Netflix streaming issues may not be due to slow Internet

A reader, George, writes in: “Have you any thoughts about the best minimum speed to get good Netflix? Netflix says at least 6 Mbps. My Time Warner Internet download tests at about 16 Mbps, but streaming a high-definition movie, it will still shut down after a while and reload at a lower quality setting.”

Streaming HD video can take a lot of bandwidth, and the bottleneck may not be with the Internet connection itself. If you’re using Netflix on an underpowered/slow device (cable boxes or HDTVs with built-in Netflix apps), it could cause problems.

The biggest culprit I’ve found for choppy, unreliable video is trying to stream Netflix over a Wi-Fi connection versus a wired connection to, say, an Apple TV or Roku device that supports an Ethernet cable connection. I use a set of Powerline Ethernet adapters to get a wired connection from my router (way upstairs) to my TVs (living room and bedroom). They sell for about $50 or less and aren’t prone to interference from, say, microwave ovens.