Not sure if anyone else is experiencing Gizmoplex slowdown.
Doesn’t matter the day the computer, the browser, etc. My connection to YouTube, Pandora and Twitch are fine. Only on Gizmoplex.
I’m getting strange viewing blips and loading content freeze frames.
I never had a problem with this site but it started with the Turkey Day load. Now it is carrying into the Vault picks. It’s making the movies unwatchable. I live in a bigger city and not in the country. So not the bandwidth.
Anyone else experiencing this? Is there certain times of day I should avoid Gizmoplex due to server demand?
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This continues to happen on different computers/platforms and even different browsers.
It’s like your server has stored my initial connections and plays it the same way regardless of platform.
5 of the 6 vault picks only reset AFTER playing it through considerably long into program. Only then will it restart from the beginning of the program. I’m currently trying to “restart” the 6th. The Live events play just fine. But I went to re-watch them and BANG same issue.
If your servers are compiling and storing the video per connection to improve our streaming viewing, could you reset my connection?
I see no one has commented on this but I can’t possibly be the only one experiencing this. We never had this problem in the Gizmoplex ever until this month.
I haven’t seen any slowdowns or pauses. I’ve used Chrome browser to access this week’s tribute episodes through the gizmoplex.theater link. I’ve also accessed the vault picks through the Chromecast app. No issues.
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Hmmm… I’ve used Firefox on a Windows laptop myself, and I haven’t noticed anything in the way of slowdowns or pauses for the livestream premieres, the livestream tribute events, or the Vault Picks.
I can also pick up episodes just fine on my Roku Smart TV with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 app.
@SpinachChin, is there one computer/platform setup or browser that seems more problematic than others, or are these issues fairly consistent along all your viewing options?
And has anyone else out there encountered any issues along the lines being described here?
I have two different wireless networks- could you be using a less powerful network?
I know it may seem silly, but have you cleared cookies/browsing data, and then logged out and back in? Or uninstalling and reinstalling the web browser? And I can’t remember the keyboard shortcut, but there’s a hard reset for the browser as well- so maybe try that?
Or just buy a new internet? Not like a service provider, but a whole new internet! Get some internet nobody else uses yet- so it’s just yours only!
I’ve viewed this on my iPad’s Firefox and then Chrome… Then I switched to my PC’s Firefox.
The slow-down/hiccups appeared on both platforms at virtually the same moments. I live in the city and have a decent connection. I don’t have slowdown issues on most streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Twitch, Pandora, etc. I never had ANY slowdowns in Gizmoplex since launch. I’ve cleared my cookies multiple times. Restarted. etc even logged out of site and logged back in.
As you can see after trying all that it gets frustrating and since I see no one else reporting it. Frustration doubles…
Live streams seem just fine. It’s only the replays/vaults (with all the above in mind) which leads me to believe there’s some sort of server-side caching… that helps streaming to multiple users at the same time and it’s linked to an IP address.
Maybe not everyone seeing this but maybe someone is and is only thinking it’s their connection.
If this turns out to be something regular server maintenance could take care of, that’d be cool and it might help reduce this from happening.
Thanks for above replies.
What about an IP config/renew? Idk how that could even really help. But at this point I’m straining to figure anything else could be getting in the way!
Unless, of course, you consider my totally serious suggestion of just starting a new internet. Then you’d be the only driver on your own personal information superhighway!!!
lol my own Internet… YES.
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Thinking about the hypothesis that some playback settings are stored on a server…
You’ve said you’re using different devices (a PC and an iPad), so inviting someone over with a laptop to test other hardware in your environment is kind of already done, so probably not a cookie or cache issue.
If it is tied to your account, then you could test by creating a new account. I’m not saying buy another Season Pass, but rather just stream the free classic episodes on both accounts. If one is good and another is bad (and you can switch back and forth a few times to confirm it wasn’t just your local connection at the time) then that might be a Gizmoplex thing.
If it is tied to your IP address, a VPN or a visit to another physical location could offer the variable change needed to test. This one is muddier because a different location obviously has a different connection (a VPN to a lesser extent also alters the connection). Pinpointing an issue here (if possible) might more likely mean something on the streaming side (VHX) and not necessarily the Gizmoplex.
Does anyone know of other VHX-based streaming services, preferably with a free option? Comparing to Netflix etc is more apples to oranges as opposed to Braeburn to Gala, which would be a more targeted testing scenario. If you can demonstrate VHX sites have a slowdown, that’s a thing.
You can also combine these tests to generate a grid of “works under these various conditions, doesn’t work under these other conditions.” I suppose another variable is beta theater vs VHX site. So many columns and rows for your spreadsheet! I’m almost envious!
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At some point last year, Ivan (or someone else on the team) mentioned other streaming services which use Vimeo OTT as their backbone but I’m not having any luck finding that post yet.
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Not to continue to beat a dead horse… Because I’m getting over it.
BUT my wife reminded me that we’ve never had this issue with RiffTrax site in like years and years of usage. We can pull up videos in our RiffTrax library… play them at any time and never have these issues.
I realize it’s hard to understand if this doesn’t happen on your viewing.
But what about those people out there unknowingly having this issue, think it’s their problem, decide to cancel future subscriptions, and never return. It’s all about viewer satisfaction after all. What could it possible hurt to ask the hosting company to investigate this issue… it’s not like there hasn’t been any problems with live streams or other videos in the past. I shouldn’t have to do all the bug-testing. I’m only reporting an issue that we’re having.
Maybe, MST’s Hosting company should contact RiffTrax’s Hosting company and take a few notes.
Aside from that, I’ve been a loyal MSTie since KTMA and plan on it being loyal going forward. No web glitch is going to ruin my fun.
(Just noticed this and I know you are a moderator or someone MST acknowledges)
multiple platforms, multiple computers. Multiple types of browsers. We don’t watch it through Roku or your listed apps. Only through the Internet,
We live in the city and have decent Internet connections. I know its’ not our connection because I could list a ton of streaming we do…including a similar site RiffTrax… This almost NEVER happens on other sites… and now it’s consistently happening on MST’s site every video (even ones previously watch no problem).
It seemed to start happening right before Thanksgiving. I am a regular user of this site so I would notice these things. AND I still see all our other streaming sites (including RiffTrax) just fine.
Hope this helps out.
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Just figured something out!
I’ve been watching the videos through this site
-
GIZMOPLEX PASS: 12 Months (3/4/22 - 2/28/23) - MST3K: THE GIZMOPLEX
This site has been the site that gives me the hiccups and slow-downs.
But when I go through the theater 2) “https://theater.gizmoplex.com/” So far, I don’t see any of the hiccups.
I read somewhere in the forums that there seemed to be a player upgrade. maybe the players in site 1) didn’t get the upgrade? or there’s an issue now with those players due to the upgrade. Because I was using that site for the entire season with no issues until recently
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It’s interesting that you see a different performance for those two sites because they both rely on the exact same Vimeo OTT backbone. If you feel inclined to test more, you could take your laptop on a road trip to some other WiFi.
Of course the simpler route is clearing the browser’s cache/cookies. And do note, it’s possible to delete cookies for a single domain. I saw that was suggested, but I didn’t notice a response to that suggestion. This might also seem silly, but have you rebooted since then? Many computers are able to truck along for months at a time without a need of reboot, but it’s possible to have a buggy behavior affect one small aspect of performance and leave the rest of your experience alone. So I’d suggest a reboot, just for the heck of it. Don’t cost nothin’.
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I’ve deleted cookies/cache/rebooted etc. I used to program websites/databases for General Motors so I understand some things. True, It is weird that I’m getting different experiences on the same backbone. I can’t even begin to understand why. Other than the trouble viewing originating from different web-pages within the same site.
I thought the Theater link was better… but once I watched the Christmas Dragon today… I still see/hear the annoyingly frequent hiccups.
It’s not buffering every minute like the first site. So it’s better in that respect. But I’m starting to focus on the hiccups rather than the movie.
As for different viewing experiences go, RiffTrax website has the same basic concept as MST. Library of riffed movies end-users can watch streamed through the Internet. We NEVER get these blips and bufferings on their site.
Please consider this question/instance and RiffTrax Vs MST experiences when you deal with your hosting company. I may be the only viewer you hear about… because I’m the only one thinking there COULD be a server-side problem and stupid enough to report it in your Bug Report. But there may be other viewers not even considering it fixable.
Thanks for all the replies. But I’m hoping I could just let this go. This was only meant to be a possible bug report that I felt needed sent along. I don’t want to continue to think about this. We’ll continue to support and use your services and sites. But for all intents and purposes, I’ll consider it closed. (Unless you need more information)
Thanks