Buffering with local 4K Blu-Ray remuxes on Shield with KODI - Shield Android TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys,
My movies only NOT buffer when I play them from the very beginning of the movie (0:00:00 sec) and I do not fast foward or seek in a movie. When I try to resume a movie from the main movie list(eg. from 17:47) I get "buffering, please wait". After 5-20! minutes it then starts playback. Also fastforwarding or skipping to another chapter: the movie hangs for about 5-20 minutes.
I tried the advancedsettings.xml with all sorts of settings (very large cache size, small cache size) but this does do anything.
My setup:
1. Files on external HDD locally (So nothing with networking or anything)
2. Western Digital Elements SE 1tb usb 3.0
3. Shield TV 2015
4. Official Kodi from app store
5. external HDD formatted as exFAT with 32mb cluster size
6. Playing large (50gb) 4K HDR 10bit blu-ray remuxes
What could the problem be??

Related

[Q] Video Out question

How powerful is the Adam's video out. If I have an 8gb .mkv in 1080p, will the Adam be able to play it smoothly on a 50 inch TV? How about if that same file is playing from an external USB hard drive connected by USB.
Some of these factors don't count(File size, tv size).
If adam supports 1080p output any hd tv with the right connection (hdmi) will work. As for mkv it depends, mkv is just a container, depends on the codecs used for audio, video; anyway, the hardware is capable of outputting hd video, most other variables are in the software, and if the delivered software isn't enough, we will always hack it.

720p vid over wireless network - buffer options?

I love my Archos 70 IT, and I'm really impressed by the great multimedia players Archos included. I've been using the video function to browse my local network for SMB shares - I have a 1.5TB NAS storage appliance loaded with TV shows, music and movies. I open the NAS over SMB and can stream videos great. However, a lot of my library is in 720p quality. These files play fine for about 1 minute, then get very choppy.
I haven't yet attempted to copy a 720p video to the Archos locally to see if it will play smoothly. I suspect it will, since it plays just fine for a minute or more in most cases. I think the network buffer is running low. If I pause the video for 5 seconds then resume, it plays smoothly for a few more seconds before getting choppy again. But pausing it for longer doesn't seem to help any more.
I don't see any options in the app to change the buffer length or anything like that. Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can improve hi-res network video playback?
Note: I'm using an 802.11g wireless network with the Archos about 5 feet from the WAP. No signal strength issues.
Even with a regular PC or laptop, it's kind of iffy for me to stream 720P consistently. While in theory, a WiFi G connection is supposed to be 54 Mbps, in reality, it's often a lot lower due to interference from other WiFi radios. Where I live there are a dozen WiFi radios that show up when I do a scan. What's amazing is that one or two of them are stronger than my wireless router a few feet away. Who are these people?!
Bye.
Ha, thanks for the response. I can definitely stream 720p to my laptop successfully. The radio in the Archos might not be able to keep up though. Dunno. In any case, some sort of buffer options would help!
sprocket87 said:
I love my Archos 70 IT, and I'm really impressed by the great multimedia players Archos included. I've been using the video function to browse my local network for SMB shares - I have a 1.5TB NAS storage appliance loaded with TV shows, music and movies. I open the NAS over SMB and can stream videos great. However, a lot of my library is in 720p quality. These files play fine for about 1 minute, then get very choppy.
I haven't yet attempted to copy a 720p video to the Archos locally to see if it will play smoothly. I suspect it will, since it plays just fine for a minute or more in most cases. I think the network buffer is running low. If I pause the video for 5 seconds then resume, it plays smoothly for a few more seconds before getting choppy again. But pausing it for longer doesn't seem to help any more.
I don't see any options in the app to change the buffer length or anything like that. Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can improve hi-res network video playback?
Note: I'm using an 802.11g wireless network with the Archos about 5 feet from the WAP. No signal strength issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that it plays ok at first, then gets choppy indicates that you're playing through the contents of the buffer faster than it can be replenished by the network stream. A bigger buffer would make it play longer, but it would still run out. Picture a bucket with a hole in it. If you don't fill it faster than it drains out the hole, it will eventually be empty, no matter how big the bucket. Pausing is like putting your finger in the hole. It lets it refill, but it can only get so full. Pull out you finger and it starts draining again. The only solution is a bigger hose or a smaller hole
I too get the choppiness when streaming via smb. But I have put a 6gb 720p movie on my A70S, and it too gets choppy. This was with 2.1.4. AND with the newer 2.1.8. so then I fully restored the device to increase the swap file, and it's not any better. Now im rooted using archangel, and used setcpu to keep the cpu maxed, but not any better than it was.
btw, i used the archos video splitter app to get such a big file on there.
Even 1.5gb 720p cartoons act up, i get the video falling behind when there is alot of motion. I'm hopeful it will get better!
creationblur said:
I too get the choppiness when streaming via smb. But I have put a 6gb 720p movie on my A70S, and it too gets choppy. This was with 2.1.4. AND with the newer 2.1.8. so then I fully restored the device to increase the swap file, and it's not any better. Now im rooted using archangel, and used setcpu to keep the cpu maxed, but not any better than it was.
btw, i used the archos video splitter app to get such a big file on there.
Even 1.5gb 720p cartoons act up, i get the video falling behind when there is alot of motion. I'm hopeful it will get better!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you put the movie on your SD card? How fast is your SD card? Try moving it to internal memory and playing it from there.
Yes, i forgot to mention that. I tried it first on the SD card, still crap. Put it on the internal memory, still just as bad. I did think that doing so would fix it, but, no dice. unfortunately.
Of course you should be able to play a 720P video from inside your Archos cleanly. By any chance is the video encoded at a high bit rate, like maybe 10 Mbps? I have a bunch of videos I can play fine on mine, however, I encoded them at maybe 2 - 4 Mbps. The specs for your Archos says:
Video Playback1 • MPEG-42 HD (up to 720p, 30 [email protected])
• MPEG-42 ([email protected] AVI, up to DVD resolution, 30 [email protected])
• H.264 HD ([email protected] up to 720p, 30 [email protected])
• WMV9/VC1 (AP up to 720p 30 [email protected])
• M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in VGA resolution
With optional plug-in (downloadable on www.archos.com):
• Cinema: MPEG-2 (up to DVD resolution MP/D1, 30 [email protected] Mbps)
With the above codecs, the device can play video files with the following extensions: AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF, 3GP
Are you well within these requirements? A PC or laptop can usually go way past this.
Bye.
One of the files is 720p avc1 dts at 6425 Mbps, and 4.38 gb. I'll have to check the other files when I get home. But that's not too high quality is it?
No, but if these are Animes the chance is high that they are encoded with "to many" b-frames.
The Archos allows [email protected] most new HD Animes are encoded as [email protected] which has way to many B-Frames for the small buffer on the DSP.
I think you are pushing it on the bit rate. I have tried encoding at various bit rates and quite frankly, encoding at 2 Mbps is good enough visually on an A101. I suggest Handbrake to re-encode down to 2 - 4 Mbps.
Bye.
creationblur said:
One of the files is 720p avc1 dts at 6425 Mbps, and 4.38 gb. I'll have to check the other files when I get home. But that's not too high quality is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, but we shouldn't have to, ya know!?!
You read my answer?
And if grandma had wheels she'd be a streetcar.
Handbrake is my friend.
Bye.
creationblur said:
I agree, but we shouldn't have to, ya know!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes yes, I did. BUT...
And wasn't the new firmware supposed to make these higher profile files play better??
wish in one hand....
No.
The decoding of highbitrate files within the specs is better now.
"One of the files is 720p avc1 dts at 6425 Mbps, and 4.38 gb."
avc1 == H.264 and if you look into the specs, there it says -> H.264 HD ([email protected] up to 720p, 30 [email protected])
So you are allready above what the DSP ( the VideoCoProcessor in the Chip ) can handle.
And then normally these type of files have variable bitrate and can go up to 20MBit.
And if then these files have more then the allowed 5 B-Frames the dsp just pukes.
So did anything ever come of this?
I'm having the same issue with the latest firmware (2.3.20).
Being able to increase the buffer and waiting a few minutes before watching something would be a whole lot better than copying the entire thing or just sticking to SD.

XBMC problems

Hi i have just purchased my Nexus 10 and installed XBMC, the installation went fine and i have set up my movie share from my pc but when i try to stream 720p mkv movies through XBMC the video is all juddery
Is there anyway to fix this please
mimicuk said:
Hi i have just purchased my Nexus 10 and installed XBMC, the installation went fine and i have set up my movie share from my pc but when i try to stream 720p mkv movies through XBMC the video is all juddery
Is there anyway to fix this please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few options.
- Google to find XBMC variants that includes HW acceleration
- Install a Plex server and app combo. It will transcode your 720p videos on the fly but the interface is very nice and supports many back end OSes
Be aware that the shutter via WiFi may be simply that the video bitrate is higher than your WiFi supports (consistently)
My personal set up to get reliable playback well away from my router is not for the faint of heart but I will mention it none the less.
Backed server:
- Ubuntu with a Web server
- Python script that creates Web pages of my video collection with metadata from MythVideo database
N10 apps:
- MX Player
- Boat Browser
N10 HW:
- micro USB OTG cable
- USB Gigabit Ethernet adapter
- Gigabit Powerline adapters connecting router to backroom
I did warn you it was extreme but it works without issues day in and day out even with 1080p content.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
This is the best explanation i have had, thankyou very much

[Q] Stuttering video N10 + portable HDD + Nexus Media Importer

I am not rooted and cannot because some of my apps require non-root (DirecTv) which makes me sad.
I just want to watch movies on my tablet. I have Nexus Media Importer (NMI) and I can see my Western Digital 1TB portable HD (formatted NTFS). And I can sort of play the movies on the drive using NMI & MX Player. I say "sort of" because some time after starting the movie there's stuttering and freezes. The Hard drive is model WDBZFP0010BBK - 05 which is actually a USB 3.0 drive, but works fine with just USB 2.0 cables. I've got it hooked up to my computer right now with just a micro USB cable and no other power.
Most of my movies are MKV, but some are MP4 and AVI. So far I haven't been able to play any of them. Some of them are upwards of 8GB, but some are only like 750MB. Again, nothing plays all the way through. They all start off like all is well, but eventually, pauses, stutters, hiccups, etc.
I have AVS converter and I could convert them to some other format, if that seemed like it would help.
Any suggestions? Is is my hard drive? Cables? Media format? Sunspots?

[SOLVED] Help with streaming 4k video across network

EDIT: Seems to be working just fine now. Getting sustained 80mbps across my network for playback, no issues. In the settings, I migrated everything to the SD card, but I think Kodi (and thus Plex temp files) are still on the internal storage. Maybe this fixed it, who knows.
I'm having trouble getting 4k video to play back continuously without pausing and skipping. I occasionally get the message that the source is too slow. Here is a quick overview of my setup.
- Media is on an UNRAID server running plex. It's an AMD A6-3500, 8GB memory, 3x 4TB WD Red (1 parity).
- UNRAID server is connected by ethernet to my Asus RT-AC87U. My shield was connected on 5g, but I ran a temp ethernet cable and still see the issue.
- Kodi 17 is running on my Shield TV using the PlexKodiConnect plugin. Video playback is direct play, no transcoding (verified in Plex).
I'm not sure where the trouble lies and exactly where to work.
I did test by using SolidExplorer to copy the 4k file to the device to see what rates I get. Speeds are about 6-8MB/s but its very inconsistent and drops below 1MB/s often. I'm not sure if this is a good test to go by or not. Is the Shield capable of streaming and playing 4k over a network? Or is the hardware not fast enough to do this?

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