IPTV glitching jitter and picture corruption

Hi

I am experiencing blockiness and glitching, jitter etc when whatching IPTV on LAN devices (wifi not used for this). The problem is apparent on any "channel" any device. Need help please.



* My broadband is 40Mb, FTTC where the cabinet is about 200metres away.

* Link speeds are 40Mbps / 11Mpbs

* This is a newbuild house on a newbuild estate so there is only one telephone socket in the house (we didnt want any landlines), behind the router. There is no faceplate on the socket, it is simply a connection block between the ASDL cable from the router, and the wires coming in from the cabinet. There is a BT filter on the ADSL cable.

* Various types of devices used: PC, Laptop, Raspberry PI3, Ubuntu server, MAGbox - so hardly the device(s) if it fails on all of them.

* Five different providers used now, all different servers , same result - so unlikely to be the provider. Other users of the provider report no such issues. Problem with NowTV, NetFlix, Amazon prime, Hulu and more.

* Ive looked at the incoming stream, and most of them are MPEG2/X.264 encoded. So should ne no problem in decoding and playing these common codecs.





Steps taken:

* Flashed the router with the latest VCF firmware so that is upto date.

* Disconnected all , ALL, LAN devices bar the device watching IPTV

* Replaced filter

* Replaced ADSL cable

* Use CAT5 LAN cable



STILL SAME!



I am advised that IPTV uses special protocols and settings and is sensitive to errors, and that it could be down to packet loss so to check FEC , QoS , router config and a few more. I have no idea how to do this or diagnose this problem. I would add that the rest of the broadband experience is fine, speed no complaints etc.



I am able to log in to the ruouter's web interface and navigate around, but there doesnt seem to be a SSH interface or anything useful for deep-debugging.

I have created a BQM using ThinkBroadband's monitor service which will measure lost packets and latency . I will run this for two days and come back with the results. Thus far latency is about 20ms and pcket loss is around 0% or so the graph indicates by absence of a red bar in the timeline. The monitor has been running since 6am today. i will let it run.


Can anyone please help by providing appropriate instructions to get me up and running. Thanks.

What ISP and what router are you using?

Got a link to a speed test done at http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

What speed do you get on fast.com (speed test on Netflix's own servers)?

In reply to a post by ninjaef:

Hi

I am experiencing blockiness and glitching, jitter etc when whatching IPTV on LAN devices (wifi not used for this). The problem is apparent on any "channel" any device. Need help please.

I am advised that IPTV uses special protocols and settings and is sensitive to errors, and that it could be down to packet loss so to check FEC , QoS , router config and a few more.

If you are using such services as Netflix/Amazon then it's not IPTV, it's what's called "OTT Streaming". Therefore what you've been advised about special protocols does not apply.

What's the connection speed between your router and your device (i.e. 10Mb/s 100Mb/s or 1Gbps)?

Also have you tried using a different LAN cable (Cat 6 would be better)?

This is a newbuild house on a newbuild estate so there is only one telephone socket in the house (we didnt want any landlines), behind the router. There is no faceplate on the socket, it is simply a connection block between the ASDL cable from the router, and the wires coming in from the cabinet. There is a BT filter on the ADSL cable.

I would suspect that you are not connected to the master socket, so all bets are off ...... first guess would be heavy errors due to a bridge tap on the internal wiring.

I did think about that, but then wasn't sure as they said they have been monitoring the line and have seen no errors

It could be nothing, but in my experience wiring within new builds is often iffy.

A bit weird that the OP can't get any stats from their current router ?

A bit weird that the OP can't get any stats from their current router ?

Don't think that has been said - just that SSH isn't available. Stats may well be available but until the OP starts responding to requests we are running in a hundred different directions with nothing to give us any clue as to whether any of them are valid.

but until the OP starts responding to requests we are running in a hundred different directions with nothing to give us any clue as to whether any of them are valid.

Known as 'The Openreach Gambit' I believe

I thought the Openreach gambit was to just tell you they would charge £120 if nothing was found to scare you into not bothering to ask the question? At least we haven't started doing that (yet).

Hello all

Thanks for the posts. And apologies for not providing the information some of you felt you needed.

So, this is Vodafone broadband router. Not sure what model as I am at work currently as I type, but it is the Huwei as provided about 12 months ago when I took out the contract.

All of you asking about WiFi - this is irrelevant because all deivces are LAN using Cat5 . So link speed varies but is within specs (10/100 , 100/1000). This is not the problem.

In terms of OTT and IPTV, I was merely adding that some services such as OTT types are glitchy now and then, but nowhere near as bad as IPTV. So, for the purpose of this thread, let us disregard OTT services I mentioned and focus only on IPTV

For those asking for speed results, I have used several, three come to mind as I type, speedtest, openeach wholesale test (UK), and this site. Speed tests are reported at around 35-39Mpbs far far more than even 4K streaming needs. So speed is not the issue.

For those questioning the router stats. Im afraid the router must be pretty rubbish . It is as I say a Huwei but branded by Vodafone and I suspect they make the interface very very simple so that n00bs can configure the router. The "advanced" settings allows a minor few things such as PnP, Static IPs, DMZ and thats about it. It reall is limited in terms of config and logging.

Back to you clever guys then ...!
(Is there some way I can dianose by LAN / WAN? other than the quality checker tool Im running now on this site)

Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jan-18 12:18:19)

The link speed on the LAN should not vary, it should be a constant speed unless you are using a damaged wire.

As you've listed only OTT services, what IPTV services are you having trouble with?

It's going to be very difficult to diagnose the problem unless you are more open to providing information.

I'm not closed to providing more information.

The IPTV services is ANY IPTV service. It doesnt matter. All the same. Providing you with names is not going to achieve anything. And If I did, what can you do with that information. Pretty much nothing. I could provide 100 URLs to IPTV providers, but what would you do because you do not have access unless you have an account. You're going to create accounts for all of them to test ? Maybe, what benefit would that give - merely to provde your system is fine and mine is not. I already know this.

Gentlemen, please, as per the OP, what I am seeking is a procedure, a tool, a utility, whatever, that I can follow to diagnose the issue myself. I do not necessarily seek the answers from you.

I am clearly losing packets of video information, other types of data packets/protocols are fine. So how does one diagnose this. I am an IT Software Developer so comptent in all things software - I am not however a network engineer which is probably where I need help in identifying some resources i could use. (Names of IPTV providers isnt going to provide any benefit whatsoever and will not answer the OP)

BTW, link speed DOES and WILL vary, because as I said i have 10/100 and 100/1000 connections. The 100Mpbs will link at a different speed than the 100/1000 for sure !!

Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jan-18 12:50:03)

In reply to a post by ninjaef:

I'm not closed to providing more information.

The IPTV services is ANY IPTV service. It doesnt matter. All the same.

Gentlemen, please, as per the OP, what I am seeking is a procedure, a tool, a utility, whatever, that I can follow to diagnose the issue myself. I do not necessarily seek the answers from you.

I am clearly losing packets of video information, other types of data packets/protocols are fine. So how does one diagnose this. I (Names of IPTV providers isnt going to provide any benefit whatsoever and will not answer the OP)

You say you not closed to providing information, but then go on to say you won't be providing information. You ask for tools, but without saying what services you are using then it's impossible to say what tools best suit your needs.

For all we know, it's possible you could be trying to access IPTV services from another country like the US, this would require a VPN or proxy for instance.

The problem is there isn't really a written down process for diagnosing. Generally it is trying various things and then using experience to decide on what to try next. I don't think any of us can give you a process to follow so all we can do is get you to try something, see what the result is and then consider what might be the next best thing to try. In many ways it is more of an art than a science.

The speed test at https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest does two download tests and the shape of the graphs can help in diagnosis, so posting the link to a result will help people see that.

Obviously if reaching maximum speed within 20ms and holding that speed for both download tests then the broadband itself is probably not why your streaming is problematic

I think you�ll find that�s the service providers doing that Ian

True - but only because "Openreach might charge them". I do wonder how often an ISP charges when OpenReach doesn't.

Andrew, good point! I shall conduct that test later when I arrive home and post here

Thank you Sir

Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jan-18 13:36:23)

UK services in the UK
No VPN needed
Other clients report no issue.
The issue is with my ISP , Router or LAN
Thanks for your help anyway

In reply to a post by robertcrowther:

In reply to a post by ninjaef:

I'm not closed to providing more information.

The IPTV services is ANY IPTV service. It doesnt matter. All the same.

Gentlemen, please, as per the OP, what I am seeking is a procedure, a tool, a utility, whatever, that I can follow to diagnose the issue myself. I do not necessarily seek the answers from you.

I am clearly losing packets of video information, other types of data packets/protocols are fine. So how does one diagnose this. I (Names of IPTV providers isnt going to provide any benefit whatsoever and will not answer the OP)

You say you not closed to providing information, but then go on to say you won't be providing information. You ask for tools, but without saying what services you are using then it's impossible to say what tools best suit your needs.

For all we know, it's possible you could be trying to access IPTV services from another country like the US, this would require a VPN or proxy for instance.

Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jan-18 13:35:30)

I ran speed test twice:

first:
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/15150817146...

second
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/15150818996...

Then I ran the test "more sensitive to provider conjestion" ..
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/15150824087...

And here is the quality monitor (BQM): (still running)
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/...


IPTV all seems fine at the moment I have to say. [censored] typical! It knew I was investigating

Edited by deleted (Thu 04-Jan-18 16:21:02)

Nothing wrong with the BQM, and while the first test is odd, almost as if it took sometime for something to decide to let you run at high speeds the others are good.

YouTube is a good test for video, since on a PC you can manually select the quality of the stream, so you can see if there is a certain quality level above which your devices don't cope e.g. streaming 4K video to a device that does have a good enough GPU and CPU and memory bandwidth can see frames being dropped.

Your issue may actually be nothing to do with your broadband, but could be an interaction between Flash, AV software and other software on the devices. Without specifics about service/hardware one can only give vague suggestions.

Yes, all rather bizarre Andrew. I can assert with confidence that it WAS poor. Before signing up to these forums, I did post to the Vodafone Community Forum (VCF) whereupon a moderator PMd me to give me a ticket reference and a link to log more information. Since I did that, I have noticed an improvmement. I do not appear ot be experiencing dropped packets when viewing the PCAP trace in WireShark, nor does the BQM here indicate dropped packets. Long may it continue then, but I shall let the monitor run.