Roku3 and Netflix Bitrate

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tnarg.retrac

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Hi all

Been playing around with my new Roku 3 and cannot seem to get it to stream Netflix at the same bitrate as on my PC. I have 4Mb ADSL line which Speedtest.net rates at 3.4Mbps (both from PC and Roku). I have connected the Roku and PC wirelessly as well as wired - no difference.

When playing the Example Short 23.976 on my PC, it streams at 3000kbps, while on the Roku, I never get above 1750kbps. I have tried setting my Netflix Playback Setting to Auto as well as "High" with no change on the Roku. I have also gone into the "secret" Roku menu where you can specify the bitrate and set them to auto and 3.5Mbps with no difference.

It seems like the Roku is not allowing the HD version of the stream. Have a missed a setting somewhere?

Thanks in advance...
 
Mine is the opposite, can get perfect SuperHD on the Roku but my laptop never plays HD. You are waiting a while before checking this? The Roku stream will start out at lower quality and then after about 30 - 60 seconds it will adapt to a higher quality.
 
On the remote, press:
Home x5, REW x3, FF x2
and select your desired bitrate. I've not fully tested this myself, so not sure if it makes a significant difference.

Edit: I assume that by "secret menu" you've already tried this without any success?
 
Last edited:
bobbytb said:
On the remote, press:
Home x5, REW x3, FF x2
and select your desired bitrate. I've not fully tested this myself, so not sure if it makes a significant difference.

Edit: I assume that by "secret menu" you've already tried this without any success?
Click to expand...

But if you still want to change it in the Roku 1 box itself (this technique doesn't work for all channels but it works on the original Roku for the Netflix channel, but it has no effect on the Netflix channel for the Roku 2 or 3)...

http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?p=375283&sid=061a1b6995e493d0ca24d00da8ae5066
 
Here is how my bandwidth usage looks today playing Netflix from my Roku 3:

netflix_bandwidth.png
 
Interesting...
Mine is the opposite, can get perfect SuperHD on the Roku but my laptop never plays HD
Click to expand...

On my laptop I had to click the HD icon to enable HD, and then after buffering for a while, it kicks up to >1750Mbps (actually 3Mbps) for 720p. So I was thinking there was an HD setting on the Roku somewhere.

I am waiting for the bitrate to stabilize.

Have you noticed any difference between the Playback Setting on your Netflix Account if set to Auto vs High?

On the remote, press: Home x5, REW x3, FF x2
Click to expand...

Yip - that was what I had meant by the "Secret" menu. For me it made no difference.

I was wondering if the audio settings have some influence. Mine is set on stereo.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Mine is the opposite, can get perfect SuperHD on the Roku but my laptop never plays HD. You are waiting a while before checking this? The Roku stream will start out at lower quality and then after about 30 - 60 seconds it will adapt to a higher quality.
Click to expand...

How do you know you are getting SuperHD? or even HD for that matter? Are you just looking at the bitrate?
 
tnarg.retrac said:
Hi all

Been playing around with my new Roku 3 and cannot seem to get it to stream Netflix at the same bitrate as on my PC. I have 4Mb ADSL line which Speedtest.net rates at 3.4Mbps (both from PC and Roku). I have connected the Roku and PC wirelessly as well as wired - no difference.

When playing the Example Short 23.976 on my PC, it streams at 3000kbps, while on the Roku, I never get above 1750kbps. I have tried setting my Netflix Playback Setting to Auto as well as "High" with no change on the Roku. I have also gone into the "secret" Roku menu where you can specify the bitrate and set them to auto and 3.5Mbps with no difference.

It seems like the Roku is not allowing the HD version of the stream. Have a missed a setting somewhere?

Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

Just saw this:
http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=57671&sid=78cf7261137dbb5654005f016ba63c03

Are you streaming on Wifi or cable?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/tips-and-tricks-for-optimizing-your-roku/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
iaywtimnbe said:
Aah... custom distros FTW. Way more features.
Did you build your box or buy it? I'm looking out for something like this to replace my RouterOS box.
Click to expand...

It's a self built box but I bought it second hand from a friend who had already built it. It's a small micro atx box, very small footprint and lower power usage. Ideal for a router that is always on.
 
To me it sounds like that small test file is cached locally and that's why it's faster.
 
I think that this is a complete list of all of the Netflix streaming rates/resolution/pixel aspect ratios. 3000kbps is the maximum bitrate that appears in the streaming menu on Chrome/IE. I'm not sure whether the 3850kbps stream is available in South Africa (maybe some devices are able to access it?) I think that you have to be connected to one of the Netflix Open Connect ISPs to access the SuperHD streams. I rarely see a stable 1750kbps stream on my PC. The Example Short 23.976 stream usually ramps up to 3000kbps near the end which might not be an accurate reflection of the bitrate that is possible on a longer sample.

235kbps - 320X240 - 4:3, 375kbps - 384X288 - 4:3, 560kbps - 512X384 - 4:3, 750kbps - 512X384 - 4:3, 1050kbps - 640X480 - 4:3, 1750kbps - 720X480 - 32:27, 2350kbps - 1280X720 - 1:1, 3000kbps - 1280X720 - 1:1.
These resolutions are also available (not sure about here though) ...
3850kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1
Open Connect - http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/04/netflix-open-connect/
4300kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1 (SuperHD), 5800kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1 (SuperHD)
 
Yotch, they opened it up to all iSPs now.

Netflix Blog Posted 14 October 2013 said:
In case you missed it, on Sept. 26 we made the highest quality HD streams available to all Netflix members, regardless of their Internet service provider. We initially made these "Super HD" streams available only through ISPs with a direct connection to Netflix. We don't expect the broader availability to substantially change the rankings. ISPs with a direct Netflix connection will continue to deliver the best Netflix experience.
Click to expand...
More info at source

On the PS4 it goes almost instantly into HD (can't say if SuperHD as we got 1080i/720p TV) :p but definitely clean looking. Love the DD+ sound too. Am sure will work with all dns/vpn providers now too. Unblock-US is what i am using now.
 
Yotch said:
I think that this is a complete list of all of the Netflix streaming rates/resolution/pixel aspect ratios. 3000kbps is the maximum bitrate that appears in the streaming menu on Chrome/IE. I'm not sure whether the 3850kbps stream is available in South Africa (maybe some devices are able to access it?) I think that you have to be connected to one of the Netflix Open Connect ISPs to access the SuperHD streams. I rarely see a stable 1750kbps stream on my PC. The Example Short 23.976 stream usually ramps up to 3000kbps near the end which might not be an accurate reflection of the bitrate that is possible on a longer sample.

235kbps - 320X240 - 4:3, 375kbps - 384X288 - 4:3, 560kbps - 512X384 - 4:3, 750kbps - 512X384 - 4:3, 1050kbps - 640X480 - 4:3, 1750kbps - 720X480 - 32:27, 2350kbps - 1280X720 - 1:1, 3000kbps - 1280X720 - 1:1.
These resolutions are also available (not sure about here though) ...
3850kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1
Open Connect - http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/04/netflix-open-connect/
4300kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1 (SuperHD), 5800kbps - 1920X1280 - 1:1 (SuperHD)
Click to expand...

Yep, just did a test now with that Netflix test stream. Mine goes to 5800Kbps:

[video=youtube_share;4VdddkIs_PY]http://youtu.be/4VdddkIs_PY[/video]
 
@Yuu: Thanks for the update on Open Connect. What is the maximum speed that you are you getting when you play Example Short 23.976 on all your devices? I have only been able to reach 3000kbps which appears to be the maximum bitrate available locally. If you are seeing 3850, 4300 or 5800kbps then it is indeed possible to receive better quality streams locally.
 
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