Need help with Roku/Youtube TV

[harllee]

I have dropped my cable with Spectrum (still have Spectrum internet, it is the only high speed internet available to me). I have Roku Express and have signed up for Youtube TV. Once the Youtube TV finally comes on it is fine (no buffering or anything, a good picture) but I am having trouble getting the channels to come on. When I cut on a channel on the Roku Youtube TV it takes several minutes to come on (sometimes 5-10 minutes). While the channel is coming on I just have a blank screen and then it eventually pops on.

My Spectrum frequently goes out a lot (the whole neighborhood goes out) and I am complaining to Spectrum about that. I know when the internet is out the Roku will go out. But my problem is when the internet is on and working fine it still takes a long time to get a Youtube channel to come on. I have checked my internet speed and it is 130 to 150 mbps with upload speeds of 10-11.

I have contacted Youtube TV about this problem but have not gotten any response.

I am at the point I may have to drop Youtube TV and go back to Spectrum for cable TV. Before I do and pay a lot more for TV I wanted to see if any of you smart folks have any suggestions how to fix my Youtube TV.

Thanks!

 

[njhowie]

Have you tried turning the Roku Express off and then on again?

 

[bloom2708]

What type of router?

What is the signal strength at the back of the TV?

There are a lot of things in play here. Sticks are always slower than the boxes/cubes for Roku and FireTV. Less RAM and a slower processor.

We have a 3 unit Google Wifi Mesh router system for good coverage.

I use only Fire TV boxes and the 2 primary TVs have Fire TV Cubes. The latest/fastest version. Octa core processor, plenty of RAM.

YouTube TV is very fast. We have 100mb cable internet. So not all that fast, but the Google mesh system is super fast/easy to use.

Do you have another TV you can test on that is closer to your router?

 

[harllee]

Have you tried turning the Roku Express off and then on again?

Yes, I have been doing that frequently to get the channels on, sometimes several times per day, frustrating.

 

[REWahoo]

Have you tried to stream something other than YTTV to see if the problem is your Roku or the streaming service? Try one of the many free streaming services to see if the blank screen problem continues.

 

[harllee]

What type of router?

What is the signal strength at the back of the TV?

There are a lot of things in play here. Sticks are always slower than the boxes/cubes for Roku and FireTV. Less RAM and a slower processor.

We have a 3 unit Google Wifi Mesh router system for good coverage.

I use only Fire TV boxes and the 2 primary TVs have Fire TV Cubes. The latest/fastest version. Octa core processor, plenty of RAM.

YouTube TV is very fast. We have 100mb cable internet. So not all that fast, but the Google mesh system is super fast/easy to use.

Do you have another TV you can test on that is closer to your router?

Router is a Netgear N600 Model WNDR3700, about a couple of years old.

I don't know how to measure signal strength at the back of the TV (can't easily get behind the TV). I measured the 130 mbps standing directly in front of the TV. The modem and router are on the same stand as the TV, maybe about 3 feet below the TV. We have another TV further away from the modem (in the next room) and it has the same problem with the slow channels. Sometimes I cut both TVs on and it takes both TVs the same amount to connect to a Youtube channel.

Are you saying that the Roku Express is the problem and we may need a different Roku? We just bought 2 Roku Expresses for our 2 TVS, hope we did not waste our money.

One factor I just realized--other streaming services (like the Roku channel and other free channels and PBS) that I receive on the Roku do not have this problem--those channels come on immediately. So maybe the problem is a YOUtube TV problem and not a Roku problem.

Thanks for your help.

 

[harllee]

Have you tried to stream something other than YTTV to see if the problem is your Roku or the streaming service? Try one of the many free streaming services to see if the blank screen problem continues.

Yes, I just realized that--the free services and PBS do not have this problem, they come right on so it must be a Youtube TV problem and not a Roku problem.

 

[corn18]

We have had multiple Rokus and YTTV for over a year now. It was lightning fast on a 200mbps line. Now it has been getting slower and slower and irritating. I know the signal strength is solid as I go into the secret Roku menus and can see all that is going on. I think the server side of YTTV is getting overwhelmed or something and it is slowing down. Every other streaming channel I use on the Roku is still lightning fast.

 

[wanaberetiree]

I have dropped my cable with Spectrum (still have Spectrum internet, it is the only high speed internet available to me). I have Roku Express and have signed up for Youtube TV. Once the Youtube TV finally comes on it is fine (no buffering or anything, a good picture) but I am having trouble getting the channels to come on. When I cut on a channel on the Roku Youtube TV it takes several minutes to come on (sometimes 5-10 minutes). While the channel is coming on I just have a blank screen and then it eventually pops on.

My Spectrum frequently goes out a lot (the whole neighborhood goes out) and I am complaining to Spectrum about that. I know when the internet is out the Roku will go out. But my problem is when the internet is on and working fine it still takes a long time to get a Youtube channel to come on. I have checked my internet speed and it is 130 to 150 mbps with upload speeds of 10-11.

I have contacted Youtube TV about this problem but have not gotten any response.

I am at the point I may have to drop Youtube TV and go back to Spectrum for cable TV. Before I do and pay a lot more for TV I wanted to see if any of you smart folks have any suggestions how to fix my Youtube TV.

Thanks!

I would suggest to have a second backup TV box for issues like this, Fire TV Stick for ~35$ is a very good choice.

The reason I say that is that Roku run on proprietary OS vs Fire TV is on Android. It'd make you life easier

 

[oldtrig]

We have had multiple Rokus and YTTV for over a year now. It was lightning fast on a 200Gbps line. Now it has been getting slower and slower and irritating. I know the signal strength is solid as I go into the secret Roku menus and can see all that is going on. I think the server side of YTTV is getting overwhelmed or something and it is slowing down. Every other streaming channel I use on the Roku is still lightning fast.

Are you sure about your speed ? G normally stands for gigabyte. Never heard of 200 gigabyte per second line. Maybe megabyte instead ? Enlighten me

 

[walkinwood]

Yes, I just realized that--the free services and PBS do not have this problem, they come right on so it must be a Youtube TV problem and not a Roku problem.

Try removing the youtube channel from the roku and then adding it back.

 

[corn18]

Are you sure about your speed ? G normally stands for gigabyte. Never heard of 200 gigabyte per second line. Maybe megabyte instead ? Enlighten me

oops

 

[jimbee]

Are you sure about your speed ? G normally stands for gigabyte. Never heard of 200 gigabyte per second line. Maybe megabyte instead ? Enlighten me

Actually, G normally stands for giga. GB is gigabyte and Gb is gigabit.

 

[harllee]

Try removing the youtube channel from the roku and then adding it back.

Thanks for the suggestion but I tried that earlier but did not help. I will try it again.

 

[mountainsoft]

I don't know how to measure signal strength at the back of the TV (can't easily get behind the TV). I measured the 130 mbps standing directly in front of the TV. The modem and router are on the same stand as the TV, maybe about 3 feet below the TV. We have another TV further away from the modem (in the next room) and it has the same problem with the slow channels. Sometimes I cut both TVs on and it takes both TVs the same amount to connect to a Youtube channel.

I use an app called "WiFi Analyzer" on my Android phone to check signal strength. I'm sure there are others.

It's possible there is just a network issue with YouTube or the internet connections between them and you. Give it a day or two and see if it improves.

I tested YouTubeTV here at home before setting it up on my mom's Roku. We both have the same Roku player, and were using the same YTT account, but YTT was kind of slow on hers whereas everything was nearly instantaneous on mine. The WiFi connection was the only difference.

Since you can stream other services fine, I would tend to think a network issue between you and YouTube somewhere. But you may want to do a network check on your Roku:

https://support.roku.com/article/11...nnection-to-my-home-network-and-the-internet-

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Have you tried the stats feature?
While watching a channel in YouTube TV - hit the down arrow on the Roku - hit the left button to the three dots - then the down arrow - you will see what looks like an icon for a bug - scroll over and click it

You now have a box that tells you what’s going on

Focus on Connection Speed and then Buffer Health

I have 100mb service and my connection speed is 41298 Kbps

My buffer health is usually around 15 sec

To turn off the stats just reverse the process above

 

[Jerry1]

If you can’t get YouTube to work, you might want to ask Spectrum about their streaming app and their 10 channel package. I got rid of my cable boxes and stream my channels through their app which works well with both my Roku and my Samsung smart tv. Their cable package gives me ten channels that I select plus all the local channels and some garbage channels. I forget how much it cost, but I saved around $40 per month when I went to it from my full package with dvr.

 

[oscar1]

I had a buffering problem (actually 2) in the last year. I am also on Spectrum Internet-only, Roku, and YTTV. I use Speedtest.net frequently when I suspect slowness. I got to a point where I was rebooting Roku more than a few times daily and finally called the Spectrum tech out to run diagnostics on line from curb to their inside modem. 1st visit replaced a faulty relay in outside box attached to house. That worked for a few months then it got bad again. 2nd visit they switched out their inside equipment in Den (which was a couple years old by now). It’s been working great ever since. Now my issue is the cost of Spectrum Internet-only is approaching $80 a month! Call out your tech and have them diagnose the physical lines to your house. Also ask them to put you on new inside equipment (point to your modem and ask them if they still deploy it. If no, demand new modem. If they hesitate, tell them you see no reason to pay a $5 monthly equipment fee on old equipment they themselves no longer deploy). It’s a cat and mouse game unfortunately.

 

[Retiired]

On my Roku, if I push the right arrow key, YouTube loads when I get the blank screen. An easy try!

 

[harllee]

Op here. My Youtube Tv is doing better. A few days ago when I turned on it the Roku screen it said there was a software update. I did the software update and since then the channels are coming on faster, not as fast as cable TV but much better (usually cone in in less than minute now). So maybe the problem I was having has been corrected by a Roku software update.

Thanks for all the suggestions.