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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Roku 3 v Roku Express

Hello good people of the NOWTV forum

 

I've had horrendous repeated intermittent loss of wifi issues with a brand new Roku Express resulting in constant buffering whilst watching live Sky Sports content since purchasing it in January 2018.

 

No problems with the fibre broadband from Plusnet, other devices able to stream content without buffering/losing wifi connection with brand new router.

 

Can also stream the footy using the NOWTV app on the iPad without buffering/losing wifi.

 

To cut a very long story short, despite extensive help from the NOWTV Live Chat and completely uninterested chat with the Roku support it wasn't possible to resolve the problem, so I took it back to retailer for a refund under warranty. Didn't want to try a replacement Roku Express for fear of damaging the living room wall any further..........

 

My question is the performance of the Roku 3 any better using the ethernet connection?

 

Cheers!

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Andywrote:

@Anonymous Userwrote:

the device lived within 20cm from the router.

 


@Anonymous User Well you may well have solved the issue yourself with that observation. Having wireless devices that close to a router is often a bad idea. While it sounds counterintuitive, there's a difference between signal strength and signal quality. Having too strong a signal can cause issues with a wifi device, swamping the antenna and causing dropouts, corrupted packets etc. I'd always recommend at least a metre or two away if you can. If the router needs to be in the same room as your TV and devices, try and place them at different ends of the room.

 

It's similar to the situation you get with Freeview - you'd think being very close to a transmitter would mean a great signal but actually those who are too close often receive too strong a signal end up with lots of errors in the data stream causing picture breakup and freezing, and end up having to install an attenuator to dampen down the signal received. 

 

Just something to bear in mind when you get a new device. 


Yes agree with what say there @Andy RF is a funny old game! It never crossed my mind and it wasn't possible to relocate the router due to the position of the BT master socket and mains power for all the rest of the AV equipment. Something to consider though if I have no other choice of wifi only Roku.

View solution in original post

17 REPLIES 17
Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member

@Anonymous User wrote:

Thanks for the input @schnapps@Andy@Tony-D

 

The NOW TV service to watch Sky Sports content using the iPad app was faultless so I suspect there's not an issue with my ISP Plusnet and I don't use a VPN or proxy server.

 

The only other two apps I tried briefly on the now returned Roku Express were BBC iplayer and YouTube, the iplayer buffered but YouTube didn't. I'd read somewhere that streaming YouTube content doesn't make the same demands of the Roku compared to watching live content using the NOW TV app. Anyway, not going back there!

 

I mention in passing that I also use a Youview + box hard wired by ethernet and get BT Sport from Plusnet and have had no buffering issues.

 

So I'm thinking ethernet is the way to go, just asking around for others experience of the Roku 3 as there seems to very favourable reviews of the device.

 

 

 

 


Well, please let us know how you get on anyway @Anonymous User I'm confident that the ethernet cable will solve all problems but we'll never know.

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User @schnapps @Andy @Tony-D Sorry everyone I know I'm a bit late to this one, but I have some info which may be of use . Here are some technical specs on Roku's latest hardware

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku

 

the last table on the page at the link above is the Roku's 2017 models

 

There is one major issue with the Roku express and that is that it only supports 2.4 gig Wi-Fi. 2.4 gig Wi-Fi generally has long-range and usually provides a more stable connection overall than its five gig counterpart. However, the problem with 2.4 gig Wi-Fi is that because it has quite a long broadcast range. It is more susceptible to interference from neighbouring routers/access points because there are so many people using Wi-Fi these days, especially 2.4 gig people who are still using devices that can only support 2.4 gig. This is likely the reason you are getting intermittent Wi-Fi issues on the Roku express @Anonymous User, but believe it or not. The express itself probably isn't faulty. It's more to do with the nature of the connected world we live in these days. The Roku three dates from 2013 and that does support five gig Wi-Fi, albeit 802.11a which is the oldest variant of five gig Wi-Fi but it does nevertheless support and it predates the express by five years.

 

I don't think it looks particularly good on the part of Roku that a 2017 device only has 2.4 gig Wi-Fi. Five gig Wi-Fi has shorter range, but in a way that is its major strength because five gig Wi-Fi has shorter range. It is not as susceptible to interference and you can generally make sure that you are on a separate five gig channel to neighbouring routers/access points and not be affected , however, due to the shorter range of five gig Wi-Fi people were often have trouble getting it to cover their whole house. Unless they use multiple access points and that can often be a bit awkward because you still have to route network cabling to the access points in order for them to work

 

BBC iPlayer and now TV content is typically higher bandwidth than content, you would typically find a YouTube that's why you tube just about works on the Roku express, and now TV and BBC iPlayer have trouble

 

720p content on YouTube is typically takes around 2.5Mbps of bandwidth 720p content on iPlayer 720p content will take between 5 and 7.5Mbps NowTV 720p content  will take 4.9Mbps (rounded up to the nearest 50Kbps)  

 


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.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@commanda6@Tony-D@schnapps@AndyI didn't realise the Roku Express wasn't dual band wifi, interesting. Before I got fed up with it and returned it for a refund, the device lived within 20cm from the router.

 

As you say @commanda6, 2.4 gig Wi-Fi is more susceptible to stray RF interference so could be the reason for the intermittent loss of wifi connection and buffering issues.

 

Just checked the tech spec of the NOWTV stick which appears to be dual band https://help.nowtv.com/article/now-tv-box-stick-technical-specification

 

Might be persuaded to buy one of them if I can't get my hands on a reasonably priced Roku 3.

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User wrote:

@commanda6@Tony-D@schnapps@AndyI didn't realise the Roku Express wasn't dual band wifi, interesting. Before I got fed up with it and returned it for a refund, the device lived within 20cm from the router.

 

As you say @commanda6, 2.4 gig Wi-Fi is more susceptible to stray RF interference so could be the reason for the intermittent loss of wifi connection and buffering issues.

 

Just checked the tech spec of the NOWTV stick which appears to be dual band https://help.nowtv.com/article/now-tv-box-stick-technical-specification

 

Might be persuaded to buy one of them if I can't get my hands on a reasonably priced Roku 3.


@Anonymous User would it help if I told you that NowTV hardware , including the NowTV stick is meant to be getting access to Netflix by the end of the year Smiley Wink so I would go to the NowTV stick. If I were you. Unless you particularly want access to Amazon or Google play movies and TV

 

I would advise against trying to get a Roku 3 now as they are like gold dust and ridiculously priced for what they are. I saw one listed on Amazon the other day for over £120 Smiley Sad I wouldn't try and buy cheap on eBay either because there is always the possibility that you could get caught out by someone trying to sell defective kit

 

if you did want a full Roku. I would go for the Roku streaming stick plus which does have five gig Wi-Fi

 


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.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@commanda6wrote:

 

@Anonymous User would it help if I told you that NowTV hardware , including the NowTV stick is meant to be getting access to Netflix by the end of the year Smiley Wink so I would go to the NowTV stick. If I were you. Unless you particularly want access to Amazon or Google play movies and TV

 

I would advise against trying to get a Roku 3 now as they are like gold dust and ridiculously priced for what they are. I saw one listed on Amazon the other day for over £120 Smiley Sad I wouldn't try and buy cheap on eBay either because there is always the possibility that you could get caught out by someone trying to sell defective kit

 

if you did want a full Roku. I would go for the Roku streaming stick plus which does have five gig Wi-Fi

 


@commanda6Agreed, there's some silly prices going around for the Roku 3 at the moment, however despite sharing your  reservations of buying second hand from eBay, I'd consider it as a buying option.

 

Having experienced the poor performance of the wifi only Roku Express, I'd like to avoid another wifi only device, hence thinking of the Roku 3.

Andy
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User wrote:

the device lived within 20cm from the router.

 


@Anonymous User Well you may well have solved the issue yourself with that observation. Having wireless devices that close to a router is often a bad idea. While it sounds counterintuitive, there's a difference between signal strength and signal quality. Having too strong a signal can cause issues with a wifi device, swamping the antenna and causing dropouts, corrupted packets etc. I'd always recommend at least a metre or two away if you can. If the router needs to be in the same room as your TV and devices, try and place them at different ends of the room.

 

It's similar to the situation you get with Freeview - you'd think being very close to a transmitter would mean a great signal but actually those who are too close often receive too strong a signal end up with lots of errors in the data stream causing picture breakup and freezing, and end up having to install an attenuator to dampen down the signal received. 

 

Just something to bear in mind when you get a new device. 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Andywrote:

@Anonymous Userwrote:

the device lived within 20cm from the router.

 


@Anonymous User Well you may well have solved the issue yourself with that observation. Having wireless devices that close to a router is often a bad idea. While it sounds counterintuitive, there's a difference between signal strength and signal quality. Having too strong a signal can cause issues with a wifi device, swamping the antenna and causing dropouts, corrupted packets etc. I'd always recommend at least a metre or two away if you can. If the router needs to be in the same room as your TV and devices, try and place them at different ends of the room.

 

It's similar to the situation you get with Freeview - you'd think being very close to a transmitter would mean a great signal but actually those who are too close often receive too strong a signal end up with lots of errors in the data stream causing picture breakup and freezing, and end up having to install an attenuator to dampen down the signal received. 

 

Just something to bear in mind when you get a new device. 


Yes agree with what say there @Andy RF is a funny old game! It never crossed my mind and it wasn't possible to relocate the router due to the position of the BT master socket and mains power for all the rest of the AV equipment. Something to consider though if I have no other choice of wifi only Roku.

Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member

@commanda6 wrote:

@Anonymous User @schnapps @Andy @Tony-D Sorry everyone I know I'm a bit late to this one, but I have some info which may be of use . Here are some technical specs on Roku's latest hardware

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku

 

the last table on the page at the link above is the Roku's 2017 models

 

There is one major issue with the Roku express and that is that it only supports 2.4 gig Wi-Fi. 2.4 gig Wi-Fi generally has long-range and usually provides a more stable connection overall than its five gig counterpart. However, the problem with 2.4 gig Wi-Fi is that because it has quite a long broadcast range. It is more susceptible to interference from neighbouring routers/access points because there are so many people using Wi-Fi these days, especially 2.4 gig people who are still using devices that can only support 2.4 gig. This is likely the reason you are getting intermittent Wi-Fi issues on the Roku express @Anonymous User, but believe it or not. The express itself probably isn't faulty. It's more to do with the nature of the connected world we live in these days. The Roku three dates from 2013 and that does support five gig Wi-Fi, albeit 802.11a which is the oldest variant of five gig Wi-Fi but it does nevertheless support and it predates the express by five years.

 

I don't think it looks particularly good on the part of Roku that a 2017 device only has 2.4 gig Wi-Fi. Five gig Wi-Fi has shorter range, but in a way that is its major strength because five gig Wi-Fi has shorter range. It is not as susceptible to interference and you can generally make sure that you are on a separate five gig channel to neighbouring routers/access points and not be affected , however, due to the shorter range of five gig Wi-Fi people were often have trouble getting it to cover their whole house. Unless they use multiple access points and that can often be a bit awkward because you still have to route network cabling to the access points in order for them to work

 

BBC iPlayer and now TV content is typically higher bandwidth than content, you would typically find a YouTube that's why you tube just about works on the Roku express, and now TV and BBC iPlayer have trouble

 

720p content on YouTube is typically takes around 2.5Mbps of bandwidth 720p content on iPlayer 720p content will take between 5 and 7.5Mbps NowTV 720p content  will take 4.9Mbps (rounded up to the nearest 50Kbps)  

 


Now that's what i call an in depth answer haha. Hopefully @Anonymous User this has helped you make up your mind whatever you decide to do. Thanks @schnapps @Andy @commanda6 for helping out on this one as i only used a Roku stick properly for the first time the weekend past there.