For example, BBC iPlayer lets you turn HD on and off, while Netflix has a secret menu that lets you adjust the quality of your video stream. In some cases though, it's possible to force a streaming service to display at a particular quality, and dropping it down can help smooth out performance. For example, if you have an all-singing all-dancing fibre optic broadband connection with megabits in the triple digits, Netflix will play in HD or even 4K quality, while those on a slow connection will get a much fuzzier image. Most streaming services will adjust their settings automatically to account for the type of connection you have. 8) Change the settings of your streaming service If only there was a site that made such a task easy. In that case, you may wish to consider switching to a faster broadband package - maybe even fibre. If you find your streams are as stop-start as ever, then the problem may lie with your connection itself. If you have the option, try connecting your device to the internet directly - the extra speed may be enough to take you out of buffer city and straight into smoothtown. Wi-Fi is pretty good these days, but it's always going to be slower than connecting directly via ethernet cable. The extra bandwidth might be enough to get your stream running more smoothly. If you're having trouble getting Netflix, Now TV, BBC iPlayer or any other streaming service to work, try disconnecting your phone, tablet, TV, games console and anything else that's currently online. This particularly affects slow non-fibre optic broadband connections, as there's less bandwidth to go around. The more gadgets you have using a connection at the same time, the slower your broadband will be. To do this in Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Remove Website Dataīoosting your Wi-Fi speed 6) Disconnect other devices To do this on Microsoft Internet Explorer: Tools > Internet Options > Browsing history > Delete To do this on Chrome, select: Settings > Advanced Settings > Clear browsing data. Simply head into your web browser settings and choose the option that lets you clear the history and temporary internet files. Over time, your computer can fill up with temporary internet files which, in some cases, can hinder the performance of video streams - and the device itself. To quote Graham Linehan's wonderful IT Crowd, "have you tried turning it off and on again?" A lot of tech problems can be solved with a simple restart, so switch off the gadget you're failing to watch a stream on, wait a few seconds, turn it back on and try again. If your speeds are sluggish, this may provide enough of a buffer so that you won't get as many interr
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Pause your video and let it download a bit before you press play. Alternatively, you could switch to a faster package - more on that later.
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If your connection does turn out to be slow, check out our guide to boosting your broadband to find out how to speed it up.