Video streaming problem - could it be a router issue or not?

[TheLyppardMan]

I’d like to run a problem I have past the experts on this forum if I may, just to eliminate (or not) my router as being a possible cause.

I have an ASUS RT-AX88U, wall-mounted at the top of the stairs, supplying streaming content from my Synology DiskStation 220+ to two televisions via Amazon Fire TV sticks. The DiskStation is connected to the router via an Ethernet cable and the televisions via Wi-Fi on channel 44. One TV is in the adjacent bedroom and one in the lounge below. Both Fire TV Sticks report the signal strength as being very good and the quality as being good (lounge TV) and very good (bedroom TV). The router is running on Merlin firmware version 3.2.6. The problem I have started getting recently is that the picture on the TV's is showing blockinginess, particularly noticeable in the darker parts of the picture. This happens on both TV’s and also when watching on my laptops, although it’s a little less noticeable on the computer screens. I have tried the following to attempt to eliminate the problem, but apart from turning down the brightness on the TV’s, nothing has made any difference. The problem is apparent on both video compilations I have made using PowerDirector 18 and also on unedited content downloaded from youtube. My next step, if this can be confirmed that this is not a router issue, will probably be to post a message on the Cyberlink forum.

This is what I have tried so far:-

• Disabling all Trend features.
• Turning off QoS.
• Temporarily disabling Skynet.
• Rebooting the router.
• Re-producing my video compilations using different output file types (mpg, mp4, etc), bitrates and video definitions (1280 x 720 and 1920 x 1080).
• Using an alternative video editor (AVS).
• Disabling Kaspersky Internet Security while video rendering.
• Using an alternative streaming app (Plex, rather than Kodi).

Any comments/suggestions would really be appreciated.

 

[heysoundude]

it is not a router/network issue, it's a video resolution issue: "blockiness" indicates something to the effect of wrong resolution or smoothing setting...but also data compression for transmission as well - lossiness. you cant make a 720 source into 1080 or a 1080 into 4k - generally better to go from 4k to 1080 or 720 - once you've discarded "unnecessary" data, you can't get it back.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

The problem has gone away and the only changes I have made are to the router. I've turned off QoS and set the bandwidth priority for the Fire TV Sticks and the Synology DiskStation to High. It will get a full test later in the week when my son returns home from Brighton and all his gadgets reconnect to the network to add to my daughter's devices being used for streaming, but at the moment things are looking much better.