Gaming & Streaming Suffering? You Need a Home Network Upgrade

Monday, 29 July 2024

Why Your Wi-Fi Isn’t Cutting It for High-Bandwidth Activities

Does this sound like your experience? You sit down to watch the next episode of a TV show. You press ‘play’ on Netflix, HBO Max, or whatever platform you choose. The show starts, but the image is blurred or pixelated. After a few minutes, the image may improve, but then it starts and stops, buffering.

Or perhaps you’re an online gamer, and you’ve noticed your games frequently lag and experience delays. You press a button to take action, but on screen, your character responds too late, and you miss or get hit.

Streaming videos (especially HD and 4K) and playing video games online require a steady, strong connection and a lot of bandwidth. And most homeowners’ networks simply can’t handle the demand.

If you’re experiencing these issues, it’s time for a new home network installation. Here’s how a network integrator like Comware AV can boost your online experience in Southlake, TX.

Latency, Lag, & Buffering: What Causes It?

Latency and lag are common gaming issues. They’re closely related problems but not the same. Then there’s buffering, the bane of all streamers’ existence.

So what are they, and why do they happen?

Latency: The delay between pressing a button while gaming and the response on the display. Measured in milliseconds, latency refers to the speed of data being sent back and forth. Latency can be high or low.
Lag: The visible effect of high latency. Lag often looks like the game freezing or characters unexpectedly glitching and moving. Severe lagging can ruin online gaming experiences.
Buffering: Constant interruptions to your video, often causing you to wait with a loading screen.

These issues are typically caused by:

Insufficient network bandwidth
Interference from other home devices
Far distance from the network/router
Outdated networking hardware

How We Can Help

If you’re reading this, you probably stream or play online games pretty frequently—so why endure with poor Wi-Fi? A professional network installation can provide the speeds and strong connections you need. Here’s how we can fix your setup.

Upgrade Networking Hardware

Using old routers and networking devices could be slowing down your internet. The latest Wi-Fi 7 routers double bandwidth from Wi-Fi 6, from 160 MHz to 320 MHz. This means you can send and receive more data simultaneously, which makes gaming and streaming much smoother.

Upgrade to a Multi-Gig Network

Multi-gig routers support higher speeds than the typical 1 Gigabit per second found with most routers. Speeds can range from 2.5 to 10 Gbps, which will help with lagging or buffering.

Expand Network Range

Even if you upgrade your router’s bandwidth and speed, if your home theater or gaming room is far from the router, you’ll only reach a weak signal.

To fix this, we recommend installing wireless access points throughout the house. Access points are wired back to the router to broadcast signals to new areas that were previously unreachable.

Wire to the Network

While it may sound almost old-fashioned, wiring devices to the network via Ethernet cables is still the most reliable method for getting strong connections. In some cases, we may recommend wiring your TV or gaming console to the network so you won’t have to worry about Wi-Fi’s unpredictable nature.

Ready for a Superior Home Network?

Put your gaming and streaming frustrations to rest. Contact Comware AV in the Southlake, Texas, area to discuss your issues, and we’ll help upgrade your network performance.