That's really interesting! Do you think the new switch is allowing higher bandwidth, more bits per second, through? Did you ever do a speed test on it and the old switch? I do know that for many hubs/switches it's recommended to put lower bandwidth things on the downside of the hub/switch, and things like TVs and such that require more throughput upstream of it. At least that's the recommendation, I've not had to run a switch/hub at home yet, and the ones we used at work were all very high speed (and very pricey) professional ones.

To add, it sounds like whatever streaming you're doing is recognizing the difference and running at a higher bitrate setting. I've noticed that my downstairs TV when it first negotiates its connection via wireless at first the picture is almost SD but in a few seconds or so after it establishes the speed of the connection and adjusts and buffers it gets to full HD. 

Enjoy the better picture!

thanks jeff !

I am streaming most of my movies with Plex via Apple TV4.

Movies are stored on a computer inside my personnal network. 

The Apple TV4 has only a 100mbps ethernet connexion but I have noticed a drastic change when I have changed my switch from 100mpbs to a 1000mpbs. No more buffering for HD Movies (up to 30GB per file).

My network is wired with Cat5e cables.

Mat

Kind of makes you wonder how the 100mbs spec value was arrived at and how accurate it was on the old switch doesn't it? Kind of "on a good day, when the network gods are smiling, and there's no other issues, and no packet collisions, or EMF from a wall wire, we might get 100 mbs but only if only one thing is connected, and then it's "speeds up to." 👍

I agree 100mbps is theorical so let's sy that with a Gig switch you are maximizing your chances to get a decent speed. 

Many switches that have 100mb/s port's don't have internal capacity do deliver 100mb/s on all ports. A 1000mb/s switch usually also up's the internal switching capacity. The internal switching capacity-spec can be found on better switches to buy the best in your setup.

Basically it comes down to the bandwidth your switch and network can handle.

The current BeoVisions have a 100Mbit port, 4K needs 30Mbit (give or take some Mbits... depending on the compression), so streaming from a 1000Mbit switch to your BV will not be a problem. If the stream is coming through a 100Mbit switch then buffering is possible and your stream can be downgraded if other devices are surfing/streaming/using the same switch.

Also... it's worth checking your Internet Provider's bandwith... If you have a 100Mbit Internet connection then you should be able to stream 4K from the Net; but that too can be compromised if other people are surfing/downloading/streaming over the same connection.

Concerning the cabling: Cat 5e cabling might do the trick (I'm not having issues); Cat6 will have no problems at all handling the 1Gbit connections;

For the record: Ultra HD Blu-ray has a bandwidth of 108Mbit so at this point the only way to have full 4K with all the whistles and bells is by a dedicated player over HDMI as the 100Mbit port on your BeoVision will lack capacity... but then again... it's around 66Gb per BD-disk if you want to rip them to a NAS... have no intention of doing that.

<audiophile modus on>

On a sidenote: also make sure that your RJ45 network connectors are premium gold-platinum plated, and keep your cables 5cm from the ground. I've noticed that the bits are more streamlined and the the picture is much sharper.. Sound too will be more fluid with a slight increase in the mids and highs especially around the 15.000Hz *

</audiophile modus off>

Karel.

Have to say I noticed a difference switching from wireless on ATV3 to hard wired in that the picture appeared sharper and much quicker to load films etc- I've now hardwired both ATVs and my computer into the router and use apple remote on the second ATV connected to a DAC to stream music. Works really well.