HD file buffering on playback, generally fine though

After not using the WDTV live for a year or so (after moving house), I have everything set back up now and am streaming to my TV in living room from pc up in the attic. I am not using any type of server software, just streaming from a ‘media’ folder on my desktop.

One particular file is proving difficult. Twice it froze completely along with the WDTV box itself and all controls on the remote were doing nothing so much so the only thing I could do was remove the power lead in the back and then put back in for a full reboot.

I did watch the movie til the end and just put up with the buffering at regular intervals. I would say every 10 minutes or so it buffered for around 30 seconds. Towards the end of the film, it buffered every 30 seconds or so.

The file itself is .MKV and around 4.36GB with a video codec of H264. Another movie is exactly the same codec and again .MKV but 4.37GB and this other one streamed from beginning to end without a hitch.

What is causing the problem, is it my internet connection? My WDTV is connected wirelessly and not wired so when I get fibre optic 78MB would that solve this problem?

Or does it sound like the issue is with the file itself with the way it is encoded? If so,what can I do to ‘shrink it’?

Or, is it recommended to use a server like serviio? If so do I just connect to that server instead of my Windows machine?

I’m quite a newbie to this so any tips would be advised. I shouldn’t have to watch another movie with buffering in 2015 so there must be a way to solve this?

Hello there,

Something you can try to do to test is copying the file to an external drive, then trying to play it to see if the same thing happens, also try to connected wired to see if there is a difference.

Thanks. I’ll try copying the file to an external drive. Wired would be ideal anyway but as the pc is 2 floors up it’s not really practical.

Thanks