[musasabi]

I've got a Debian server running RAID-Z2 (RAID 6 via ZFS) connected to my gigabit router. On the other end of this setup, there's an AMD A10-7860K powered HTPC with an SSD running OpenELEC 6.0.3 (the generic 64 bit build). I know my LAN is capable of ~117MB/s transfer rates, through the same switch/same cables/etc.

However... when I fire up a Blu Ray ISO stored on the RAID server via Kodi on the HTPC, I get intermittent jutters and dropped frames(?). The audio playback is smooth and the video is crisp, with only a very small hitch maybe once or twice a minute.

While monitoring eth0 on the server, I see between 30 and 45Mb/s during playback (in keeping with the bitrate listed). Similarly underwhelming, monitoring CPU usage on the HTPC shows me 1-7% utilization on all four cores, but never more. RAM usage hangs around 500MB.

So... any insights as to why there's that occasional stutter?

[astropolak]

I would say first transfer one of your ISO's to the actual Kodi box. measure the transfer speed.., if more than 20MB/s NAS or switch gear is not the problem.
You may also try playing the ISO from the copied local image.
Your next step would be to provide logs so people smarter than me can give you more educated advice.

RGDS

[musasabi]

Ah, that's a fun idea. Thank you. I'm confident about the transfer, but local playback would indeed isolate things nicely. I'll see what I can find and then report back with debug logs if necessary. =)