# DOD: Are Download Speeds Getting Slower?



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Has anyone with a fast internet connection, who has been using DOD during the CE testing noticed recently that download speeds have gotten much slower.

I haven't downloaded anything in about a week. Previously, during the CE testing, any SD show I downloaded came at about 1.5 to 2 times viewing speed. It really was on demand, by the time I got to "list", I could view it and it downloaded faster than I could watch it.

Today, I have tried two different SD shows, and both taken longer to go from Que to list and then, within less than a minute, I catch up with the buffer and it stops while it waits to download more. That did not happen last week.

I hope this isn't due to more people using DOD and a preview of things to come as this really rolls out nationally. I was very pleased with DOD the past few weeks when it truely felt like it was On Demand, not so pleased with it now.

My connection is 10 down, hardwired and I have no issues with my internet speed. The slowdown is definately not on my end.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

raott said:


> Has anyone with a fast internet connection, who has been using DOD during the CE testing noticed recently that download speeds have gotten much slower.
> 
> I haven't downloaded anything in about a week. Previously, during the CE testing, any SD show I downloaded came at about 1.5 to 2 times viewing speed. It really was on demand, by the time I got to "list", I could view it and it downloaded faster than I could watch it.
> 
> ...


The slowdown could be at any of the hops between you and the DirecTV download service. Remember, the service is in beta so it's likely they may be working on things and not have the system at full capacity. They could be constraining things just to see what happens when a server gets many requests...you never know what fun could be going on during a test.


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## Fire407 (Jul 26, 2007)

I watched the first episode of Las Vegas today. I hit play right after putting in the que and I had no problem watching it. The buffer was always ahead and gradually pulling away so I could eventually fast forward through the commercials. The quality seemed pretty decent for standard def video.


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## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

I have done testing since getting DOD when it was first released in CE as well as now since it is rolling out nationally and I haven't seen any slowdown in download speeds as of yet. Maybe it is just lucky timing or something but I try to test at various times of the day. 

It seems like D* has the single connection limit capped at 7Mb/Sec which I have been able to achieve since activating DOD on my HR20-700 quite some time ago. 

I have a 20/5Mb FIOS Connection and the ability to monitor bandwidth within my network.


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## Coffey77 (Nov 12, 2006)

The slowdown can be brought on by different things. Depending on the time of day - you may be slowed down by other people surfing the net through your provider - cable broadband has a bottlenecking issue when it gets too much load on it's service, I know my DLS got slow right as everyone got home from work. I could surf all day long and it'd be pretty fast until about 5 pm... then it'd crawl. You only as fast as your slowest piece of equipment so just make sure it's not one of yours that could be causing things to slow up - did you accidentally capture a virus? Is your router going bad? - if DSL, is your phone line in good shape?


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

My assertion that it wasn't on my end was premature.

I did a bunch of speed tests this morning and they were less than stellar, ranging anywhere from 3Mbps to 4.5Mbps - when they should be about 10. It appears to be a router issue. I took the router out of the loop, hooking one of my computers directly to the modem and redid the speed tests - speeds were where they should be - ie around 10Mbps. Rehooked the router and they dropped right back down.

Before I go spend $50 on a new router, has anyone else had experience with a router going bad slowing down, rather than just quitting working altogether.


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## michaelyork29 (Jun 22, 2007)

Yes...it actually has happened to me twice. But I've had very good luck with Linksys routers...seem to be the best ones out there...


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## superunlikely (Oct 20, 2006)

michaelyork29 said:


> Yes...it actually has happened to me twice. But I've had very good luck with Linksys routers...seem to be the best ones out there...


Funny I had to replace the factory firmware in my Linksys router because of a specific bug that would cause lag.

Since I switched it to DD-WRT I've had zero problems.

Not recommending against Linksys though. It's good cheap hardware IMO.


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## firmie (Dec 26, 2006)

my downloads are slow, but I only have a 4 mpbs connection..4 mpbs down and 768k up...looks like downloading overnight for me!


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## PennHORN (Sep 13, 2007)

Get the Apple Airport Extreme. It is the best router on the market IMO. Works with both PC and Mac and is a snap to set up.


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## ddruker (Aug 5, 2007)

I am using a wired router with a built in four port gigabit switch - 100MBS connection on the WAN side to my DSL and four 1000 MBS ports for the LAN side. I happen to have a DLINK box but there are lots on the market. 

The point is why not future proof and go with a Gigabit router... It's not that much more expensive than 100 Meg anymore. 

I bought some used Linksys 54G wireless routers, installed DD-WRT, and I use those for my wireless network in the house. Much cheaper than buying out of the box wireless access points.


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## dervari (Dec 1, 2005)

People ***** about 4mb/s? I'm on an 8mb/s connection and am lucky to get 1.8mb/s downloading from D*.


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## MikeR (Oct 6, 2006)

dervari said:


> People ***** about 4mb/s? I'm on an 8mb/s connection and am lucky to get 1.8mb/s downloading from D*.


What does your speedtest.net results show?

Edit: nevermind. I see you use comcast as well. There are days I get <500kbps down on my 6Mbps connection.


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

I'm seeing some slow downloads. Attached is my traffic graph from this morning. You can see at about 3AM I downloaded a 500M file for work. At about 5am I downloaded the HIM Video from MTV On Demand. Right after that, you see a definate drop in bandwidth usage - this is me trying to download "Rush Hour - Widescreen Format"

It looks to me like the On Demand service and download speeds depends on the provider... Or it could be a software issue with the Queue system.

FYI - If anyone is wondering, I use IPCop (http://www.IPCop.Org) for my firewall on an old Dual PIII 1U Server. That's where I got the traffic graph from.


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## MikeR (Oct 6, 2006)

Yes, Download speeds are dependent on your provider for anything less<7Mbps. Run a speedtest.net to see your actual download speed, which will vary considerably.

See funhouse's post for the "cap" >7Mbps.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Although I'm having connection issues right now, last week I tested and got my normal 2.7Mbps down. During the CE portion of the VOD test, I was able to download a 30 minute show in 15-18 minutes. Now it is 22-24 minutes.


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## ccr1958 (Aug 29, 2007)

D* populated my DoD this morn & i DL
a 90 min movie in about 50 mins but would like
to monitor it visually on my laptop running
vista home premium....anyone know of a
good free SW for this...thanks

have charter 10/1 package


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## Richi (Sep 13, 2006)

Since DOD has gone national, the MPEG2 AND MPEG4 channels have been VERY hard for the HR20 to lock into. The screen goes blank for about 15-30 seconds until/if the channel is locked into or totaly ignored. Bring back 18a this version of the software is LOUSY.


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## ccr1958 (Aug 29, 2007)

Richi said:


> Since DOD has gone national, the MPEG2 AND MPEG4 channels have been VERY hard for the HR20 to lock into. The screen goes blank for about 15-30 seconds until/if the channel is locked into or totaly ignored. Bring back 18a this version of the software is LOUSY.


mmmm...i haven't had any issues thus far...
knock on wood


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

MikeR said:


> Yes, Download speeds are dependent on your provider for anything less<7Mbps. Run a speedtest.net to see your actual download speed, which will vary considerably.
> 
> See funhouse's post for the "cap" >7Mbps.


Actually, my point was it looks like download speeds depend on the DOD Provider, not the broadband provider. For example, it looks to me like MTV on Demand allows you to download faster than Starz On Demand.


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## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

AlbertZeroK said:


> Actually, my point was it looks like download speeds depend on the DOD Provider, not the broadband provider. For example, it looks to me like MTV on Demand allows you to download faster than Starz On Demand.


The "Provider" shouldn't matter as all of the content is coming from the same server(s) that D* manages. It is possible that they are more popular so they are more congested but there doesn't seem to be different servers for each DOD channel or provider.


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

funhouse69 said:


> The "Provider" shouldn't matter as all of the content is coming from the same server(s) that D* manages. It is possible that they are more popular so they are more congested but there doesn't seem to be different servers for each DOD channel or provider.


Then how do you explain a music video downloading at over 1mbps and a movie downloading at less than 50kbps? Both items were added to the queue at the same time - so the only difference is the content.

As for popularity? Possibly. I'm assuming the content is encrypted to match our DVR when it's downloaded, but that's just an assumption, but why at 5am would this slow down the download?

From where I sit, I think it's either an issue with queue items on the HR20 or more likely, it's an issue with the content provider.


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## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

AlbertZeroK said:


> Then how do you explain a music video downloading at over 1mbps and a movie downloading at less than 50kbps? Both items were added to the queue at the same time - so the only difference is the content.
> 
> As for popularity? Possibly. I'm assuming the content is encrypted to match our DVR when it's downloaded, but that's just an assumption, but why at 5am would this slow down the download?
> 
> From where I sit, I think it's either an issue with queue items on the HR20 or more likely, it's an issue with the content provider.


I've never had anything download slower than 7Mb/Sec and I have downloaded a ton of stuff. I have also downloaded some videos. I'm sure that these things are hit and miss so unless we could somehow coordinate downloading at the same time to see then it would he hard to tell.


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## dervari (Dec 1, 2005)

MikeR said:


> What does your speedtest.net results show?
> 
> Edit: nevermind. I see you use comcast as well. There are days I get <500kbps down on my 6Mbps connection.


Speedtest shows 7.5-8mb down. I also get those speeds transferring files from work to home on a T3 connection.


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## crendall (Jun 27, 2006)

Last weekend I downloaded the CE for the HR20-100 and yesterday I was able to to download shows and watch them on-demand. Today I added the CNN show about global warming. It shows up in the queue but only shows 0% downloaded. Yesterday when I added shows to the queue I could start watching them right away. The shows don't seem to be downloading anymore.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

crendall, I would try deleting that show and try redownloading a program that you know you can download (one you've downloaded already.) It's possible that CNN program is the problem.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

raott said:


> My assertion that it wasn't on my end was premature.
> 
> I did a bunch of speed tests this morning and they were less than stellar, ranging anywhere from 3Mbps to 4.5Mbps - when they should be about 10. It appears to be a router issue. I took the router out of the loop, hooking one of my computers directly to the modem and redid the speed tests - speeds were where they should be - ie around 10Mbps. Rehooked the router and they dropped right back down.
> 
> Before I go spend $50 on a new router, has anyone else had experience with a router going bad slowing down, rather than just quitting working altogether.


My issues were provider related. Insight was having issues around that time and speedtests were all over the place making things very confusing and hard to diagnose, especially since speedtests from their webpage were still showing 10Mpbs but those done from broadbandreports.com were much less.

I ended up taking the router out of the loop and tried a download and it was still lagging the viewing speed.

I decided to swap out the router anyway (because it was an old belkin wireless-b) and by the time I bought that and hooked it up, things were back to normal.

So, all is good now.


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## crendall (Jun 27, 2006)

> crendall, I would try deleting that show and try redownloading a program that you know you can download (one you've downloaded already.) It's possible that CNN program is the problem.


I deleted the shows and retried downloading it yesterday but it still wouldn't download. Today I tried again and I was able to add Planet in Peril to my queue and it downloaded perfectly and I was able to watch the shows.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

crendall said:


> I deleted the shows and retried downloading it yesterday but it still wouldn't download. Today I tried again and I was able to add Planet in Peril to my queue and it downloaded perfectly and I was able to watch the shows.


I had a similar issue a few weeks ago that I posted about in the "content" sticky thread in the DOD CE section. I tried downloading a concert and it would not move of que status and would never download. If I left it going overnight, I would find that its status had changed to "download paused". I tried to download it a number of times over a couple of weeks and finally it actually downloaded.

I'm pretty sure its a program problem. I've seen it happen on one or two other shows.


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## jtn (Oct 18, 2007)

raott said:


> I had a similar issue a few weeks ago that I posted about in the "content" sticky thread in the DOD CE section. I tried downloading a concert and it would not move of que status and would never download. If I left it going overnight, I would find that its status had changed to "download paused". I tried to download it a number of times over a couple of weeks and finally it actually downloaded.
> 
> I'm pretty sure its a program problem. I've seen it happen on one or two other shows.


I have to say now with my Comcast Internet full movies are downloading in a half hour or less. This would be of course standard definition. If the modem hiccups, it still resumes, I'm happy about that. I don't believe Comcast is trying to sabotage my downloads.

Sorry your having issues. I hope your able to resolve them soon. The only devices I have are my Comcast provided cable modem and my Linksys WRT54GS router connected to both my HR20-700's, and they pickup where they leave off if there is an Internet issue. I surf the web while it's downloading a program and I'm happy with performance.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

jtn said:


> I have to say now with my Comcast Internet full movies are downloading in a half hour or less. This would be of course standard definition. If the modem hiccups, it still resumes, I'm happy about that. I don't believe Comcast is trying to sabotage my downloads.
> 
> Sorry your having issues. I hope your able to resolve them soon. The only devices I have are my Comcast provided cable modem and my Linksys WRT54GS router connected to both my HR20-700's, and they pickup where they leave off if there is an Internet issue. I surf the web while it's downloading a program and I'm happy with performance.


My issues are resolved, see post #27. I was commenting on Crendall's issue of a show not downloading at all while other shows do. I have had that issue, it is a show specific issue and can be replicated by others. See my posts and MikeR's post here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100160

Just guessing but I think occasionally a show is being listed as available when it really isn't.


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## MikeR (Oct 6, 2006)

raott said:


> I have had that issue, it is a show specific issue and can be replicated by others. See my posts and MikeR's post here:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100160
> 
> Just guessing but I think occasionally a show is being listed as available when it really isn't.


Keep this up and Poison will be on the charts again!


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

raott said:


> Just guessing but I think occasionally a show is being listed as available when it really isn't.


I believe you've hit the nail on the head there, clearly some sort of disconnect between the server maintaining the list and the one with the programming.


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## MiamiPhins (May 28, 2007)

I think it's definitely worse. I've been testing since the 700 first got the beat and never experienced any problem. I have Qwest dsl with dedicated 7mb/s. I can't even download a small MTV Video without issues.


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## jtn (Oct 18, 2007)

raott said:


> My issues are resolved, see post #27. I was commenting on Crendall's issue of a show not downloading at all while other shows do. I have had that issue, it is a show specific issue and can be replicated by others. See my posts and MikeR's post here:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100160
> 
> Just guessing but I think occasionally a show is being listed as available when it really isn't.


All shows that appear in my list are watchable. So I reconfirm my prior post.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

jtn said:


> All shows that appear in my list are watchable. So I reconfirm my prior post.


I'm not saying that your modem doesn't pick up where it left off.

I was specifically trying to help Crendall who's issue which appears to be the exact same issue that I and others (see the link I gave you in my prior post) have had before.

The issue is program specific and it was repeatable by people in other areas of the country. That appears to be what happened to Crendall, he cannot get the global warming show to download while other shows will download.

If you haven't downloaded all 2000 shows in the list, you really don't know if they are watchable, again, it was a specific concert that I could not download, other shows would download, others were able to repeat the same issue.


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