Bandwidth requirements for HD Netflix Streaming

[Chris]

I currently have a Xbox 360 and a Panasonic DMP-BD65 that I use for Netflix Instant Steaming and have Comcast high speed internet. Sometimes I get a full HD signal and sometimes I don't even though my computer will say I am getting 14 mbps. Does anyone know exactly what speed you need to have to get HD? If I am getting 14 mbps on my computer, why isn't the Netflix signal higher? I called Netflix and they said they are not throttling the signal back at all. Could the problem be in the devices?

[MrBoylan]

Even if Netflix does not throttle your feed, your ISP can, and they can do it selectively based on the type of activity (so it would still pass a speed test, even though it's throttling video streaming). Also, going WiFi vs. wired can have a big effect, particularly if your WiFi network is slower than 802.11n (e.g., a, b or g).

The player device shouldn't impact network speed, but it can. If the player thinks (for whatever reason - perhaps based on invalid data coming back from a network switch our router) that it is not getting high enough or reliable enough speed, it will negotiate a lower delivery speed with Netflix in order to prevent buffering. We'd seen something like this occur on Amazon VOD with the current generation Panasonic players (BD65/BD85). If you leave its Network speed setting set to "auto" the player may set itself to helf-duplex, depending on what networking hardware you are using, even though the network supports full duplex. You can sometimes get around this by manually setting your network speed to one of the full duplex options in the BD65's Network set-up screen. It's possible that this same issue could affect Netflix in addition to Amazon VOD.

Here's a thread that talks about it:

Amazon VOD on BD65/BD85 - no HD?

Try playing with the network speed setting on the player and see if this makes any difference. If not, there may be some settings you can tweak on your router that will help. But if the hthrottling is happening with the ISP, then there is little you can do except upgrade to an IPS plan with a high speed guarntee.

Good luck and let us know it you make any progress.

-CB