NHL.com performance issues

[SlingBlade]

With the NHL app on my phone through my home wireless I am able to play the games without any performance issues. When I use the same wireless on my laptop using the website the games take a long time to load, and only plays at the lowest quality. The game also stops to buffer every couple of minutes. When advertisements come on they play in full 1080p without skipping a beat. I also have the same performance issue with my main PC that is hard wired in. 

It seems like NHL.com is throttling Rogers customers on their website or they just don't have the necessary servers to keep up with load. It makes no sense that the advertisements play in full 1080p without any issues but when it goes back to the hockey game it chugs along at the lowest quality picture. I had the same performance issues with live games and also previous games. It also isn't my internet connection because my phone and laptop share the exact same wireless connection and the phone runs it flawlessly. Speed tests run around 35mb/s download when it says HD only requires 5mb/s.

*** Edited Labels ***

[RogersRoland]

Hello @SlingBlade,

Thank you for posting and joining the Rogers Community Forums.

I can definately understand when you are unable to view the games at the desired speeds. Is this issue occuring when you are viewing the games Live or replays? When have the speed problems begun?

Is anyone else in the Community experiencing similar problems?

RogersRoland

[Datalink]

Ok, just to make sure that I have this correct, running the phone, laptop or pc via the wifi from the modem(?), the phone runs as expected, the laptop and pc don't, and even with the pc hardwired, performance is still the same. 

Just off of the top of my head I wonder if you're running into codec or datastream type issues on the laptop and pc.  Its possible that the phone decodes the game datastream in hardware where the laptop and pc does the same in software, which puts an increased load on the processor. 

Just as an example, the new Kaby Lake processor that is just getting to the manufacturers now has new decode capability in hardware for newer video codecs, whereas previous processor versions had a more limited set, so that makes a difference as to the type of video stream where the processor becomes involved as well as the maximum resolution that the processor can handle.  So, that is just a thought on why you might be seeing differences in the performance. 

Looking at the NHL site, the following statement for media can be seen:

Updated Adobe Flash Player: The NHL.TV™ Media Player is built on the Adobe Flash Player. For better performance we recommend using the most current version.

The question is, does that indicate that Flash is used to broadcast the games, or does it indicate that Flash is used in the management of the media player, and that the player uses an unspecified codec.

The other issue that comes up is the wifi capability of the phone, laptop and pc.  Its possible that the phone has dual antenna and the laptop and pc doesn't.  If so, the phone's wifi data rate capability will most likely be above that of the laptop and pc.  It would take a little research on your part to determine if the laptop and pc have single or dual antenna installations and what data rates their wif adapters support.  That doesn't explain why a wired pc would have a hard time with this, which brings me back to the codec issue or to the potential involvement of an ongoing issue between the CMTS and connected Hitron modems. 

Take a read thru the following post which provides some explanation for poor wifi data rates.  Hopefully that will clear up one possibility.

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Getting_connected/message-id/337...

The advertisements would probably be sent by Rogers using locally stored files, and the server is possibly indifferent to the selected resolution that the media player uses for the game itself, or, the server is satisfied that the end device can support an HD add given its connected data rate.

One other thought does come to mind, and that is the path to the game media server.  Can you look at the back of the modem, specifically the product sticker.  I'm assuming that you have a CGN3xxx variety of modem, CGN3, CGN3ACSMR, CGN3AMR, CGN3ACR.  Can you let me know which model you have.  And can you log into the modem and;

1.  Determine which Software Version (Firmware) you have loaded, as indicated on the STATUS page that comes up when you log in.  

2.  Navigate to the STATUS .... DOCSIS WAN page, copy the Downstream and Upstream tables and paste them into a post.  Those are the signal levels and signal to noise ratios that I'd like to have a quick look at.   

3.  3avigate to the STATUS ...... DOCSIS EVENT page and have a look for one of the following sequences:
 
a. CMTS-MAC=00:17:10   which indicates that you are connected to a Casa Systems Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), or;

b. any of the following which indicates that you are connected to a Cisco Systems CMTS.

     1.  CMTS-MAC=00:05:00
     2.  CMTS-MAC=00:12:43  
     3.  CMTS-MAC=00:14:f1
     4.  CMTS-MAC=00:1e:be
     5.  CMTS-MAC=00:1f:ca   
     6.  CMTS-MAC=e0:2f:6d             Note:  there may be other Cicso MAC addresses
                                                                           as well which are not on this list yet.

Can you let me know if the sequence indicates that your modem is connected to a Casa CMTS?

From the Game Center Live Troubleshooting section comes the following statement:

https://neulion.hs.llnwd.net/e1/nhl/player/nhlgc2/help.htm

Why are my videos taking so long to start and/or not playing smoothly?

NHL GameCenter LIVE™'s Adaptive feature will select the appropriate video streaming bitrate based on your network's bandwidth so that you may enjoy the best video quality available. If you are having issues with choppy video, select a lower streaming quality such as 400 Kbps or 800 Kbps.

So, that makes me wonder if ping time is included in that streaming bitrate determination? Depending on what modem you have and what CMTS type the modem is connected to, I might ask you to run a test with pingplotter, from your modem to the CMTS that the modem connects with.  The current problems with high ping times are seen with the combination of a Casa CMTS and the CGN3ACSMR, CGNM-3552, and personal opinion only, possibly CGN3ACRs and CGN3AMRs that have trial version 4.5.8.22 loaded.  The ICMP ping times to the CMTS are random, reaching into the 100 to high 200 ms range in my case with a CGNM-3552 modem. 

Here's the link for the pingplotter download and setup.  Don't want you to do this just yet, until I know what modem and firmware version you have and the connected CMTS.

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Getting_connected/message-id/355...

Do you happen to know anyone who could help test your laptop, someone not on Rogers and not on a TPIA that uses Rogers for the last mile between the CMTS and the house?  That would at least prove that the laptop does or doesn't have any issues with live games.  It would take the laptop out of the equation and point the finger at the Rogers network or equipment.

Edit:  Here's an interesting article / comment on GameCenter Live from last year.

http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2015/3/25/8282791/nhl-gamecenter-live-is-steadily-getting-worse

[Fan33]

Poor video. The picture is fine when the players aren't moving i.e. Faceoffs.
Live play is "choppy". It actually hurts my eyes to watch it.
Tried both stations feeds of Habs Rangers and Pittsburgh games
Dissapointed so far. May have to go back to radio.

[RogersCorey]

Good morning @Fan33,

I am sorry to hear that the quality of the game you were watching last was so poor. With the speed the puck travels at, I know a choppy video would make it difficult to watch... so let's see what we can do to resolve this so the quality improves for the next game!

The video quality is largely dependent upon your connection speed. Were you using a Rogers Internet connection or are you with another provider? Was it streamed over data or WiFi?

Please let me know! 

Regards,

RogersCorey

[asdfgge]

I've been really frustrated with these pc related performance issues. I have 2 different high end pc's. Connected to 2 different big screen tv's. I have 300mbits down and 20 up. No matter what I do I get choppy playback. This must be related to the flash plugin that they are using to display this video. I can stream via chromcast, a perfectly smooth video to the same tv from the same pc. The stream will work for maybe 15 minutes before I get a error and need to restart the screen cast, which also gets frustrating. My roku box can stream the game perfectly smoothly on any tv I plug it into. 

So How does my 100 $ roku box out perform my high end pcs. 

Youtube also uses flash and it plays videos flawlessly from my pc's to my big screen. 

So can you guys please take alook at the way flash is handling the video feeds. I'm am pretty sure this is the middle man causing the issue.

Troy Pelletier

[RogersCorey]

Hi @asdfgge!

I can certainly appreciate your frustration. It's really hard to watch any fast moving video if it's choppy... so let's get to the bottom of this.

Can you confirm if it's choppy via both WiFi and Ethernet? Please let us know.

Regards,

RogersCorey

[asdfgge]

Both pc's are wired. Roku is only been used wireless. I'm a technician by trade. My wifi network is very good. Its not a bandwith issue. I can cast from my pc to my wireless tv and have smooth playback. This is specifically has something to do with the video plugin that pc's have to use.

[RogersCorey]

Okay @asdfgge! Thanks for confirming.

Please PM us @CommunityHelps so we can escalate a ticket to look into this matter further.

You can find instructions on how to PM us here.

Regards,

RogersCorey

[dekin1]

It is not a wifi or connection speed issue because I stream HD from the same laptop with no problem
It is the feed and it is every game
If I was paying I'd cancel today and ask for a refund but it's free with rogers cellular
It's a horrible product, just use it out of convenience

[cmcenzc506]

I am getting the same thing. I have two computers, one laptop and one quad core monster. The laptop is WIFI and the desktop is hard wired. I have the highest Rogers internet package. But the hockey game is choppy.

[RogersCilio]

Hey @cmcenzc506,

Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums.

I can definitely understand how that can be frustrating and it certainly sounds like you have a more than capable PC, with internet package. 

Are you experiencing this issue on any other platform? Tablets or phone?

If you can kindly PM us @CommunityHelps so we can escalate a ticket to look into this further.

You can find instructions on how PM works, here.

[QWERTYAZERTY]

No solutions, and it looks like everyone is clueless when it comes to trying to fix a problem.

Yes, the feed is often awful on replays, no matter what device or type of connection you use. Any other sites providing full HD videos works without any trouble, so it's clearly NHL.com who is responsible for that, not users!

I've experienced terrible quality videos and bugs for couple of years now, and all the answers I get lead nowhere. Actually there's not even a beginning to a real answer.

Paying for this is not really acceptable, and people are indeed frustrated. Thanks for refreshing our memories about that.

[lkjlkjhgbn]

Hi! 

I have an issue watching NHL games. The issue is in choppy video. I use wired Ethernet computer and it is awful. Same with wired laptop.  Though on my iPhone no issues. It is uncomfortable to watch it. 

[byfan]

Alright,

I've had enough. I've been using gamecenter all season and it CONSTANTLY has issues with laggy video on PC. What is wrong with your service Rogers? Mobile is fine, even my PS4 is okay, but anytime I try to watch gamecenter in browser on my high end laptop with a dedicated graphics card and i7 processor, nothing but lag. I have 150mbps down at my place and every other streaming service I use has no issues.

I'm at the point where I want it fixed or have my money refunded. It is criminal that I am paying for this. Does anyone have any solutions? I just want to watch hockey.

[RogersShaun]

Hello @byfan,

Welcome to the Community Forums!

Laggy games can definitely cause a frustrating experience.

Can you confirm if it's lagging with both WiFi and Ethernet?  Let us know!

RogersShaun

[byfan]

Just WiFi for my laptop (no ethernet ports), but as I said, still have great speeds and never experience these issues on other streaming services. It also doesn't seem to be a result of my location because I've had the same issues in many different places with good internet connections.

It'd be great to get something other than a canned response. It doesn't seem anyone has a real answer anywhere on this site.

[RogersCilio]

Hey @byfan,

Thank you for the additional information. As mentioned above, if you can kindly PM us @CommunityHelps so we can escalate a ticket to look into this further. Its especially concerning that you're not affected on any other platforms.

You can find instructions on how PM works, here.

We look forward to hearing from you.

RogersCilio

[fordisjobone]

I have the NHL program and when I stream it, it is extremely laggy.  I am achieving 49 Mbps download speed with a single item being used on the internet.  Using a wifi connection.  Netflix on the same computer never lags.   On my iphone, there are no lagging issues.  I pay for this service, which I understand after signing up that I should be getting this for free anyway due to the Ignite package.  Very frustrated and looking for assistance.

[RogersMoin]

Hello, @fordisjobone

Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!

Thank you for posting your concern in the Community. It's certainly not a pleasant experience when the game is lagging. Since streaming the game on other wireless devices is not impacted the issue can be isolated to that wireless computer. What operating system that computer is running? Have you tried different browsers?

Keep us posted. 

Thanks,

RogersMoin

[woebeckla]

Games played on a PC seem to buffer every minute or so . 

Does not do this on my roku

PC is on a 5G wifi connection.

Roku is wired.