Is anyone else seeing same issues?
Is anyone else seeing same issues?
Sorry, I'm watching right now on Cox and not a single buffer.
Comcast gives me issues with SmoothStreams as well.
Ntv and smoothstreams are unwatchable for me with Comcast.
Any review of smooth streams on fios?
I have hesitated posting anything about this for various reasons, but here goes.
I have had a theory for a while that Comcast is either traffic shaping or there are peering issues between Comcast and IPTV providers. I have done quite a bit of testing over the last couple of months and have come to the conclusion that they are traffic shaping. OFC there's no point in calling them on it with the nature of most IPTV services.
I have tested several different VPN providers during this time and the connections are vastly different than just connecting to IPTV directly. Most recently I have been using BlackVPN (no static IP's, more on this below) and everything has been smooth and buffer free. The problem with this whole thing is that Smoothstreams does not allow VPN usage by default. I have submitted tickets and gotten the same replies every time. The replies make sense and are understandable, but the end result does not. They have told me to use a VPN that assigns static IP's so that I can be sure that it's only me using it and that the IP has not been previously banned. And this is the problem. Using a VPN with a static IP really makes no sense. I would not feel secure or obfuscated doing so. If you plan on using a VPN you are required to submit a ticket through your reseller site and give them all of the details of the VPN that you're using. Also, be aware that the terms and conditions of a lot of VPN providers state not to use it for P2P or other questionable uses. Who knows what their stance on IPTV is.
I have had a few friends on Comcast try the same thing, and they had the same results. So the bottom line is, Comcast seems to be the root of the problem. I have 100mbit speeds with Comcast currently so the VPN overhead has not been an issue. I have had multiple streams going with several providers at the same with no issues and speed tests average out at about 70mb/s. I am in the process of upgrading to ATT gigabit fiber this weekend, so hopefully there is no issue with traffic shaping, but I have a feeling it will be the same situation.
Take this information for what you will, and some may say that it's anecdotal, but with the amount of testing that I and a few others have done, I feel comfortable sharing it. If you choose to use a VPN you will be operating against someone's ToS, whether it's SS or the VPN provider. Some may care, some may not, just know the risks of doing so. This topic does deserve visibility with the number of posts that I've seen about it and Comcast customers that use IPTV services.