BluRay wireless internet connection speed

[Matthew]

I can run a speed test on my wireless Mac and get >100MB (we pay for 100Mb/s) with a latency of about 8ms.

When I connect my Samsung BluRay with a wireless connection and try a speed test, I get a latency of 197 and a speed of 11Mb/s.

This hasn't been anything I've noticed until last night when we started streaming something. I kept getting all kinds of stops and buffering. Our signal strength is about 90% according to the BluRay player diagnostics.

This BR is fairly old, but it does say it has the latest s/w version.

Any ideas? Maybe that BR player can't connect at speeds that fast?

 

[RJM62]

What band and protocol?

Rich

 

[Matthew]

What band and protocol?

Rich

Dunno - will have to check. I ran a speed test, can't remember which one. The rest of the connections are all the default in the player. I had to open a web browser app to get to the interwebs and run the utility. I moved my router 90 deg, and now Amazon Prime says it's streaming at about 18Mb - up from 11 a little while ago, and way better than the single digits last night. (ATT Fiber)

 

[Matthew]

Not sure what I'm looking for:
Security: WPA/WPA2-PSL
IP address setting: auto
IP: 192.168.1.81
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway 192.168.1.254
DNS: auto
primary dns: 192.168.1.254
secondary dns: 0.0.0.0
IPv6: ON
IPv4/IPv6 priority: IPv4
Proxy server: not used

Note that I have no control over any of those settings.

 

[genna]

If your BR is 802.11g then 11Mbps is pretty close to reasonable. 54Mbps is max, but 30% of that is what you would typically get. Your Mac is probably 802.11n

 

[RJM62]

Not sure what I'm looking for:
Security: WPA/WPA2-PSL
IP address setting: auto
IP: 192.168.1.81
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
default gateway 192.168.1.254
DNS: auto
primary dns: 192.168.1.254
secondary dns: 0.0.0.0
IPv6: ON
IPv4/IPv6 priority: IPv4
Proxy server: not used

Note that I have no control over any of those settings.

The band would be 2.4GHz or 5 GHz. The protocol would be 802.11[?]. As genna said, if the BR's radio is using 802.11g, you're not going to do much better than what you're getting.

What you're getting should be plenty to push a television up to 1080p. I intentionally throttle the Roku to 4 Mbps because anything above that doesn't make any difference on my 1920 x 1080 television and just wastes bandwidth. If your TV is UHD, however, the problem could be that the BR box doesn't support it, or that its WiFi interface isn't capable of the the minimum > 15 Mbps throughput that you'll reliably need to support it.

Again assuming that you have a UHD television and that the BR box can support it on the output side: If you have a long enough Ethernet cable (Cat5e or better) lying around, and if the BR box has wired Ethernet, that could be a good diagnostic. Disable the wireless and run the BR player on wired Ethernet. If it feeds the television adequately over wired, then the WiFi adapter is the weak point. It may be upgradable. Samsung is actually pretty good about selling replacement and upgraded parts to consumers; so if there's an upgraded WiFi adapter for that BR player that will work, you probably can buy one and upgrade it.

If the adapter can't be upgraded, that would leave a wireless bridge or a permanent wired connection (if it has wired Ethernet), or a new streaming box (if it doesn't), as your options.

Rich

 

[Matthew]

OK. Now I see what you are getting at. I did find the specs, and a couple of things. It's a Sony, not a Samsung.

It does have a wireless connection that I'm using, and a wired port that I am not. My DVR is hardwired to the router in another room, I guess I could add a switch and hardwire both of them. I'll see if I can round one up and give it a try.

The WiFi info in the manual says:

Wireless LAN standard: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Frequency range: 2.4 GHz band: Channels 1-11
Modulation: DSSS and OFDM

 

[RJM62]

OK. Now I see what you are getting at. I did find the specs, and a couple of things. It's a Sony, not a Samsung.

It does have a wireless connection that I'm using, and a wired port that I am not. My DVR is hardwired to the router in another room, I guess I could add a switch and hardwire both of them. I'll see if I can round one up and give it a try.

The WiFi info in the manual says:

Wireless LAN standard: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Frequency range: 2.4 GHz band: Channels 1-11
Modulation: DSSS and OFDM

If nothing on your network requires b or g, you can try disabling them in the router if it offers that functionality.

Rich

 

[Matthew]

If nothing on your network requires b or g, you can try disabling them in the router if it offers that functionality.

Rich

I'll check on that.

Is it really as simple as plugging the DVR cable into a switch, then hardwiring from the switch to the DVR and BR? If so, I might be able to test that this weekend. I think I can get hold of a spare switch and 2 cables sometime today. I don't know what's going into the DVR, but the Ethernet port on the BR is 100Mb. The router is in the next room, on the other side of a wall. I was getting low connection speeds - something that Netflix never seemed to complain about. We got a free trial of Amazon Prime and when we were watching an HD movie the other night we had some problems. Netflix doesn't display your connection speed, it just goes to lower def if it needs to - but we rarely notice that. Prime does show connection speeds and I was seeing things in single digits, sometimes lower. The movie would stop, buffer, re-start, and sometimes lose connection completely. I checked signal strength and the BR was reporting 60-70%. I went into the other room and rotated the router 90 deg and signal strength went into the 90s%, connection speeds were 12Mb+ so I might be getting as good as I can get with that setup now.

I've pieced together all of this stuff over a lot of years, and there isn't any component on my home theater setup (other than the DVR and fiber system, upgraded from DSL) that's newer than 7-8 years. So getting it all to play together can be a challenge.

 

[genna]

I'll check on that.

Is it really as simple as plugging the DVR cable into a switch, then hardwiring from the switch to the DVR and BR? If so, I might be able to test that this weekend. I think I can get hold of a spare switch and 2 cables sometime today. I don't know what's going into the DVR, but the Ethernet port on the BR is 100Mb. The router is in the next room, on the other side of a wall. I was getting low connection speeds - something that Netflix never seemed to complain about. We got a free trial of Amazon Prime and when we were watching an HD movie the other night we had some problems. Netflix doesn't display your connection speed, it just goes to lower def if it needs to - but we rarely notice that. Prime does show connection speeds and I was seeing things in single digits, sometimes lower. The movie would stop, buffer, re-start, and sometimes lose connection completely. I checked signal strength and the BR was reporting 60-70%. I went into the other room and rotated the router 90 deg and signal strength went into the 90s%, connection speeds were 12Mb+ so I might be getting as good as I can get with that setup now.

I've pieced together all of this stuff over a lot of years, and there isn't any component on my home theater setup (other than the DVR and fiber system, upgraded from DSL) that's newer than 7-8 years. So getting it all to play together can be a challenge.

If you are going to use a switch and DVR and BR are at the same location, then it should be wired like this: Switch to Router, DVR to Switch, BR to Switch. Alternatively, you can just connect everything to router if you have available ports and can run CAT5/6 wire from each

 

[genna]

Given the age of your BR, it's likely that it only supports 802.11g radio. Your router supports n and g, so the wireless throughput will depend on what is connecting to it. This is probably the reason you see drastic difference in speeds between Mac(n with max 300Mbps) and BR(g with max 54Mbps)

 

[Matthew]

If you are going to use a switch and DVR and BR are at the same location, then it should be wired like this: Switch to Router, DVR to Switch, BR to Switch. Alternatively, you can just connect everything to router if you have available ports and can run CAT5/6 wire from each

Switch to Router, DVR to Switch, BR to Switch.

That's what I was thinking. I am pretty sure I have available ports on the router, but getting through the wall with clean look is more trouble that I want to do.

 

[Matthew]

Given the age of your BR, it's likely that it only supports 802.11g radio. Your router supports n and g, so the wireless throughput will depend on what is connecting to it. This is probably the reason you see drastic difference in speeds between Mac(n with max 300Mbps) and BR(g with max 54Mbps)

Thanks. I do tend to keep things until they just don't work anymore. This is really the first time I've seen problems like this. Now that more and more things are being streamed, it's possible I'll have to look into a better BR. That's not a bad thing, they are pretty cheap and I do know of places that would be happy to have a working player donated.

 

[RJM62]

Thanks. I do tend to keep things until they just don't work anymore. This is really the first time I've seen problems like this. Now that more and more things are being streamed, it's possible I'll have to look into a better BR. That's not a bad thing, they are pretty cheap and I do know of places that would be happy to have a working player donated.

I'd try in on 802.11n first, if the specs say it supports it. That would cost nothing other than probably having to re-enter the WiFi information.

Rich

 

[Matthew]

I'd try in on 802.11n first, if the specs say it supports it. That would cost nothing other than probably having to re-enter the WiFi information.

Rich

See if I can turn off b and g at the router and then maybe have to re-connect?

 

[genna]

If you can do wired, it's always better. Even if it's 100Mbps Ethernet, it would still likely be better than n wireless since it's not going to be affected by any interference. Switches are dirt cheap and you can use old router as a switch

 

[Matthew]

I don't have a switch in the spare parts bin like I thought. I have a better idea of what's going on now. I'll see if I can play around with getting the router to only use n (and hope that doesn't mess up anything else). I'll dig around for hard wiring parts, I might have something hiding somewhere else I can use without having to go out and buy something.

 

[Matthew]

I'll need to verify the router model number, but I *think* I was able to figure it out from the ATT website.

From the documentation in the manual I found online:
>>>
2.4 Ghz radio may be 802.11B only, 802.11G only, 802.11N only, 802.11 B/G or 802.11 B/G/N.

5.0 Ghz radio may be 802.11A, 802.11AC only, 802.11N only or 802.11AC (i.e. 802.11N/AC) as well.
<<<

So it looks like I have some options.

If the router is set to b/g/h, how does it connect with each device? Does it negotiate somehow?

 

[genna]

I'll need to verify the router model number, but I *think* I was able to figure it out from the ATT website.

From the documentation in the manual I found online:
>>>
2.4 Ghz radio may be 802.11B only, 802.11G only, 802.11N only, 802.11 B/G or 802.11 B/G/N.

5.0 Ghz radio may be 802.11A, 802.11AC only, 802.11N only or 802.11AC (i.e. 802.11N/AC) as well.
<<<

So it looks like I have some options.

If the router is set to b/g/h, how does it connect with each device? Does it negotiate somehow?

The connecting device dictates the protocol and frequency. Assuming that the router has all protocols/freq enabled, If the connecting device is N, then the connection to it will be N. If the device is B, then the connection to it will be B. All of these are independent. Having B and G turned on on the router if you do not have any B/G devices does degrade some performance.

 

[Matthew]

The connecting device dictates the protocol and frequency. Assuming that the router has all protocols/freq enabled, If the connecting device is N, then the connection to it will be N. If the device is B, then the connection to it will be B. All of these are independent. Having B and G turned on on the router if you do not have any B/G devices does degrade some performance.

Thanks, I'll check to see what the settings are.

I remember my tablet had problems for a little while - I had it set to autoconnect to the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks, whichever signal was greater. There were times when I was in certain parts of the house where both signals were shaky and the tablet would hunt back and forth between them and never get happy with either. I solved that on the tablet side by only allowing it to connect to one of them. I do remember getting into the router settings and checking things out, but I don't know if I changed anything there while I was troubleshooting.

 

[RJM62]

If you can do wired, it's always better. Even if it's 100Mbps Ethernet, it would still likely be better than n wireless since it's not going to be affected by any interference. Switches are dirt cheap and you can use old router as a switch

I prefer wires, too. For something like this, however, I'd try the free way before buying wire and switches if I didn't already have them laying around.

Rich

 

[Matthew]

Amazon Prime says:
High Definition (HD) videos: 3.5 Mbits/sec

Netflix says:

• 0.5 Megabits per second - Required broadband connection speed
• 1.5 Megabits per second - Recommended broadband connection speed
• 3.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for SD quality
• 5.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for HD quality
• 25 Megabits per second - Recommended for Ultra HD quality

We are starting to consider cutting the cable and moving all to streaming. If we do that, I'll look more seriously into adding cables. It looks like with the WiFi on the BR that I can meet the minimum requirements, but I'd like to get a little more cushion. We don't have a UHD TV...yet. So, even if I'm maxed out on my current setup, without touching a thing this weekend, I'm at minimum requirements. Simply rotating the router 90 deg seems to have solved the problems I was having, and now I understand why I'm getting the speeds I'm getting.

 

[RJM62]

Amazon Prime says:
High Definition (HD) videos: 3.5 Mbits/sec

Netflix says:

• 0.5 Megabits per second - Required broadband connection speed
• 1.5 Megabits per second - Recommended broadband connection speed
• 3.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for SD quality
• 5.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for HD quality
• 25 Megabits per second - Recommended for Ultra HD quality

We are starting to consider cutting the cable and moving all to streaming. If we do that, I'll look more seriously into adding cables. It looks like with the WiFi on the BR that I can meet the minimum requirements, but I'd like to get a little more cushion. We don't have a UHD TV...yet. So, even if I'm maxed out on my current setup, without touching a thing this weekend, I'm at minimum requirements. Simply rotating the router 90 deg seems to have solved the problems I was having, and now I understand why I'm getting the speeds I'm getting.

I suspect Amazon uses different compression because their recommended throughput is lower at all quality settings. Either that or they're basing it on actual speed, not provisioned speed. I know that you need at least a constant, actual 15 Mbps for Prime to work right on UHD (mainly because I set up Prime on my parents' TV last weekend, not because I'm any sort of a Prime expert). To get a steady, actual > 15 Mbps would require at least 25 Mbps provisioned in the real world.

If you go UHD, I definitely recommend wired.

Rich

 

[Matthew]

I messed around for a couple hours on this tonight. I don't have a switch, so I couldn't hardwire, maybe next week.

The BluRay is only capable of connecting on the 2.4Ghz radio. It does claim 802.11 b/g/n. I logged into the router and found the BR connection - good signal strength, connected on 2.4. I went into the router settings, unchecked b/g/n and checked n-only. Then I reconnected. I really didn't see much difference when I started Amazon, it showed connection speed anywhere from 1Mbs to 20, but seemed to settle in around 10-12 regardless of b, g, or n. I was getting around 97% signal strength. As long as it's > whatever Netflix and Amazon say is required for HD, I guess this is as good as this old BR player is going to get (until I hardwire). I was able to get a speedtest going from a browser I could run in the BR player, and it seemed to match with the numbers that Amazon was reporting. Slow latencies and speeds around 10-12. Once in a while I'd see 1-2, then bounce back up, a few times I saw in the 20+ range, but that only lasted a few seconds. The speeds seem to stabilize around 10-12.

Thanks for the help.

 

[cowman]

I only have a 5mb connection to the internet and that’s on a good day, it’s often only 1.5-3 and I’m able to watch Netflix without issue. Amazon prime as well, Hulu is finicky some days but it all works fine.

Streaming video isn’t as demanding as some people think.

 

[Matthew]

It really looks like, even though the documentation says the BR is "n", that it's only working at "b" speeds. I forced the router to operate in "n" mode only, but the speeds I was getting were in the "b" range. After forcing the router to "n" only, the BR player was still able to connect, but I wasn't getting "n" speeds.

I got onto our our XP box because it wouldn't connect anymore. I have an old Netgear 802.11g wireless adapter in it, it could not connect when the router was set to "n" only, so I put the router back to it's default of b/g/n and it connected right away. I just did a speed test on it and got 10Mb downloads on it, pretty much right in line with what the BR player is getting.

I guess the real trick is to get everything up to the same generation, hardwire, or both.

@cowman - yeah, what I've seen on the Prime and Netflix tech support is that 5Mbs gets you HD. I have a buddy who used to have Google Fiber when it first came into town. They'd install it free. I can't remember the full speed it promised, but he eventually dropped it. He said, "It's too fast. I can't get my wireless network cards to operate any faster than they are capable, so all that extra speed and expense is wasted."

 

[RJM62]

A wireless bridge (Ethernet to WiFi) is another option. Although if it's a simple enough job, I'd run wires at this point. Or replay the BR player, if you're so inclined. At least you know where the weak link is now,

Rich

 

[Matthew]

A wireless bridge (Ethernet to WiFi) is another option. Although if it's a simple enough job, I'd run wires at this point. Or replay the BR player, if you're so inclined. At least you know where the weak link is now,

Rich

Thanks for the help and direction in getting me started on this,

It really isn't that weak a link at this point. It's just slower than I expected, and now I have a better idea of what's going on. Even going hardwire at this point isn't going to help, the streaming speeds are already "good enough", I'm not sure what more I'd gain (we don't have a UHD/4K TV anyway.) To hardwire, I'd just need a switch and two short cables.

I was looking some Roku options a little while ago, thinking about cutting the cable. But I need to crunch the numbers and see what we give up. I need my ESPN for college basketball. I can probably get my local baseball and football games OTA, although there are some cable channels that carry things like this month's NCAA basketball tournament that may or may not be available - that's the kind of thing I need to research. We rarely watch network TV, so the streaming movie options would do it for us.