Router QoS

[#1]

I'm not sure if the title is correct, or even if this is in the right board. Feel free to move it if not.

I have ADSL with about 11-12 Mbps. typically this is used for general internet surfing and the odd youtube video and radio feed. When the F1 is on NowTV I watch it, and normally the picture is crystal clear and no bufferring. But recently I have discovered that the picture gets blurry from time to time. This, I have discovered, is when my son watches a youtube video at the same time. I assume the blurryness is as a result of reduced bandwidth.

So, my questions are:

What is the typical bandwidth required to watch a HD video stream?

Can I somehow tell my Router (2704n) to prioritise video traffic to my NowTV box?

Cheers

[#2]

fwiw, I know NOW TV live TV channels are 720p and stream at 3.5-4 mbps when I use traffic monitoring tools.

Is the NOW TV box connected via wifi ?

If yes, have you tried a hard wired ethernet connection to see if it makes a difference ?

The black NOW TV boxes supports 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi, but your 2704n router is only supports 2.4 GHz wifi btw.  5 GHz is often better for streaming imho.

[#3]

Yes it's a WiFi connection.

No I haven't tried an Ethernet connection mainly because it's not practical.

The WiFi uses a channel no one nearby is using.

If the stream uses about 3.5mbs then I should be able to stream 2 with room to spare, 

I could try watching on my computer via the windows 10 nowtv app and see how that goes (that is hardwired directly to the router)

[#4]

Worth trying wired if you can, just as a temporary measure to see if it makes any difference.

Of couse if it doesn't it is not WiFi related.

[#5]

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@UncleZen wrote:
Can I somehow tell my Router (2704n) to prioritise video traffic to my NowTV box?

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Sorry, there's no QoS facilities on this basic router. However also note that the wireless performance of these devices is at best poor.

[#6]

Just a quick update.

I was watching a sporting event on NowTV on Sunday, the picture was very blurry (usually it starts blurry and then gets clear in < 30 seconds, but I was blurry for 5mins +), there was no one in the house other than me. Bandwith was > 12mbps according to the think broadband speed test.

I tried to use the Windows 10 NowTV app and it didnt work, uninstalling it & re-installing it made no difference, so I'll take this up with NowTV separately.

I tried the NowTV Android app and it was crystal clear.

The finger of accusation was now pointing to the NowTV box. So I restarted the box, no difference. Then restored factory defaults and re-setup the box (a bit of a faff as it takes about 10-15 mins) and after that it was crystal clear. So maybe the blurryness I was seeing before was a box issue and not bandwidth as I first suspected.

I'll keep a close eye on it.

[#7]

Hello @UncleZen, thanks for getting in touch.

I am sorry to hear this has happened, and really appreciate you keeping us updated.

Please let us know if any of your other devices are affected in any other way on our connection.