4K fstab playback / network remote control / USB ethernet

In my system I often use an iPad as a remote control for my Kodi clients. Recently, in order to address occasional chapter skip issues with 4K mkv files, I experimented with fstab mounting of my NFS Synology share over my wired network. fstab mounting fixed the chapter skip buffering but it also broke network-based remote control (either via the iPad or via the Vero’s own web interface). It’s as if the fstab mounting is maxing out the network connection and remote control signals over the network have lag times that are so bad that the remote is in effect unusable.

I have fixed this by fitting a USB gigabit ethernet adapter. It works brilliantly, and now network remote control works with fstab+4K, and indeed I have been able to drop fstab mounting entirely, and switch back to Kodi-mounted NFS playback. There are no chapter skip issues at all with the new USB adapter via Kodi mounts. I am especially pleased about that as it’s important to me to keep my central SQL library “agnostic” with respect to client operating systems. I know I could work around fstab mounting within a x-OS client environment, but it would be a bit fiddly.

So the reason for this post is really just to say that if fstab mounting is not really for you, then a USB ethernet adapter could be just the ticket. And also to raise awareness of the network remote issue with 4K fstab.

As I mentioned in your previous thread, you could probably have used the Vero4K’s built-in WiFi alongside the ethernet connection. That way, you could use WiFi as the control channel for your iPad application and leave the cable connection for the heavy video traffic.

Clearly, USB gigabit ethernet adapters are also becoming very affordable, so such workarounds can be easily and cheaply avoided.

With a USB adapter only costing £10, it’s hardly breaking the bank. And for me the real result is avoiding fstab mounting in the first place, as that’s not ideal in my multi-client environment where not everything is running OSMC.