Pixelated images on Roku Streaming Stick and 1 GB service

[Alex4161]

I hooked up a Roku Streaming Stick last night to watch Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee on Crackle, and many of the episodes looked very pixelated as if the quality was not anywhere near 1080P.  I tried switching between 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz on my 3552 modem (with Rogers 1 Gbit service) and the quality was very poor.

The Roku wifi signal levels were good and even confirmed this by getting into the Roku secret menus for troubleshooting:

http://lifehacker.com/all-the-roku-secret-commands-and-menus-in-one-graphic-1779010902

Browsing wifi on my phone (2 Ghz band) and my iPad Air 2 (5 Ghz band) has no issues.

Is there some settings on my modem that I need to update for QOS or something.  The 5 Ghz setting is set to 80 Mhz.  Should I turn that down to 40 Mhz?

If the wifi on the Roku is not good, perhaps I should return the stick and get a wired version.

Anyone else have issues with the Roku Streaming stick watching Crackle? 

*Edited Labels*

[RogersMoin]

Hello, @Alex4161

Thank you for your detailed post. There are no settings in the modem to modify for this issue. Have you tried a different series/shows? Is everything pixelating? Have you tried a different HDMI port on your TV?

@Community - any input from Roku Stick users on this issue is appreciated. 

Cheers,

RogersMoin

[Gdkitty]

If your wifi signal is good... and assuming your speed is good on those on wireless..

To me, sounds more like it may be an enpoint issue?  Either that, or device.

Are you able to access the service via any other device??  IF they are playing clear, know its just an issue with the Roku stick.

[Alex4161 · Accepted solution]

I just tried it on my laptop with a wired connection and also got poor quality.  I then checked out Crackle and it appears that their contact is not HD which explains why everything looks bad.  I then used the MLB plug in to watch the Jays game and that is in full HD and looks awesome!

Sorry about that as I didn't think Crackle would be SD only.

[Alex4161]

Just an update to this issue.  I ended up returning the Roku Streaming Stick and purchased the Google Chromecast.  I then watched the same content that Pixelated on the Roku which shows up CRYSTAL CLEAR on the Chromecast. Digging deeper, the Chromecast has a Dual Band AC wifi whereas the Roku Streaming Stick has a Dual Band N wifi.  This was why the video quality was not good.

I watched 2 episodes of Comedians in Cars on Crackle and Star Trek TNG on Shomi and they both worked wonderfully.

For people who want the Roku, I would strongly suggest getting the newer models Like the Roku Premiere. Premiere + or Ultra as they both have Dual Band AC and The Premiere + and Ultra have Eithernet as well.  

If you want to use the Chromecast, there is an option that exists to allow for Ethernet connection, and you need to get this adaptor:  https://store.google.com/product/ethernet_adapter_for_chromecast