PS3 streaming question

[Cuda440]

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.

Yeah, I can still view the instant selections, I'll check it out. Thanks

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.

Did netflix ever give you anything when the service dropped?

There was only one time in the 3+ years that I had netflix instant that it dropped service for a day- I tried to log in a couple times, but it just said service unavailable. The next day I got an apology Email, they dropped $5 off my bill that month- not bad considering it was only down one day and the service was only $9 a month.

[billofrights]

Definitely wired connection. The problem you have is that the data cache on the PS3 wireless connection is pretty small- prohibitively so. I tried to stream HD shows from my home network and it kept pausing every 10 seconds or so. The same show once I plugged in and did it over the wire came through flawlessly.

This is something Sony could fix with a BIOS update but have no reason to- why let you stream your OWN HD content for free when they sell it? Kind of BS, but that's what your problem is.

[disturbed1]

Its your connection. Get a faster internet service, better router and or wire it. I hooked up alot of my stuff via Cat6 cable and the bandwith is awesome! Wish my ISP would let me get their fastest stuff but they only wants me on 18Mbs/1.5Mbs

[nubrun]

Couple of things...
1. I believe that netflix determines the speed of your service as it begins to stream your movie. I have heard this and noticed that videos seem to get clearer within the first minute or so.

2. The PS3 Wifi is notoriously weak. I bought an additional router to act as a client and then ran ethernet from that router to the PS3. This significantly helped my streaming problems. Also if you have N you would be able to achieve a faster speed.

[billofrights]

The PS3 doesn't support wireless N, so that's not going to help. Wireless G tops out at 15mbps so it's still going to choke trying to stream HD wirelessly. The problem is that the PS3 will detect your INTERNET speed, but even if it's super fast it's going to be trying to pour a gallon of milk into a straw (the 15mbps wireless). And that's best case scenario on the wireless speed.

[glock 357]

I have the kids setup on http://www.playon.tv/ with their PS3. Here's a demo http://get-embed.wistia.com/embed/me...havior=default

Dumped cable all together and netflix. Computer is hard wired running as a sever streaming locally so this as an option may help stream netflix for you it's free to try. Or you can just buy LT box (life time subscription) and see how that streams netflix. Though I don't think the box runs wifi.

Another alternative is maybe getting a wireless N bridge that connects via ethernet cable to the ps3.

[nubrun]

The PS3 doesn't support wireless N, so that's not going to help. Wireless G tops out at 15mbps so it's still going to choke trying to stream HD wirelessly. The problem is that the PS3 will detect your INTERNET speed, but even if it's super fast it's going to be trying to pour a gallon of milk into a straw (the 15mbps wireless). And that's best case scenario on the wireless speed.

If you had a bridge that was connected through ethernet to the PS3 it would work at N speed. As I mentioned that would require an additional router.

The link speed could be the limiting speed factor depending on distances and wireless interference if using the built in wifi adapter.

Another alternative is maybe getting a wireless N bridge that connects via ethernet cable to the ps3.

That's what I was recommending. It helped my lagging out tremendously.