To anyone looking at the Popcorn hour (A100/A110) - unRaid combination and are worrying about various bit rates moving files around, keep this in mind:

 

The transfer rates a Popcorn Hour can handle over various protocols are:

 

1. NFS ~38 Mb/s

2. SMB ~38 Mb/s

3. Http ~42 Mb/s

4. Internal hard drive ~42 Mb/s

 

Notice #4.  Even with the file sitting right there inside the box, the PCH (A100/A110) can't handle any higher of a bit rate, so no network solution in the world capable of 42+ Mb/s is going to benefit it.  The internal guts of the circuit board just can't handle it.  The new PCH (not released yet) has Gigabit ethernet and a faster processor, so one could handle more throughput.

 

For the PCH, unRaid should NEVER be the bottle neck unless you have some serious networking issues.

 

It'll do peaks higher than that with the latest firmware. Basically any Blu-ray works, and you won't need any higher bitrate than that on a Blu-ray.

Ugh I wish Tom would get rid of these spam bots... now they're bumping old threads.

So, will the new PCH work better?

 

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=productspec&item_id=12

 

My plan was to get the unRAID setup and get the new PCH but I found this thread.  That's still my plan but I would prefer no skipping. ;-)

I have exactly the same question--will these PCH issues being discussed be alleviated by the gigabit ethernet on the new C-200 model?

what are "these issues"?  So far, "skipping" is a result of encoding with the wrong settings that require excessive processing capbility (usually with no visual difference).  Ever since they bumped the samba performance up to near 40 MBit, it plays most everything I throw at it outside of the "killa sample."  Again, the current PCH can't process 100 Mbit/s of data, so even if you could magically make the older/current A-100's or A-110's have gigabit network interfaces....you still would be limited by the internal guts operating at less than 100 Mbit/s.

 

Server ----> Network -----> PCH -----> TV/Amp

 

Currently, the bottleneck is the sigma chip inside the PCH, unless your network is 10 MBit or your server is crazy slow (read: not unRaid). As far as

My plan was to get the unRAID setup and get the new PCH but I found this thread.  That's still my plan but I would prefer no skipping. ;-)

technically, a C-200 could only make it worse since unRaid can currently give a PCH data faster than it can handle it.  Theoretically, if the new C-200 could process data at a phenomenally higher rate, you could possibly handle data faster than unRaid could dish it out, but I highly doubt it.

 

 

 

Coming from me the complete XBMC fanboy the killa sample is essentially nonsense, representative of nothing IRL and not a good example of anything other than encoding that never happens.

 

My XBMC HTPC can play it but its massively overspecced

I have exactly the same question--will these PCH issues being discussed be alleviated by the gigabit ethernet on the new C-200 model?

 

Gigabit is 1,000mbps.

A-100 ethernet is 100mbps

Max BD rate is 40-55mbps. This is less than 100mbps.

 

What issues? I have 500 full BD rips (not recodes) and they all play on my A-110.

 

The highest bitrate is a Beyonce BD that peaks over 55mbps, and the PCH plays it.

To get all BDs playing, I use llink (http server) on unRAID.

Don't ask me to explain this, because it would only be wild conjecture as I don't know WHY it works... but it *does* work.  I've seen it with my own eyes.

 

Put a second switch (that is 10/100 only) between the PCH and unRAID.

 

Instead of:

 

  PCH === switch (10/100/1000) ==== unRAID.

 

do

 

  PCH === switch  (10/100) === switch  (10/100/1000) ==== unRAID.

 

I had an old Linksys 10/100 lying around and used it as a test when I saw a post recommending it on some forum.  I was astounded.... with the second switch in place, the PCH worked flawlessly, eve on the highest bitrate hidef content.

 

I can guess at a couple of reasons th is works, but as I said... it would be pure conjecture.  WTF... it works!

 

PCH A110 Elephants Dream playback (.ts) [email protected], 40 Mbps CBR (with no zero stuffing) in a 48 Mbps Transport Stream

 

NFS-TCP has a cap of around 46Mbps

NFS-UDP has a disappointing cap of a round 10Mbps (possibly due to my gigabit switch? )

SMB has a cap of around 50Mbps

myiHome Server has a cap of around 70Mbps

 

 

i know this is a unRAID forum, but thought this info might help you out.

 

[HOWTO] http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/freenas/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4326

Don't ask me to explain this, because it would only be wild conjecture as I don't know WHY it works... but it *does* work.  I've seen it with my own eyes.

 

Put a second switch (that is 10/100 only) between the PCH and unRAID.

 

Instead of:

 

   PCH === switch (10/100/1000) ==== unRAID.

 

do

 

   PCH === switch  (10/100) === switch  (10/100/1000) ==== unRAID.

 

I had an old Linksys 10/100 lying around and used it as a test when I saw a post recommending it on some forum.  I was astounded.... with the second switch in place, the PCH worked flawlessly, eve on the highest bitrate hidef content.

 

I can guess at a couple of reasons this works, but as I said... it would be pure conjecture.  WTF... it works!

 

I would guess (and probably you have too) that the slower chips in the 10/100 switch are adding a buffering effect, which would tend to smooth the transmission out.  I suspect the PCH is producing a 'bursty' stream, with sharp highs and long gaps, and the gigabit switch is quick enough that it is 'passing' the 'burstiness' along, passing the spikes and gaps along.  But the slower switch forces a more even flow, by adding more latency to packets within the higher traffic rates of the spikes, which will tend to slow them down, and thereby decrease the size of the gaps.  A more even flow is much better from a media streaming standpoint.

I got my PCH(A110) Monday and at first I had issues streaming content but after a firmware update everything is working great. A few movies(7%) don't stream because I'm using SMB and they are very high bitrate but most work fine.