# Bad Netflix or bad TV?



## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

People,

have 2 tv's. The Sharp 70" LED and Vizio LCD, 30". When we try to boot up Netflix on the Sharp, almost always we get trouble loading as in "try again", or the red bar at botttom not advancing beyond about 35% or so, getting "stuck" there, etc. We then try another movie to try to "jump start" it, with mixed results. Sometiomes we have to shut off the tv and start over, which seems to help.
But on the older Vizio, in another room, no such problems ever. Ironically, the main box from the cable Co AND the computer is closer to the Sharp.

Anyone have any idea what to blame? We first were thinking hasd to be Netflix, but after getting netflix in our other room maybe Netflix never had to be blamed after all. ADVICE APPRECIATED. 

pAPER.


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## tjroland (Feb 4, 2017)

Are you connected wired or wirelessly? If it were me I would go to a "settings" menu and check my network status details. You should have numbers for IP, subnet mask etc or else your connection is not quite right. If you're connected wirelessly it may be a password issue.

Under settings you may also be able to update your tv's firmware (software update). If there is a bug, an upgrade may fix it.

Something to try. Cheers!


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

I am petty sure the apps are TV specific. The app on the Sharp may be out of date.

Standard advice from Netflix when you are having problems, log out all connected devices and then log in again. ( Perhaps the apps update when you do this).


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Colbyt said:


> I am petty sure the apps are TV specific. The app on the Sharp may be out of date.
> 
> Standard advice from Netflix when you are having problems, log out all connected devices and then log in again. ( Perhaps the apps update when you do this).


Right- we had to log in again for the sharp tv. BTW, the OLDER tv is the one that works better with netflix. Seems the newer tv should behave better.


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## Justin_99 (Jan 23, 2017)

I've found it best to use a wired connection and use a "cat 7e" Ethernet cable. Older cat 5 cables do not work at streaming speeds, especially with long lengths.

I have an Android Minix U1 TV box and that has a web browser (all the stuff a cell phone has except phone). Anyway I can search for "speed test" on google.com, then run it. Wireless is very slow. But a wired connection with a cat 7e cable is maximum speed.

I don't think TV's come with a browser?


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## Fish_Stick (Feb 28, 2017)

Justin_99 said:


> I've found it best to use a wired connection and use a "cat 7e" Ethernet cable. Older cat 5 cables do not work at streaming speeds, especially with long lengths.
> 
> I have an Android Minix U1 TV box and that has a web browser (all the stuff a cell phone has except phone). Anyway I can search for "speed test" on google.com, then run it. Wireless is very slow. But a wired connection with a cat 7e cable is maximum speed.
> 
> I don't think TV's come with a browser?


Unless your actual *internet speed* is over 100 Mbps (highly doubtful) cat 5 vs cat 7e isn't going to do anything. You've got other issues with your system. My entire house is setup with cat 5e which is good up to 1 Gbps and most setups can't even approach those speeds for network transfer speeds since your hard drive (40-50 MBps) will max out long before your network speed does (125 MBps). Cat 5e will work for max speeds and is more readily available. Using a cable though does eliminate numerous issues with streaming over wifi.


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## Justin_99 (Jan 23, 2017)

Fish_Stick said:


> Unless your actual *internet speed* is over 100 Mbps (highly doubtful) cat 5 vs cat 7e isn't going to do anything...


You may want to learn about Ethernet cable lengths and what that does to speed.

Repeat: Cat 5 DOES NOT WORK FOR ME whereas cat 7e does. Note my run is 100 ft.

Also be aware Cat 5 is different from Cat 5e.

So YES the cable type does matter! (If it didn't, why would they be manufacturing Cat 6e and Cat 7e cables?)


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## Fish_Stick (Feb 28, 2017)

Justin_99 said:


> You may want to learn about Ethernet cable lengths and what that does to speed.
> 
> Repeat: Cat 5 DOES NOT WORK FOR ME whereas cat 7e does. Note my run is 100 ft.
> 
> ...


Almost every cat cable is rated for 100m at said speeds. Any loss of speed after that point will be due to interface and packet loss. Willing to bet your cat 5 cable was bad.

Cat 5 vs cat 5e is different but like I said, unless your actual internet speed is over 100 Mbps and you have a full gigabit backbone, a 5 vs 5e isn't even going to matter. So to even take it further if a 5 is sufficient a 7e is overkill and not doing anything for your actual connection. Guarantee you that most companies are still wired with 5e and have 1000x the network traffic that a home will generate. 

A 100 ft run isn't going to do anything for speed loss that is detectable unless you are running into some major interference. At that point a shielded cable might be in order but that is a special case. Have you seen how enterprise cabling is done in gigantic bundles of cable from a switch? Those cables aren't even shielded, experience no interference and are home runs to every port. They are easily over 100 ft for most of those runs and experience absolutely no issues using 5e.

Everything is manufactured for a reason but it doesn't mean you're using it for the right reason :vs_cool:


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## Head_Unit (Jan 26, 2010)

Definitely update the app version-hopefully there is a newer one. That is the first step. 

If still stuck, try posting at AVSForum.com where you might get more replies.

Hmm, is that the only thing that is slow on that TV? What else is available to try? Is there any kind of test setting in the menu?

And if you can hook it up wired, moving temporarily if necessary, that would be useful information too.


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## Mitaela Drayne (Aug 31, 2017)

If the same Netflix is working fine on another connection, it can't be blamed.
Try checking network status. It may be because of network issue.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

There are essentially two things that need to be looked at, your connection and the app. Make sure the app on the television is up to date. 


There is also the network adapter on the television but you did not mention having any issues with other apps so a bad adapter is a very low probability.


As others have asked is the network connection to the affected television wired or wireless? The type of network determines what possible causes there are.


If the connection is wireless, not only does the distance from the television and the wireless router needs to be addressed but how many walls/floors are in between the two devices as well.


To test this, move the television to the same room as the wireless router, if that solves the problem then you know the issue is distance and or number of walls/floors between the devices 


To remedy this requires a wireless bridge. This device is placed midway between the router and device and as the name implies, bridges the signal between two.


If you do need a bridge, almost all wireless network equipment are equipped with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) which makes connecting two devices as simple as pressing the WPS button on the router and bridge. The devices automatically configure to establish connectivity. 


However in my experience, this does not always work properly with devices of differing brands. For this reason I strongly suggest you get a bridge of the same brand as the router.


If it is a wired connection, you possibly have a sever pinch in the cable somewhere that is causing sever packet loss. 

Another possibility is the Ethernet cable running near voltage sources.


According to the NEC "Voice and data telecommunications cabling should not be run adjacent and parallel to power cabling-even along short distances-unless one or both cable types are shielded and grounded. For low-voltage communication cables, a minimum 5-inch distance is required from any fluorescent lighting fixture or power line over 2 kVA and up to 24 inches from any power line over 5 kVA. In general, telecommuni-cations cabling is routed separately, or several feet away from power cabling. Similarly, telecommunications cabling is routed away from large motors, generators, induction heaters, arc welders, x-ray equipment, and radio frequency, microwave or radar sources"


Wire length can be a factor as CAT5 has a maximum working length of 100 meters or 328 feet. A distance longer than that will require a repeater, a somewhat expensive device. 


An option to replacing the cable is the installation of a wireless extender with Ethernet which can be bought for less than $100. This is a small device that plugs into a wall outlet for power. It has a small antenna or two to facilitate wireless connectivity along with an Ethernet port and functions like the aforementioned bridge. 


The difference between this and a bridge is that whereas the bridge has multiple Ethernet ports and wireless capability, the extender has only one Ethernet port and is usually used on devices that is not wireless capable. 


To set it up, you connect the extender to your router via Ethernet cable and configure it per the instructions. Once it is configured, you take to the room with the device, plug it into a wall outlet and connect the Ethernet cable between it and the television.


I hope this information is of help in identifying and resolving your problem.


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Head_Unit said:


> Definitely update the app version-hopefully there is a newer one. That is the first step.
> 
> If still stuck, try posting at AVSForum.com where you might get more replies.
> 
> ...


wow, thanks for all the replies!! To answer above, yes, there are other "slow" behaving functions like when I want to up or lower the sound (volume) the TV doesnt respond right away- sluggish. Also, when I change channels it is sometimes slow to do that. 

Mean anything?


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

And man, lately, cant even get on netflix. Soooo bad, it always shows the "try again" bar. Useless. Meanwhile, other TV works great.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

It is beginning to sound like you need a new television. Christmas is just around the corner. :wink2:


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## Fish_Stick (Feb 28, 2017)

Another option would be a cheap streaming stick - Roku, Amazon Fire etc. They just plug into the HDMI port and then you have a "smart" tv. I use a Fire tv and it works very well (the box model anyway). This also allows you to upgrade the hardware if need be to be faster etc.


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Fish_Stick said:


> Another option would be a cheap streaming stick - Roku, Amazon Fire etc. They just plug into the HDMI port and then you have a "smart" tv. I use a Fire tv and it works very well (the box model anyway). This also allows you to upgrade the hardware if need be to be faster etc.


So, I can pop this into an hdmi port and also keep the hdmi cable presently in there? (have a hdmi cable in one port for computer usage/amazon movies......)


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## Fish_Stick (Feb 28, 2017)

papereater said:


> So, I can pop this into an hdmi port and also keep the hdmi cable presently in there? (have a hdmi cable in one port for computer usage/amazon movies......)


It'll take the place of one of your HDMI ports but if you get one of the box types instead of the stick, you can easily swap out the hdmi cable from the computer to the box. It's a cheaper solution and they work very well for streaming.


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