MP4 playback performance

Help and Support Raspberry Pi
1

I’m new to OSMC and have been impressed by what it can do.
I had an issue last night on a PI 2 playing a MP4 videa (I have both the MPEG2 and VC1 codec licenses installed).
The video took ages to buffer initially. OSMC reported “cache full” at the bottom of the screen then started playback. Playback would frequently pause and buffer for periods of time to the point it became impossible to watch.
Playback of other video types had no issue.
The source was via uPNP ( I still need to try using kernel NFS client).

Any ideas?

2

Sounds like you’ve already come up with the best idea on your own, NFS…

3

A critical piece of information has been left out - is the connection to your server entirely Ethernet or is there wifi involved at either end ?

4

Using wifi.
Though the other formats didn’t have an issue over wifi.
I eventually went to play back the video from another device which managed fine.
I would expect the occasional hiccup over wireless but this was more than just that.

5

Different videos formats and different individual files will have different bitrates - if the bitrate is higher than what the wifi connection can sustain it will buffer. If it is lower than that it will not buffer. It’s as simple as that really.

The first thing I would do is test the problematic files over an Ethernet connection to confirm that Wifi is the issue.

Assuming it is you would need to do some wireless troubleshooting to find out why the wifi connection is too slow.

Press O during playback to bring up the codec info page - this will tell you what the average bitrate of the video is.

Also let us know your model of wifi adaptor and how far it is from your base station and what sort of base station it is.

6

Will do. Thanks.
I’m using an EDIMAX wifi adapter which is about 15cm from the AP.
AP is a trendnet 150Mb wireless N, though it’s attached to a 100Mb Ethernet cable.

7

So can you find a 15cm Ethernet cable to test with? :wink:

8

It’s going to be a push but I think with hard work I may be able to bridge that massive 15cm divide :smile:

9

Lol, seriously though, I always see WiFi as a weak link and personally, I do everything I can to wire static devices. I’d never consider WiFi for 15cm.

10

I would never use wifi for such a short link - not only is there no real excuse not to use an Ethernet cable (unless you’re out of ports) I’ve actually found some wifi adaptors perform worse when they are within a couple of feet of the AP - not sure why but I’ve certainly noticed the effect.

Possibly the signal is too strong and overwhelms the receiver.

11

The issue is limited cabling upstairs. So running one cable to an AP that can connect multiple devices is the only real solution.
The AP happens to be next to the TV which is why there is a short link.
It just gets annoying disconnecting the AP all the time as then mobile devices get disconnected and I lose my remote.

12

Sounds like you need a small switch then, or an AP that includes a built in switch.

Anyway, I would test it first to see whether Ethernet does indeed solve the problem.

13

All working fine over downstairs wired and wifi.
Bitrate 2.5Mb.
Tested again upstairs and it was working there as well having moved the AP further away.

Thanks guys

14

I have a similar problem with mp4 playback. Sound works fine but the video is lagging like crazy. However im using a wired connection, and the same video is working fine on my laptop using kodi.

Cant figure out whats wrong, Ive 2 mp4 videos, same problems with both of them. Have never had any problem with MKV.

15

mp4 is a container format which could include all kinds of codecs. Suggest you give the output of mediainfo for that file.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mediainfo
mediainfo “your file”