ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
We stream UK TV (legally) via a service called tvmucho.com, they stream 'live' UK TV channels to ex-pats and have a useful catch-up facility too. We've been using them for almost a year without issues, I'm actually very impressed with their service and their support.
In the last week a problem has developed when I stream a catch-up program, live programs are not affected they stream normally. Catch-up programs stall repeatedly, it's not a stutter it's a full-on stall. I have to forward the stream slightly to get past the stall. The timing between stalls is not constant. The same catch-up program stalls in the same places every time, though different programs stall in different places but each program stalls in the same places every time.
The problem occurs on my PC, on my laptop, and on the tvmucho app on my Android phone. So it's not a device, software, or configuration issue.
However, if I switch my Android phone to 4G and disconnect from wifi catch-up programs play normally. So it's an issue with my network. My laptop and Android phone use wifi and my PC is Ethernet attached.
If I start my VPN on my PC and stream a tvmucho catch-up program over that it streams normally. So it's an issue with my streaming traffic and (probably) my ISP.
My question is 'what could the ISP possibly be doing to stall only catch-up streams at the same place every time and in different places on different catch-up programs'? And 'why aren't 'live' TV streams affected at all'? I simply can't imagine what could be causing these stalls. I've not yet run a packet sniffer on a catch-up stream (because there will be a ton of data to comb through) but I know my (Greek) ISP will not be terribly responsive unless I can point them to a specific issue.
TVMucho know about this of course, their support team have been trying to help but I don't think they've heard of a problem like this before, I know I haven't. I'm hoping one of the smart people on here can think of what might be the cause. Running over my VPN is a good solution and isn't a problem for me but I hate not knowing why this is happening.......
In the last week a problem has developed when I stream a catch-up program, live programs are not affected they stream normally. Catch-up programs stall repeatedly, it's not a stutter it's a full-on stall. I have to forward the stream slightly to get past the stall. The timing between stalls is not constant. The same catch-up program stalls in the same places every time, though different programs stall in different places but each program stalls in the same places every time.
The problem occurs on my PC, on my laptop, and on the tvmucho app on my Android phone. So it's not a device, software, or configuration issue.
However, if I switch my Android phone to 4G and disconnect from wifi catch-up programs play normally. So it's an issue with my network. My laptop and Android phone use wifi and my PC is Ethernet attached.
If I start my VPN on my PC and stream a tvmucho catch-up program over that it streams normally. So it's an issue with my streaming traffic and (probably) my ISP.
My question is 'what could the ISP possibly be doing to stall only catch-up streams at the same place every time and in different places on different catch-up programs'? And 'why aren't 'live' TV streams affected at all'? I simply can't imagine what could be causing these stalls. I've not yet run a packet sniffer on a catch-up stream (because there will be a ton of data to comb through) but I know my (Greek) ISP will not be terribly responsive unless I can point them to a specific issue.
TVMucho know about this of course, their support team have been trying to help but I don't think they've heard of a problem like this before, I know I haven't. I'm hoping one of the smart people on here can think of what might be the cause. Running over my VPN is a good solution and isn't a problem for me but I hate not knowing why this is happening.......
