Hi folks,
Firstly I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work on this project.
I'm hoping that someone may be able to advise me on a problem that's had me pulling my hair out for a couple of weeks!
My setup is as follows: a Mid-2010 Macbook Pro running Plex server (latest), connected to a Drobo S (Firewire 800) which holds my media files. This is connected via a TP-Link PA411KIT 500Mbps powerline kit to my router, which is in the next room. Also plugged into the router is a Raspberry PI (2nd edition, 512MB) running Rasplex (latest stable) on a Class 10 SD card. I've specified the server via IP address and it's connected as expected.
The majority of files play fine - certainly any 720p files and lower bitrate 1080p files. However, I've noticed that higher bitrate 1080p files often stutter. Sometimes, the movie will be fine for the first half, but then really struggle for the second half, or vice-versa.
I decided to do a bit of troubleshooting today so I tried the following:
I first found a movie which stuttered every time I played it (it's an MKV file). I checked the container bitrate with an app called "Media Information" and it's 21.9Mbps.
To make sure that the Drobo wasn't the bottleneck, I copied the file to my hard drive, updated Plex and tried it again. The same stuttering occurred every few seconds.
Next, I moved the laptop into the same room as the router and plugged it in directly using a CAT5E cable. This time, it played without problem. Ah ha!! I must admit, I thought I'd figured it out...
However, this is where it get interesting: I replaced the Raspberry Pi with an old laptop running IPERF and then also ran it on my Mac. The connection between the two via the powerlink adapter, on average (10 values over 30 seconds) was 93.8Mbps. I then ran it using the CAT5E setup and the results were very similar, so I'm assuming (as we are in a new build with decent wiring) that this is being bottlenecked by the 10/100 port rather than the wiring in the house. Just to be sure, I re-tested both setups several times over the next hour, also unplugging various appliances around the house in case it was being affected. The results varied by a few megabits, but nothing substantial.
So, what I can't figure out is: if the two connections are performing at pretty much the same throughput, how come it works perfectly when connected via CAT5E but stutters so badly when using the Powerlink? I'd expect that, given that the actual throughput is SO much greater than the required 21Mbps, it would be able to cope...?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
(this may also be the wrong forum - as it's more a 'connectivity' than Rasplex question - but I wasn't sure where else to put it; feel free to move it if needed)
