Do not expect internet video to be as consistent as cable TV.

If another computer in the house was playing video or downloading big items at the same time, chances of interruption would be increased.  General internet use should have no effect.  Upping your ATT  DSL connection to the Elite package (or making sure you have at least the standard Comcast package and not the economy service) would also decrease the conflict from simultaneous usage.

In 2008 i subscribed to perhaps the first and only Internet Powered TV service.  It is called SkyAngel.  They used to be satellite based like Dish and DirecTV but went internet based when their satellite died. I accessed the channels, live via a box they provided me, similar to your dvd player or cable box.  It cost me $25 per month and included FOX NEWS, FOX Business, several family friendly and Christian channels.   I stayed a customer for about 7 months.  Perhaps the most frustrating thing was that i was having issues getting the live feeds from the 08 political conventions due to network overload.

I may consider going back to them in the future.  In spite of the technical issues, they were nice people.

In a nutshell, Comcast or ATT have no incentive to make sure that anyone’s streaming Netflix works.   Surely, they arent going to help if you call because they aren’t getting a dime from Netflix or Pandora.  If Netflix raised their price a dollar and gave that dollar to whatever internet provider their customer was using…. It would go along way toward solving the problem.

Should you guys really like your internet video , i would strongly look into getting a Roku player down the road, perhaps as a family Christmas gift.  You can check them out at www.roku.com.  It is a box that costs $75.  It is not a subscription service.  The Roku box can play Netflix, Pandora, you tube, but also Amazon video rental and several others services.