Why a stream buffers, and what you can do about it

What buffering means

A stream reaches your device a little at a time, and the player keeps a few seconds in reserve. When the video arrives more slowly than it plays, the reserve runs out, and the player has to stop and wait for more. The cause can be in your home, on the way, or at the server the stream comes from.

A player cannot make a stream arrive faster than your connection brings it. What you can do is make the way from your router to your screen as steady as possible. Most buffering at home comes from one of the things below.

1. Check your internet speed

• Test on the device itself, or on a phone standing next to it, with any speed test in a browser. A test on a computer in another room says little about the TV.
• Test when it buffers. Evenings are often slower, because more people in your home and your area are online at once.
• As a rough guide, an HD channel needs about 10 Mbps that stays steady, and 4K about 25 Mbps or more. A steady connection matters more than a high top speed.

2. Use a cable, or the better Wi-Fi

• A network cable from the router to the TV box or TV is the most reliable connection there is. If your device has a network port, use it.
• No cable? Choose your router's 5 GHz Wi-Fi if the device can use it. It is faster and less crowded than 2.4 GHz, though it reaches less far.
• Bring them closer. Walls, floors, mirrors and a TV box hidden behind the TV all weaken Wi-Fi. A Wi-Fi extender or a mesh system can help in a far room.

3. Restart the router and the device

4. Look at the other devices at home

• Big downloads, game and system updates, video calls and cloud backups all share the same connection. Pause them and try again.
• Other people streaming at the same time use their share too.
• Many playlists play on only one screen at a time. If the same playlist is playing on another device at the same moment, one of them may stop or stutter.

5. One channel, or all of them?

• Only one channel buffers: try another channel. If the others play well, your home connection is fine, and the cause is with that one stream.
• Your playlist lists the same channel more than once, for example as SD, HD and 4K: choose a lower quality. It needs less speed.
• Everything buffers, on every device, even with a cable and a good speed test: contact your provider. Tell them what you checked, which channels, and at what time it happens.

What NewTV Player does for you

NewTV Player asks your provider's server which stream formats it allows, and plays one of those. It opens very big playlists a part at a time, so a small box keeps its memory for the video. And when a stream cannot be played, it says so in a short line, such as "Check your internet, then try again." If your box is old or slow, read how to choose an Android TV box.

Questions and answers

NewTV Player is a media player only: it comes with no channels, films or playlists. Before you add any content, make sure you have the legal right to watch it.