Popcorn Hour A110

[18pcs]

I had the WDTV Live second version and just upgraded to new one with WIFI. I have been having streaming problems wired(homeplugs) or wifi (full signal strength). I even have a access point in the room where the WDTV is located and the WIFI signal is excellent. I have tried everything and cannot stream without some stutter or freeze.

I was thinking of taking a plunge and getting a PCH . The A110's are available very cheap on the internet however I dont mind spending a bit more and getting a system which would be able to read all file formats and would not get outdated so soon. I would put a HDD in the PCH try to use it as a NAS.

I would welcome suggestions from all users if the A110 is sufficient for me as of now. I have a Panasonic TM 700 and would need to play these files also. Or should I go in for the C200 ? Please advice , really need it. Thanks

 

[next010]

You know you can attach a USB HDD to the WDTV Live and share it out over the network, that might be a way to avoid the network problems your having by copying the content to the local drive instead of streaming over the network.

The A110 is a much older chipset, not sure if it would handle the 50/60fps videos generated by the TM700.

If streaming over wireless you might want to consider using a DLNA server if your NAS has one or if using a PC install Serviio or Mezzmo to act as one, browsing via SMB/NFS over wifi incurs a performance hit. Also some general things you can do, make sure the wireless network name has no odd characters or symbols in it just one word, change the channel the network operates on and set the network to 802.11n mode only not mixed mode however that means only 802.11n devices can connect to the network.

There's only so much you can do though with wireless, so many other things can interfere with it. DLNA may also help with the homeplugs, if you have used cheap homeplugs they don't always work out so great but I would go with the USB drive attached to the WDTV Live as the best option.

 

[18pcs]

Thank you very much for you elaborate reply.

I have connected a Transcend 500gb and copy files back and forth from the NAS to this disk. It works fine, but then I loose the convenience of not having to copy files back and forth.

I have a Synology DS211j nas drive with a Media Server .
I have tried today the Media Server ON option which created three folders Video, Music and Photo on the NAS drive. I then copied all the video files into this folder from another folder on the NAS. The streaming seems to have improved a lot, I would say almost perfect.
But the No Storage found Message keeps coming up and the Media Library vansihes. Is there any way I can overcome this problem.



What is your opinion of the Popcorn A200 or the C200 or any other if you can please suggest. If I cannot get the WDTV working them I will change to something else. Maybe spend a bit more but have peace of mind, the present system is very frustating specially when I gather the family around to watch and the freezing starts.

 

[bubblegum57]

Try installing the serviio package for the synology

Serviio 0.6.2 package for Synology NAS « PC LOAD LETTER

 

[18pcs]

Just installed Serviio, will try it out and revert, thanks for the suggestion

 

[18pcs]

I think my problem is solved. I just watched two movies without a stutter and freezing yet. Will try higher resolution movies later to see if they play. Thank you very much next010 and bubblegum57 for guiding me in the right direction.

 

[18pcs]

Update after a week. With all the constant experiment , the HDD on the Synology got corrupted and I had to buy a new one and start from scratch.
In short lost my full library, however reinstalled Serviio again and did everything properly.
Sat down to watch a movie and the dreaded freezing started.
Back to square A, in short Serviio did not help me. Now what should I do ? Shall I try to install Twonky media ?

 

[next010]

That is unusual, cant think why performance would be different unless the Synology has a problem with the HDD ?

Could there be a fault with the NAS, a drive usually doesn't just go corrupt on it's own. What did Synology tech support say if you contacted them. If you didn't I would do a factory restore and erase the firmware/filesystem from the NAS, you will need backups to restore from of course. Then install the current firmware again and see how things progress from there, use the stock Synology DLNA server as well.

 

[18pcs]

The HDD kept searching and not responding, so I switched the power off and that could have caused the problem. Nothing to do with the NAS. I have bought a new one and installed it in the NAS but with WIFI am still getting problems.

Do you want me to use both Serviio as well as the Synology media server ? What about media library on the WDTV live. Shall I enable that ?

 

[next010]

Try changing the channel the wireless works on just in case, it's worth a shot at least.

The media library on the WDTV Live cant be used with DLNA sources so don't use that. Does the stuttering happen with the Synology media server and Serviio, you've tried both ?

If the stuttering does to happen to both then I couldn't say why the experience is different. This might be where it is actually useful to contact Synology tech support, describe the problem using the built in media server (not Serviio, disable it and leave Synology media server running) so they will help you. They can look at the logs of the NAS and see if there are any problems happening on it's side.

The only other avenue I can suggest is NFS which is like SMB but delivers higher transfer speeds, however Synology's NFS doesn't work but who knows you might get lucky;

To enable NFS try this
1) Make sure jumbo frames are disabled on your Synology NAS.

2) Login to Disk Station Manager
* Go to Users
* Select the guest account then select edit and deselect the box for "disable this account" and click ok.
* Go to Shared Folder.
* Select target folder (e.g videos) and click on Privileges Setup.
* For local users admin & guest tick the boxes for read/write privileges.

3) Still in Disk Station Manager
* Go to Win/Mac/NFS and enable the NFS service.
* Go back to Shared Folder then select the target video (e.g videos) and click on NFS Privileges.

4) Under NFS Privileges set the following
Hostname or IP = *
Privilege = Read/Write
Root Squash = No Mapping

5) With the changes made reboot your NAS. When adding NFS share on media player you can leave username/password empty with guest permissions enabled.

On the WDTV Live browse the "Network Servers" section and it might see the NFS server, you will know if it does if you see @eaDIR folders appearing in your directories as NFS shows these otherwise hidden folders on the NAS.

 

[bubblegum57]

I bought a Synology nas 212j, to use Serviio. But although I like serviio, I am disappointed. It doesn't show fanart.

Just copying files to & from the nas is slow, & sometimes fails, I then have to restart the copying.

To eliminate network issues, run a CAT cable direct from the NAS. Wireless is just not reliable enough, home plugs are better, but as I said, try a direct connection.

Try the inbuilt, Media server, there has been a recent upgrade, it might play most of your movies.

I have a Himedia 600 with xtreamer firmware, so generally use that, unless I'm playing.

I also use Plex which has an app on my Samsung tv, but that needs my pc to be on. At the moment, its not possible to install plex on the 212j.

From reading this forum for sometime now, I have come to the conclusion that nothing is perfect, but, it seems that the Popcornhour & Dunes are the best. I am also thinking of building an htpc.
Possibly a Revo,Zotac, or Lenov q180 would be better than any media player.