Loading / Buffering Issues

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
,
1

Hello,

I’m new to plex and am having loading/buffering issues streaming movies locally in my home.
If I play a movie from my my library with a resolution greater than standard definition, the move will stop intermittently and display a wheel with a load percentage. My server is an Nvidia Shield and my client is a Roku Ultra, both with wired ethernet connections. Please see the details below and attached Plex Media Server log.

I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions you could offer.

Server: Shield Android TV
Model: P2571
Android Version: 9.1.1(33.2.0.157)
Plex Server Version: 1.32.8.7639
Hardware Acceleration: Yes
Available Storage: 60 GB (SD Card)
Media: Three external hard drives connected via USB hub
Quality Settings:

  • Home Streaming: Maximum
  • Quality Suggestions: On
  • Maximum Remote Quality: Unlimited
    Advanced Settings:
  • Passthrough: Disable
  • Refresh Rate Switching: Off
  • Resolution Switching: Off
  • Refresh Rate Switching: None
  • Advertise as Player: On
  • Allow Insecure Connection: Never
  • H264 Maximum Level: 5.2
  • Network Logging: Off
  • Share Crash Reports: On
  • Enable I/O Cache: On

Client: Roku
Model: 4660X - Roku Ultra
Software Version: 12.5.0 - Build 4178-46
Plex Version: Latest
Quality Suggestion: Yes
Direct Play: Auto
Allow Direct Stream: Yes
Burn Subtitles: Automatic
Maximum H.264 Level: 4.1
Allow MPEG2: Yes
Experimental 1080p MPEG2: No
Local Quality: 4 mps 720p

Thank you!

Plex Media Server Logs_2023-12-17_18-11-12.zip (4.4 MB)
you!

2

Simple suggestion, but have you tried rebooting your networking equipment (ie, routers, switches, access points, etc.)?

3

Yes, I tried that but it did not correct the issue.

Thanks!

4

I do not use an Nvidia Shield for my server so I am unfamiliar with it, but are you able to monitor CPU, RAM, GPU and storage (HDD/SSD) usage of the Shield while you are trying to stream content at a resolution higher than SD? This way you could try to determine what the bottleneck is. If you are not maxing out any of the things I mentioned, then I would start checking for network related issues. Problems with the computer being able to upload, the router getting congested, QOS or some other setting interfering with traffic, etc.

5

Your USB connection to your hard drives may also be suspect. Try to find out what connection speed they are linked at. If they are linked at USB1.1 speeds you will only get 12Mbps, which when accounting for overhead and possible transcoding, may not be enough to support anything higher than SD. If the connection is linked at USB2.0 speeds (480Mbps) or higher this should not cause a bottleneck.

Another question would be to check if all the hard drives are sharing the same internal USB Hub. Even though they are all plugged into their own USB port, internally they may all be connected and share bandwidth. If you are hitting the other 2 drives with read/writes while you are trying to stream off of the 3rd this may also explain the buffering, as HDD’s will quite often be able to achieve 300+Mbps (and remember USB 2.0 only has 480Mbps max bandwidth).

6

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.