Server Version#: 3.95.2
Player Version#: 3.98.0
LG WebOS#: 3.8.0
I’ve noticed with some large 4K HDR files (eg: 40+GB) that I get constant stutteriing/buffering as if the TV cannot get the media smoothly/quickly enough?
My server is a dedicate PC which I’m certain can supply the raw data (I’m not transcoding) quick enough over the gigabit network to the TV. However, of course these TVs only have a 100mb ethernet socket (great move LG!).
If I go into the Plex player and into the (I) option while playing such a problematic file, it implies the data speed is below 60mbps, so given the connection is gigabit->100mbit socket, what is the problem?
Note 1: With one test (a 45GB 4K HDR movie) and a Atmos 7.1 audio file (about 60mbps bandwidth) the stuttering is happening multiple times a second.
Note 2: Smaller files (movies) say for 25GB (reporting a bandwidth of about 20MB) seem to play fine.
Is there any diagnostics I can look at to see what is causing the buffering? Am I literally hitting a limitation with files using 50+MB per second due to LGs 100mb ethernet socket? Or is there some transcoding/work going on?
ANOTHER HINT might be that XPLAY plays the file mentioned above seemingly perfectly, BUT WITHOUT AUDIO. Is it the audio causing the issue?
ps: The CPU on the server PC is not showing a lot of work going on. And I’ve even run a different dedicated ethernet lead from my main switch directly to the TV, with no change.
EDIT: With the above example, with the audio track removed from the mkv, the stuttering drastically reduces down to just really busy scenes (eg: break glass etc), so once every 30-40s or so. Looking at the status in the server I can see the video and audio (there’s none) is Direct Play, but it’s listing the “Local” as 112Mbps? <- What does that mean? The data rate?
I’ve found that my OLED B8 struggles with very high bitrate files, whether on 100mb/s wired or getting about 800mb/s wireless.
Commercially streamed content (Amazon Prime/Netflix) at up to ~30mb/s is fine, as are re-encoded Blu-ray mkv files, but I cannot the ~50mb/s 4k77 version of Star Wars to play without brief pauses every few seconds in high motion scenes.
It’s my belief that the TV simply isn’t designed for, or capable of, decoding such high bitrate streams. Get a Shield or stick to lower bitrate content would be my suggestion.
If I get another (dedicated box) I’d like it to be as friendly as possible, so a gamepad (for a Shield) isn’t ideal.
Is there a more dedicated box with a proper remote that’s going to do 4K HDR with audio passthru?
ps: I think when 7.1 sounds is added in to the mix/MKV too, as Plex has to transcode it (as the TV can’t pass 7.1 to the amp over ARC), that reduces performance even more!
My LG just went from its native ethernet limit up to 160Mbps.
Batman Gotham by Gaslight (being the highest bitrate I have) now happily plays back on my LG without any hint of a buffer.
Its still gonna be the ATV 4K as my default, however I can now play all Dolby Vision files in Plex on my LG
So you just put one of those into your USB socket on your LG TV, and increased your ethernet speed?
What TV are you using it with, and is USB 3.0 even important given USB 2.0 is capable of transferring data at a rate of 480 Mbps is it not? ie: Much faster than a 100Mbps ethernet port?
ps: You quoted your speed now as 160Mbps? How did you get that value?
OLED55B7V
With regards to USB speed I have no idea. I just saw it on the LG forums and they stressed USB3.
However having just had a (very quick) look on Amazon I don’t see any USB2 to Gigabit. So if they exist and you are limited to USB2 on your TV then I can only wish you good luck.
Speedtest Master on the LG app store. I don’t know or care how accurate it is. I just know that even with a file that peaks well in excess of the native 100Mbps ethernet the constant buffers from yesterday with the same particular high bit rate files are gone today.
Its not all perfect as my home connection is 300/50 and with the dongle it’s still only reporting 160/50.
But crucially like I said the 160 down takes the speed beyond any of my files requirements.
I believe for those TV’s with card slots that’s an option too. But to be honest I just took a punt on the cheaper option. Plus It’s Amazon so never an issue to return stuff.
I didn’t have any high hopes of success an I certainly didn’t expect it just to be plug in and be done.
I’m finally covered now. The ATV 4K for general day to day use. The LG (now buffer free) for my Dolby Vision stuff.
Just to add I seem to be getting intermittent results with Speed Master. (No IP detection etc so Im not putting faith in the results being accurate)
So I just downloaded “Internet Speed 2” and tested several times with that and this is the lowest it recorded.
Yeh, from the spec for my E7 (which no doubt is the same as your B7) - “pair of USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0”
But interestingly, from your tests, moving the device between the USB2 and USB3 makes little/no difference?
Of course those speeds surely are in truth also reliant on your internet/broadband speed? So not a perfect test of your local network as such?
But no doubt if you tried it through the standard socket on the TV, the speed would be sub 100Mbps.
Note: My internet speed is only about 25Mbps, so I won’t be able to use the speed tests you are to test my TVs connection speed. I’ll just have to try and use a large file which is stuttering I guess…
Yeah my 4K HDR Remuxes are pretty much all stored on Gdrive.
With a healthy 300/50 connection at home, playing them on the ATV 4K was never an issue.
As mentioned I only really need the LG for the ones with Dolby Vision but the bottleneck was clearly the 10/100 port on the LG. But interestingly although the DV files tend to peak at around 60Mbps, the couple I do have stored locally also buffered yesterday and today not.
It is of course possible that I just had a lot of internal disk I/O yesterday.
Either way it’s probably the best £12 I have spent in a long time.
USB 2.
That said my server is never really idle. So it’s difficult to be too scientific about it.
But I’m more than happy to hit 240-260 Mbps on my 300Mbps home connection.
OK, testing on a 55GB movie:-
Video: 4K (HEVC Main 10 HDR)
Audio: English (TRUEHD 7.1) <— I think this is Dolby Atmos!
Through the standard ethernet port, the film stutters and “bufffers” every few seconds, “buffering” for a good second or two.
Using the Anker USB adapter, its significantly better. It’s still unwatchable, as it still stutters at times every few seconds, but there’s no buffering being reported. Just stutters from time to time.
I’m wondering if it’s the audio track causing some of this TBH.
Using the USB adapter is a no go for me. It’s stops casting from working. eg: You can no longer cast from say a phone from YouTube to the TV if you are using the USB adapter’s ethernet, rather than an ethernet directly plugged in
The TV shows up as a device to cast to, but choosing to cast to it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t connect
