Problem with buffering on Raspberry Pi2

Dev Community Apps & Creations
1

I have Plex web server version 1.10.1.4602 running on a Raspberry Pi2 with Raspbian Lite. The Pi is connected directly to my router by an ethernet cable and the library is on a USB hard drive attached to the Pi. For the last few weeks it has been almost impossible to stream videos on my Samsung TV due to very frequent buffering. This happens when using the Plex app on my Roku 3 and also if I use the DLNA player on my TV. Playing music is fine.

I also have Plex running on a PC which has a wireless connection to the router and the same TV & Roku can stream videos without any problem.

I would be grateful for any suggestions.

2

None of the Raspberry Pi’s (as of this writing, probably forever) are not fast enough to transcode in real time. Pre-encode your videos into a format you can direct steam using something like Handbrake. Check out https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250387-streaming-media-direct-play-and-direct-stream/ .

3

Thanks for the info, will look at getting a Synology DS118 - there’s not yet a Plex build for its processor but I’m hoping it’s only a matter of time! It’s a shame about the Pi, it was very handy otherwise.

4

The DS118 processor is also ARM based. There won’t be any transcoding on it either if PMS is eventually made available for it.

5

@ChuckPA said:
The DS118 processor is also ARM based. There won’t be any transcoding on it either if PMS is eventually made available for it.

Ah. Bang goes that idea then. Is the Pi3 likely to be any better than the Pi2 in terms of helping with the buffering problem?

6

If you want transcoding capability for even 1080p, you will need something with Intel-grade horsepower (i3/i5 in the -4xxx, -5xxx family). If you want 4K HEVC HDR, you’ll need something -7xxx generation because it’s the first which can decode it in hardware. You still need over 10,000 Passmarks to do it in software.