Forum Discussion

sam_j_w's avatar
sam_j_w
Tuning in
10 months ago

Stream box apps are incredibly slow

I've got 2 brand new stream boxes (Flex), one upstairs and one downstairs.

Regular TV seems to work fairly well but the apps are so sluggish, it feels like the boxes are severely underpowered. Netflix especially is almost unbearable - scrolling up and down in the menu is so slow, starting a programme can take up to 30 seconds and it often takes a while for any subtitles to display. Once a programme starts playing and has buffered it works fine, but everything else is a truly miserable experience.

Surely for a fairly new paid service it should work much better than this? Even the smart TV apps on my 6 year old TV aren't as painful to use as this. I am going to have to revert to using a Chromecast for apps I think because I have pretty much given up on the stream boxes now for anything other than live TV.

Apps
flex
netflix
slow
StreamBox

18 Replies

  • Carley_S's avatar
    Carley_S
    Forum Team (Retired)
    10 months ago

    Hi sam_j_w 

    Welcome to the Community Forums. 

    Sorry to hear of your concern with the stream boxes performance. 

    How do you have each stream box connected to the internet? Are they both through WiFi or do you have one connected to the router via ethernet cable. 

     

    • sam_j_w's avatar
      sam_j_w
      Tuning in
      10 months ago

      Hi Carley, they are both connected via WiFi.

      However this is not a network issue, it's purely the performance of the boxes themselves in direct comparison to other streaming devices (Nvidia Shield, Chromecast, smart TV apps etc)

      • Carley_S's avatar
        Carley_S
        Forum Team (Retired)
        10 months ago

        Oh okay. 

        Do you have the stream boxes in a cabinet, out of view or behind glass at all? 

        We will certainly feedback on your concerns on our side regarding the slow responses on the stream box. We always take on board the feedback given so we can collect the information and use it to learn more about the areas we need to improve. We will certainly pass this information along to the relevant teams.

  • stevenhaywood's avatar
    stevenhaywood
    Settling in
    7 months ago

    I'd like to add to this - especially the Disney+ app. It's absolutely horrendous.

    It feels like it's loading the thumbnails across a 14.4k modem. The spinner circle is so laggy that sometimes it looks like it's not moving at all.

    Ethernet connection on a 500mb line that speedtests perfectly at 500/50 so it's not that.

    • Roger_Gooner's avatar
      Roger_Gooner
      Alessandro Volta
      7 months ago

      See what happens if you connect the box's plug to an Ethernet cable. 

  • Eric99999's avatar
    Eric99999
    Tuning in
    5 months ago

    Did Virgin Media help you with solution for this issue? 

    It really should not be so bad on a brand new device.

    • Gareth_L's avatar
      Gareth_L
      Forum Team (Retired)
      5 months ago

      Hello Eric99999.

      Thank you for bringing your Stream box issues to our attention.

      Can we start by asking how the boxes are connected to the network? Are they both WIFI or is one through an Ethernet cable directly to the Hub?

      Also, do you have any 3rd party WIFI extenders in use?

      Gareth_L

  • EthanLee's avatar
    EthanLee
    Joining in
    14 days ago

    I have to back just how bad these streaming apps are. Sometimes they completely freeze and I need to force the box all the way back to the home menu, then try loading again. Menus are sluggish, subtitles are miles behind, and they’re just generally so far behind what a phone can manage. Doesn’t reflect value for money at all. The apps need optimising for the boxes. 

  • dietibru's avatar
    dietibru
    Joining in
    14 days ago

    I think I should point out, these issues also happen when using the streaming apps directly via you TV. My sister's Disney+ is shocking for how often we can't stream a film with it. So I don't know if this is actually a Virgin issue.

    • EthanLee's avatar
      EthanLee
      Joining in
      11 days ago

      Netflix on a phone doesn’t have the same issues, nor did our Sky box before we made the switch. I would suggest that the TV app you mentioned has the same issue as Virgins, but not that this absolves them of a problem to fix.

    • Adduxi's avatar
      Adduxi
      Very Insightful Person
      11 days ago

      I think the OP is complaining about the performance of the box in operating the apps, not the streaming performance which is stated as fine.

      • EthanLee's avatar
        EthanLee
        Joining in
        9 days ago

        Which I can second because it’s the same for mine. If you can actually get it off the ground it eventually gets up to speed, but actually getting there is an uphill battle.