Trying to work out the root cause of my buffering when playing content via Plex.
I am attempting to play the content on an LG 65 B7 TV via XPlay App. The server is a 2012 2.9 Ghz Intel Core i7 Macbook Pro with 8GB DDR3 RAM. The content is served from an HDD connected via Thunderbolt.
Both the laptop and the TV are connected via Ethernet cable which is running a 1 G/bit network.
When I go to the Plex Media Player when the content is running it says “Direct Play” so the transcoding isn’t the issue, I don’t think. I have opened the Activity Monitor on the laptop and it never seems to go above 5 or 6%.
It seems to run fine for maybe 10 minutes, buffers for 5 seconds then continues.
Can anyone help with any possible suggestions as to the root cause?
I had a borked network cable that caused issues like this. I only figured it out by accident… just happened to look over and the proper amount of nights on a network piece weren’t blinking right.
@AmazingRando24 said:
I had a borked network cable that caused issues like this. I only figured it out by accident… just happened to look over and the proper amount of nights on a network piece weren’t blinking right.
Interesting, they are all brand new but could still be faulty I guess so ill try swapping some, thanks!
My nights only blinked in the late 80s - so it’s probably the ‘lights’… right? lol
What’s the bandwidth (bit rate) of the file in question?
I mean - if it’s 100MBps(+) you may have surpassed your network’s ability to deliver… which is about the only way to get a file in Direct Play to buffer.
If the file is bit rate heavy - try a smaller one… if it goes ok, you probably found your culprit. Check those ‘nights’ on that network thingy…
I had a similar problem in the late 80s, but it wasn’t drinking that caused it… and as I recall I didn’t mind the blinking all that much… it was, in fact, hilarious…
@JuiceWSA said:
My nights only blinked in the late 80s - so it’s probably the ‘lights’… right? lol
What’s the bandwidth (bit rate) of the file in question?
I mean - if it’s 100MBps(+) you may have surpassed your network’s ability to deliver… which is about the only way to get a file in Direct Play to buffer.
If the file is bit rate heavy - try a smaller one… if it goes ok, you probably found your culprit. Check those ‘nights’ on that network thingy…
B)
Looks like this could be the issue. Played the file using VLC player and I saw the “input bitrate” and the “stream bitrate” both go over 100,000 kb/s = 100 Mb/s occasionally.
Other than a different file, is there any other alternative?
I thought about USB playing (not a great solution) but then I can’t even do that as I use Mac so HDD needs to be in NTFS which Mac can’t read! Been so frustrated with this for a few months now.
Could there be something else on your network tying up traffic?
Getting to the basics, we know buffering occurs when the material delivered is coming in slower than the receiving end needs (or can take) it. That narrows your focus to pipeline/traffic related issues if you’re absolutely certain that the processors on both sides are up to the task. A Direct Play scenario would seemingly confirm that, as it takes minimal processing power to deliver.
So, potentially, either your file is too big, or your pipeline is too small. One would think a 100 megabit bitrate file should run fine through a 1 gigabit network… Perhaps the TV is choking on it? They’re normally not known for being beasts in the processor department.
Run the file through Handbrake (freely available on the intarwebs) to see if you can get it down to a more manageable size. You could also try the settings in XPlay to force the file to transcode, which may also deliver something smaller. If a smaller file runs fine, you have a semi answer.
