'insufficient band width' - bbc i-player

macman

So it's not a wireless issue. Possibly a contention problem if it's only stuttering in the evenings. Retest early in the morning or very late at night.

grumpycrab

Bit strange that it used to work. 3 (more questions).
1. do you know who provides your broadband? (may be the same as your phone e.g. BT?)
2. do you know what broadband service you have? e.g. is it "upto 2MB" or "upto 8MB"
3. click this link
http://www.broadband-finder.co.uk/tools/broadband-line-test/
Enter your postcode and telephone number and press Check.

What is the first text in bold? e.g. Up to 5.5 Mbps

And how far does it say you are from the exchange (in the second line of text).

ampersand

Good morning everyone - and thankyou all so much again.

grumpycrab - I'm 381 miles away from the exchange/up to 8Mbps.
My phone /bb service is with Primus although I retain the BT landline no. I read through mse endlessly before finally choosing and the 0800 no. for any problems played into that final decision. I've been with them for years now and have certainly made use of that no. At least when things have gone wrong, insult has not been added to injury via a charging no. Their return of service to the UK is very welcome. Well educated and courteous as the Mumbai people mostly were, Primus's farming out of services for several years was an own goal. I am a loyal creature, to my[ill-afforded] cost at times. I've just rung them[c.s option 2, enquiries option 1, faults option 6 all went to immediate disconnect]which would be even more of a Grrr! moment were I paying].

[Actually I'm holding on to a working option 3, don't know which, until ANYONE answers. Back in longhaul stoic mode. hmm, I've been thanked for my patience with the same tinny music 5 times now, but I don't give up]

macman - as I woke around 2 listening to sth on 4extra, that thought came to me, too. I tried a normal watch of Montalbano on i-player again - didn't even get 5 minutes in before a fuller form of the same msg came up+ ref. to 'cannot continue streaming', black screen and no way to download. Fiddled about trying to finesse things sans succès. Ahh, hoorah-at last.
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Have been on phone with Andrea of Primus for over 40 mins. Someone has to call me back from Faults.
My contract is for Unlimited bb. Re-doing the bb test 3 times for Andrea gave 8Mbps twice, 7.5 once. But she is puzzled by the 381 miles distant, asked me to check- Was it 381 Metres? because this is a small village and I have seen what I understood was The Box by the village college. No, deffo. 381 miles.
Knowing what happens with this wretched google chrome[slowdown/loss troubles started in a big way with this when it suddenly appeared months ago. I loathe it, but ?s posted did not bring replies that worked or were comprehensible] I luckily saved post, because - sure enough - the whole darned thing has closed down twice, yet again. It is infuriating to lose work, no matter what it is.

I have an external tv aerial, but it is up in the loft, under the roof of this bungalow.
I emphasise, all used to work perfectly well before digital changeover and subsequently with computer instead.

closed - it is a mare's nest of wires and extensions, has to be. From the double socket alongside me:l/h- double plug with a 4-socket jack lead and my sewing maching. r/h - with a triple plug for electronic scales[ebay weighing], other 2 leads for computer and phone.
That 4-socket extension is fully used - sewing maching foot pedal, computer/ phone, logitech camera and speakers for skype etc.

Now, I've just looked at the router, thinking there might be a useful detail - 5 green lights: power, ethernet[intermittent flashes], broadband, internet, then...wifi!. A further one WPS, is not lit.
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dave - I'll post this now[sod's law being what it is, I'll lose the lot again.] and try your next steps.

Thankyou all so much - I really appreciate that you are not being sneery and that you all write lucidly and well.

macman

Most of that lost me, but I can tell you for a fact that you are not 381 miles from the exchange. Unless your exchange is Rockall!
More like 3.81 miles..
I suspect however that you are taking a hammer to crack a nut-why not just get your existing TV sorted out? Borrow a TV from friend/neighbour and test it on your aerial, that will determine if the problem is with the TV or the aerial/cabling. Then proceed accordingly.

ampersand

poi -

i-player has eventually come up. Annoyingly, it always locates itself upper right and cannot be clicked and dragged anywhere else. That being said, a tiny post-it appeared twice just now, bearing bbc i-player logo in the lower right cnr - another new thing. Then came the larger screen, with this central msg:

Inspector Montalbano: Series 2: The Age of Doubt doesn't seem to be working. Try again later.
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Dave - Merlin test complete. I was in SD, went to HD just to dbl check, then returned to SD as was.

grumpycrab

381 miles - LOL - will read at lunchtime.

GunJack

right, there's much not clear from all the above, but there's much that can be done. First, some clarity is required:-

1. is the pc connecting to your router wirelessly or with ethernet cable?

2. what are your current line statistics with your setup as-is? To get these, log into your router's interface and you want the up & down:- line speed (usually in kb/s), line attenuation (dB) and snrm (dB).

Ask back with router make & model if you need help in getting these stats.

Once these things are clarified, then there will be more to do - the support prson seeing 7.5 megs is encouraging - but need the line stats and wifi status first

macman

The OP has confirmed a 'wired' (ethernet) connection in post 20.
OP, you need to supply the info requested and not get sidetracked on other issues if you want a resolution.
Just a stab in the dark, but are you connecting with a modern router, and not some ancient USB modem? Make and model would help.

ampersand

Indeed, as I said to Andrea, 381 miles[and no, it's not even 3.81]might explain something!.... If I was on Rockall, it might be better than this:-)
We began some silly 'leaves on the line' ideas, 'wrong colour fog' etc as it is v. much so here atm
She asked me to run speedtest.net and couldn't believe the length of time things took to come up on this computer.
Those tests have just completed and read thus:
TUNE UP 1-CLICK MAINTENANCE
Clean registry - 2016 problems found.
Remove broken shortcuts - 38 problems found.
Clean up windows and programs - 12 items found.
Clean up browser - 6 items found.
Optimise system start-up and shutdown - 3 recommendations found.
Defrag. registry and hard disk, both skipped.

finally, ANALYSIS COMPLETE ! HIGH INTERFERENCE.

Next options are *Run Maintenance, or Go To Start Centre[I am anglicising US 'z's and 'er's.]

Shall I do this?*
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I tried to copy and paste this inset direct here, but neither right-, nor left-click responded to make it possible. It used to be.

GunJack

macman wrote: »

The OP has confirmed a 'wired' (ethernet) connection in post 20.

cheers mac, just scanned back and saw it, missed it first time round - makes it easier to troubleshoot, providing they've got a long enough ethernet cable