[atv2] ATV2: worth it? how's the 1080p?
#31
Well, I gave it a shot but it didn't seem to work out for me. I installed the NFS server (note: if following that English guide linked to above, I believe you also need to add a user/group for "mobile" (501)). At first XBMC still couldn't connect, but then I rebooted my Revo and it saw the NFS server fine. Started up my movie and it played fine for a minute or so, then paused (just like SMB). It started back up again and seemed to play fine for a while. I thought, "great, maybe it'll play fine for the rest of the movie," but then a few minutes later it paused again. Then a couple of minutes later, it paused again. Then 40 seconds later, it paused again. So, it didn't seem to be any better than SMB for me. I'm on a recent nightly build (within the last two weeks), in case I hadn't mentioned it previously.

Has anyone seen dramatic improvements using NFS running under Windows XP?

Also, a possible noob question: I've got my XP server and ATV2 connected to the same switch (the XP server connection lighting green for gigabit), but this switch is connected to another switch, which is then connected directly to my Apple AirPort Extreme. Is the ATV2 connecting directly to the XP server, or does it have to travel up the line through to the AirPort Extreme, and then back down to the XP server? Just wondering if it might be better for me to connect my XP server directly to the AirPort Extreme. That should be a fairly painless test, so I'll give that a shot later.
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#32
Scott R Wrote:Also, a possible noob question: I've got my XP server and ATV2 connected to the same switch (the XP server connection lighting green for gigabit), but this switch is connected to another switch, which is then connected directly to my Apple AirPort Extreme. Is the ATV2 connecting directly to the XP server, or does it have to travel up the line through to the AirPort Extreme, and then back down to the XP server? Just wondering if it might be better for me to connect my XP server directly to the AirPort Extreme. That should be a fairly painless test, so I'll give that a shot later.
FWIW, I just tried this and it looks to have solved my problem. I connected my Revo (file server) directly to the AirPort Extreme. The ATV2 was still connected via a long run to one switch, then into another switch, then into the ATV2. I re-tried all three methods: FTP access still gave me the same problem (slowdowns/dropped frames), but *both* SMB and NFS seemed to play smoothly with no pauses. The surprise there was that SMB was now working fine, so I'm inclined to shut down the NFS server service and just stick with SMB. But is there a way for me to do some sort of speed test to see what sort of difference I'm getting in throughput with my SMB vs NFS connections?
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#33
I'm a bit confused. Many of you say that streaming 1080p video content works flawlessly on your Apple TVs and many don't. Are you referring to Apple TV 2 or the older version? Does it work wirelessly or wired only?

Specifically, I'm interested in streaming 1080p MVK files from my NAS over 802.11n
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#34
davomyster Wrote:Specifically, I'm interested in streaming 1080p MVK files from my NAS over 802.11n

1. The Apple TV 2 can Play 1080p but the output is limited to 720p
2. I think it is not a good idea to play 1080p or 720p files over WLAN n. The data transfer is big even for WLAN n. But feel free to try.
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#35
I have zero buffering for 720p content over 2.4ghz 802.11n. I only get occaisonal buffering on 1080p content, and only when a second stream 720p or above is playing elsewhere in the house at the same time.
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#36
OK so it looks like the ATV2's performance is spotty at best. Others claim to have had success with ATVs, so could they have been referring to the original ATV?

Thanks for the helpful responses!
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#37
IsleOfMan Wrote:I have zero buffering for 720p content over 2.4ghz 802.11n. I only get occaisonal buffering on 1080p content, and only when a second stream 720p or above is playing elsewhere in the house at the same time.

Lucky man Wink
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#38
I just jailbroke my ATV2 last night and installed XBMC as soon as it was done. I'm currently able to stream 720p .mkv's and 1080p .mkv's almost 100% flawlessly. Occasionally upon first playing a 1080p .mkv, I will have a buffer, but it's completely smooth from there on. Subsequent plays of 1080p content will not have this buffer.

I'm running XBMC with the Boxee-esque UI. My network is utilizing a Linksys WRT54GL, stock hardware, modded with the most current Tomato firmware. My transmit power is boosted to 70mW, up from the stock 42mW. The ATV2 is located ~10 feet from the router, through 2 walls.
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#39
IsleOfMan Wrote:I have zero buffering for 720p content over 2.4ghz 802.11n. I only get occaisonal buffering on 1080p content, and only when a second stream 720p or above is playing elsewhere in the house at the same time.

avcables Wrote:I'm currently able to stream 720p .mkv's and 1080p .mkv's almost 100% flawlessly. Occasionally upon first playing a 1080p .mkv, I will have a buffer, but it's completely smooth from there on. Subsequent plays of 1080p content will not have this buffer.

Don't forget that mkv is simply a container - it says nothing about the video codec, audio codec, compression or anything. What data rate are your files encoded at? Which codec / profile / etc? Lines of vertical resolution is only a small part of the equation.

If folks are going to talk about what they can / can't do - please, at least make the information useful. Thanks.
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[atv2] ATV2: worth it? how's the 1080p?0