Five reasons your Internet keeps breaking when you stream

Picture this: You're streaming the season finale of your favorite TV mystery on Netflix and are about to find out who the serial killer is. Suddenly, the video stalls.

If you stream a lot of TV shows and movies online, you know there's nothing more frustrating than when your video starts to buffer in the middle of a tell-all scene.

So, this begs the question: Why does this happen, and what can you do about it?

"Streaming from the Internet has made catching up on the popular new TV shows or listening to that hit new song incredibly easy," says Hallie Talley, president of Help System Services in Omaha, an IT consulting and computer support company. "However, streaming from the Internet is not always reliable, and there are many factors that can contribute to it not working as smoothly as anticipated."

Check out what Internet experts say are five possible reasons why your Internet breaks when you stream content.

# 1 - Slow Internet Speed

The need for speed isn't just the name of a video game anymore. It signifies the need for very fast Internet speeds to allow people to stream seamlessly on their computers, tablets, and phones.

"If you are a heavy consumer of online media or you have people in your house streaming on more than one device at a time, you need at least 10 Mbps to do what you want the Internet to do," says Shawn Van Every, a telecommunications professor at New York University.

Unfortunately, the availability of high-speed Internet isn't available to everyone.

"In Korea and some other countries, people can get up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps)," says Van Every. "Some of the fiber that Google is putting down in Kansas City gives Internet speeds 100 times faster than the average American's Internet speed of 10 megabits per second. That's fast, and streaming would be quite flawless with those speeds."

Google Fiber, according to its website, can offer up to 1,000 Mbps, which is one of the fastest available in America, VanEvery says. However, it's not available in all cities, so do your research to see how you can upgrade to these higher speeds.

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To determine how fast your Internet speed is and whether or not you need to upgrade, Talley recommends first knowing what speed you're actually getting.

"You can use a site like speedtest.net and check to see what download speed you have," Talley says. "Compare your results to what speed your Internet service provider states that you are paying for. That information should be located on your monthly bills. If it doesn't match, contact your provider."

Most Internet service providers start with a base for download speeds of anywhere between 1 to 5 Mbps. If they can't improve the quality of the connection, then it might be time to investigate other providers, Talley says.

#2 -  Too Many People Using Your Internet at the Same Time

Your home is filled with so many devices that use the internet. Think about it. Your daughter uses her smartphone at home with Wi-Fi access to check on her homework assignments. You stream shows and movies on your living room television. Your wife uses her Kindle tablet to download books.

Just like anything that has excessive use, it can wear down.

"The more devices you have connected to your network and streaming at the same time, the more this can degrade the speed of your Internet," says Talley. "If you are paying for the lowest tier of Internet speed and have multiple devices utilizing the Internet at the same time, you could see a light degrade in speed."

You might want to plan a schedule of who in the family gets to stream at certain times to avoid heavy use, she says. Or you can check with your Internet provider to make sure you have the fastest speed available so gaming, streaming and everything else you do with the Internet runs smooth.

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#3 - You Stream During Peak Times

When you get in your car to go to work in the morning, traffic is much more hectic than if you were to drive at midnight. That's why it's called rush hour. It's very comparable to the kind of traffic on the Internet at peak times. And when traffic is high on the Internet, speeds are lower, and streaming gets a little dicier, Van Every says.

"It's all based on bandwidth," he says. "In the middle of the night, you won't be competing for that bandwidth."

What times should you avoid streaming if possible? Typically, the busiest times are going to be from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. for residential customers, and normal business hours for businesses, Talley says.

"It's a volume issue," she adds. "[Streaming] during peak times of the day could slow your Internet down, making it harder to stream a lot of content to different devices. The more people that are utilizing the Internet, the slower it can become."

According to the FCC, streaming an HD movie or two-way online gaming in HD takes 4 Mbps for each operation. If you are just emailing or web browsing, those only take .5 Mbps each, which can easily be done during peak times without any problems, Talley says.

If you decide to stream during the busy times of day and you don't have enough bandwidth, you might experience problems depending on how many people are using devices and what type of downloading they are doing, Talley says. This might be the time to call your provider to see what kind of upgrade it offers for speed and bandwidth.

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# 4 - You have Outdated Equipment or Software

Just like when we need to replace a vehicle because it is old and not working well, the same goes for your computer, tablet, and phone.

"One of the first things to check to make sure you can stream to your computer, laptop, or another device is making sure the hardware is up to date," Talley says. "As Internet speeds have increased over the course of time, older hardware is not always capable providing the same speed that your Internet is providing."

On average, computing power doubles every two years, she says.

Talley says that using older modems and computers can also slow down the speed of the Internet which in turn slows down streaming.

"Sometimes, your Internet service provider will provide you with the router/modem. If they have and it hasn't been replaced in three or more years, contact them to see if they would replace it for free," she says. "If you purchased it, and it's older than three years, I would suggest replacing it."

Both Van Every and Talley say that if your computer is not protected by some type of anti-virus, anti-malware or anti-spyware, it can also be slowed down considerably if infected.

Van Every also suggests having the most updated versions of programs that help to access streaming and make it more compatible to your device. This includes Flash Player, Silver Light and an up-to-date browser such as Safari or Chrome.

# 5 - Running Too Many Programs At One Time

Having too many programs open on your computer can be another reason why your Internet slows down when you're streaming.

It's kind of like when you just keep stuffing things into your closet, you eventually can't pull out the thing you need the most without everything crashing down.

So, getting rid of the stuff you really don't need on your device can truly help with speeding up your computer and helping with streaming, Van Every says. For example, if you have a design program and word processor running on your computer at all times, try shutting it down when you start streaming shows.

"Anytime your computer's performance is degraded or it doesn't have enough memory left, it will affect streaming," VanEvery says. "A computer needs to be in good operating shape. The same thing applies if you are viewing on a tablet or phone."

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