I would like to know if my computer hardware is in anyway affecting the playback of Blu-Ray MKV files from my network shares. Would I still have issues if I were to upgrade my PC or to move my shares over to a NAS? Or is it more of a network/Live problem? PC–Vista,2 gigs memory,celeron d 365…
Welcome to the forums.
You don’t say what your issues are so it’s hard to know whether it’s your computer or not. I play MKV files just fine from both my PC and my NAS – however, I am wired into the Live. Using wireless there are some blu-ray encodes that do not play properly (due to wireless speeds).
All of my Blu-Ray MKV’s stutter when played from my computer using network shares. I can play DVD (MKV), and HD-DVD (TS) just fine. Only have problems with the Blu-Rays. They work fine if I hook up the hard drive directly to the Live with USB enclosure. I am wired on my network (10/100).
What’s the max bitrate on those rips? (If you play them on your PC using something like VLC you can watch to see what it goes to, particularly if it’s VBR).
As I said, I’ve played encodes up to 30mbps with no issues at all (and it doesn’t make any sense to encode them any larger).
If the bitrates aren’t a problem then it’s something to do with your network, and not the Live (as I said, mine runs just fine, even wireless for most of them). Note that other traffic, such as sharing files over the internet, can interfere with your transfer speeds.
Rebooting the router might also help. I cannot play any movies from NAS to WD TV Live without suttering for several hours after using a torrent client on my PC. Only rebooting the router helps in that case.
Cyber,
One of the things I discovered with this same dilemma is to turn off the screensaver on my computer when I play large mkv files. When I do that, the stuttering doesn’t happen for me. You may try that. Good luck.
Router has been reset–no luck.
If I am reading the bitrate correctly from VLC, I peaked at about 44 and averged in the mid 30’s. I used MakeMKV for my Bluray’s. I will try turning off the screensaver.
So my chip and MB have no affect on playback?
No, but those are HUGE playback rates – I’d recommend using Handbrake to encode to a much more reasonable rate (use the High Profile preset, change the filetype to MKV, passthrough AC3 or DTS audio and you’re good to go).
