Comcast users. Are you having slow downs for Watch Now?

[Nathan]

I started out a few months ago occasionaly watching on demand titles. They were great quality and started almost immediately. Lately its almost unusable. I start a 24 minute episode of The Office and it takes 30 minutes to load! I have watched almost the whole season in a few weeks along with a few other shows but didnt think that would have anything to do with it.

I can stream video fine from other places such as CBS and ABC. I connected to Netflix from a computer 800 miles away, using a DSL instead of Cable connection and it worked fine so Netflix is not slowing me down. Is anyone else experiencing slowdowns to Netflix that uses Comcast? I contacted their support but they were of no use.

[CHuntMD]

Yes, it took over 1.5 hours before "Logan's Run" would start to stream last weekend. DSLReports.com bandwidth testers showed anywhere between 8 and 12megbit DL speed (T1 is 1.5 MBits I believe). Comcast now admits to "Traffic Shapping"


http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080213/133855251.shtml

[David]

I am having the same problem, it started last week. I had a friend in the same area using a different ISP who had no problems, it has to be Comcast.

[jos]

YES! It's happening to us too. We've heard that cable companies are slowing it down on purpose because they want people to use their services. What can we do? I've complained to comcast...

[Eric]

Same here. If I go to any online internet speed test, it shows 15+mbps. I try to watch anything on netflix and within a minute it's stalling, failing, and re-caching. This is truly absurd behavior on comcast's part. I plan to call and complain today. Unfortunately they have a monopoly where I live, so other than dial-up there is no other internet available, period.

[The Real Uncle Bob]

Here's a webcast of FCC hearings during which Comcast defended its practice of "managing" traffic on their network. Mainly they discuss throttling bit torrent traffic, but they do not say that's the only traffic they "manage," and the whole issue was raised by Vuse. a service that delivers video by bit torrent, and accuses Comcast of deliberately undermining competition.

Vuse is just a little guy, and bit torrent is wodely regarded as a pirate's app. I find it hard to believe that Comcast would possess the balls to tempt fate by interfering with Netflix use, but who knows?

In their testimony, Comcast blamed bit torrent traffic for creating network congestion for all users on nodes where bit torrent is being used, suggesting that "instant watch" is being disrupted by those nasty bit torrent pirates.

Or perhaps they are allowing their network to degrade to support their anti-BT thesis.

I'm sure that all of this will activate many BS detectors.

I asked for comment on all this in another thread earlier today.

[The Real Uncle Bob]

BBspot has obtained an internal Comcast network management document outlining the decision-making process for network packets. If this page loads slowly, then you know Comcast has found it.

[phattooth]

Awesome Bob!
I'm gonna email this to my local Comcrap office!

[TheConcept]

I have the same problem. I loved Comcast until a few months ago, when they started this crap. It takes longer to download a movie than to watch it. So much for their "Comcastic" fast Internet. It sux. Im getting Verizon instead.

[Freeman Gilbert]

I'm a Comcast user and I'm not haing any problems (so far)

[Nathan]

It didnt for me at first either. Probably took an entire season of a TV shop before it happened. I watched almost all of Season 1 of Heroes and some of the office, various other things before the slow down was insultingly slow. Its a little better not but I still have to pause the show for about 5 minutes after it starts to keep it going all the way through a 21 minute episode of The Office. Im sure a full length movie would be much worse. I really wish I could manually change the quality to a lower level.

Heres what I think. Comcasts powerboost is really messing it up. When you first start downloading the movie. it sets your quality to how fast you are downloading. Powerboost gives you insane fast speed for the first little bit, then goes down to regular speed. This is what I think Netflix is setting its quality by and trying to send you full resolution video when you really should be getting medium quality. Even that still looks great so if you all know how to change the quality manually, try that or let me know how and Ill try.

[Nicky Bentley]

It's not your turn yet. People start experiencing slow connection long before it happened to me.
You'll join the group soon.

[James Miscavish]

Comcast is the devil right now. I don't know how this issue is not more of a problem with regular internet users? If I wanted to live in communist russia, I would. I'm talking to you Comcast.