Help needed: internet speed issues to Oppo 103

I would be grateful for advice on internet connections and maximizing speed to my Oppo 103 players.

One player is in my first floor living room, and I have the option of ethernet connection and wifi. The second player is upstairs, and is wifi only.

I'm using Comcast service from my basement, 50 ft. of Cat 6 cable to the living room, connecting to a Cisco Linksys E3000 wifi/ethernet LAN router. Comcast is supposedly giving me 100 mbps service, but the fastest I've measured is 75 mbps. The fastest I've measured via wifi to my computer is 25 mbps.

Oddly, on my first-floor Oppo, I get a wifi signal that is often stronger than my ethernet connection. The wifi signals range from 4 mbps to 17 mbps...and the ethernet signal ranges from 5 to 12 mbps. (The only way I've discovered to measure my Oppo internet speed connection is via the Settings tool within the Netflix app.) I'm a bit dumbfounded that I'm not getting a better ethernet signal from my Linksys router to the Oppo 103, the Cat 6 cable is only 6 feet.

The upstairs Oppo, wifi only, is generally about 8 mbps, but dips as low as 4 mbps at times.

One more oddity: I recently moved my Cisco Linksys router from deep in the bowels of my basement up to the first floor, with the goal of improving my upstairs Oppo wifi signal, which pre-move generally ran 8 to 12 mbps. Instead of improving the wifi signal, it appears to have weakened it. It makes me wonder if the 50 ft. run of Cat 6 cable is to blame, or perhaps instead some oddity in the construction of my house means that I was better served keeping the wifi router in the basement.

I've disabled the 2.4 ghz wifi, and use Wireless-N 5 ghz only; I'm in a densely packed neighborhood with lots of wifi signals, so I am using 192.168.11.1, and channel 161 (5.805ghz), and channel width is set to Auto, 20 or 40 MHz, with the hope that few if any of my neighbors are in the same frequencies; Security is set for WPA2 Personal.

FWIW, both TVs are "dumb" Sony models, so the Oppo serves as the "Smart" brains for the system. I haven't seen any buffering issues, but I have seen a graininess/white spots in picture quality, especially in movies that have dark scenes/night scenes.

I'm wracking my brain trying to determine if I'm doing something wrong somewhere in this network link. I'm also wondering if I'd be better off biting the bullet and buying a new 802.11ac wifi router.

Anyone see some obvious flaws or oversights in what I have here?

And if I'm attaching too much importance to getting better speeds (mindful that Netflix says all I need is 5 mbps), tell me that, too, and I'll let it go. After all, I remember watching NY Mets baseball in 1963 on a very snowy UHF channel from North Adams, Massachusetts, and counting then-9-year-old me fortunate to see Stan Musial play against the Mets during his last season.

Thank you in advance.

 

Your problem is speed test neurosis. All your stuff works, so you're fine.

 

LOL

You may be right.

Still, the graininess of the Netflix picture in night scenes is quite apparent, perhaps I need to see if there are contrast settings I need to examine that have nothing to do with internet signal strength.

But then, my ethernet connection to the Oppo doesn't come remotely close to the 25mbps that Netflix would require for satisfactory Ultra HD service, if I ever wanted it. I'm stumped why I'm not getting a higher speed straight out of that Linksys ethernet connection.

 

This is a little confusing. You'll need to describe your setup a little better.

Firstly, you mention you measured your Internet connection at 75 mbps but you're getting 5-12 mbps? Trying to follow and it's a bit tough the way you've written all of this. If you're stating that you experience that drastic a speed difference from testing it directly from your modem to testing the speeds you get once you go through the Linksys router, that should not happen... at all!

Secondly, cat6 cable can go for 300ft with no issues whatsoever so unless you have a defective cable, that shouldn't factor in in any way.

If your average speeds are roughly 75 mbps at the source (modem), then you should get exactly the same thing if connected with proper cabling going through routers capable of supporting those speeds. Your speeds of 4-17 mbps are utterly atrocious.

Connect the Oppo directly to the modem (i.e. no router) and test the connection via that Netflix applet you mentioned. What are the results?

If you connect your phone wirelessly to your network and test the connection using the SpeedTest app, what are the results?

Have you considered an access point?

 

To pick up on what Strat-Mangler wrote:

1. do a speed test on your PC connected directly to your cable modem box. Repeat a few times to be sure to get a representative figure. This should be your upper bound.

[If you are paying for 100 Mb/s service, and are getting substantially less, you will need to first check Comcast's wording about speeds. You should also check the capabilities of your modem box. Does it support the speed tier?]

2. as S-M suggested, connect one of your 103s directly to the cable modem, and do a speed test.

3. repeat 1 & 2 with the Cat 6 cable between modem and device.

4. repeat 1 & 2 with the Cat 6 cable between modem and Linksys, and an ethernet cable between Linksys and device.

[Provided (a) there is no issue with the cable, and (b) all configuration settings are good, you should not see any difference in speeds.]


Your Linksys router is quite old in network infrastructure terms. Modern routers actually tie the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands together, but this is not possible with the E3000. However, I would turn on the 2.4 GHz radio, as it usually propagates better than 5 GHz.

I would try to find a free Wi-Fi inspector utility to install on your PC to see how many other Wi-Fi signals you are competing with. I would also be inclined to switch the channel to Auto for both radio bands. The router is meant to be monitoring Wi-Fi traffic, and should automatically switch channel to minimize interference.

Now, with both bands active and set to Auto, do a speed test via Wi-Fi in the room with your Linksys router. Does the speed still drop substantially? If so, something is amiss in the Linksys.

With regard to getting a better signal to the other 103, you have a few options:

a. run another Cat5/6 cable to that room.

b. use wireline ethernet to get a signal over the mains cabling in your home.

c. use a second wireless router in bridge mode to create a connection between your Linksys and the room with the second 103. You then connect the 103 to the second router via ethernet cable.

d. use b and c with a second modem in Access Point mode to share the wireline ethernet connection with wired and wireless devices.

 

Sorry.

I measured 75mbps directly from the Comcast modem to my computer via ethernet.

Insert the E3000 between the modem and the computer, and it drops to 25 mbps, all Cat 6 linked.

And the speeds get brutally slower when I chain from modem to E3000 to Oppo, 5 to 12 mbps, all Cat 6 linked.

Makes no sense to me. Makes me wonder if there's an internal setting somewhere on the modem, the E3000, or the Oppo, or the Netflix app, that limits speed for some reason.

You gave me lots of good things to test, and try out.

I suspect I need to think through the viability of my modem, and the E3000 router looks like a candidate for modernization. I have never set up an access point, so I'll need to read up on that.

Thank you both, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and offer suggestions.

 

Setting up bridge mode or access point mode is fairly simple, provided those features are supported by the wireless router.

In bridge mode you set up the same SSID and security settings as on your main wireless router. The two routers then set up a wireless link between each other, and you can connect wired devices to the bridged router. Since you are using two routers, they tend to be able to communicate much better than wireless devices (they likely can transmit more power, and have more sensitive receivers). I have done this to enable my wife's PC to connect to our network. The link shows that it is operating at 1 GB/s, which is the limit of the Gigabit ethernet port on her PC. (I'm using two 802.11ac routers, of course.)

Access point mode is like a remote wireless router. You run an ethernet connection to it via Cat 5/6 or wireline, and then set it up with its own SSID and security settings (you could use the same password as your main router to make things easy). You connect to it like you would your main router, but the access point is under the control of the main router, which uses its DHCP server to serve IP addresses to devices which attach to the access point (wired or wireless).

There are new mesh systems which essentially combine both functions into a series of wireless units which you place around your home to create one seamless (hopefully!) system. They are quite expensive because you are essentially buying 3 (or more) wireless routers at the same time.

 

Not supposed to happen at all. Your router could be defective. You could reset it by inserting a pin in the tiny reset hole for about 30-60 secs and then reconfigure it. Then, test the speeds again.

Another test you could conduct is putting the Oppo in the Linksys' DMZ and testing the speeds again.

 

When speed is an issue, use wired ethernet. If you absolutely must go wireless, buy your own router on the advice of somebody who really knows what to suggest.

 

Do your PC's or Macs have AC wireless network adapters fitted? Does the other wireless devices. Sometimes the slowest device can and does slow down the rest of the network. It is possible for this to happen.

 

Is this question directed at me (who you quoted) or the OP, who is having the speed issues?

 

The OP, who is having the speed issues.

 

FWIW, I have replaced my E3000 router, and my problems have disappeared. I bought a Motorola AC2600 4x4 802.11ac router. I also decided to buy an Amazon Firetvstick 4K, and I installed that upstairs.

Now here is the interesting part:

The Oppo 103 shows a measured wifi speed from the Motorola router through the Netflix app of 18mbps (previously I was only getting 8mbps from the Linksys E3000).

But the Amazon Firetvstick shows a measured wifi speed from the Motorola router through the Netlix app of 60mbps

I'm guessing there are technological limitations in the older Oppo 103, or there's an internal speed setting of some sort in the Oppo 103 that I haven't found yet. I'll admit to being astounded by the differences in both the routers, and the Oppo vs. Firetvstick speeds.

I haven't had time yet to check the ethernet connection speeds from the new Motorola router, but I'm pretty confident that will look good too...especially compared to that E3000, which apparently was quite damaged goods.

Thank you everyone, for your help.

 

What is the speed via a wired connection to the 103?

 

Oddly, only 20mbps, same speed as the wifi gets. I even got one speed reading via ethernet as low as 12mbps. Weird.