Twitch Stream Inconsistency

[Chris1138]

I upgraded to Virgin Media back in March as I began streaming on Twitch. I have the M200 package and up until late October, had no issues at all: could stream for up to 6 hours or more at 1080p, 60FPS, no problems whatsoever, using an ethernet cable from the Hub to my PC.

However, recently, I have encountered a recurring issue where, 9 times out of ten, I will get to anywhere between 90 - 120 minutes of streaming when suddenly my software (Streamlabs OBS) will report dropped frames, and then my stream will drop out entirely. When I attempt to restart the stream or check the Twitch app, my internet connection cuts out again entirely for a few moments. When it returns, everythign else I use the internet for is fine, but I cannot restart the stream for more than a few minutes before my connection goes again.

Outside of streaming to Twitch, it's incredibly rare or me to experience a loss in internet connection, whether ethernet or Wi-Fi, using any other device or during any other activity (watching Netflix/using my work laptop/downloading podcasts on my phone etc). My download speed never drops below 150MBPS, and my upload rarely drops below 15MBPS.

I know this is not a software or PC issue, as both me and my partner have experienced the same issue on different streaming software on two different PCs with different encoding/bitrate settings. I wondered if perhaps I had an upload limit in my contract, but it specifically states that there is none, and also I have streamed for a solid 6 hours in one session recently with no issue (the 1 time out of 10 it hasn't died on me!). Luckily I do not rely on Twitch for income, but it's been incredibly frustrating to start every stream praying that I can actually go the full 3-4 hours, rather than 1hr 40 before the stream inevitably dies.

I am in the E17 postcode area, and have been experiencing these issues for the last month and a half: using the service status function on the website, reconnecting all cables and ports, resetting the Hub and all the methods suggested online have yeilded nothing.

[gary_dexter]

Do other connections etc. drop at the same time?

[Chris1138]

Some do, some don't - I always have my phone by the side of my PC during streaming to check the video/chatbox and when the stream drops, my phone sometimes loses connection too. My partner might be watching Netflix in the next room and usually is surprised when I tell her the internet connection has dropped, as her activity seems unaffected.

Funnily enough, as I began typing this out, my connection dropped again and my download/upload speed has just tanked! I don't normally notice this happening outside of stream hours so maybe it's more of an issue than I thought!

[gary_dexter]

Post the network, upstream and downstream logs from the hubs admin pages back here as text.

Also setup a BQM to monitor your connection and post a link to the live graph as well.

[Chris1138]

Downstream bonded channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) SNR (dB) Modulation Channel ID

1	138750000	-7	37	256 qam	1
2	146750000	-7.7	37	256 qam	2
3	154750000	-6.2	37	256 qam	3
4	162750000	-9	37	256 qam	4
5	170750000	-8.5	36	256 qam	5
6	178750000	-7	37	256 qam	6
7	186750000	-7.7	37	256 qam	7
8	194750000	-5.5	38	256 qam	8
9	202750000	-5.7	37	256 qam	9
10	210750000	-5.9	37	256 qam	10
11	218750000	-5.7	37	256 qam	11
12	226750000	-5.4	37	256 qam	12
13	234750000	-5.5	37	256 qam	13
14	242750000	-5	37	256 qam	14
15	250750000	-6	36	256 qam	15
16	258750000	-6.5	37	256 qam	16
17	266750000	-6.7	37	256 qam	17
18	274750000	-8.2	36	256 qam	18
19	282750000	-8	35	256 qam	19
20	290750000	-8.2	37	256 qam	20
21	298750000	-11.4	35	256 qam	21
22	306750000	-11.5	35	256 qam	22
23	314750000	-12.2	35	256 qam	23
24	322750000	-13.5	34	256 qam	24

Downstream bonded channels

Channel Locked Status RxMER (dB) Pre RS Errors Post RS Errors

1	Locked	37.6	42522872	38579294
2	Locked	37.6	34961241	4677460
3	Locked	37.3	2493687	769483
4	Locked	37.3	3833112	642073
5	Locked	36.6	2116621	503008
6	Locked	37.6	1125169	162619
7	Locked	37.6	1450227	243388
8	Locked	38.6	1488284	202783
9	Locked	37.6	1065185	171417
10	Locked	37.3	758713	83454
11	Locked	37.6	589413	61084
12	Locked	37.6	956932	93223
13	Locked	37.3	1083358	88467
14	Locked	37.6	514996	57203
15	Locked	36.6	513186	67910
16	Locked	37.6	406414	47180
17	Locked	37.6	549502	56899
18	Locked	36.6	797049	104522
19	Locked	35.7	1111065	158983
20	Locked	37.3	809745	82919
21	Locked	35	1359707	121055
22	Locked	35.7	1132530	102556
23	Locked	35	1087379	76546
24	Locked	34.4	1947974	145135

Upstream bonded channels

Channel Frequency (Hz) Power (dBmV) Symbol Rate (ksps) Modulation Channel ID

1	32599970	51	5120	64 qam	7
2	46200000	51	5120	64 qam	5
3	25800000	51	5120	64 qam	8
4	39400000	51	5120	64 qam	6

Upstream bonded channels

Channel Channel Type T1 Timeouts T2 Timeouts T3 Timeouts T4 Timeouts

1	ATDMA	0	0	28	0
2	ATDMA	0	0	74	0
3	ATDMA	0	0	23	0
4	ATDMA	0	0	27	0

I've made a live BQM but the ofrum won't let me share it something to do with an 'invalid HTML'

[jbrennand]

That looks like an awful connection... but can you do this first...
_____________________________

Switch the Hub off and unplug it from the mains supply for five minutes. Whilst it's off, do a quick check that all of your coax cable connections are in nice and "finger" tight - at the Hub and wall box and also at any connectors etc. Ensure there are no “unterminated cable loose ends. Disconnect all the connections and reconnect to be sure. Also check that the internal wiring is ok with no kinking or chaffing, check that all looks good with the outside cabling and wall box (no “staples, etc.,) piercing the cables.. Then switch the Hub back on and leave ~5 minutes

When all done, check back in the settings and ensure that the RS error counts and T3 errors have all reset to 0. Then check every hour or so to see if they start reappearing - they shouldn't. If they do (particularly the postRS and T3 ones) you have a problem (noise) that only a Tech visit will sort.

[Chris1138]

[gary_dexter]

Do you have an attenuator fitted to the back of the hub where the Coax cable connects?

[Chris1138]

Is that what this is? I took this picture while following the steps given above, and made sure all connections were tight - ignore the state of the wall, landlord had the bright idea to paint over the wallbox so I had to unscrew the cover to check the connection was secure.

[Chris1138]

Never mind, looks like the Post RS Errors are back.