[RESOLVED] Umable to stream 4k from server, do I need a new NIC?


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Just jumped into the world of 4k and having issues trying to stream from Unraid to my TV (via an Amazon FireTV with Kodi, or straight from the share), Constant stuttering an buffering, really unusable.

 

From the System Profiller

Port eth0 Information  
Supported ports: [ TP MII ]
Supported link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: No
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Link partner advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Full
Link partner advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Link partner advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Speed: 1000Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Port: MII
PHYAD:  
Transceiver: internal
Auto-negotiation: on
Supports Wake-on: pumbg
Wake-on: g
Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
  drv probe ifdown ifup
Link detected: yes
MTU size: 9000 bytes

 

Should I try an INTEL NIC? This is a Realtek

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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Edited by rick.p
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Samsung 4k TV, can stream Amazon and Netflix 4k UHD flawlessly, can stream 4k 60gb/s 4k MKV from an attached USB3 drive perfectly\

Bypassed my entire network with a cat6 direct from my server to the gigabit stitch (TP-Link) on the TV, same results. tried with two different cat 6 cables

So yeah, I'm 4k ready.. back to the problem... NIC issue?

 

 

Edited by rick.p
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And a GB-Network cant??? Strange... O.o

Transfer rate 100-110MB/sek (800-880MBit) - more the enough for 4K :)

And by the way... what is your NIC??? What is your Hardware on unRAID??? And what means "bypassed" ? From where to where?

Tested with what and how?

I am running Streams with 85MBit over a partial 100Mbit network-segment without issues - Some 4k's have less then 50Mbit, so...

More infos needed...

Edited by Zonediver
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1 hour ago, Zonediver said:

And by the way... what is your NIC???

What is your Hardware on unRAID???

And what means "bypassed" ? From where to where?

Tested with what and how?

 

 

As I said, Realte on the motherboard . sys info below

 

normal network for this is

 

cable modem > Netgear Nighthawk X4S router - TRENDnet 8-Port Gigabit GREENnet Switch TEG-S80G > TP-Link AV1000 2-Port Gigabit Powerline Adapter, to bedroom > another TRENDNet Switch (same one) that feeds the Samsung 4K TV and Amazon Fire TV in that room.

 

a separate line from the router goes to another TRENDNet switch in the computer room that feeds two UNRaid boxes (both have the same issue with 4k streaming) another FIreTV.

 

'Bypassed = Unraid Server > 50 ft cat6 cable to bedroom switch.

 

Tested = Trying to play 4k files from the server with Kodi and direct play from the server, no go.. Netflix, Amazon UHD plays great and smooth (100mb/s cable line from Spectrum, Speedtest averages 101.5 mb/s which is going thru the Powerline adapters) or play streams from a 2tb USB WD Password plugged in the TV Directly, Flawless

 

Yes I'm double and tripled checked Cat 6 cables everywhere, replaced them all twice.

 

what other info needed???

 

SysInfo from the System Profiler

systemoverview.pngSystem Overview
Title Information
System Overview  
unRAID system: unRAID server Pro, version 6.3.5
Model:  
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. - F2A85XM-D3H
Processor: AMD A6-6400K APU with Radeon™ HD Graphics @ 3.9 GHz
HVM: Enabled
IOMMU: Enabled
Cache: L1 CACHE = 96 kB (max. capacity 96 kB)
  L2 CACHE = 1024 kB (max. capacity 1024 kB)
Memory: 8 GB (max. installable capacity 8 GB)
  Node0_Bank0 = 4096 MB, 1333 MHz
  Node0_Bank0 = 4096 MB, 1333 MHz
Network: eth0: 1000Mb/s, full duplex, mtu 9000
Kernel: Linux 4.9.30-unRAID x86_64
OpenSSL: 1.0.2k
P + Q algorithm: + 14488 MB/s
Uptime: 0 days, 2 hours, 36 minutes, 47 seconds
Motherboard
Title Information
Base Board Information  
Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Name: F2A85XM-D3H
Version: x.x
Serial Number: To be filled by O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
Features: Board is a hosting board
  Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis: To be filled by O.E.M.
Type:

Motherboard

Processor
Title

Information

 

Processor Information

 
Socket Designation: P0
Type: Central
Family: A-Series
Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
ID: 31 0F 61 00 FF FB 8B 17
Signature: Family 21, Model 19, Stepping 1
Flags: FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip)
  VME (Virtual mode extension)
  DE (Debugging extension)
  PSE (Page size extension)
  TSC (Time stamp counter)
  MSR (Model specific registers)
  PAE (Physical address extension)
  MCE (Machine check exception)
  CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported)
  APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported)
  SEP (Fast system call)
  MTRR (Memory type range registers)
  PGE (Page global enable)
  MCA (Machine check architecture)
  CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported)
  PAT (Page attribute table)
  PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension)
  CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported)
  MMX (MMX technology supported)
  FXSR (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported)
  SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions)
  SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2)
  HTT (Multi-threading)
Version: AMD A6-6400K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
Voltage: 1.3 V
External Clock: 100 MHz
Max Speed: 3900 MHz
Current Speed: 3900 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: Socket FM2
Serial Number: Not Specified
Asset Tag: Not Specified
Part Number: Not Specified
Core Count: 2
Core Enabled: 2
Thread Count: 2
Characteristics: 64-bit capable
Memory Summary

Title

 

Information
Physical Memory Array  
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 8 GB
Number Of Devices: 4

 

Ethernet
Title Information
Port eth0 Information  
Supported ports: [ TP MII ]
Supported link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: No
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Link partner advertised link modes: 10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
  100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
  1000baseT/Full
Link partner advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
Link partner advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Speed: 1000Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Port: MII
PHYAD:  
Transceiver: internal
Auto-negotiation: on
Supports Wake-on: pumbg
Wake-on: g
Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
  drv probe ifdown ifup
Link detected: yes
MTU size: 9000 bytes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

 

Have you tried without jumbo frames? Usually not needed for gbit and possible worse performance if not supported by all devices.

 

yes, same result.. actually started with a normal MTU of 1500. went to jumbo on one server left the other at 1500 (identical hardware, identical problem)

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4 hours ago, rick.p said:

...  can stream 4k 60gb/s 4k MKV from an attached USB3 drive perfectly ...

 

 

 

If you copy a video from UnRAID to the attached USB3 drive, does it then play without stuttering?   Just confirming this isn't some issue with the video file itself.

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Plays perfect from the USB, several of them

 

2 hours ago, garycase said:

 

 

If you copy a video from UnRAID to the attached USB3 drive, does it then play without stuttering?   Just confirming this isn't some issue with the video file itself

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Really strange.   You've tried normal frame sizes and have removed the powerline adapter but still have the issue.   Not sure what else to suggest.

 

A few thoughts ...

 

(a)  If I understand your setup correctly, the USB3 drive you're using is directly connected to the TV, so anything played from that does stream through the network.

 

(b)  Amazon and Netflix 4k UHD both play smoothly ... but these are likely far more compressed than your local files are, so the network demands won't be as high as for the files you're streaming from your server.    However, the speedtest results (100+ mb/s) certainly indicate you SHOULD have enough bandwidth for the streams.    Just for grins, if you plug your USB3 hard drive into the router and try to stream from that, is it still flawless?    [That would eliminate the network as a possible issue and confirm it's an issue with the servers.]   I'd test that with the powerline configuration, since that's your "normal" setup.

 

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@garycase 

 

A)  no the USB drive is on a USB port on the TV directly so it totally bypasses the network. Does it own reason of the drive with no network involved. 

 

B) I'll give that a try tomorrow. Good call I hadn't thought of that. 

 

@unrateable

 

I've considered that, you can look back up and see it's an AMDAMD A6-6400K I would think it has the horsepower to do X265 video. 

 

Come to think of it, I've never been able to copy FROM th he servers to my windows machine at greater than 44mb/s which makes me think it's my NIC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do you trancode or direct stream?

This CPU has a Passmark of around 2300 - much too weak for transcoding.

You need at least 2000 Passmarks for 1080p-Transcoding.

So if the CPU must do a Transcoding, you have found your Problem :)

If you directly stream, then the problem is somewhere else but it cant be the Network - you mentioned 44MB/sek (352MBit) - thats more then enough.

Edited by Zonediver
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The only constant in all the streaming from server tests has been the TRENDnet switch in the bedroom I'm going to get another switch today and swap that out and try the USB drive in the router suggested. With a new switch the path will be server > switch > FIRETV > TV

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One thing to look at is the connection speed of the TV.  Is it 100Mb/s or Gb.   I tend to suspect that it is 100Mb.  That means that your switch has to buffer the information that as the data rate is being converted on the fly.  Remember that the stuff coming from NetFlix and Amazon is far, far less than 100Mb.  So start with the switch,  You can pick up a cheap 5port switch these days for about $25US.   (I have switch at two media centers so that I only have to run on Cat6 cable to them.  This requires that a three stack of Gb switches because they are on a different floor than the servers and that floor has a central switch  to distribute the signals to the media center.  All of the devices at these media center are 100Mb.  BUT, I am not streaming 4K material.)  

 

Having said that, I had issues using a RealTek NIC with a AMD sempron back in the beta phase of version 6 with audio/video stuttering.  The solution found at that time was a Intel Network card.  A $25 one worked.   (You don't want one that is much cheaper than that because you need the on-board processor to do the work that the cheaper boards offload to the main CPU.)   But I would be surprised if that was the problem because I think the issue was caused by the reconfiguration of the Linux kernel by LimeTech to better accommodate the performance of Dockers and VM's.  The low-end AMD processors simply didn't have the horsepower to operate smoothly with those configuration changes.  (Intel seemed to be less affected by these changes.) Your CPU has about 1110 Passmarks per CPU (My Semprons were down around 750 Passmarks) and there were no reports of the issue with this CPU at that time.  Perhaps, the issue has raised its ugly head again with the increased demands of 4K...

 

By the way, I have had to reboot switches when streaming problems occur.  I tend to suspect that the software in these switches have memory leaks and occasionally they need to be cleaned up. 

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I would start to play the movie (stuttering and all) and then watch the disk read speed on the server. i use a tool called "bwm-ng - Bandwidth Monitor NG (Next Generation), a live bandwidth monitor". Not sure if that is something configured in Dynamix, but I use it a lot in my UI. I can watch the individual disk read and write speeds, as well as network utilization.

 

Once you see what the speed is, I would hook a laptop or something to that same network port that is going to the FireTv box, and try to copy a large file, and see what speed you are getting. If the speed is quite a lot faster doing the copy vs playing on the FIRE TV box, it would appear there is something with the FireTv box or its connection. You have at least proven that the server and network are capable of providing data faster than the FireTv is getting.

 

You might try playing the movie from the laptop using VLC or something that will play 4K (I'm not there yet, so not sure what players support 4k). Even if the laptop can't keep up, I'd still note the read speed from bwm-ng. If it is quite a bit faster than the FireTv box, attention points back to that being the problem.

 

I would then try reconnect the FireTv and play a 1080p video on the FireTv - the biggest one you have with HD audio and MPEG video. Look as the disk read speed. If it is FASTER than you were seeing on it earlier with the 4k video, you would think the FireTv box was having issues with the 4k video file itself.

 

 

  • Upvote 1
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@bjp999 has some good suggestions but needed to be tempered by some realizations. 

 

(1) As I recall, the packets size is 256 bytes and the problem is that the data stream has be consistent.  It can't have 'gaps' in it with the intention that the 'average' data rate is as fast as the required data steam because that implies that the receiver will have a large enough buffer that will bridge the gaps.  In crude example, you can't stack up packet requests and then send out a 8MB burst (In 256B packets) down a Gb connection and then wait a second (or more) to send another burst especially if your receiving connection is 100Mb.

 

(2) VLC now supports 4K video so that is an option. (You probably will want to test this using a 'local' file as I did note that were some issues actually doing this.)  But for a long time, I was having problems playing high data rate 1080p video using VLC using the network when I could play the same files just fine on other media plays (Netgear and WD set top boxes).    When I really started investigating the problem, I was really surprised at what I found.  It seems that older RealTek NIC drivers for Windows 7  were the culprit!  Updating the drivers on all THREE of my Windows 7 computers fixed the problem.  So be a bit careful about drawing conclusions from a simple test using VLC.

Edited by Frank1940
  • Upvote 1
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