Database Users

Streaming Audio keeps dropping out

Hi All,
I have been trying all day to get streaming audio (Shoutcast) to work using various programs (GSPlayer, MortPlayer, Conduits Pocket Player), and all with the same result.
Using a 32 kbs stream to test, the stream consistently drops out after about 3.5 minutes of playing, and has to rebuffer all over again from scratch. This happened with every program I've tested. I wasn't able to test TCPMP, because every time I try to open a .pls file with that program, I get a "Could not open URL" message.
Also, my internet connection is set up to use a proxy server. I don't know if that makes a difference, since I am able to play the stream in the first place.
I am doing these tests at my house where I have a 4-bar EDGE connection, so I know that the signal strength is not (or should not be) an issue here.
Is it possible that, while streaming, the main memory gets filled up with the streaming audio file? I don't yet have a mini SD card (plan to get one soon). I don't know if that would make a difference. Even if it would, maybe there is a registry setting that would force the streaming audio program to cache temp stuff to the SD card instead of main memory (?)
If anyone reading this uses streaming audio on their Wizard using a GPRS/EDGE connection, what program you are using, and also what settings/tweaks have you made which might help me?
Thanks!

Sounds like the proxy to me. Using Tmobile? I believe if you use the cheap plan with the proxy settings, it restricts the maximum amount of data per session.

Yes, I do have T-Mobile and also the cheaper plan that uses a proxy. *sigh* ... Ah well, I can always put the .pls track on "repeat" so that it rebuffers automatically after its 3.5 minutes are up. This is using a 32 kbs stream, so that means with a higher quality (96 kbs) I only would get about 1.5 minutes or so before it drops out. After many tests using many different streams, the amount of time before a dropout seems to be pretty consistent based on the stream quality.
Just curious though, you said that the maximum amount of data "per session" is limited, yet I do not have to reconnect the GPRS/EDGE when the streaming audio drops out, I only have to rebuffer the stream. (?)

i have the exact same problem. but im using their 29.99 plan and im not even using a proxy. i get 4 bars of edge. but when i stream shoutcasts on gsplayer, the connection drops repeatedly and has to buffer all over again. its really annoying. hope anyone has a solution to this. i hate staying in one place around a wifi connection to stream radio. i want it to work everywhere i go. does this happen on 3g networks by any chance? T-mobile here in the u.s need to hurry up with their 3g networks.

same problem here trying to use PocketXM and WMP on Cingular Edge with the unlimited plan. under 5 min of stream before it has to re-buffer. it really makes the streaming worthless (does it to video too) if someone knows how to fix this, ill write you a nice thank you card!

[Q] internet streaming on wildfire cuts out after 5 minutes

I don't know if there is a fault with the htc wildfire or my Cyanogenmod 6.1 firmware but any streaming of live video freezes after about 5 minutes. Has anyone else come across the same problem? It's almost like a full buffer or out of available memory error. The video stream can be restarted no problems. This seems to be with the wi-fi and not the 3g. I am using a Netgear Wireless-G router WGR614v9 on virgin media.
Indeed Virgin media may be resetting the wi-fi connection causing the video to stop.

same here, my phone freezes when I stream and I'd have to take out the batteries to restart my phone

[Q] Potential WiFi issue

Hey,
I just got a TF300 and I've been trying to get video streaming to work on the tab. I'm using BubbleUPNP and I've tried about a dozen video players to go with it (dice player, vplayer, moboplayer etc etc).
The issue I'm having is that the video just randomly stops. I'm not having any issues relating to video quality or file formats. I'll be streaming a video and the video will just randomly stop, and because its streaming I can't resume at the same place I have to start again.
I have not yet managed to complete a single video without it being exited at a random interval. Its not always the same place, sometimes I'll get 20minutes in, other times 10minutes of the same video file.
I'm using iSedora media center to stream across my internal LAN. I've been using this program to stream to my TV without issues for over a year.
At the moment it looks like WiFi could be the culprit however
a) I've used WiFi Analyzer to find an unused channel for my router
b) I've tested the stream right next to my router at about -20dBm to -30dBm
Any assistance here would be amazing
Thanks
FMM

Try sharing the file over the network and playing it that way via a file manager that works on shares. This will take your streaming server out of the equation.

Sounds very similar to the problem i had with my TF101 after upgrading to ICS. I was never able to finish a streaming video anywhere. Usually stopped within 2-4min.
The TF101 decided it just didn't like the d-link AP we have here anymore.
Not sure what router you have but try toggling settings such as:
Mode Settings: (Mix mode) vs G Mode - Mix Mode worked better
&
TX Rates: (Auto) vs Manual - Auto worked better.
Also interesting, after upgrading to ICS & running the speed test app the device was clearly being throttled @ ~3mbps from then forward. Prior to ICS it was testing at full (slightly variable) speed w/no issues.
Edit: I too used wifi analyzer & didn't have signal issues.

I received advice from the author of BubbleUPNP that its likely wireless dropping out, however I've tested it with about -20dBm signal strength, and I can't imagine getting it any better than this.
Apparently the TF300 has some issues with playback in rare occasions where it will just crash playback mid video and a factory reset can correct this. Giving this a go at the moment.
- FMM

Link to tf300 forum: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1578
Might find some other help there :]

v8code said:
Try sharing the file over the network and playing it that way via a file manager that works on shares. This will take your streaming server out of the equation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying this too using ES File Explorer and a variety of players and its a bit choppy, so I've just traded for play back problems.

Any way to improve android transfer/streaming speed?

Currently using my Shield TV as a media server for single user use. I have an external usb 3.0 hard drive connected. when transferring files via network from/to my pc, transfer rates are pretty low at around 5-10MBps, with frequent speed spikes during transfer, resulting in speed dropping all the way down to 0kbps, but then it goes back up again, but its not a steady average speed. If i were to do this between another networked device, speed is much faster and stable. Are there any settings or configuration files in android i could modify to improve speed?
I've got a possibly related issue with streaming as well. If i try to stream a long video, like a show or movie, stream initially takes what seems like forever to load, and jumping between scenes cause the pause again. I get that it has to buffer, but buffering seems to take forever for larger videos. This is most notable with Kodi, or other apps that stream video, and seems to be an issue whether the video is on the internet somewhere, or even on my local network. Youtube seems fine. though. Any way to improve this as well?
Everything is hardwired via gigabit connections

So if you plug another device into the same network cable and copy to the same external hard drive, you get better performance? Are you using SMB(Windows Shares) to copy files?
First thought is your network cable.
Second is SMB on Android SUCKS, though I have no issue streaming full spec HD over SMB in my current setup, but you won't get gigabit speeds on SMB with android and 5-10MBps is 40-80 mbps which is more than enough for streaming.
Try installing a speedtest app and see what it reports. Could help you identify if it's you network? SMB? or USB.

The intermittent speed issue seems to be the same whether transferring via ftp, webdav, smb, etc. im guessing its on the network but transferring to other devices other than android ( like to another pc for example) seems to not be affected, which is why im assuming the issue is something to do with the android device. its not my internet connection im talking about, but local connection on the local network. im using a netgear nighthawk r7000 router, with wired cat 5e cables on both the shield tv and pc.
the funny thing is my shield tv can even do gamestream in 4k, so i wouldnt think bandwidth is an issue, but streaming videos via software like mx player, kodi, etc seems to take awhile. like it isnt near instant, even at 720p/1080p. For example my external usb 3.0 hard drive is plugged into the shield tv, so the movies are on the drive. playing locally through the usb 3.0 works flawless, but streaming it to kodi on my pc takes a minute before it loads. dont get me wrong, once it plays, it plays and doesnt pause to buffer, etc. its that initial loading that seems to take forever. using the same 3.0 drive connected to my pc, streaming movie to shield tv running kodi, the issue is the same.
then when it comes to transferring, the same can be said with transfer speeds via usb 3.0 and ethernet. again, its all running on the local network, not via internet, so obviously theres some sort of network issue, but what? because when running via network on devices other than android the speed seems to all be there.

Similar situation here......also have an r7000
LAN network speed usually starts fast (50mb average), but gradually slows down to a somewhat stable 5mb
Are you using custom firmware for the router, or netgear stock firmware?
Theres an android app, that specifically tests network speed, search for "wifi speed test"

banderos101
Searching for wifi speed test in the play store results in several speed test apps but all ive seen seem to just want to test internet network? would need to test local network speed.
After more testing ive determined that the issue seems more obvious via ethernet. on wifi the connection seems more stable, steadying at around 5MBps, but eventually the connection slows and drops. On ethernet though, the connection is way more sporatic, bouncing continuously up and down, which is odd because obviously wired should be more stable. ive tried swapping ethernet cables and nothing seems to change the issue at all.
if only i could get 50mb average, id be happy, but im not even getting that. :\ when transferring locally on the shield, from the usb 3.0 external drive to the microsd slot or internal storage, speed is awesome at around 30-50MBps, so i know the capability is there, but its almost like the android network is somehow limiting performance. :/

Okay so after more digging I think I've gotten closer to the issue, now to just find a fix...
So after using WiFi speed test (which is great app to test LOCAL networks btw, thanks banderos101!) I notice that doing a TCP test is rather fast, averaging 50MBps on WiFi, even faster on Ethernet. However, the smb client tab for this app shows the same slow issue, and when you use it, it warns about slow speeds and suggest changing the "message block size" in settings to get faster speeds. So I do that and lo and behold, faster speed! The problem is the only thing I can find this setting for is in WiFi speed test app, and even a Google search seems to provide little information.
Does anyone know anything about message block size and how one could adjust it?

I'll give that app a try and see what I see, though I have no issues with local streaming.

Slow network performance on 3.0

Hi all,
I've had my Shield for 6 months and has mostly been trouble free.
Since updating to 3.0 Marshmallow network performance seems to have tanked.
Play Store is very slow to load. YouTube is very slow to load between channels and I have a hard time streaming anything over 480p. Sometimes I just get an error.
My connection is 100Mbps and I have no performance issues on my PC which is in the same room as the Shield.
I have a Virgin Superhub 2 for routing and a Cisco RV220W as an AP. My network is 2.4GHz but there are few networks around me so interfering is unlikely.
I factory reset after 3.0 update. I am also rooted but have no apps to use root yet. I'd rather not wipe and roll back to 2.1.
Suggestions?

skymera said:
Hi all,
I've had my Shield for 6 months and has mostly been trouble free.
Since updating to 3.0 Marshmallow network performance seems to have tanked.
Play Store is very slow to load. YouTube is very slow to load between channels and I have a hard time streaming anything over 480p. Sometimes I just get an error.
My connection is 100Mbps and I have no performance issues on my PC which is in the same room as the Shield.
I have a Virgin Superhub 2 for routing and a Cisco RV220W as an AP. My network is 2.4GHz but there are few networks around me so interfering is unlikely.
I factory reset after 3.0 update. I am also rooted but have no apps to use root yet. I'd rather not wipe and roll back to 2.1.
Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how much help this is
Theres an app in the playstore that specifically tests your local network speeds, if you happen to have two android devices, install the app on both devices, one being the shield, and see if your having the same results.........i dont think its likely, but if it transfrs at full speed it might narrow down your search a bit........trial and error
Edit
Whoops.....forgot to link to app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pzolee.android.localwifispeedtester