Today in the houses there are several devices and devices connected to the internet, using wifi: one or more smartphones, the tablet, one or more computers, the voice assistant, the TV and also other gadgets that we can keep at home. If all the computers and smartphones are turned on and connected to the internet, it is possible that seeing a video on the TV it may stutter, load slowly or see itself in low quality.
To avoid this, try disconnecting all other devices from Wi-Fi and connecting only one device at a time to check if it solves the slow buffering problem.
In some home routers it is also possible to activate QoS to enhance the internet by giving priority to the connection of one device over another.
If then, from the router, two wifi networks can be generated, one at 2.4 GhZ and one at 5Ghz, try to connect only the Smart TV on the 5 GhZ one, leaving all the other devices on the 2.4 GhZ network.
4) Change the video quality
In almost all movie and video streaming services, such as Youtube or Netflix, there is always an option to choose the streaming speed which can be: High, Medium or Low. In general, these services automatically lower the quality when they detect a slower network connection, but you can also change it manually from the settings of the various applications.
A trick that often works is to try to change the streaming speed (on Netflix just go to this page, on Youtube instead just press the wheel button on the video) and go to a lower level. Let the playback work for a while and go back to the original setting.
5) Try a different streaming service
If Netflix doesn't work well, try to see if it depends on them or us, by starting to play a video on Youtube or vice versa. It has happened and, surely, it will happen again in the future that services such as Netflix may have temporary problems that make viewing bad or impossible for a certain period of time. It is therefore worth checking if the other streaming sites and apps work normally. A site like downDetector.com can give further confirmation of any problems with Netflix and any other streaming platform.
6) Check the wifi connection
If streaming does not work or is slow, it may be because of our wifi connection and the router we use at home. On this topic, I refer to the guides:
Why WIFI is slow and how to fix it
What slows down Wifi network speed and internet connection.
In many cases, the best way to solve slow video streaming problems on PC and TV is to buy a new router to connect your home devices .
