Buffering Issues for HD Video Files when using SMB - [POSSIBLE FIX]
#1
I was very close to throwing in the towel for using XBMC to wirelessly stream video files from my laptop to my ATV2. The buffering for watching HD content (720p, h.264 MKV files) was unbearable.

If you are on Windows and using SMB, and have not tried WebDAV, I highly suggest you try this, as this is the first time I've ever experienced such smooth playback. I had originally assumed that my wireless network simply couldn't handle the data transfer speeds needed, but looks like the culprit was SMB.

The F.A.Q. as well as other forum members have suggested trying different sharing protocols if SMB was buffering but I had a bit of trouble finding a step by step guide on how to do WebDAV. Here is what I did:
1. From another post by xbmc forum member, blacklist, I followed these instructions to get WebDAV going on my Windows 7 machine: http://www.slickit.ca/2009/07/webdav-on-windows-7.html

There were a few parts missing from this tutorial that you need to add:
Turning on Directory Browsing. You can do this by In Features View, double-click Directory Browsing. In the Actions pane, click Enable.

I also used "Basic Authentication" instead of the article's suggested "Windows Authentication" since my version of Windows 7 doesn't have that option.

2. Firewall Rules. I wasn't able to connect through XBMC to the WebDAV server until I added some exceptions to the Firewall. Open Windows Firewall and select 'Advanced Rules'. Select 'inbound rules' on the left hand side, then 'new rule' from the right toolbar. Select port, click next, select tcp, and select 'specific ports'. Enter the port you are using (I'm using 80), click next. select 'allow the connection', click next. un-check 'Public'.

3. Mime types. I had to add the .mkv mime type to the WebDAV configuration otherwise these files wouldn't play. To do that, click the option "MIME types" in your IIS options and then click 'add...' in the right column. Input '.mkv' with the type as 'video/x-matroska'.

This created a web.config in the root of my sharing folder but for whatever reason the WebDAV server stopped working due to a permission problem with that file. I followed instructions to grant access to this file, like this: Right click it --> properties --> security --> edit --> add --> then type in yourcomputername/IIS_IUSRS and then save. Make sure this user you created has 'read' permissions.

4. Through XBMC, add the source, by selecting WebDAV then entering your computer's IP address and adding the username and password of your user.


Test a video now. Good luck!

Small disclaimer: I'm not an expert in networking or the inner-workings of the little tutorial I compiled. I'm just hoping it can solve the buffering for someone else.
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#2
Also, just as an FYI - if you share your files using this protocol, you won't be able to load them into your XBMC library. You'll have to use File Mode to select and play them.
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Buffering Issues for HD Video Files when using SMB - [POSSIBLE FIX]0