Buffering on Kodi

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Rikkitic

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#268240 7-Mar-2020 11:37

I sometimes have buffering issues streaming with Kodi on an Nvidia Shield, but if I access the same content using a browser on Windows, the buffering disappears and I get good streaming quality. Can anyone explain this difference? In both cases I use the same LAN connection and my speed tests are usually around 29 Mbps down.

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#2434375 8-Mar-2020 00:17

What version? 18.6 came out the other day?

Have you tried it?

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gehenna

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#2434376 8-Mar-2020 00:29

What sort of files? HEVC 1080p/4K? Buffering doesn't have to be bandwidth, often times it's processing power required to decode HEVC that causes the issue.

driller2000

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#2434380 8-Mar-2020 01:20

What content from where i.e local content or streams - and what are your network details?

I ask as I can play UHD rips from my unRAID server fine on my Shield using Kodi - wired gig lan.

(unRAID server is 8 years old - so it ain't that grunty either.)

Ditto streaming YT/Netflix 4k is all good - admittedly not within Kodi - but demonstrates its ability to deal with large high bandwidth files from the net without issue - wired gig lan / fibre 100 net.

Rikkitic

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#2434428 8-Mar-2020 11:05

Thank you for the replies. I don’t have an internal network as such, just a LAN switch connecting to the router. Anything I stream comes off the Internet.

I was using Leia 18.4. I just upgraded from the Kodi site which took me to Google Playstore but when I checked the version, it was 18.5. I’m not keen to sideload from an unofficial site.

I am not trying to stream 4K or anything like that, just HD and some SD. I would imagine the Shield could cope with that.

Most content that gives problems is from the Oz IPTV Freeview streams, specifically, ABC and SBS. Not sure about the others as we watch little commercial TV. Also not Netflix or Hulu or anything like that. Another overseas source that often gives trouble is CBS. I usually use DNS4ME on anything geo-blocked. I also have a VPN, but it usually just makes the buffering worse.

I don’t get any buffering on NZ streams, just overseas. Until recently it has usually happened between about 9-10 pm, but it now seems to be happening at other times as well. When we were on RBI I thought it was just a congestion issue, and it still may be. We are now on a WISP, and our download speeds usually test out at around 29 Mbps. The lowest I have ever seen is 14 Mbps and that only happened once. It rarely drops below 20 Mbps.

What I don’t get is the difference between Android and Windows. When the buffering gets in the way, I can still get perfect streaming by switching to a Windows browser on an old laptop running Win 7. This is my question. Can anyone explain this difference? I have tested by playing the same content from the source site, both live streams and On Demand. On Android I get buffering. On Windows I don’t.

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askelon

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#2434432 8-Mar-2020 11:23

Try increasing the cache for Kodi. Not overly easy to do manually but this will give you instructions on how to install a plugin to do it. https://www.comparitech.com/kodi/stop-kodi-buffering-problems/ Skip down past the first part to the Ares Wizard info.

Rikkitic

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#2434436 8-Mar-2020 11:52

Thanks for the link. I have manually adjusted the cache size but it didn't seem to make a difference. The update may now have overwritten it. I'm not sure. But some of the information on the link is new to me and I will go through it.

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Spyware

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#2434482 8-Mar-2020 14:10

Australian channels have been bad (really unwatchable) for several weeks. I can watch 9 and 10 but not 7 at all today. Not a Kodi problem.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

Rikkitic

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#2434543 8-Mar-2020 15:14

Thanks. That's good to know.

Edit: Do you know the reason for this?

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driller2000

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#2434554 8-Mar-2020 15:47

OK - as others have said I am going to guess source issues and yes possibly cache set up in Kodi.

So possibly not a Shield issue?

Do you have other Android devices (tablet/ph) to check if the issue exists for these same sources in Kodi?

Ditto could you test the same sources in Kodi on Windows

Rikkitic

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#2434596 8-Mar-2020 16:38

I have been going through all this again today. I get very frustrated that I seem to keep running into things no-one else does, and my know-how is insufficient to properly understand what I am encountering.

I have two main Kodi devices. The Shield, from 2018, is in the lounge. A generic box running Android 6.0 is in the bedroom. Both are set up more or less the same, with Kodi 18.5 and many of the same repositories and add-ons.

Apart from the Australian IPTV streams, I have been running comparisons with CBS (specifically, The Late Show) because this is a site I have been having consistent problems with. I just spent some hours comparing Kodi on Android with Chrome on Windows. The devices are next to each other on a table. They both have the same LAN connection to a gigabit switch. On Kodi I am using the Lunatixz CBS add-on. With Chrome I am simply streaming straight from the CBS site. For today's tests both have been using the same VPN.

Both Android devices behave identically. As soon as the stream starts I get nearly constant, continuous buffering. Yet on Chrome the stream plays smoothly, with no buffering at all. Why such a difference?

Naturally this makes me suspect the add-on, but I also get this elsewhere, such as the Australian IPTV streams. Buffering on Kodi, smooth play on Chrome.

A note for @Spyware and maybe others: On the site of The One Who Must Not Be Named, which is the source of the Oz IPTV streams, there are also new add-ons that make it possible to adjust streaming quality and merge playlists. The quality adjustment only works with the playlist from that site. I have merged it with the Apsattv playlist so I can reduce resolution as needed on Oz streams only. In this way, Seven works fine for me. I notice that it doesn't play at all if set to 2.71 Mbps, but it plays fine at 1.65. This is a workaround solution of sorts. But I still wonder why the problem doesn't occur with a pc browser.

I should add that I don't have this problem all the time. Sometimes, usually in the day or late evening, these sites work perfectly, though they seem to be getting worse. Today, for example, I am getting constant buffering on CBS.

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Oblivian

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#2434643 8-Mar-2020 19:29

On Kodi I am using the Lunatixz CBS add-on. With Chrome I am simply streaming straight from the CBS site.

Your answer is likely staring you in the face. Addins and kodi streams are almost always backdooring the source to a direct feed (using broswer strings and faking it is a browser or diff location) or butt-about method of getting them (if not getting it from somewhere totally not the official server stream or local CDN caching) and going to be effected by numerous kinks in the chain. Especially being a wireless service with unknown backhaul or routing

Going to the official site in a browser.. well. You bypass so many factors

Apsattv

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#2434772 9-Mar-2020 00:32

What version o.s is your shield running? is the firmware current?

Google comes up with a lot of hits about issues with kodi buffering on Nvidia shield.

Have you tried streaming a video locally, say from a shared folder on your windows pc?

Apsattv

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#2434773 9-Mar-2020 00:33

also post a log

Jase2985

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#2434780 9-Mar-2020 05:29

install kodi on your PC and check, if is still doing it its likely a kodi issue with how it gets its stream

Rikkitic

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#2434940 9-Mar-2020 11:52

Well, this is turning into another rabbit hole. I tried to upgrade Kodi on my pc to match the Android version for comparison testing and now I don't have any PVR clients at all and I can't seem to get them back. Around and around and around it goes. I won't give up on this but I'm not in any hurry either. I am an old person and my capacity for this kind of nonsense is limited. I have to pace myself.

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