Hello all,
I have noticed that my Tv’s have started buffering within the last month. The tv is hard-wired into an Alta 8 port switch and the other tv is wireless. About 15 feet from the AP. not sure if there should be different settings or if this is a known issues.
Thank you
there’s a fair bit to unpack really. So, have you checked your network speed directly at the router? are you getting what you used to back before the buffering began? Presumably you have a baseline measurement of what your internet speeds were and are now. Try a power cycle of the network. power off the APs, switch and your router. Turn them on in order - router/dhcp server first, switch, APs. see if it makes any difference… if it doesn’t, read on…
So, the number one, bar none issue I run into at client sites concerning speed issues is DNS lookups. I’ve found without exception that a local (on site) DNS cache improves everyone’s day.
I prefer Pi-Hole, others prefer AdGuard. Now, the idea is to install them as a VM or on a small low power machine, and have your Router (or whatever handles DHCP) point to the IP of the DNS cache. then all your DNS lookups hit the cache first. The first DNS lookup is normal speed, the subsequent lookups faster.
Also, make sure your forward servers are NOT your router, but something big - like 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4, 9.9.9.9, you get the idea. there’s MANY good DNS providers out there, and they’ll be better than your provider’s DNS for the most part, and having a local cache removes the latency associated with out-board DNS. overall a win.
try it and see.
Edit: I know this doesn’t directly address your question. you think it’s the Alta gear. My success with Alta gear makes me think it’s not that, and so I’m bringing up the most common solution I use to solve people’s buffering/latency issues.
TVs do a lookup to Netflix/Hulu/Whatever every single time. they aren’t smart enough to keep their own cache or so it seems. Do what you can to make the lookups faster.