PIcture Not Quite As Clear Streaming vs DISH

[Gebo]

I just dumped DISH and went with YouTube TV. All is well until my son comes over and says your video is awful. I told him we switched to YouTube TV.
He says he has YouTube TV and his reception/video is way better than ours.

Are there settings I need to change to improve my picture quality with YouTube TV? I only have 2 big screen Sony TV's 60"???

And I just purchased two of the new Roku Ultras

 

[wdn]

Streaming quality depends on your internet speed provided by your ISP. If your internet is slow the picture quality will degrade. Are you watching it from a computer, or a streaming device? I have tried several and the Roku seem to have the best picture quality.

 

[Gebo]

All through Roku Ultra. I just saw where someone said to not set picture quality on "Auto" as it will sometimes degrade to 480.

 

[Hall]

Are there settings I need to change to improve my picture quality with YouTube TV?

Yes, call your internet provider and change your speed "setting" to a higher one.

What speed do you pay for ? What speed do you get ?

 

[Gebo]

I can't change my speed. It is 25 and I get 26. It's DSL. My son has the same DSL service and he can only get 20 but
his pic quality is noticeably better after I checked it out for myself.

It's not the speed. We live back in the sticks... LOL

My TV's are 4K.

 

[Rand]

What is he doing different sounds like you have the answers already.

you could take your roku to his house and see if it looks better.. or bring his steaming box to your tv and check it out.

for troubleshooting purposes.

Could be internet, steaming box setting, tv setting etc.

 

[Gebo]

What is he doing different sounds like you have the answers already.

Well, he does have Apple box vs Roku. Hmmm…

 

[Hall]

It is 25 and I get 26.

That's more than adequate speed and isn't the source of whatever is wrong.

On your Roku (check both), Settings > Network > About and see what it says for "Internet download speed". What does "Signal strength" say as well ?

 

[wdn]

To stream in 4K requires a minimum of 18 mbps for one set and that is the bare minimum, but with two sets and your other stuff you probably need closer to 50 mbps. Also it needs a sustained speed of 18 mbps for one set. You can probably set the Roku to regular HD on set but even that is pushing it. There are also tricks you can do with the wireless router to favor the TV sets. You can force the Roku to be 1080p resolution.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I bought a Wi-Fi repeater and put it on an outlet between the office (wifi location) and the living room (TV location). Made a world of difference in picture quality while streaming Netflix.

 

[JC1]

I can't change my speed. It is 25 and I get 26. It's DSL. My son has the same DSL service and he can only get 20 but
his pic quality is noticeably better after I checked it out for myself.

It's not the speed. We live back in the sticks... LOL

My TV's are 4K.

Any idea what the resolution is on from youtube tv? What hardware is running the youtube app? Are you using an Ethernet to your tv/streaming device or wireless?

 

[CleanSump]

Check the settings on the TV and the Roku. They don't always play together automatically. The different settings for the ratio etc. are different for different sources and also aren't necessarily changed to the format or hi res you want nor recognized by the TV.
BTDT Love Roku what likes my Sony receiver that is hated by some models of TVs. Replaced a Westinghouse 4k with a Sony 4k and all is well.

 

[Warstud]

Are there settings I need to change to improve my picture quality with YouTube TV? I only have 2 big screen Sony TV's 60"???

Could it be that you were watching an old low resolution show on a 60" TV ?

 

[measureman]

I stream with whatever is built in to my Samsung TV with 18 MPS and Hulu, Prime, Disney and Netflix's all look great sometimes a lot better then Direct TV.

 

[Hall]

Just remembered, YTTV has a "Stats for nerds" menu. I have a Roku like @Gebo so accessing it should be with the same steps. Turn everything on and play a live broadcast (not on ESPN or ABC - they broadcast in 720p normally).

Press the DOWN arrow twice, then move right or left to the 3-dot menu. Then down to the choices that pop up and select "Stats for nerds". Press OK and wait a few seconds. The overlay menu with the stats will remain on screen and the YTTV menu will disappear. Post the statistics here.

Might as well check that the ROKU itself is set up properly. Click the HOME button, Settings, Display Type. What is selected ? You can try "Auto detect" but the best option is to know what your TV is capable of (maximum) and manually select it.

 

[alarmguy]

All through Roku Ultra. I just saw where someone said to not set picture quality on "Auto" as it will sometimes degrade to 480.

Run a speed test on your internet connection, let us know what you get. When you do the test to it from a phone or laptop near the Roku player.I Just noticed you get 25 and that is just ok but worse if you also are streaming on another TV at the same time, also with a 25Mbps connection you may find you have even slower speeds in evenings, make sure to do the test near the player, you may not have a good wifi signal there and if you dont speed will be slower.
(DSL ugh ... )

This one is reliable and quick https://www.att.com/support/speedtest/

 

[Lyman]

I stream using a 4k Firestick. You might want to check all of your resolution settings. One thing I have noticed is right when I turn on my TV the picture is not great. After 15-20 seconds or so everything stabilizes and I have a great picture from then on. Also as stated above your picture is only as good as the source you are streaming. What were you watching?

 

[Hall]

When you do the test to it from a phone or laptop near the Roku player.

Roku devices actually have a built-in speed test ability. I pay for 100 Mb/s and get that consistently, 24 hours a day, using a computer, phone, etc but on the Roku, it reported 35-38 Mb/s when I looked the other day. I don't think that's an issue either as it only "pulls" the bandwidth it needs to stream and those values are plenty good enough, even for 4K streaming.

I am curious what others with Roku see using this internal test though.

 

[alarmguy]

Roku devices actually have a built-in speed test ability. I pay for 100 Mb/s and get that consistently, 24 hours a day, using a computer, phone, etc but on the Roku, it reported 35-38 Mb/s when I looked the other day. I don't think that's an issue either as it only "pulls" the bandwidth it needs to stream and those values are plenty good enough, even for 4K streaming.

I am curious what others with Roku see using this internal test though.

DIrect me to the test in Roku and I will run it. I never saw it before, only thing my players display (that I know) is connection and listed as "Excellent"

Im curious as to the OP speed. Whether he runs it as you say can be done or with a device near the Player. AS you say, your player says 38 Mbps and pay for 100. What if the OP is paying for 25 and getting 8 at his player based on what is happening with you.

This is the only thing I have ever noticed regarding my connection =

 

[Hall]

On my Roku (Premiere+), it's on the same screen you're showing. It's the 2nd to last line (of 5-6 lines). I have a 2nd Roku that's a little bit older and I think I've seen the line on it as well, but maybe not. Maybe it only shows up on newer models. I don't connect to my 5G wireless either. I might try that and see what speed it reports then.

I asked @Gebo to check this but he hasn't checked back in that I know of. I don't think the Roku throttles the speed, it just pulls what it needs. Or maybe it isn't throttled as much as "capped". I may be wrong, but I'm not sure how much difference the human eye can see between a stream at 35 Mb/s vs 100 Mb/s. The codecs that Netflix, YTTV, etc use are really, really good (and efficient).