Roku 2 XS - Help with Poor Connection & Picture Quality

[bechi]

I'm planning on replacing my 1st generation Roku HD (Model 310X) with a new 3rd generation Roku2 XS (Model N1000) and finding that the images from the new XS player are not as clear and crisp as those from the older player. I am also finding that the new player often needs to reload the stream, where my older model very rarely does. I am currently running the old HD model on my wireless network. The new XS model was original connected wirelessly with "excellent" signal strength, but with slightly blurry picture quality and streaming trouble; changing it to an ethernet connection offered no improvement. Using Speakeasy, I have a 12.05 Mbps download speed and 2.01 Mbps upload speed; with Speedtest I have 13.38 Mbps download and 1.99 Mbps upload speeds. The new Roku2 XS is running Version 4.1, Build 1265 and old Roku HD is running Version 2.9, Build 1553. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to improve the Roku2's performance? I hate to have to return it, but the poor quality in contrast to the Roku HD is just unacceptable.

Thanks,

Bechi

[-LD]

It shouldn't rebuffer at all as it uses adaptive streams. Are you letting it play for more than a minute or so? Streams start off quickly but with low quality until the adaptive stream can buffer higher quality. This varies for users but shouldn't be more than a minute.

[bechi]

Well, to be honest, after about a minute of blurry text and graphics, I've gotten disgusted and switched to the old Roku feed. I don't see the rebuffering with Netflix, but with Flixster and Amazon. I'll try giving it a few minutes to adjust; is this permanent, do you think, or will this newer player always have problems displaying content?

Thanks for your response.

[nushmut]

OK, my turn to ask an obvious question:
Did you set your Roku to 720p or 1080p at all?

Could be a DNS issue.

[bechi]

Yes, XS is set for 1080p; HD set for 720p.

[stratcat96]

wait, what? If your TV is 720p that's what you set the Roku to. If the TV is 1080p, well you know...

[bechi]

My TV is 1080p which is what I set the new, Roku2 XS to; the old, 1st gen. Roku HD player is set to 720p - its highest setting.

[stratcat96]

My TV is 1080p which is what I set the new, Roku2 XS to; the old, 1st gen. Roku HD player is set to 720p - its highest setting.

ohhhh ok, sorry for the confusion

[bechi]

LD,

I did force myself to watch an episode of Torchwood on Netflix, and found that after a few minutes the self-adjustment attempts stopped (I can see it trying to adjust the picture; I just can't describe it), but even after almost an hour, the overall quality never improved. For what it's worth, the picture quality looks like something you'd see on an old 29" CRT set, but stretched out onto a 58" screen; no detail to faces, blurry text, etc.

Help? Anyone? Defective box or did I adopt too soon? I loved my old original Roku HD from day one, but it did improve over time. Same thing here???

Thanks,

Bechi

[stratcat96]

you should try setting your DNS in your router to GoogleDNS or OpenDNS. The settings from your isp don't sound like they're getting you to the most optimal CDN for Netflix because you should have no problem getting the highest HD stream they offer but you're not. The R2 uses different streams than what the R1s use, so routing to a different CDN may have a positive effect in getting a route with less congestion or getting to a CDN that's more stable

[Luxfero]

Perhaps maybe you may have moved your Video Quality settings on your Netflix account, just a thought. However you do say that it works fine on your older Roku 1. Might be worth checking your Video Quality setting though.

[bechi]

Thanks both Luxfero and stratcat96. I'll try both of those things tonight and keep my fingers crossed. I really want this to work!

[telemonster]

Sorry if someone else already posted this answer. ..
Even if you have a 1080p capable TV you should set the Roku to 720p because that is the highest quality Netflix can support.
If you set the Roku to 1080 and try to stream Netflix it will look blurry because they are not synced to the same resolution.
There are some movies on Vudu and amazon that are 1080p, but not many.

[kc8pql]

^ Actually, that's not correct.

[RickRansom]

orum Guidelines:

In general, if a thread is more than six months old, it will be best for our moderators if you generate a new thread, to prevent confusion.

Nextflix on Roku can actually do 1080p, that's if you have the Roku 2 XD and/or 2 XS.