Understanding Player performance

The quality of the video and audio you receive via your Player is dependent on a combination of several factors:

Your audio/video connections. The type of audio and video connections you use to connect your Player and your TV may impact sound and picture quality. In general, HDMI and optical audio are superior to stereo audio. Similarly, HDMI and component video are superior to S-Video. Additionally, HDMI, component video, and S-Video are all better than composite video. Use your best available option when connecting the audio and video cables to your Player.

Your broadband speed. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) determines your broadband speed. We recommend a minimum connection speed of 1.5 Mbps. For the best quality picture, a connection speed of 4.0 Mbps is required. Sometimes your broadband speed varies based on your ISP’s network conditions. Contact your ISP if you have problems maintaining a fast connection that is reliable, or if you want to increase your connection speed. Many ISPs offer a variety of broadband speed options.

Your home network. In many homes, the Internet connection is shared with other devices such as computers, gaming consoles, network hard drives, and so on. If any of these network devices are transferring large amounts of data across your network (such as a file transfer, online gaming, or other instances of streaming video), your sound and picture quality may be compromised.

44 Chapter 6