CatchON TV Buffering: Causes and Fixes

CatchON TV buffers when video arrives more slowly than it plays and the player’s small reserve runs out. Common causes are weak Wi-Fi, other devices using the connection, or a streaming stick short on memory or unable to decode 4K. Check whether it affects every channel, every device or only peak time, then fix that cause.

Why does CatchON TV buffer?

On-demand apps can download minutes of video ahead and ride out a slow patch. Live channels can’t, because the video doesn’t exist yet, so a player keeps only a few seconds in reserve. A connection that is fine for browsing can still dip below the steady rate a live HD or 4K channel needs, and when it does, the picture stops.

Find the pattern first

Before changing anything, note when the buffering happens. The pattern points to the cause.

Run a speed test that means something

A speed test on your laptop next to the router says little about your TV in another room. To get a useful number:

1. 1

   Test on the device that buffers

   Use the TV’s or stick’s browser or a speed-test app on it, not your phone.

2. 2

   Test when it buffers

   If it’s worse in the evening, test in the evening.

3. 3

   Pause other heavy use

   Downloads, game updates and cloud backups compete for the same bandwidth.

4. 4

   Compare with what you need

   About 3 Mbps per HD stream and 15 Mbps per 4K stream, the figures Netflix recommends. Add them up for every screen watching at once.

If the result is comfortably above what you need and buffering continues, the connection isn’t the bottleneck. Skip to the device and app fixes.

Fix the Wi-Fi

• Use Ethernet if you can. A cable removes almost all Wi-Fi variability. Many Fire TV and Android TV devices accept a USB or micro-USB Ethernet adapter.
• Use the 5 GHz band. It is faster and less crowded than 2.4 GHz, though it doesn’t travel as far through walls.
• Move the router or the stick. A Firestick behind a TV, inside a cabinet, can lose a lot of signal. An HDMI extender cable moves it out into the open.
• Add a mesh point if the TV is several rooms away from the router.

Fix the device and app

Player settings worth checking

Not every app has these options, and names vary, but they are worth looking for in the player’s playback settings:

• Buffer size: a larger buffer adds a second or two before a channel starts, but rides out short dips better.
• Decoder: switching between hardware and software decoding fixes stutter on some devices.
• Stream format: some players let you choose between formats such as MPEG-TS and HLS. If one buffers, try the other.

When it really is the channel

If one channel buffers on every device while others are fine, the problem is upstream of you. Send support the channel name, the time it happened and your device, so the source can be checked. For any other problem, start with the CatchON TV troubleshooting guide. If streams won’t start at all, read how to fix authentication errors.