Netflix fixes streaming-video glitch

UPDATE: 3:29 p.m. PT: To include Roku's statement.

Netflix, the Web's top video rental store, has corrected a glitch that has plagued some customers of the company's streaming-video service for several weeks, Netflix said Friday.

Beginning in mid-November, owners of Roku's Netflix Player and Microsoft's Xbox 360 began complaining on Web forums about seeing dramatic drop-off in video quality and long buffering delays, which prevented them watching films.

This was the first setback for Netflix's streaming service, which has won accolades since last spring when the Roku box made its debut and helped users transfer video streamed from the Web to TV sets. Microsoft, LG Electronics, and Samsung followed with their own set-top boxes featuring Netflix's service.

With the rollout of the service, many observers have said that Netflix is closer to the holy grail of Web video--jumping from the PC to the living room--than Apple, or any other competitor.

Netflix notified customers of the fix on the company's blog.

"Recently some Netflix members using Roku or Xbox movie players noticed lower quality streaming than they had experienced earlier," the company said. "This was a temporary issue that we believe we have resolved. Working with our content distribution partners and key carriers, we made some specific changes that should restore everyone's experience to where it was before - high quality streaming."

The company declined to identify what caused the glitch.

Some frustrated customers expressed gratitude to the company for finally acknowledging the glitch and finding a fix. Said one person who posted a comment to Netflix's blog: "Thanks for stepping up to this problem."

Nobody is likely more relieved than Roku. For a week, the company was criticized by frustrated by device owners who erroneously thought the company was at fault.

"Roku is pleased Netflix has resolved the issue," the startup said in an statement, "but we will continue to closely monitor streams to make sure our customers get the best quality experience."

[myles taylor]

Kudos. I'll be sure and confirm this. ;)

[Graywalker]

People buy whole systems to do this? I grabbed an old laptop, an s-video cable and a double-mini-phono plug from radio shack and play Netflix on my TV... $8.00 or so... How much are these "set-top boxes"? - and can they also play CNN, YouTube, etc videos??

[freemarket--2008]

Not everyone has an 'old laptop' laying around or even the know-how to jury-rig something.

[tjmile1]

That's an awkward setup at best. Who is watching YouTube videos on their TV? The Roku box is discreet and well designed. I had no problem spending $99 on this appliance. The key to it's long term success will be whether Netflix can deliver consistent quality of service (they've stumbled here), and whether ISP's decide to destroy this service with caps. I have TimeWarner Cable, if they cap my bandwidth Netflix's online streaming and Roku is dead.

[Graywalker]

So, you first have to put movies into your "Instant" que from a computer, then go to your TV/Roku and scroll through your que until you find it again, then watch.

I would find THAT an awkward setup for watching netflix movies. Now, I browse, find something I want to watch, press play and fullscreen it.

Now, if you could search/browse for your movie, find one you want and Play it all from your chair, that would be great.

How does it do TV episodes? I watch one now, click "next" and watch the next one.... do you have to add each to your Instant Que on the Roku?

$99 isn't too bad, but it is still a one-trick pony. I guess I just want more out of my devices.

[sandor_f]

Set-top boxes are $99 - a whole lot cheaper than a laptop (which you should factor into your price, as not many joe-consumers have a spare laptop sitting around.

[jaxstephens]

Man, Netflix is on a roll. They do seem to be close to that so-called "Holy Grail" of next-generation media content delivery. I honestly wouldn't have guessed that they could do it when their original business model was the low-tech snail-mail delivery of discs, but they've proven to be a versatile company. My monthly Netflix bill is one of the things I'm happiest to pay.

If only it were true. I am still having the same problem with mine and it seems to be worse.

[streamOG]

Right because XBox isn't already the #1 delivery platform for movies in the world :)

Outsells iTunes 3 to 1 on movies.

[tjmile1]

It wasn't "fixed" as of last night so I'm not convinced. The whole problem seems to have started after they added "Starz" movies to the catalog.

I planned on sending five of my family member Roku boxes for Christmas, but I had to put the brakes on that when I started experiencing this loss of quality. It's a shame too because when it works it's the best thing I've used. I've seen hundreds of movies that I would have never added to my regular mail list. The quality with four dots is great, very watchable. Less than three and I can't watch it.

[Travis742]

My brand new LG blu ray / netflix player, which used to play them fine, just today started to say "Unable to connect to Netflix. Select OK to check connection" immediately after it finishes buffering. Perhaps a licensing server issue since it clearly can download (buffer) the content.

The frustrating thing is that Netflix says this service is a 'free' service offered to its subscribers. Thus, they won't offer any compensation when its broken. Same thing for their Watch on PC option. It's a nice 'out' for them when they have a problem with the service. Not quite fair to consumers, since really they ARE paying for it. Apparently Netflix disagrees with my views.

[freemarket--2008]

Netflix gained it's customers based on it's rental rates and service, not on downloadable content. Personally, I don't see how they can afford to offer the downloads for no extra cost and I expect that will have to change at some point. Until then you should be thankful and make the most of it and stop all the whining.

[Xtoo]

After upgrading to Time Warner Turbo package my Xbox Netflix issues went away. My only wish is for Netflix to start providing a decent amount of HD material like Vudu becasue the Netflix line up of HD really sucks! Anyone using Vudu?

[sandonet]

Hi,

Greg Sandoval here, the author of the story. I'm interested in tracking how Netflix's streaming service fares this evening as Friday is typically a good movie night. If you would please post info on how the service performs for you I'd appreciate it. So far, I've got one person who hasn't seen any improvement. If you would rather email, my address is [e-mail]. Here's hoping you have good viewing. Best

[tjmile1]

Still not working properly as of 4:55 pm, PST. 4 dots, then down to 2 in a couple of minutes. Netflix is wrong about fixing this.

[hat_trick2]

Folks,
I was unaware of the service problem from Netflix itself, but had another related to Verizon. So for the Verizon internet servicxe users:
If you notice your internet connection dropping after ~7-15 minutes while wtching a movie, OR useing XBOX Live and probably the other gaming machines on-line, its the crappy router Verizon supplied you. I found a fix, if you have another router and are PC savvy. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17679150-Howto-make-ActionTec-MI424WR-a-network-bridge
Good luck

My Roku box is still only at 1 or 2 dots. But, I now have Netflix service to my Tivo Series 3 that works great. I'm not sure if that information is of any use to Netflix staff working on the streaming problem. But I really know of no efficient means to communicate with them. Hopefully they read these comments.

This article would appear to be incorrect, since the problem with the ROKU box was still very apparent and extremely frustrating as of December 27, 2008 thru at least January 10, 2009 when I returned my box. I purchased a ROKU box for Christmas and soon discovered that content was unwatchable. The movie or show was interrupted every 10 to 15 minutes by a "loading" message that stopped the show while more content was buffered. These signal interruptions lasted 3 minutes or longer. I tried without success to contact ROKU tech support. It was impossible to reach them by telephone and they did not respond to email. Since the box was unusable, I obtained an RMA (not without difficulty) and returned the box to ROKU. Now I am experiencing great frustration in obtaining my refund. ROKU is difficult to deal with and very unresponsive. If anyone is thinking of getting a ROKU box, I'd suggest checking out the ROKU video player online support forums to see how things are going before jumping in.