Netflix losing sync after approx 30 seconds or so

[kckuhns]

Hello again everyone,

I started having a very strange issue with Netflix in Windows Media Center. It has worked fine up until about a few weeks ago. Suddenly, it started going out of sync with the audio. I start something, and after around 30 seconds or so, the video falls behind the audio. The video becomes *slightly* choppy.

I quit out of media center and just launched netflix in a browser and discovered it does the same thing.

If it is any help, This is the computer that is my dedicated WMC. It has 4 GB of RAM and a 64 gig SSD boot drive. It is not on wireless, it is actually hooked directly to my router in the same room with an ethernet cord. it is running Windows 7 64 bit. AMD drivers are up to date on the unit as well.

I know this isn't a powerhouse computer, but it has worked in the past - it has worked very well in the past. It plays local content with no problem (videos from a shared drive on my home network). It plays High Def stuff I record with the DVR function with no problems also (from a Silicon Dust HD network tuner stored on to an external USB 3.0 hard drive). I have an xbox 360 in the living room as a media center extender and it works fine also.

I've tried messing with the"hidden" netflix settings both in the browser and in the WMC Netflix app to no avail.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[gbwelly]

I'm seeing this too lately. Only seeing it on HD shows though.
Assumed it was my aging Geforce 9400 GT card at fault, perhaps not.

[moolelo]

This same issue has been cropping up for me, after about 30 minutes or so it fixes itself then goes out of sync again. I was just thinking Netflix is deprioritising the Silverlight players.

[epayson85]

If it is any help, This is the computer that is my dedicated WMC.

Wait really? you had HD netflix working on this pc at one point? That is impressive because it should be impossible. Compare E-350 cpu to any atom processor and they are about the same. The atom is a little faster for single core processing and the AMD had a much better GPU. The problem is netflix on a web browser and in wmc in no way shape or form use your GPU. It is 100% processor based. Even though silverlight can use your gpu, netflix has not enhanced their video to use this feature. Instead they have opted to use HTML5 which does use your GPU. If you use one of their mobile apps or the windows 8 app it uses html5. Unfortunately the browser version and wmc version (because all it does is use a web browser) use silverlight.

I can tell you I was looking at other units with the same CPU as yours but it was this reason alone that I stayed away from it. I ended up building a small itx build with a celeron processor that had just enough power to handle netflix. The mobo and processor were only $60 and I use on board video. You might want to think about upgrading.

I'm seeing this too lately. Only seeing it on HD shows though.
Assumed it was my aging Geforce 9400 GT card at fault, perhaps not.

Read above... again nothing to do with your GPU. My main HTPC / Server has a GT 430 in it... very old card but incredible for video / its lack of frame rate issues with live tv. The more important part is the i5 processor that I have. It can handle running my security system, IP cameras, processing commercial removal, recording up to 9 shows at once, and HD netflix no issue. You don't need an i5 but if you have anything less look at what else you have your HTPC doing and stop it. If you have anything less than a celeron or amd A4 / A6 then you need to upgrade OR use a different method to play netflix.

[kckuhns]

Wait really? you had HD netflix working on this PC at one point? That is impressive because it should be impossible. Compare E-350 cpu to any atom processor and they are about the same. The atom is a little faster for single core processing and the AMD had a much better GPU. The problem is netflix on a web browser and in WMC in no way shape or form use your GPU. It is 100% processor based. Even though silverlight can use your gpu, netflix has not enhanced their video to use this feature. Instead they have opted to use HTML5 which does use your GPU. If you use one of their mobile apps or the windows 8 app it uses html5. Unfortunately the browser version and WMC version (because all it does is use a web browser) use silverlight.

I can tell you I was looking at other units with the same CPU as yours but it was this reason alone that I stayed away from it. I ended up building a small itx build with a celeron processor that had just enough power to handle netflix. The mobo and processor were only $60 and I use on board video. You might want to think about upgrading.

I kid you not - it WAS working pretty flawlessly. I don't understand why it has changed. I was having an issue a few months ago with WMC not playing avi's/mp4's after having viewed live or recorded TV, but netflix was working fine at the time. I decided to re-format and re-install and now everything works great except netflix.

[epayson85]

Are you sure you were looking at HD videos? Because just look at the reviews from other people that bought the same unit. They all put it in the CON's list on Newegg. "it can't handle streaming services like netflix and hulu" Something worth trying is upgrading your IE browser to the highest version. IE 11 supports html5 playback through netflix. Once upgraded you can change the player settings in IE11 to use HTML5 as the preferred playback method. Not everything is approved to use it though due to DRM so some things will go back to silverlight when using a browser. See if you get better playback. HTML5 will allow you to one use the gpu and two it needs less cpu processing power. However, I have no idea if this will then translate to using HTML5 in WMC but its worth a shot. Either way see if your computer can handle it better in IE11 using html 5.

Edit: On second thought don't do that. I think HTML5 only works on IE11 on windows 8.1. So unless you are using windows 8.1 which I doubt you are on an HTPC then that isn't going to work either.

[kckuhns]

Well, all I can say for sure is that it *used* to play anything I'd select with no problem. Maybe they just started offering more in HD and I wasn't paying attention? We didn't use netflix often on this device - we'd primarily use netflix in the living room on the xbox 360. I'll probably pick up a chromecast for netflix on this TV.

[barnabas1969]

I have one word for everyone. Roku. It works. With 5.1 audio and everything. Imagine that. I gave up on the Netflix plugin in Media Center.

[Steelgriffin1]

Has anyone found a workaround for this yet? It was working fine for me until windows 8 and then all hell broke loose until I upgraded to 8.1. Then media center finally started to play nicely with my tuner but Netflix lags just during the first few minutes and then it stays in sync for the rest of the time. I haven't noticed it on anything shorter than an hour though and it is fine after i fast forward or rewind and it resyncs. It's working but dang it's annoying. I would love to figure it out. I have a zotac mini pc BTW. I can't remember the model.