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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Not on unlimited broadband

Is Now Tv suitable for only those who have unlimited broadband?

I write as someone who has a monthly broadband allowance of 40gb.

Can I dip in and out or does Now Tv continue to stream once activated?

BJM

 

31 REPLIES 31
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@4268 I do believe that @commanda6 uses one...

 

Tom

BicBasher
Elite

@4268 wrote:
Any one tried a power line adapter? I was looking up how to boost broadband, various sites suggested using one. Guy in Maplin reckons really improves broadband strength.

@4268 TalkTalk always try to sell me their powerline adapters for £30.    If the electrical wiring in your house has been done in the last ten years or so, it should be fine.

If it's safe to do so and not a long way from the router, a longer Ethernet cable will ensure you get the optimum speed direct from your router.   I use a 10m cable which has improved the performance of NOW TV no ends on my LG set.

Networking Spec - ISP: TalkTalk VDSL2 @ 76mbps | Amazon Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen, Chromecast 3rd Gen WiFi, Motorola Moto G9 (Android 11), Dell PC with Windows 10 Home Edition using Now TV Player.
4268
Legend 5
Legend 5

Ps am Sky broadband customer, well they did arrange for open reach to physically dig up the street to sort out a problem at no cost, I even got a refund. Kept me up to date through out. And they keep matching/ beating deals 🙂
Please take a moment to click thanks or marked as solution if this answered your question. I am a community contributor and pop on when I can.
4268
Legend 5
Legend 5

Funnily enough Now rarely has problems stream wise here. It seems to need a lot lower bandwidth than its competitors. Amazontv is fine too. I do however find YouTube a bit lagging on the Now box, Chromecast or Amazon box. The TVplayer plus on PC also lagged. My concern is if I get a power line adapter yes it might boost a weak signal 3 Mbps on a bad day over 6 on a good, however that I then might have trouble connecting Now and Amazon services.
Please take a moment to click thanks or marked as solution if this answered your question. I am a community contributor and pop on when I can.
BicBasher
Elite

@4268 wrote:
Funnily enough Now rarely has problems stream wise here. It seems to need a lot lower bandwidth than its competitors. Amazontv is fine too. I do however find YouTube a bit lagging on the Now box, Chromecast or Amazon box. The TVplayer plus on PC also lagged. My concern is if I get a power line adapter yes it might boost a weak signal 3 Mbps on a bad day over 6 on a good, however that I then might have trouble connecting Now and Amazon services.

I'm not a big fan of the YouTube tv apps.   They all seem to stick, but Chromecast is my personal favourite between Now, LG and CC for playback.

 

As for Now, while most of the time I could stream the 2500/3100/3450mbps streams, I found with the Ethernet cable, the PQ is a lot better as it maintains a solid connection.   Wifi is great for most things, but it appears the wifi in my LG set is rubbish for Now TV.  Is fine for Netflix/Amazon/IPlayer/Demand 5 though.

Networking Spec - ISP: TalkTalk VDSL2 @ 76mbps | Amazon Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen, Chromecast 3rd Gen WiFi, Motorola Moto G9 (Android 11), Dell PC with Windows 10 Home Edition using Now TV Player.
commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @4268 

 

@Anonymous User is correct, I do indeed use powerline networking. But only in areas of the house where we have been unable to get the necessary wall sockets and cabling done for standard ethernet. we use powerline networking in the living and dining rooms. The now TV box (black) is in the dining room and is connected using powerline networking. It would be too expensive to get the necessary work done in these rooms, as doing so would wreck the flooring and it would have to be replaced.

 

For a significant portion of the house we have been able to get the necessary wall sockets and cabling done in order to be able to use standard ethernet. The cabling goes from the ethernet wall sockets up to a central point in the loft where it connects to a 24 port gigabit managed switch. The switch in turn connects to the router , which in turn connects to the cable modem. We can use network switches to enable us to connect as many devices as we need to in each room that has standard ethernet.

 

Our setup means that only the devices which need to use Wi-Fi do so. (Mobile phones and tablets) . Our setup also means that virtually all of our equipment is able to take full advantage of our very fast, virgin media 152Mps Internet connection, which is soon going to be upgraded to 200Mbps Smiley Very Happy

 

There are some things you need to remember when using powerline networking the first of which is you usually need at least two powerline appliances because one appliance has to be connected to your router directly. The second is that powerline appliances must be plugged into the mains using proper wall sockets not splitters. If you use a mains splitter powerline appliances will not function properly

 

Below are some links which show you the equipment we use

 

Powerline networking switch: http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-500av-hl125g.htm

this has for ethernet ports on it and once it's plugged into the mains. It acts pretty much like an ordinary network switch. We have two with these in the house one in both the living and dining room

 

http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-500av-hl115ep.htm

powerline adapter with mains pass through. We use this to connect powerline appliances to the Router (I think the first powerline appliance can also be connected to a switch to enable.

 

You can see why I hardly ever have trouble with nowTV. Smiley Happy powerline networking or standard ethernet works wonders when you're viewing TV channels over IP. Let's face it doesn't hurt with on demand content either. Although Wi-Fi would generally be fine for OnDemand content. Due to the fact there is a buffer.


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
4268
Legend 5
Legend 5

@commanda6 if I had 152 speed would not need a ppowerline adapter. The guy in the shop gave the impression it improves your broadband speed.  Is that what you have found. ? Also by splitter I presume you mean extension lead? 

Please take a moment to click thanks or marked as solution if this answered your question. I am a community contributor and pop on when I can.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@4268 powerlines do nothing to improve the broadband speed, as that's between your router and the local exchange/fibre cab. However if you have wifi blackspots it'll improve the speeds between your device and the router, which should stop buffering and poor picture quality.

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @4268

 

It's possible you might see a speed improvement, compared to using wi-fi but powerline networking should be used instead of Wi-Fi because the connection stability it provides. You would probably only see a speed increase. If you went to decent powerline equipment like the stuff I showed you in the links above. Much of the cheaper powerline equipment claims to be 200 or 500Mbps , but only has a 100 base-T (100Mbps) ethernet port on it . The speed you get would also heavily depend upon your base Internet connection itself

 

Yes, when I said splitter I meant extension lead. As I said before powerline networking won't function properly if it's plugged into an extension lead you need to use a proper mains wall plug. This is why I would recommend when you get powerline adapters you get one with mains pass through, so you don't lose the use of your wall plug.

 

Sorry about the strange use of terminology. I just think that extension lead never describes that piece of equipment properly because it sounds as if all you're doing is making the the wire longer when in reality you're generally taking one source (wall plug) and splitting it so that it can be used for multiple appliances at once. That's my strange logic anyway Smiley LOL


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@4268 I have edited my post above


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.