Buffering media files over network w/NAS ?
#1
I put together a Android Odroid C2 a few months ago. I have a 15TB NAS that has mostly .mkv & .avi files
Running a 2 bay Qnap TS212 NAS and Kodi 16.1 with all firmware updated.

All the files stream over the wired network but buffers for a few moments occasionally which is EXTREMLY annoying.

I cleared the KODI cache on Android, but still buffers.

I thought that clearing the cache would work, but apparently not.

Any suggestions??

(Again, its just my .mkv files that are going over a hardwired network 25ft Cat5 cable).


Thanks !!
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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#2
It could be a number of things. What are the hardware specs of your Android Odroid C2? How did you encode your .mkv files?

EDIT: Disregard spec question. I looked it up. Nice little unit.
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#3
(2016-10-31, 21:40)JxPx Wrote: How did you encode your .mkv files?

The .mkv files are standard. When I had my previous system with the files living on a HTPC (not on network), they played perfectly. Now over the network, there is some buffering.
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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#4
(2016-10-31, 21:48)Shane1 Wrote:
(2016-10-31, 21:40)JxPx Wrote: How did you encode your .mkv files?

The .mkv files are standard. When I had my previous system with the files living on a HTPC (not on network), they played perfectly. Now over the network, there is some buffering.

So the only thing you changed was serving the media over your NAS. Have you tried a different cable? How do they play over wifi?
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#5
What protocol are you using?
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#6
What do you mean by Protocol??

I am pointing kodi to the network NAS using the onscreen gui.

on the KODI settings, I have free memory of 994MB
on the Filesystem, I have
Size: 1.0G
Used: 0.5G
Avail: 0.5G
Storage/emulated: 12.6 G, Used: 3.7G, Avail: 8.9G
Internal Storage: Size: 0.1G, Used: 0.0G
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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#7
(2016-11-02, 17:41)Shane1 Wrote: What do you mean by Protocol??

File sharing protocol..... How are you pointing Kodi to your NAS? SMB, Samba, NFS, etc...
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#8
The default caching is quite conservative. Try the example here to see if it helps

http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO%3AModify_th...#Example_4
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#9
I will change the settings in my advancedsettings.xml file later today to Example #4 (as explained above).

Additionally, I switched the file protocol from SMB to NFS which helped a bit.



Although, I ran into a small glitch and maybe someone knows the solution.

On my Qnap TS212 NAS, I changed the Settings to recognize NFS shares. When I add files on KODI, I can see the Root public folder, and can then chose this folder. From there, I can see a Movie Folder and a TV Shows folder, but KODI doesn't allow me to then chose either of these folders.

Anybody know why this is happening?? When the protocol is NFS, I cant get past the root folder??
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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#10
NFS on Android is weird, for some reason. Part of it is making sure the server is using a higher range of ports, but NFS seems to have strange quirks on Android in general.
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#11
The protocol you use can have a bearing on streaming, SMB has quite a bit of 'overhead' making it more bulky for streaming, NFS is a lot better and can be tuned as well.
I used to use NFS but when I switched my file sharing to my router directly I moved to FTP which I've not had an issue with so far.

But yeah as said buffering is quite conservative and I upped all mine on the Amazon FireTv2 I use.
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#12
How can I tune NFS ? I am still getting a bit of buffering even after I have changed the cache settings in the Advancedsettings.xml file

I'm going to get rid of the Qnap TS 212 as its basically an introductory NAS and get something better. I need a 4-Bay NAS anyways so I'll get something that has better transfer speeds.

If I build another Kodi machine maybe getting a Raspberry Pi might be an improvement over a Android based system ??
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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#13
Try increasing the cache size further. The example I linked is intended as a safe setting for 1GB devices.

How big is your video file? Is the bit rate really high? I don't think Kodi requires very powerful NAS. I'm still using an old Dlink dns321 and its doing fine over smb. My videos are typically 1GB to 6GB.
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#14
Couple of articles on NFS http://nfs.sourceforge.net/nfs-howto/ar01s05.html https://lucatnt.com/2013/09/avoid-stutte...pberry-pi/
I used to run NFS from a Win10 PC running HaneWin.

Since a few months a go I moved the 'sharing' part of my kodi setup to a HDD plugged into my router using FTP as the protocol. It connects on the ethernet over power line stuff and performs great.
Your just streaming a file I don't think you need an 'uber' NAS for this.

This goes to Kodi (SPMC) running on an AFTV2 with tweaked cache settings.
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#15
My video files are rather large at about 12GB. I have 15TB of storage, so I don't mind the larger files.

I'll check out the links that you posted above though!
KODI 16.1 on Odroid C2, Android OS, Roku Clients w/ Plex, Dell R710 Rack Server w/ 40TB storage
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