WDTV Live vs AC RYAN Mini

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networkn

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#73481 14-Dec-2010 16:04

Hi There!

I have a WDTV Live HD with a N series Wireless Dongle. It's less than 5 meters from the WAP with full bars of signal rated "excellent".

I am having an issue whereby a 140MB mkv file won't play often through to the end without stuttering/stopping. I can play a 400-800MB DIVX/VXID file from start to finish always without a single issue. Is this likely a wireless issue or a device issue?

If it's a device issue what are the chances that a AC RYAN Mini with a N Wireless Dongle will fix this issue?

Is the Interface on the AC Ryan better?

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#417140 14-Dec-2010 16:28

Sounds like it's most likely a wireless issue to me, quick test would be to try playing over lan/ethernet cable and seeing if it has the same issue.

The bit rate of the video could be too high for real world wireless throughput in your environment.

mkv is just a container format so the type of video inside it can vary.

You can check the properties of the video in the mkv (encoding, bit rate etc) using with media info
http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en

Also what make/model is the wireless adapter?

networkn

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#417142 14-Dec-2010 16:34

My only confusion is around the fact a much larger file will play (800MB) if it's xvid? I would think 100MB file should be fine or am I misunderstanding the process? Is it an option to put a 8gb usb stick into this thing to cache onto?

Ragnor

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#417147 14-Dec-2010 16:51

h.264 encoded HD video in an mkv is going to have a higher bit rate than xvid encoded SD video in an avi

Wireless N using the 2.4ghz range in a mixed mode environment is probably only going to give you around 30Mbit/s throughput.

What was the bit rate of the mkv file in media info?

Also does it stutter if you put the 140MB mkv on a USB thumb stick and play it straight of the stick in the WDTV?

NzBeagle

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#417148 14-Dec-2010 17:00

Using my Xbox360 adapter on Wireless A was the only way I could stream mkv's. Wireless G wouldn't do it, and using A mean't I wouldn't have to upgrade to the newer adapter. But yeah, mkv's required more bandwith than g could offer in my wireless neighbourhood.

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#417171 14-Dec-2010 17:54

MKV's seem to be a lot more spiky in their bandwidth needs than older AVIs containing something simple like divx.

Also there are plenty of junk 802.11n adapters that are single band, single antenna so have a headline rate of 150Mbps, but deliver less than half that once overheads are taken into account.

Not all routers can really bridge at a decent rate from lan to wireless while doing other things like making your internet work, the CPUs are pathetic in them,

Richard rich.ms

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#417273 14-Dec-2010 21:14

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/6123/mediainfoy.png

vs

http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/4719/mediainfo2d.png

First one stutters, second one is fine.

richms

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#417281 14-Dec-2010 21:24

8 megabits of video, which is not what it peaks at and half a megabit of audio, vs 1 megabit video and .1 of audio.

If you play the first over a wired conection and watch the lan card in task manager you will probably see it go up to over 40 on several occasions around scene changes etc. Thats more than crap 802.11n can do, and way more than g can.

Richard rich.ms

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Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

networkn

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#417287 14-Dec-2010 21:32

Wow that sucks :( I just spent a fair bit of money getting wireless N all sorted because I had been told it would handle streaming 720p :( Would using a memory stick for caching help at all?

richms

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#417294 14-Dec-2010 21:40

I dunno, they dont seem to have many options for choosing buffer on those hardware players.

there are many network adapters out there that say they are 802.11n but are not, because they have one antenna so don't have any mimo goodness and only a single 150 megabit stream. They are also only 2.4GHz so competing with the guy 2 houses over heating a pizza etc.

Only devices like printers are supposed to be 1x1 and claim 802.11n compliance, but that has not stopped the chinese from whacking those chips into USB adapters and selling them as 802.11n 150 megabit devices. I hope you didnt spend too much on them

Richard rich.ms

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#417575 15-Dec-2010 12:35

networkn: I just spent a fair bit of money getting wireless N all sorted because I had been told it would handle streaming 720p :( Would using a memory stick for caching help at all?

If you were prepared to abandon wireless, what would almost certainly work is a pair of 200Mbps Powerline or Homeplug adapters. If you're not familiar with the products I mean something like the Belkin Surf Powerline HD or TP-Link TL-PA201 Powerline Ethernet Adapter. Those prices from Ascent look quite good, but they are quite possibly availabe cheaper elsewhere.

To understand what Homeplug and Powerline technology is about you could take a look at Wikipedia - Homeplug or the Homeplug Powerline Alliance FAQs

networkn

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#417581 15-Dec-2010 12:41

We tried that, we have RCD's etc so they don't work.

robjg63

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#417587 15-Dec-2010 12:50

networkn: Wow that sucks :( I just spent a fair bit of money getting wireless N all sorted because I had been told it would handle streaming 720p :( Would using a memory stick for caching help at all?

If you mean copying the file to a flash drive then playing it back locally, then at least you are taking the network part of the equation out. Should show you if the file itself is ok.

I have a playon HD mini - but my WAP is just wireless-G. Works fine for everything I have chucked at it - but I havent tried any HD files on it.

As the playon HD mini seems to do a pretty good job of upscaling video I havent really seen the need to source HD files.

The interface on the Playon HD is a work in progress - I cant say that I think its that great - but the player did seem to be able to play the most formats of any of the players when I bought it. I gather its due for a major interface overhaul - but the interface is tied to the SDK that realtek (the processor manufacturer) releases. AC ryan have some mockups of the new interface on their website - but the release date will probably be January.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

NzBeagle

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#417588 15-Dec-2010 12:55

After months of becoming accustomed to 720 mkv's I recently got given a few avi's, and only now do I appreciate the difference. I think your best bet for now is to transfer the files to a flash drive. And maybe in the future look at 5Ghz wireless networks.

networkn

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#417591 15-Dec-2010 12:57

Entirely defeats the purpose to manually transfer files to usb.

NzBeagle

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#417594 15-Dec-2010 13:11

Then definitely get a worthwhile router, don't be afraid to spend a bit of money, flash the firmware too if you want. Using dd-wrt with my 5ghz router I never have any issues streaming mkv's over the A band to my xbox. Or you could try a decent dual antenna 2.4ghz router with wireless N if you have that option. I didn't want to upgrade my xbox adapter if I could help it.

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