Virgin 1Gb now available.

denisor

Hi all, just chiming in with another update and need a heads up from some of you too.

Got the VM Arris 1 Gb Gateway working in modem / bridge mode. Initially getting 600mbps direct over ethernet, did factory reset - got the UPC welcome screen, and no password would let me in, did another reset and got VM welcome screen and password worked. Only then managed to achieve 940mbps down direct over ethernet.

Orbi Wifi 6 is up and running well now and we can get 600-700mbps over wifi on throughout the entire house whilst getting 940mbps over ethernet direct from the VM Gateway.

However, after a few hours the VM Arris speed in modem / bridge mode is dropping down to about 500mbps, and it can then get itself back up to 940mbps later on other occasions...... not sure what to do about that, as VM don't support bridge / modem mode.

Regarding property size (2500sq.ft. semi with VM gateway and Orbi router in attic, with Orbi Satellite in middle running wirelesssly, and the ground floor Orbi Satellite is hardwired back to Orbi Router)

For those who asked, outdoor coverage on the Orbi Wifi6 is noticeably poor. The ground floor hard wired satellite can deliver 700mbps indoors, even up to 15m away through block work walls, but just 2m away from the same satellite through glass to outside garden the speeds drop to about 75mbps! and after 5m outside the signal is completely gone, I assume the Orbi is using the walls to bounce its signal? By comparison, our older Apple Airport Extreme was working 15m away in the garden. That said, it could not reach 10m or more internally...

smelly sock

sticker wrote: »

You might be right there - There may be a cap of limits on those!

Plenty of options anyway - barring me running the line myself. Absolutely muck at DIY :rolleyes:

I'd be happy to get the job done right a pay a few bob. Anyone know a cheap sparks?! I'm in Clonee...

You'll run a cable handy enough behind skirting, on skirting and with some conduit.

Try some flat cat 7 cable also for under carpets etc.

Not rocket surgery.

sticker

smelly sock wrote: »

You'll run a cable handy enough behind skirting, on skirting and with some conduit.

Try some flat cat 7 cable also for under carpets etc.

Not rocket surgery.

I'm going down 2 floors... It might not be rocket surgery but not a easy job methinks

denisor

sticker wrote: »

I'm going down 2 floors... It might not be rocket surgery but not a easy job methinks

Cable tie it behind your rain water gutter and down pipe system???

Rattlehead_ie

Im dealing with a strange problem with the new modem actually. This is not the fault of the modem specifically. Seems to be an incompatibility with Asus AC68 PCI-E wireless card and the modem when using 5Ghz, used it in 2 different PCs and same issue. 2.4G works. While all other W-NICs inc phones work with no issue.

CoBo55

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

Im dealing with a strange problem with the new modem actually. This is not the fault of the modem specifically. Seems to be an incompatibility with Asus AC68 PCI-E wireless card and the modem when using 5Ghz, used it in 2 different PCs and same issue. 2.4G works. While all other W-NICs inc phones work with no issue.

Maybe the Asus card can't see the channel chosen by the router.

Rattlehead_ie

CoBo55 wrote: »

Maybe the Asus card can't see the channel chosen by the router.

No it sees it,can connect, but no internet.
The issue displays itself as a DNS issue, but its not a DNS issue, as can manually resolved it via nslookup, but not is pinging by name. Fixed if switched to 2.4G again, its just very strange and doesnt make sense. I have all afternoon now to figure it out properly.

deravarra

denisor wrote: »

Hi all, just chiming in with another update and need a heads up from some of you too.

Got the VM Arris 1 Gb Gateway working in modem / bridge mode. Initially getting 600mbps direct over ethernet, did factory reset - got the UPC welcome screen, and no password would let me in, did another reset and got VM welcome screen and password worked. Only then managed to achieve 940mbps down direct over ethernet.

Orbi Wifi 6 is up and running well now and we can get 600-700mbps over wifi on throughout the entire house whilst getting 940mbps over ethernet direct from the VM Gateway.

However, after a few hours the VM Arris speed in modem / bridge mode is dropping down to about 500mbps, and it can then get itself back up to 940mbps later on other occasions...... not sure what to do about that, as VM don't support bridge / modem mode.

Regarding property size (2500sq.ft. semi with VM gateway and Orbi router in attic, with Orbi Satellite in middle running wirelesssly, and the ground floor Orbi Satellite is hardwired back to Orbi Router)

For those who asked, outdoor coverage on the Orbi Wifi6 is noticeably poor. The ground floor hard wired satellite can deliver 700mbps indoors, even up to 15m away through block work walls, but just 2m away from the same satellite through glass to outside garden the speeds drop to about 75mbps! and after 5m outside the signal is completely gone, I assume the Orbi is using the walls to bounce its signal? By comparison, our older Apple Airport Extreme was working 15m away in the garden. That said, it could not reach 10m or more internally...

Thanks for all the info. Great to know the RBK853 is stable and providing decent speeds inside the house.

WRT the garden and lack of decent speeds just a tad outside the house, I have seen an outdoor version of the orbi satellite. While it was linked to another satellite, it was a WiFi 5 one - and it picked up the signal from a loft to the back of the garden, a good 15 metres+ away.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Extender-Satellite-Existing-IP56-certified/dp/B01M7YNQBQ


Just wondering where your nearest satellite/router is in relation to the back wall or window?

I have my M5 satellite on top of the kitchen units towards the back wall of the house and can get 80 Mbps speeds withing 15 feet of that satellite, and down to 30 Mbps within 50 feet of the satellite. It deteriorates further down the garden. Signal along the side of the house not too bad, but at the front side, it is woeful.

TheDoc

smelly sock wrote: »

You'll run a cable handy enough behind skirting, on skirting and with some conduit.

Try some flat cat 7 cable also for under carpets etc.

Not rocket surgery.

Sounds like poster is like me, not overly confident on the DIY front. Even as someone who has done plenty, theres nothing easy about running cable outside your house to come back in, and making sure the wall panels you'll use are flush and done proper so your not getting whispy drafts coming in from ****e drilling.

I did have an apartment where I ran ethernet through skirting and granted that wasn't too rough, but when you start traversing floors it can get messy.

deravarra

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

No it sees it,can connect, but no internet.
The issue displays itself as a DNS issue, but its not a DNS issue, as can manually resolved it via nslookup, but not is pinging by name. Fixed if switched to 2.4G again, its just very strange and doesnt make sense. I have all afternoon now to figure it out properly.

Have you tried on another device? Or used another card/dongle?

I had something similar a while back and it was the card that was at fault. All other devices had no issue connecting.

Rattlehead_ie

deravarra wrote: »

Have you tried on another device? Or used another card/dongle?

I had something similar a while back and it was the card that was at fault. All other devices had no issue connecting.

Yep, the think is, the card works perfectly fine on the Hub3 and other 5Ghz APs.
So does look right now as some incompatibility, but Ill have a proper test later.

sticker

denisor wrote: »

Cable tie it behind your rain water gutter and down pipe system???

Cheers - good idea!

sticker

Im told now that cat6 cable is better than the regular amazon cable...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07NDCXP63/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2H9MSIILW7I5R&th=1

deravarra

sticker wrote: »

Im told now that cat6 cable is better than the regular amazon cable...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07NDCXP63/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2H9MSIILW7I5R&th=1

definitely. more bandwidth

Cuddlesworth

TheDoc wrote: »

This is what I've been contending with since lockdown. Now while granted everything is working fine, annoying I'm not getting the speed I used to get. Also suffering problems with my WiFi on PC randomly dropping when I start big downloads.

Is that speed test cabled or wifi? It could just be interference from your neighbours bringing down the wifi speeds. Would match up with the "drops" too.

alec76

sticker , It is difference in the bandwidth,10 Gb Vs 1 Gb .
But there is much more about the cables than Cat6 Vs Cat5

If you could use copper Cat6 external cable , do.
Stay away from cheap Cat6 cables, CCA. ( not copper , aluminium core instead, not suitable for PoE etc,)
some cheap cables hard to pull through the tight spots , they intend to break internally etc.

denisor

deravarra wrote: »

Thanks for all the info. Great to know the RBK853 is stable and providing decent speeds inside the house.

WRT the garden and lack of decent speeds just a tad outside the house, I have seen an outdoor version of the orbi satellite. While it was linked to another satellite, it was a WiFi 5 one - and it picked up the signal from a loft to the back of the garden, a good 15 metres+ away.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Extender-Satellite-Existing-IP56-certified/dp/B01M7YNQBQ


Just wondering where your nearest satellite/router is in relation to the back wall or window?

I have my M5 satellite on top of the kitchen units towards the back wall of the house and can get 80 Mbps speeds withing 15 feet of that satellite, and down to 30 Mbps within 50 feet of the satellite. It deteriorates further down the garden. Signal along the side of the house not too bad, but at the front side, it is woeful.

The hardwired Orbi WIFI 6 satellite on the ground floor is 1m away from a double glazed aluminium framed bifold door to the garden. The door is the full width of the property so there is almost no insulated masonry barrier. There is almost no signal 5m into the garden (6m from satellite) and thats with line of sight to the satellite. Thats a massive disappointment. Iv'e been looking at the outdoor WIFI 5 external unit you linked to and it gets positive reviews, but is unavailable on Amazon. If I can pick one up somewhere I will, the alternative is to consider another WIFI 6 satellite and put it in an outbuilding, but based on the ability of the existing WIFI6 to not reach outdoors, that option is a bit risky.

deravarra

denisor wrote: »

The hardwired Orbi WIFI 6 satellite on the ground floor is 1m away from a double glazed aluminium framed bifold door to the garden. The door is the full width of the property so there is almost no insulated masonry barrier. There is almost no signal 5m into the garden (6m from satellite) and thats with line of sight to the satellite. Thats a massive disappointment. Iv'e been looking at the outdoor WIFI 5 external unit you linked to and it gets positive reviews, but is unavailable on Amazon. If I can pick one up somewhere I will, the alternative is to consider another WIFI 6 satellite and put it in an outbuilding, but based on the ability of the existing WIFI6 to not reach outdoors, that option is a bit risky.

Agreed.
One possible solution is to try and run a cable between the nearest satellite to the outdoor satellite. I would keep the outdoor satellite as close to the house as possible - even attach to the external wall. Not sure if that would work, but could be worth a go.

deravarra

denisor wrote: »

The hardwired Orbi WIFI 6 satellite on the ground floor is 1m away from a double glazed aluminium framed bifold door to the garden. The door is the full width of the property so there is almost no insulated masonry barrier. There is almost no signal 5m into the garden (6m from satellite) and thats with line of sight to the satellite. Thats a massive disappointment. Iv'e been looking at the outdoor WIFI 5 external unit you linked to and it gets positive reviews, but is unavailable on Amazon. If I can pick one up somewhere I will, the alternative is to consider another WIFI 6 satellite and put it in an outbuilding, but based on the ability of the existing WIFI6 to not reach outdoors, that option is a bit risky.

Another query - how well does the router work with non wifi 6 devices?
The Asus AI Mesh wouldn't even allow a 2 year old laptop connect. As much as I would like to go for the orbi wifi6, it would be a very costly option and a costly failure if I had a similar experience as with the Asus AI Mesh

Bob24

lotas wrote: »

yea, quality and stability is high priority, but having to upload or download a 20GB VM, having 100Mb/s up and 1Gb/s down, vs having 100Mb/s down 10Mb/s means its going to take at least 10 times longer to download or upload something... And yes, in my line of business moving 20Gb vms around the place is somewhat normal... I agree, its not for everyone, but you also dont have to sign up for it either...

Problem with Virgin Media is they have a history of offering high speed at the edge of the network (between you and them) but having saturated connectivity to the rest of the internet meaning you don’t get anywhere near those speeds for many real world use case (except for Speedtest.net and the links which they will make sure works perfectly).

It became very visible a few years ago when VM customers who supposedly has 100s of MBs of data speed couldn’t stream HD content on the likes if Netflix and YouTube, or would need ours to download updates for their phones. They have now gotten a little better at hiding it, but it still exists and your 100Mbps upload speed is likely not to apply for connectivity with your employer’s corporate network.

bawnBeag

I'm on VM 1gb at the moment, having a nightmare with them. Experiencing packet loss, speed tests varying massively. A technician was due to call out on Friday but my appointment was cancelled for some unknown reason. They prioritized a reschedule but the earliest is September 10th. I am considering cancelling at this stage but wanted to know if anyone has any experience of Vodafone 1gb + TV and how it compares or is there a better provider?

alec76

denisor wrote: »

The hardwired Orbi WIFI 6 satellite on the ground floor is 1m away from a double glazed aluminium framed bifold door to the garden. The door is the full width of the property so there is almost no insulated masonry barrier. There is almost no signal 5m into the garden (6m from satellite) and thats with line of sight to the satellite.

Have you ever heard about Faraday Cage?
Try to move satellite few metres away from that aluminium frame first.

denisor

deravarra wrote: »

Another query - how well does the router work with non wifi 6 devices?
The Asus AI Mesh wouldn't even allow a 2 year old laptop connect. As much as I would like to go for the orbi wifi6, it would be a very costly option and a costly failure if I had a similar experience as with the Asus AI Mesh

Oldest devices are 2015 iPad Mini 4's and they are getting 200mbps throughout, no more and no less anywhere.

Recent iPad Pro getting 600mbps throughout, and Wifi 6 iPhone 11 is getting 750-850mbps throughout.

deravarra

denisor wrote: »

Oldest devices are 2015 iPad Mini 4's and they are getting 200mbps throughout, no more and no less anywhere.

Recent iPad Pro getting 600mbps throughout, and Wifi 6 iPhone 11 is getting 750-850mbps throughout.

I think we definitely have different eircodes :P

Cuddlesworth

alec76 wrote: »

Have you ever heard about Faraday Cage?
Try to move satellite few metres away from that aluminium frame first.

That's not how a faraday cage works and 5ghz isn't a great penetrator of materials regardless.

Single Pane Low-E glass is a 5ghz signal killer.
Double/triple glazing is a signal killer for obvious reasons.
Inert gas between the glazing is a signal killer.

In a lot of cases, modern windows are as bad if not worse then a solid wall.

Cuddlesworth

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

Im dealing with a strange problem with the new modem actually. This is not the fault of the modem specifically. Seems to be an incompatibility with Asus AC68 PCI-E wireless card and the modem when using 5Ghz, used it in 2 different PCs and same issue. 2.4G works. While all other W-NICs inc phones work with no issue.

Its not a intel chip so try go into the router and set the 5ghz channel width to 40hz or less, test, if it works see if there is a auto setting.

satguy

I used to have VM, the old 360 ,, It was Ireland's fastest back then.

But when on Youtube or Netflix,, or if my son was downloading a big game from Steam, It always seemed to choke. It seems that you can have a blazing fast network,, but if there not enough connections out to the wider world internet, you will be let down,, big time.

deravarra

satguy wrote: »

I used to have VM, the old 360 ,, It was Ireland's fastest back then.

But when on Youtube or Netflix,, or if my son was downloading a big game from Steam, It always seemed to choke. It seems that you can have a blazing fast network,, but if there not enough connections out to the wider world internet, you will be let down,, big time.

who did you move to?

denisor

alec76 wrote: »

Have you ever heard about Faraday Cage?
Try to move satellite few metres away from that aluminium frame first.

Everyday is a school day! Thanks for the info.

Just tested with Orbi 1m beside bifold door:
Bifold door closed, 6m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 75mpbs,
Bifold door closed, 15m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat no signal,

Bifold door open, 6m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 395mpbs,
Bifold door open, 15m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 293mpbs,

So proof the bifold door / glass is blocking signal.

Tested with Orbi relocated to be inside 6m away from bifold door:
Bifold door closed, 11m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat no signal, (standing in all same locations as above)

So the aluminium frame or glass are definitely killing the wifi signals.

But why the old Apple Airport work through it? it and Orbi run on on both 2.4 and 5 Ghz?

I guess I'll need to run an ethernet to the garden and put an Orbi satellite on / in the shed.

deravarra

denisor wrote: »

Everyday is a school day! Thanks for the info.

Just tested with Orbi 1m beside bifold door:
Bifold door closed, 6m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 75mpbs,
Bifold door closed, 15m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat no signal,

Bifold door open, 6m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 395mpbs,
Bifold door open, 15m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat 293mpbs,

So proof the bifold door / glass is blocking signal.

Tested with Orbi relocated to be inside 6m away from bifold door:
Bifold door closed, 11m away from Orbi Wifi6 Sat no signal, (standing in all same locations as above)

So the aluminium frame or glass are definitely killing the wifi signals.

But why the old Apple Airport work through it? it and Orbi run on on both 2.4 and 5 Ghz?

I guess I'll need to run an ethernet to the garden and put an Orbi satellite on / in the shed.

That is some difference between door open and door closed :eek:

denisor

deravarra wrote: »

That is some difference between door open and door closed :eek:

It sure is, especially coming into autumn!

sticker

Hey all,

I am looking at getting the 1gig line brought down to the front sitting room via a CAT6 cable.

I may just opt for another wifi downstairs and a switch to have 2 wifi's in the house. I know its not ideal but tis waht we're used to and having the 1gig hard line downstairs will reap big benefits...

I dont think I need to run the expense of an Orbi now and I'm sure the line insatllation will probably pull my pants down on price so if I can save a few bob and get a modem and new switch, that may sort me out.

Any recommendations for a decent but affordable wifi hub & switch I can use for downstairs?

What about these - Just need wifi to cover downstairs...

Router:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-C50-Wireless-Supports-Parental/dp/B075PDLQ2Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3PRPWKBN5HKO8&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+router&qid=1599495236&sprefix=wifi+ro%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-3

Switch:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Ethernet-Unmanaged-Internet-Splitter/dp/B07PWHGQSS/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=ethernet+switch&qid=1599495333&sr=8-7

Also - If the virgin line comes in from a box at the front door, would it no bee easier to split it there and bring it a lot shorer a distance to the front window and into the sitting room from there and not all the wat from the attic?!

Thanks!

schmoo2k

sticker wrote: »

Hey all,

I am looking at getting the 1gig line brought down to the front sitting room via a CAT6 cable.

I may just opt for another wifi downstairs and a switch to have 2 wifi's in the house. I know its not ideal but tis waht we're used to and having the 1gig hard line downstairs will reap big benefits...

I dont think I need to run the expense of an Orbi now and I'm sure the line insatllation will probably pull my pants down on price so if I can save a few bob and get a modem and new switch, that may sort me out.

Any recommendations for a decent but affordable wifi hub & switch I can use for downstairs?

What about these - Just need wifi to cover downstairs...

Router:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-C50-Wireless-Supports-Parental/dp/B075PDLQ2Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3PRPWKBN5HKO8&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+router&qid=1599495236&sprefix=wifi+ro%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-3

Switch:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Ethernet-Unmanaged-Internet-Splitter/dp/B07PWHGQSS/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=ethernet+switch&qid=1599495333&sr=8-7

Also - If the virgin line comes in from a box at the front door, would it no bee easier to split it there and bring it a lot shorer a distance to the front window and into the sitting room from there and not all the wat from the attic?!

Thanks!

If you have the old horzion box you can use that:
1. Disable DHCP on it
2. Ignore the WAN connection

It will double as a wifi hot spot and four port switch.

In my house I ran Cat6 down the outside and used old WiFi routers as new hot spots - the cheapest of which still has the best range (but worst speed).

schmoo2k

We are seeing a fairly consistent patterns of dropped packets when gaming (and glitching with VOIP), seems to show up clearly on the thinkbroadband site and only seems to happen when the gaming starts.



6pm in the example above up until I rebooted the box.

satguy

deravarra wrote: »

who did you move to?

I moved to SIRO, (Digiweb), got the Fiber 1 gig installed,, when our son left for college a year later I dropped down to 150 down and 20 up.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=106010101&postcount=4524

deravarra

satguy wrote: »

I moved to SIRO, (Digiweb), got the Fiber 1 gig installed,, when our son left for college a year later I dropped down to 150 down and 20 up.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=106010101&postcount=4524

I had placed an order with them. Pre install team came along the next day and told me my driveway would have to be dug up and even after doing that, there would be no guarantee that I could get anywhere near 1 gig downloads.

Disappointing, especially since their prices were way lower than VM's

sticker

schmoo2k wrote: »

If you have the old horzion box you can use that:
1. Disable DHCP on it
2. Ignore the WAN connection

It will double as a wifi hot spot and four port switch.

In my house I ran Cat6 down the outside and used old WiFi routers as new hot spots - the cheapest of which still has the best range (but worst speed).

Great idea! - Sorry but how do I Disable DHCP on it.

Its this unit...

sticker

Sorry if this is offtopic - But I previously had an involved setup to watch donwloaded movies/media on my Sony android TV...

I put files on external HD from my PC and connect via usb to back of bluray player, open source in bluray menu - but I got a lot of movie file type errors on playback, when I get the gig hardline in my sitting room, is there a better / more reliable solution to play or cast movies/media to my TV?

Thanks!

schmoo2k

sticker wrote: »

Great idea! - Sorry but how do I Disable DHCP on it.

Its this unit...

It will be along the lines of:


Note 1: That screenshot is from the newer unit, but the older one is similar (from memory).
Note 2: You can do the same with the old Horizon TV box as well (which is what I was originally suggesting)
Note 3: Its simpler if you never use the WAN input when you're doing this (on your box its the coax cable so not applicable). If you do use the Wan, then you would enable DHCP and its basically another firewall inside your house (which can be good for advanced applications).

schmoo2k

sticker wrote: »

Sorry if this is offtopic - But I previously had an involved setup to watch donwloaded movies/media on my Sony android TV...

I put files on external HD from my PC and connect via usb to back of bluray player, open source in bluray menu - but I got a lot of movie file type errors on playback, when I get the gig hardline in my sitting room, is there a better / more reliable solution to play or cast movies/media to my TV?

Thanks!

Very quick answer is yes - but would need to know more about what equipment you have.

If your TV is "Smart" and if it supports local networks and/or apps like Plex then you can configure your PC so that the movie files can be "served" directly to your TV (either by a shared drive, or by running a server like Plex Server).

If not then you will need a "box" that can (anyone known if the new TV 360 box do this?).

I retired my old "box" as my TV supports apps, so am not up to date to recommend one (but you will get cheap ones for less than 50 Euros I suspect)

sticker

schmoo2k wrote: »

It will be along the lines of:


Note 1: That screenshot is from the newer unit, but the older one is similar (from memory).
Note 2: You can do the same with the old Horizon TV box as well (which is what I was originally suggesting)
Note 3: Its simpler if you never use the WAN input when you're doing this (on your box its the coax cable so not applicable). If you do use the Wan, then you would enable DHCP and its basically another firewall inside your house (which can be good for advanced applications).

Many Thanks!!

sticker

schmoo2k wrote: »

Very quick answer is yes - but would need to know more about what equipment you have.

If your TV is "Smart" and if it supports local networks and/or apps like Plex then you can configure your PC so that the movie files can be "served" directly to your TV (either by a shared drive, or by running a server like Plex Server).

If not then you will need a "box" that can (anyone known if the new TV 360 box do this?).

I retired my old "box" as my TV supports apps, so am not up to date to recommend one (but you will get cheap ones for less than 50 Euros I suspect)

This is my TV

https://www.sony.ie/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-55xe8396/specifications

https://www.electronicworldtv.co.uk/55-sony-kd55xe8396-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-freeview-hd-smart-android-led-tv

It would ideal to be able to send files directly to the TV from the PC or I would be happy to get a media box if it can play all media types to the TV...

sticker

Never heard of Plex - sounds very interesting! But ideally I would like to get a media hub where I can downlaod content to the device and it will work on my Sony TV. I know if I plug a USB drive into the TV directly Sony blocks it...

deravarra

sticker wrote: »

Never heard of Plex - sounds very interesting! But ideally I would like to get a media hub where I can downlaod content to the device and it will work on my Sony TV. I know if I plug a USB drive into the TV directly Sony blocks it...

Very stable!
I used my old PC before - stored all media on it, and used that as a server.
I upgraded to a new server this year - Synology 918+ and that does the job very well.
So what I do now - move the content from my PC to the server, and that does the sharing to any device, including my TV, phones, tablets. I can also share content with other people.
There is an annual subscription - about 50 euro I think - to set up as a server.

sticker

deravarra wrote: »

Very stable!
I used my old PC before - stored all media on it, and used that as a server.
I upgraded to a new server this year - Synology 918+ and that does the job very well.
So what I do now - move the content from my PC to the server, and that does the sharing to any device, including my TV, phones, tablets. I can also share content with other people.
There is an annual subscription - about 50 euro I think - to set up as a server.

Thanks - and apologies for editing my origional post above. It does sound a bit involved... I'm only really using it for movies for the big TV downstairs, but as I mentioned above Sony seems to block any attempt at direct feeding of media into the back of the TV via portable storage...

deravarra

sticker wrote: »

Thanks - and apologies for editing my origional post above. It does sound a bit involved... I'm only really using it for movies for the big TV downstairs, but as I mentioned above Sony seems to block any attempt at direct feeding of media into the back of the TV via portable storage...

Did you google to see if other folks have the same issue?

I used Plex to stream movies to an older samsung - about 7 years old - and it worked ok. Upgraded to a 2019 QLED - and the difference is huge. Same movies are showing in a much better quality.

dam099

deravarra wrote: »

I had placed an order with them. Pre install team came along the next day and told me my driveway would have to be dug up and even after doing that, there would be no guarantee that I could get anywhere near 1 gig downloads.

Disappointing, especially since their prices were way lower than VM's

Not sure why they said that, FTTH is very consistent with being able to deliver the full 1Gb speed they can offer. There can be exceptions but usually they seem to be related to faults, contention or transit issues.

My most recent Vodafone (SIRO) contract actually gave the following speed commitment:

Fibre to the Home Broadband Services
Your broadband line can realistically deliver the speed that is
advertised and Vodafone will commit to delivering maximum and
normally available download speeds above 90% of advertised speed.
i.e for 1Gbps service the maximum committed and normally
available speed above 900Mbps.

deravarra

dam099 wrote: »

Not sure why they said that, FTTH is very consistent with being able to deliver the full 1Gb speed they can offer. There can be exceptions but usually they seem to be related to faults, contention or transit issues.

Oh I know. I queried it with Siro, and they said that the reason why I couldnt be connected was that I refused them to dig where they needed. I said that I refused because I was told there was no guarantee that I could get the 1gig downloads.

The pre install group mentioned that they would have to connect to a point about 75 metres away, and this was the reason they were not confident about reaching maximum speeds. Siro responded to this and said they can connect to points 250 metres away and get the speeds.

Still not 100% confident about going ahead, because the driveway was done with patterned concrete - meaning any dig would need a substantial fix afterwards (and costly to get back to the original look) and the original driveway install could have crushed ducting which would make it nigh on impossible to get a pull through - meaning more digging!

schmoo2k

sticker wrote: »

This is my TV

https://www.sony.ie/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-55xe8396/specifications

https://www.electronicworldtv.co.uk/55-sony-kd55xe8396-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-freeview-hd-smart-android-led-tv

It would ideal to be able to send files directly to the TV from the PC or I would be happy to get a media box if it can play all media types to the TV...

Looks like that TV supports Android - here is what I would suggest:
1. Install Plex on the PC and get it setup so that your movies are available via the library feature.
2. Install Plex on the TV (Via Google Play Store) and assoiciate it with your PC (you will have setup a free account in step 1).
3. If everything is working fine then you don't need a TV Media box. but you might want a dedicated Media Server instead of your PC?

deravarra

I don't know what's going on, but after me saying I would rather a stable 500mb connection rather than an unstable 1 gig connection, my VM connection has had a number of dropouts over the past few days while I was working from home.
Hub would just reboot and re-connect. All well in the end, but as I am working from home it's not ideal when working on time critical jobs.

Today's dropout log:

08-09-2020 13:00:10 critical No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;
08-09-2020 12:42:13 warning MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC
Yesterday's:

07-09-2020 13:53:30 warning
07-09-2020 13:53:25 critical SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC
07-09-2020 13:52:57 critical Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 time out
07-09-2020 13:52:43 warning Lost MDD Timeout;CM-MAC
07-09-2020 13:52:37 critical SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;

and noticed upstream channels had T3 timeouts

Upstream bonded channels
Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts
1 2.0 0 0 0 0
2 2.0 0 0 0 0
3 2.0 0 0 0 0
4 2.0 0 0 1 0
5 2.0 0 0 1 0