kerliza orland ximene
Cris Luczak
Can you connect your Mac to a different network to help rule out the issue being related to your network connection? This would be trying an Ethernet connection if available, or just a different Wi-Fi network connection: Connect to the internet with your Mac
My observation is that the Video Quality seems to dip in and out and at one time I thought it was the network. Running the Activity Monitor and watching Safari network activity and throughput suggested that every time the video deteriorates the network went slow - not the network but Mac's access. I thought I'd found it by removing a PROXIE setting and selecting Auto Proxy Discovery. Then, instead of allowing the Location to be Automatic - set up a new location with NO customisation. Every try improved the time between quality going from "Good to Best" (Amazon video definition).
But, it still seemed to happen - on all browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Brave and Safari. So it must be my MAC - where next? Well, watching Amazon Sport using a Private browser Window seemed to be the answer. What is loading and causing Safari to loose video quality? It's not the few extensions (switched off-even uninstalled) - it's not WiFi (used Ethernet connection the router) but, Private browsing fixes the problem - why? Don't know.
It's true unfortunately, I'm afraid I was too premature in reporting the workaround. I also had big hopes when I found that >Preferences >battery >Battery >uncheck "Optimise video streaming while on battery". Unfortunately, all these things seem to improved the time between video quality degrading episodes, but they don't fix the problem permanently.
Problem is, that for me, Safari is the browser I prefer and I want it to work. I'm sure that I have observed this HD degrade in Brave, FireFox and Chrome - so maybe we should be concentrating on the MAC. Why I say that is; "sometimes" when selecting a web video to play, the target tab turns black and there is no activity - if you then HotKey "option + Command + E" - you may need to have activated the Develop Menu is Safari Preferences (last item on the Advanced Tab), then as soon as the cache files are cleared the busy ring starts running and the video loads. May be a helpful clue?
yea this is nuts. even since jobs left us ,apple is screwing the pooch waaay too often . and i wish people would stop giving instructions to re-configure the entire setup or change an app or some crazy thing.
if my computer was streaming a particular site and now i installed an update /new mac os and now a particular thing isnt working . its a crap written codec . lets just get it fixed OR explain the setting that some apple clown added and turned ON instead of leaving it off for default .
I for one don't think that investigating ways to "work around" this, is in any way an attempt to fix it. But our experiences may be helpful to others. Finding a clue that could lead those, who do code Safari, to a code interaction with the OS that is causing the symptom we see. By the way, I've yet to hear anyone complain of Safari's video performance on iOS. To that end, I've added AddBlocker and other extensions I use in macOS and have tested them in iOS extensively without finding this "fuzzy streaming"
I've found that Apple have gained my trust and respect through the years. I wonder if you have ever worked in the "guts" of any complex IT environment? I've worked in IT since the '60's and swapped from an IBM PC (although I worked for them for 25years) to the Apple 1 in the late 70's - nothing ever released in IT is perfect and even if it is, there is no way it can be seen to be when it is added into a constellation of other software. The interaction between the 5 Apple products I use, is simply amazing and magical (defined by an awesome wonder on how they work). That some of these reactions may be broken or less that reliable is simply a given - that there are so few to complain about is a testament to;
I divided my WiFi channels between 2.4Ghz and 5Hhz on the router, as I had some of my "stuff" which could connect to the 5G WiFi and some could ONLY to the 2.4Ghz - mainly an old iPhone and a Google ChromeCast - they wouldn't even "find" the available 5G network. It seemed logical to me but then a tech at my broadband provider found this;
Effectively, doing this allows the router to "serve" both 2.4 and 5 Ghz devices when they connect to that one WiFi network. Switch off the (second channel) 5Ghz network and you'll find your old devices still connecting at their limit and the newer ones at the higher speed. (You may have to provide a password for them to do this)
Having just the one network (SSID) capable of doing that meant that all the "bandwidth" that the router possesses was dedicated to just that one channel. Funny thing though, I (THINK) remembering in the beginning, connecting my MAC to Ethernet and experiencing the degrading video quality?? So, there is still something unexplained but, the change has removed this problem from the browser (whichever one you use).
Internet Speed - and Ookla SpeedTest (50Mbps down 13up) are the definitive way(s) to measure your internet performance - BUT, they just gave impressive performance numbers and didn't indicate the network maybe at fault. However, Apples network performance tool gave a hint - that motivated calling the broadband provider;
@XfinityTyler Thank you for responding. According to this other thread (with message from Christina posted 4 hours ago), it appears Xfinity is aware of a known issue with its streaming website [ -stream-website/terrible-quality-xfinity-stream/615f99e0a6e13d4fb336e0d7]. In my experience this is affecting not only the website, but the app on Amazon products (Firestick and Firecube) as well.
As noted in my original post when running the app off the firestick on my TV, the stream quality is very poor. As others have suggested, using a "TVGO" channel as opposed to a non-TVGO channel, makes a small difference in quality, but the quality is still very poor when compared to other streaming services like HULU, DirectTV streaming, individual channel streaming like HBOMax, Showtime, or streaming services like Netflix and PRIME. I can have Hulu running at the same time as Xfinity with the same channel and switch back-and-forth between the apps and there is a significant difference in picture quality with XFinity having the poorer quality.
All internet service in my home is run through XFinity internet--I am not running anything off my mobile carrier or an alternate ISP. As noted by the numerous other apps working on my TV, Firestick, Gaming Systems, and PC, this is not a network or bandwidth issue--this appears to be an issue inside the XFinity app/software or how XFinity is handling the video streams (whether first party or third party) through its app/software.
As a suggestion, it would be great if there were a resource from Xfinity with a bit of documentation concerning its stream platform (resolution, bit rate, etc. of the streams for both the source if XFinity is just acting as a pass through and from XFinity itself. A real time monitoring tool would be even better. This would promote a level of transparency between XFinity and the customer and give reassurance that we as customers are receiving the service we pay for. Additionally, it might help identify the problem quicker as it took approximately 2 weeks for XFinity to admit that a problem even exists with the streaming service. As someone who currently pays exclusively for streaming service from XFinity, I find this time-frame is unacceptable.
Additionally, it would be great of when I logged into XFinity it would give me some type of notice (1) acknowledging there is a problem with the service, (2) that XFinity is working to remedy the issue, and (3) an estimated time of completion. XFinity has no issue sending me billing notices when it wants payment from me--the same zealousness should be applied when XFinity is not providing the quality of service for which it is charging.
As far as other devices outside of the Firestick and PC, I do not believe XFinity supports an app for my Sony TV or any of the gaming systems I own (XBox One, XBox Series X, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, or Switch). I generally do not watch video on my phone, so I have no need to install the app on it; and I do not own a tablet. Thus, I have not monitored the quality of streams outside Firestick or PC.
@mark_v Thank you for the response. I went with the Amazon hardware because as I read it, the Amazon app is the only one that offers the full live TV package. I switched from HULU to XFinity solely because HULU does not carry the regional sports channel in my area--this has not been a problem in the past, but this is the first year of Kraken hockey and the regional sports channel has the exclusive rights to broadcast the games. ESPN+ and Center ICE adhere to the blackout rules, so they are not an option without a VPN setup. Unfortunately, the regional sports channel does not offer its own streaming app (or even streaming with payment to a provider), so that is not an option or workaround. Alternative streaming options were generally double the price given that I already had XFinity internet service as they are the only decent broadband provider at my location.
That said, would you mind confirming that the ROKU app only has a subset of the Xfinity channels. If my understanding is wrong or I have stale information, I will certainly give it a try. Thanks again for the share, the information was helpful.
Description of the issue:
Using prime or netflix in the max video quality results on very poor quality streaming.
How can this issue be reproduced?
Just stream any netflix or prime content in highest resolution.
The most believable numbers I've found are 1.5Mbps for SD, 3Mbps for DVD quality, 5Mbps for HD quality and 8+ for 1080 on PS3. I don't see Netflix offering official numbers, but playing with Speedtest.net and testing by adding bandwidth eaters like VPN connections until I saw the quality degrade.
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