[stingray88]

So currently I have an AppleTV2 setup with the newest version of XBMC. Then I have all of my media on an Ubuntu 10.10 desktop. I setup my media drives to share via SMB, as it's extremely easy to setup (there's a gui), and I can connect to the ATV2 just fine. Most videos will stream without an issue. I can play HD .mkv files no problem... until they get to be too large of files, and then I run into stuttering and frame drops.

For instance I've got one show where the episodes are 1 hour, h.264 .mkv at about 1.10GB per episode. Those will play just fine without an issue. Then I have another show where the episodes are again, 1 hour, h.264 .mkv at about 2.20GB per episode. Those videos will not play fine at all.

From what I've been told my issue is that SMB is too slow to be streaming these videos over, and that I should be using NFS. However no matter how hard I try, I can't figure out how to set up NFS. I'm sure most linux users will cringe when I say this... but I wish there was an easy gui like there is for SMB...

So anyways, I'm looking for assistance or better suggestions. If you know how to setup NFS, your help would be greatly appreciated... or if you think you know a better protocol to use, feel free to suggest it!

Thanks for any help!

[jlor]

Memphiz has some decent pointers for NFS on linux here:
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Net...ystem_(NFS)

There's even a link for a german howto guide for ubuntu (you may be able to use it via google translate if you're not a german speaker).

Or you can have a look at these steps for installing (and configuring) an NFS server under ubuntu linux: here

Remember, if you want to use these NFS shares on an Apple TV2 you need some of the flags mentioned on the wiki page in your /etc/exports file.

[stingray88]

I already tried using the guide on the XBMC wiki to no avail. It's not very in depth/not a very good guide. It doesn't even state what exactly you need to put into XBMC... (aside from the IP address, what would I put for remote path and is the default port right?)

I'll check out the Ubuntu wikipage you posted...

[jlor]

Regarding what to input into XBMC:

If you have shared the folder "/path/to/folder" on your NFS server with IP 192.168.1.2, you would input:
IP: 192.168.1.2
Path: /path/to/folder

Port as suggested.

Or you can just add the following string (without going through browse etc.):
nfs://192.168.1.2/path/to/folder


In addition, another user in here mentioned syncing his video/picture to sound cut down his lag over smb because his TV series were in 24fps and his TV tried to do 60fps. So you may want to try this before spending too much time on NFS.
Settings -> Video -> Sync (sync for audio):

Hi had the same issue. Double check for samba/FTP performance. You could then check the frame rate of your content. I mostly watch 25 Hz content (US TV series) on my Samsung TV to which the ATV2 established a 60Hz connection. I then set Video Sync on in XBMC settings and set it to "audio" which totally eliminated any issues.

[stingray88]

In addition, another user in here mentioned syncing his video/picture to sound cut down his lag over smb because his TV series were in 24fps and his TV tried to do 60fps. So you may want to try this before spending too much time on NFS.
Settings -> Video -> Sync (sync for audio):

You mean on XBMC, under System -> Settings -> Video -> Playback

And then check "Sync playback to display"
then A/V sync method = Audio clock
?

That is the only sync settings I could find.

[jlor]

You mean on XBMC, under System -> Settings -> Video -> Playback

And then check "Sync playback to display"
then A/V sync method = Audio clock
?

That is the only sync settings I could find.

That sounds like the one yes.
I'm not really near an XBMC system right now, but it sounds about right.

[stingray88]

By typing in "sudo exportfs" I was able to confirm that my ubuntu box is indeed sharing the folder I want. However XBMC fails to connect to it.

I put the IP address under server address, folder path under remote path, and left the port default. No luck.

Also, I tried syncing to the audio clock and using SMB... no change in the terrible lag.

[jlor]

How do your entries in /etc/exports on the server look?

[stingray88]

/media/[mediafolder] *(rw,all_squash,insecure)

[jlor]

Hmm, I'm not sure those ['s and ]'s are good in the folder. It may have to be:
/media/\[mediafolder\] *(rw,all_squash,insecure)

At this point I can't help much more.. I'm not too hot at debugging NFS -- and a bit too tired to think straight right now

[stingray88]

UPDATE: NFS is working now... but... it does not solve the problem. Large HD video still stutter and lag... does anyone have suggestions?

[jlor]

Now it may be a good idea to read through this: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=92480

It can be a number of things that cause the stutter. A full debug log as described in above link would be very useful.
And some media info on a file that causes stutter (bitrate, size, codec, container, resolution, etc. ).

[stingray88]

Platform: AppleTV2
Version of iOS/ATV: iOS 4.3 /w Apple TV software 4.2.1
XBMC Build version and date compiled: XBMC PRE-11.0 Git:20110623-62171b3 (Compiled : Jun 23 2011)
Install Method: apt-get
FULL Debug Log:http://pastebin.com/ZqFrxY8u (Log runs from when I turned on debugging, through a test of a file for 30-45 seconds, and then I turned off debugging again)

Detailed Instructions to Reproduce the Problem: These .mkv or .avi files stutter insanely, and now the audio won't play at all over SMB and NFS. The AppleTV and Ubuntu box that hosts the media are both wired on a gigabit network. The .mkv files that are detailed below here will go down to about 3.8FPS...

These files play absolutely fine locally on multiple computers. Also, through the same networked setup I can play .mkv files that are smaller in size (1GB - 1 hour video, compared to 2GB - 1 hour video).

Playback Problems:
Size: 2.00 GB
Container: .mkv
Video Codec: x264, L4.1
Framerate: 23.976 fps
Bitrate: 4800kbps-5500Kbps
Resolution: 1280x720
Audio: DD5.1 English @ 384kbps
Source: 1080i HDTV DD.1 MPEG2

[stingray88]

So basically what it's come down to is that XBMC can't handle an HD file simply if the bitrate is higher? That sucks a lot.

[jlor]

I'm not sure what the problem is here.. I googled a bit on the errors you're seeing in the logfile, and it seems it may be related to the audio codec.

Some people have reported the same problem with audio encoded in FLAC.. But that isn't the case here.
You'll have to wait until some of the clever people spot this

Or you can play around with re-encoding the audio and see if that helps. Or play with settings.. I don't know