Inconsistent Wireless Streaming and Playback

Community Archives WD TV Live Networking
1

My apologies for perhaps a noob questions but I’ve scoured all the threads and haven’t really been able to find an answer. 

I have a lot of issues with streaming wirelessly, either the video will not start, or will play and stutter very badly after a few minutes. I am using a Belkin Play Max Modem Router, and a Belkin N1 Wireless USB Adapter (as recommended on the list) and am not quite sure why this is the case.

I see all folders and hierarchy fine, though when I click on a file to play (avi) it does one of two things mentioned above. All my content is on external HDs connected to a Desktop PC running Vista, with the modem 3 meters away the WD TV 3 meters away in the bedroom forming a triangle. Definitely not the distance I think.

If I’m not providing enough tech specs I apologise and would be happy to provide more info to help diagnose the issue. On some other forums I have read Air Play interferes (for streaming to iPad) interferes with the streaming so I have stopped that too, but no luck! :cry:

* Also connection to the internet is good, I can watch youtube with no issues, am running a 16MB connection so speed is fast!

2

Maybe I can piggyback on this thread.  I too am having inconsistent playback with HiDef streaming.  I have no problem with accessing my computer (Win 7 64bit) files using NetShare on the WD Live and my HD movies start fine.  Then suddenly and at random spots in the movie it starts stuttering and usually the sound disappears.  If I stop the movie and restart it, it works fine for a while again and then after a few minutes (sometimes longer or shorter) it starts stuttering again.  I’m using a D-Link wireless N router (brand new) and a new USB Wireless adapter from Belkin for the WD Live.

Is there a place in the forums that gives information on all the settings required for best streaming?  I’ve read stuff about router channels, media servers, etc.  I’ve only just set up this wireless adapter because I was sick of having to download movies to my USB stick or external drive to hook up to the WD Live but at least hooking up that way worked flawlessly all the time.  I was lead to believe that the wireless N protocol had plenty of bandwidth to stream HD video?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

3

Mooseman wrote:

I was lead to believe that the wireless N protocol had plenty of bandwidth to stream HD video?

That completely depends on you network conditions/setup and what the “HD Video” is.

If you’re trying to stream uncompressed 1080 media, forget about it.  The bitrate of the file will generally exceed what wireless-N is capable of.  Same is generally true for uncompressed 720, I think.

Many (most?) users can’t even get compressed 1080 to stream reliably over their wireless networks.  Compressed 720 is usually a low enough bitrate to not cause problems.

4

I too experience this problem using wireless connection to PC.  Using Wireless N router & adapter.  I was going to return WD TV Live due to unacceptable performance.  I finally decided to run an ethernet cable along the wall, up and around a door, and to the device.  It works perfectly using ethernet.  I assume the wireless is just not enough bandwidth, even though everything I have is the latest and fastest equipment.  I found a 100 foot ethernet cable on Amazon for $2.99 plus shipping.  Even though this was a bit of a hassle to do, it is the only way I can enjoy watching video on the device.  Otherwise I would have just returned it.

5

My .avi files (DVD Rips) seem to stream perfectly.  It’s when I try to stream my 1080p .mkv files that I have the problem.  I’ve looked around the forums and some people seem to be able to stream them ok.  Before trying to use a Media Server I was hoping to find out if there were settings I could tweak to make everything work.  I don’t know anything about media servers but some people in other forums say they work.

6

Again, it depends on the bitrate in the file and on your network conditions and your setup.

Yes, occasionally compressed 1080 (.mkv) can be successfully streamed over N, but it seems to be the exception, not the rule.  Most people can’t seem to consistently get the required traffic speeds on their N networks, especially with higher-bitrate .mkv files.

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Thanks RoofingGuy.  Before I give up and hardwire my WD Live, is there any settings you can recommend to maximize the possibility of being able to stream .mkv files?  Do you have any experience working with media server software?  I noticed on my WD Live that I can choose to stream via “Network Shares” or “Media Servers” options.  I’m currently using Network Shares, does Media Servers stream better?

Thanks for the help

8

Ok, here it starts getting complicated.

WirelessN has a setting called “bonded channels”.  That sends the data over 2 channels, not 1.  You have to use that to even pretend to get top speeds.

Even then, your “300 Mbps” connection will probably top out somewhere closer to 200 Mbps under ideal conditions.

Many routers and adaptors don’t set up for bonded channels (also called “40MHz operation”) because it’s apparently not legal in some countries, by telecommunications laws.

So, without 40MHz operation/bonded channels, your N is already only now capable of about 150 Mbps (and you’ll probably only see 100 Mbps, or less, in actual use).

So, if it’s allowed in your country, turning this feature on (if it isn’t) will get you better N speeds.  As to how you’d turn it on, it’ll be in the router/adaptor settings somewhere, but it may vary from brand/model to brand/model.  The manual(s) should help.

The next thing is to try and make sure your N is operating in the 5GHz band, and not 2.4GHz.  There seems to be more interference and channel congestion in the 2.4GHz band, so if you’re using it, your performance will usually suffer.

Also, changing channel(s) can sometimes improve your traffic.

So, those steps should help get your wireless working as well as it can.  But as I said, sometimes it still just isn’t enough for high-bitrate files.

If you’re trying to play .mkv files, you’re not going to have any success with “Media Server”, unless your server actually supports that format.  If you’re just using the default Windows Media Player server to stream from, it won’t stream .mkv files at all, so you’ll have to use “Network Shares” to access .mkv files.  A directshow filter pack can be added (such as the Haali/ffdshow combination) which will allow WMP to play/stream .mkv files, or you can install a different media server on your PC that natively handles .mkv.

I honestly don’t know which of Media Servers or Network Shares has less overhead in the transport, or if they’re both pretty equal.  My setup is all wired, so they both work fine with my 1080 .mkv files.  It’s possible that Media Server (if set up correctly, as described above) might stream “better” than Network Shares, but it might also stream worse, or the same… that part I don’t know.

9

I forgot to add…

Unless your router is “simultaneous dual-band”, then you will also have a performance hit unless all devices connected to it wirelessly are working at Wireless-N.  If any -G or -B devices are connected to a router that isn’t “simultaneous dual-band” you’ll see another performance hit in your -N traffic.

10

When I first puchased my WD Live + I used a USB wireless N adaptor - one that was listed on the compatiblilty chart. It worked fine for Netflix (although sometimes it would get grainy for  a few seconds) but I just couldn’t consistently stream recored HD TV shows to it. The non HDTV shows were fine, but they are also only one-fifth the file size. (An hour of HDTV for me ends up being about 6.5 gigs. I got tired of the stuttering etc. and just this past weekend I ran a cat5 cable down to it. What a difference! HDTV plays without a hitch, fast-forward works better (when I press play after fast forward, it only takes 3 seconds to get going again where using wireless 10-15 seconds), and Netflix looks better. From my percpective, the only way to get this thing to work great, is to wire it to you modem/router/hub.

11

Make sure you are using WPA2 with WMM enabled(if available).  Any WEP encryption will slow speeds up to 80% even if you use an N router regardless of WDTV distance.

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Mooseman wrote:

I noticed on my WD Live that I can choose to stream via “Network Shares” or “Media Servers” options.  I’m currently using Network Shares, does Media Servers stream better?

Try using a Media Server.

I connect to my main streamer (Live Hub) using a Belkin N1 USB adapter and it works great for 720p/5.1 MKV files over network shares.  1080p still stutters from network shares though…

I connect to my secondary streamers (Live / Live Plus) using a Powerline device that is slower than my wifi connection.  The same 720p/5.1 files that play fine over wifi will stutter when streamed from Network Shares.  However, they play back smoothly from Media Servers (Twonky and TVersity).  

Furthermore, I just tried playing a 1080p film (IMAX: Under The Sea) via Twonky media server (NAS) on the slower Powerline and even that plays smoothly now!

So it’s well worth trying a Media Server before exploring hardware solutions.

TVersity is free and pretty easy to set up.