BT broadband

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Tue 7 May 2013 00:14
BT broadband - Ernied

Hi, I'm having a few problems with BBC iplayer, online Ch4, etc. All of these 'mainline' websites stall from time to time - due to lack of banwidth. Sometimes I can watch an hour long documentary without the 'buffering' and at other times I just can't be bothered due to the constant buffering.

And yet I can watch a HD documentary on Utube - and there is never a problem. They just play ! I have a standard BT connection, apparently good enough for HD video.

I'm just about 'savvy' enough to understand that at different times of the day, data speeds might vary, but why does Utube never seem to suffer from 'buffering' problems.

And why does BT offer a more expensive internet package promising 'less buffering' when Utube NEVER fails - even on my present internet plan !

Edit - this post reads like an advert for Utube. It isn't - I just want advice.

Edited by Ernied on 07/05/2013 at 00:22

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Tue 7 May 2013 00:43
BT broadband - jamie745

YouTube loads - or buffers - the video in advance. The BBC iPlayer streams as it goes along so it needs a good 10mbps or more to work properly.

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Tue 7 May 2013 11:04
BT broadband - bathtub tom

I abandoned BT earlier this year for Plusnet.

I've got faster broadband for less and no Asian call-centre.

The irony being BT own Plusnet!

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Thu 30 May 2013 23:24
BT broadband - Ernied

Thanks for the replies, and sorry for my delay in answering. I can remember back in the days of Freeserve dial up the difficulties of dealing with two suppliers. Each blamed the other for faults, and then Orange took over and things got worse. I went BT internet to sort of consolidate the two services. And to be honest, once you get used to the different accents (Scottish, Welsh, Indian etc) the service is excellent. And the engineers visits are not chargeable. But they've never really sorted out my intermittent / slow connection.

I've decided to go for the fibre optic option, expensive and time consuming for BT to install and not much more expensive for me. Actually - according to the Scottish salesman I spoke to, the fibre optic plan works out a whole lot cheaper than my present unlimited plan. We'll see !

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