How to Improve Netflix Streaming

Netflix has become one of the leading video rental providers in the United States today, due largely to its extensive library of movies and in-home convenience. Netflix also allows subscribers to watch movies instantly by streaming them to their computer or other devices. When watching a film this way, keep these tips in mind to ensure the highest playback quality.

Instructions

Improving Streaming Quality

1. Ensure that your connection speed is fast enough to enable streaming video. Either a broadband or high-speed wireless connection is necessary, with Netflix recommending a minimum of 700 Kbps, or at least 2.4 Mbps for DVD-quality video. Netflix automatically chooses the video quality based on your connection and that of your Internet Service Provider (ISP), so a faster connection will mean a better picture.

2. Contact your ISP to see what connection speed your service allows, if faster speeds are available, and what can be done on their end to improve your connection.

3. Make sure your computer is in a position where the connection will be uninterrupted and close enough to any wireless routers in use to maintain a strong signal.

4. Close out any other programs currently running which may slow your computer down.

5. Close any other Internet activity, including music downloads, online gaming or any pages with a lot of information to load which can use up bandwidth and slow your Internet connection.

6. Use the "Free up disk space" feature in the Control Panel to clear out any old files, cookies and other data taking up space in your hard drive. This can also improve your computer's processing speed.

7. Keep your computer in a cool, properly-ventilated environment to avoid overheating, which can also slow your computer down in its basic operations.

References

• PC World - Better Streaming Video

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish