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I have been running version 12.2 (Frodo) on a Windows 7 box for about two years with no buffering problems. After upgrading to version 14.2 (Helix) I am seeing problems buffering 1080p MPG files loading through am SMB (smb:\\myserver\myvideos) connection. My Windows 7 box is hard wired to the server via a 100 Mbit LAN connection.
Buffering begins after a roughly minute then buffers again every minute or so after that. The buffering interruption is short, lasting just two or three seconds.
I have looked into Kodi's advanced settings for buffering, but I don't see how this would help unless I buffer the entire file.
Thanks in advance for any ideas that could lead me to a solution.
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i have the exact same issue... im playing my video files with no stuttering when using vlc medie player. My network is gigabit and i transfer 60-70mb /sec when copying files.
what i see is that the video played on kodi 14.2 sometimes stutter like slowmotion, the cache issue havent been seen since i switched to cable and use the 0 buffer settings in advanvedsettings.xml
BUT, the playback in kodi is really bad after upgrading from xbmc.
Its a shame...
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One thing to rule out is your network driver. Maybe upgrade that and see if it makes a difference. I used to get issues after a previous Kodi upgrade and the driver upgrade fixed streaming from SMB for me.
Kodi 16.1 on main HTPC Win 7 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, Quad Core 2.4 Ghz
3 x Pi2 running Kodi 16.1 (OSMC)
TVHeadend PVR server providing Freeview HD and Freesat HD
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There is a quick way to confirm if it is network related - just copy a video to your local desktop and let KODI play it from there.
Currently running KODI 14.2 on an Win 8.1 PC with the videos coming via SAMBA from a Win7 box over a wired Gigabit network. Never seen a hiccup.
Be careful fiddling with Network Settings too much. I remember once messing with my network cards and assuming my Ethernet Network Switch was full duplex. So made the mistake of setting that in the driver options which basically killed my network transfer rates. Once I let that back as Auto (or in this example it was non-duplex) then the whole network leaped to life again.
Watch out for other cruddy software on both KODI PC and Server PC. What is the Anti-Virus for example?
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rlg6767: The network driver is current.
BatterPudding: As you suggested, I copied the test file to a local drive and played it from there. It was better, there was no buffering, but their was some stuttering. Again, I am not seeing any problems when running 12.2 (Frodo).
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If the video is still stuttering locally then there has to be something else at play here. What else is running on the computer in the background?
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BatterPudding: The PC is dedicated to our home entertainment system. It doesn't run anything else, not even a virus checker.
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As a test, I installed 14.2 (Helix) on a fast quad-core machine on the same network as the problem PC. It worked flawlessly, even when serving over my SMB connection.
My guess is that the problem PC has just run out of steam. (It's a single core 3 Ghz Dell). The newer Kodi releases must make just enough additional demand on the PC to cause the problems described above.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
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One daft thing to check are the network cables. Make sure you don't just have damaged leads here. That's caught me out before.
Are you still running onboard graphics in the Dell? A cheap nVidia 610 should make a good difference. Worth a try and you can always return it to the shop if it makes no difference.
