On Demand priority... Paid vs. Free

[bpaulson]

I'm trying to download an HD Movie from showtime on demand and so far after almost two hours the video is only 40 minutes downloaded.

I have 20/2meg service and did a speedtest and am getting over 16megs down while downloading so I know my connection isn't an issue.

Lately it seems like DOD has been going slower and slower and I was wondering if the paid on demand programs have priority over free content...

I remember in June when I first got the service I could download something in 1080i in realtime and it wouldn't get stuck downloading (and I only had 10/1 service back then.)

So I'm just wondering...

[jdspencer]

The download is probably being limited on DirecTV's end.

[rudeney]

It could also be the ISP throttling your downloads. Many of them do this on large downloads, where their top speed is only permitted on short bursts like web pages or lower bandwidth streams.

As for the question about paid vs. free DOD, give it a try and see what happens. I'd be surprised if there was a difference.

[Movieman]

Its not different. I have paid for some downloads and find the speed to be the same. I did find out that my ISP was slowing down downloads for all users. That particular day I had downloaded 3 movies and the last one was going extremely slow. You can stop the download and then resume to see if that makes any difference.

[Tom Servo]

So I'm just wondering...

I've read on here before that DirecTV limits the downloads, but I forget to what speed.

Out of curiosity, who is your ISP?

I'm stuck with CableONE, who meters bandwidth from noon to midnight, seven days a week. So I am very judicious about what I download (4.5 GB cap) and what I upload (450 MB) else I get throttled way back. :(

[JoeTheDragon]

I've read on here before that DirecTV limits the downloads, but I forget to what speed.

Out of curiosity, who is your ISP?

I'm stuck with CableONE, who meters bandwidth from noon to midnight, seven days a week. So I am very judicious about what I download (4.5 GB cap) and what I upload (450 MB) else I get throttled way back. :(

5gb is a joke you can't get dsl or any other thing?

[Tom Servo]

5gb is a joke you can't get dsl or any other thing?
We had 3 Mbps DSL (ran at about 1.2 Mbps) but it would cut out for hours a day sometimes. A tech came out and basically said all we could do to TRY to get stability was to drop back to 512 kbps, and there was no guarantee that would work.

Try running three computers and a DVR off 512 kbps, it ain't pretty.

The only other option here is dialup, lol. We live in a small town.

I should note this refers to my Mississippi location. In Alabama I get a solid 5 Mbps unlimited, no caps from a different provider.

[Igor]

I'm trying to download an HD Movie from showtime on demand and so far after almost two hours the video is only 40 minutes downloaded.

I have 20/2meg service and did a speedtest and am getting over 16megs down while downloading so I know my connection isn't an issue.

Lately it seems like DOD has been going slower and slower and I was wondering if the paid on demand programs have priority over free content...

I remember in June when I first got the service I could download something in 1080i in realtime and it wouldn't get stuck downloading (and I only had 10/1 service back then.)

So I'm just wondering...

If you visit the playlist (press LIST), which color is the download bar? If it is yellow or green, you should be able to watch the movie.