Since fall of last year, I've subscribed to and very much enjoyed Classic Reel, a well-reviewed channel featuring a mother lode of classic movie content from the 30s thru the early 70s, some of it in HD quality. However, recently, it's been difficult to watch a movie all the way through without constant buffering.
My Roku TV tells me it's my WiFi connection, but when I switch to a more conventionally popular channel like Netflix or Prime Video, the buffering goes away. So does this problem actually emanate from Classic Reel itself rather than my WiFi connection? Have other Classic Reel subscribers been experiencing this and if so, have you come up with any solutions?
I contacted Classic Reel. The problem is not you, your ISP, your WiFi, or Roku the problem is with the channel itself -- Classic Reel.
They are fixing the problem, but it is taking a long time. COVID-19 and stay at home requirements has increased the number of subscribers to where the servers cannot handle the load. The movies are being transferred to a new server. Newly added movies are already on the new server. It looks like those in the Film Noir category are also okay because I watched many of them without interruption.
I hope this helps. I do feel your frustration.
Here's how to properly remove/reinstall an app.
All three steps, in that order. I'm not hearing a reboot as step 2. What I'm reading looks like you are describing 2,1,3 or 1,3,2 both of which are incorrect.
Try that and see if that works. Be aware that it might not fix it, but this is a step that should be performed when running down issues such as this.
DBDukes
Roku Community Streaming Expert
Note: I am not a Roku employee.
If this post solves your problem please help others find this answer and click "Accept as Solution."
Hi @Glowbaby
Thanks for the post.
In some cases, removing the channel and then re-installing it may help. To ensure the process is successful, follow the steps below making sure you restart your Roku device before adding the channel again.
If after attempting the suggestions above, you are still experiencing the same issue from a single channel while content from other channels plays fine, contact the customer support team for the channel provider to report the issue and get help. Many channels on Roku are developed and maintained by the channel provider themselves.
All the best,
Kariza
Yep, if everything else is streaming fine, the problem is Classic Reel. Now, is the problem with their Roku channel, or at their server end? We have no way of knowing, and only Classic Reel can provide any assistance. Roku themselves are not responsible for and do not support the individual channels, other than the two that they themselves provide: Roku Media Player and The Roku Channel.
Yes, I’m having the same problem and it’s very frustrating. It’s a great channel with so much classic content, but it’s getting to be a pain to watch anything. Is there any way to contact the channel?
My feeling is that it's a shoestring operation which for some reason (I have my theories) manages to have a massive inventory and it's better to not expect too much of it for fear that too much oversight may result in it being forced off the air. I do think that at certain times of day the buffering is reduced e.g. I managed to watch a high quality movie all the way through without buffering last night starting after 11 pm ET, and sometimes I can also get in a whole feature after breakfast. Since receiving Roku's response last night, I'll just fork over my $3 a month and take my chances and not look this gift horse in the mouth.
I had purchased "Classic Reels" station from Roku. Had to cancel it even before I even had it for 24 hours. Every 5 minutes I lost my movie and it had to reload. I hope Roku reads these blogs. Everyone stay well...
I subscribed to Classic Reel to replace Warner Brothers Filmstruck app that went down some time ago. I really love the content and the visual quality of most of the movies. However the CONSTANT buffering is an annoyance. I've tried everything including rebooting my router, rebooting roku box, unsubscribe the resubscribe...all to no avail. Once in a while, I will be able to watch a full movie with no interruption. I would say consistent play is only about 5% of my total watch time. As this seems to be an app issue, I guess I'm going to have to view these interruptions as if they are short ads. But even with that, I will be on the search to find a replacement channel.
I agree with everything you say. But do try viewing the channel at different times of day. Mornings and after 11 pm seem to be when there's the least amount of buffering. Also some movies that are badly compressed to begin with that are problematic, such as suddenly showing a play bar for a few seconds or an AMC logo briefly. As a matter of filtering out movies that probably come from questionable sources, I often check the running times against the times listed for the films on IMDB. For instance, there are a number of movies (especially from Universal) on CR that have been drastically edited down. Then there are ones which have been poorly formatted. As I mentioned before, I have my theories about how this channel above all others came to acquire such a large catalog of classics unavailable elsewhere, and we are definitely not talking public domain. I just keep enjoying what they have to offer whenever and however I can.
I contacted Classic Reel. The problem is not you, your ISP, your WiFi, or Roku the problem is with the channel itself -- Classic Reel.
They are fixing the problem, but it is taking a long time. COVID-19 and stay at home requirements has increased the number of subscribers to where the servers cannot handle the load. The movies are being transferred to a new server. Newly added movies are already on the new server. It looks like those in the Film Noir category are also okay because I watched many of them without interruption.
I hope this helps. I do feel your frustration.
I suspected that was the problem, as I was stuck at home more and watching the channel more frequently starting in late March. And I did notice that recently added movies streamed pretty smoothly. Thanks for the update.
I have often wondered why other channels like Criterion and TCM just don't make their entire libraries available all the time instead of having films "leave" after a short time. With my experience with Classic Reel, I can see where having an entire library available on demand can slow things down.