PS3 streaming question

[kermit315]

Hey guys,

I recently fixed a friends PS3 and decided to get one of my own. So, I did. I got netflix on it, and sometimes the video quality is great, other times it sucks.

Is this internet speed related, or netflix related? When the quality sucks, I can play a blu ray and the picture is great. I watched the episode of Family Guy last night about return of the jedi and it was crystal clear, then today it was crappy (played it to compare quality for something else I was watching).

thanks for the help guys,

Jamie

[Casual_Shooter]

On our PS3, netflix goes in and out - quality wise. Seems a combination of things. Sometimes it's the recording, other times, it's the connection.

[Sinister_1]

Wired or wireless....it does make a difference.

[kermit315]

wireless. Like I said, went from one show with it fine, to another that it is crap.....both supposedly HD. Went back to the original and it was crap too.

I figured connection issues or just netflix software, but wanted to hear if it was common.

[MXRider]

I have a direct cable connection with my PS3 and it does not go in and out or sometimes have crappy resolution. I wouldn't even waste my time hooking up a video game system to the internet via WiFi.

[Cranium]

Agreed. You're not going to be moving it around. It's worth it to figure out a way to wire it.
That said, my connection sucks bad enough that every once in a while, even wired, it will switch over to low-bandwidth mode.
There used to be an easter egg to force resolution on the PC. I wonder if it's possible on PS3? Results in longer buffering, but at least it looks good.

[triggatronic]

If you can wire it the resolution should adjust faster. My PS3 set up has always been wireless, so this isn't something that isn't common. One thing I do especially when watching titles in HD is pause the video once it starts for a bit. Give it a minute or two and the picture should adjust depending on the speed of your wireless connection.

[triggatronic]

Another thing that helps is eliminating the number of devices hogging up your wireless signal. If your PS3 is in a place where it can't be wired (or if you don't have a cable long enough) try wiring your other devices to your router to free up some bandwidth.

[Cuda440]

I have a PS3 (connected to WiFi), and had netflix (dropped it cuz the instant selection sucks) It would play some movies clear and other movies pretty crappy. I noticed the crappier pic was normally on a B-list movie, better movies had better quality. I suspect it was a problem on Netflix's end, trying to save bandwidth or something.

Anytime I use the wireless network to stream videos from my PC, they come in perfectly clear at 1080p. I don't think my wireless network had anything to do with the crappy pic from Netflix.

[triggatronic]

I have a PS3 (connected to WiFi), and had netflix (dropped it cuz the instant selection sucks) It would play some movies clear and other movies pretty crappy. I noticed the crappier pic was normally on a B-list movie, better movies had better quality. I suspect it was a problem on Netflix's end, trying to save bandwidth or something.

Anytime I use the wireless network to stream videos from my PC, they come in perfectly clear at 1080p. I don't think my wireless network had anything to do with the crappy pic from Netflix.

When did you drop Netflix? I stopped using the service for a bit due to the selection on demand, but when I came back to it their titles grew quite a bit especially in the TV show deparent. Now I can catch up on Breaking Bad (great show) and whatnot. I think Netflicks might have renewed a contract or two.

[Cuda440]

When did you drop Netflix? I stopped using the service for a bit due to the selection on demand, but when I came back to it their titles grew quite a bit especially in the TV show deparent. Now I can catch up on Breaking Bad (great show) and whatnot. I think Netflicks might have renewed a contract or two.

I think about 3 months ago? I never watched the TV series that they had, I just record anything I'm interested in on my DVR. I only used Netflix for movies, and the streaming selection was pretty slim. I still use the disc service for new videos, and anything they offer streaming I can get on disc instead if I really want to see it.

[sd_shooter]

I'd also recommend going wired.

We started out with a 1mbps link and that seemed to be enough since Netflix knows how to compress the stream according to the quality of your link. However Amazon was still not very good.

So we upgraded to a 3mbps link. Now everything is pretty much stable. However I think even 3mbps is rather slow, I'd rather have something even faster for online video.

Note that netflix tends to be somewhat flaky anyway, about once every few weeks something does not work (eg. "Your instant queue is empty!" even when it's not.) We have several devices that support Netflix so usually it will work on another box if we're having trouble.

I'll add that the PS3 is probably our most stable streaming device. The only thing that is flaky is the Playstation network login. I don't even use it, but it's required for things like software upgrades. The streaming players seem to force upgrades once in a while and it's annoying if the upgrade can't take place due to a PS Network problem.

[triggatronic]

I think about 3 months ago? I never watched the TV series that they had, I just record anything I'm interested in on my DVR. I only used Netflix for movies, and the streaming selection was pretty slim. I still use the disc service for new videos, and anything they offer streaming I can get on disc instead if I really want to see it.

Word. You might want to check out the streaming section if you can access the list still. When they lost their Stars contract the selection dropped off the cliff for a while but they have since come back with a vengeance with more titles in the movie and tv section.

[triggatronic]

I'd also recommend going wired.

We started out with a 1mbps link and that seemed to be enough since Netflix knows how to compress the stream according to the quality of your link. However Amazon was still not very good.

So we upgraded to a 3mbps link. Now everything is pretty much stable. However I think even 3mbps is rather slow, I'd rather have something even faster for online video.

Note that netflix tends to be somewhat flaky anyway, about once every few weeks something does not work (eg. "Your instant queue is empty!" even when it's not.) We have several devices that support Netflix so usually it will work on another box if we're having trouble.

I'll add that the PS3 is probably our most stable streaming device. The only thing that is flaky is the Playstation network login. I don't even use it, but it's required for things like software upgrades. The streaming players seem to force upgrades once in a while and it's annoying if the upgrade can't take place due to a PS Network problem.

Funny the other day my Netflix streaming queue was bone dry and not even the recently watched stuff showed up. Next day, back to normal.

[Mute]

Probably netflix. I've not had any issue with picture quality from the other movie services on my PS3.