Linux [raspbmc] XOT-Uzg.v3: playing halts after 10 minutes after switching to fiber
#1
Recently we switched from ADSL 2 Mbit to fiber 30 Mbit.

During the ADSL times,
  • watching "uitzending gemist" (on-demand replays of Dutch public television broadcasts) via the XOT-Uzg.v3 plugin worked alright.
  • when watching Youtube videos via the Youtube plugin, playing often paused with a message "buffering", after which it would continue when the buffer was filled again.

Since the switch to fiber,
  • when watching "uitzending gemist", after 10 minutes the picture halts and the selection screen is shown (i.e., the screen where you can select the broadcast to watch)
  • watching youtube works fine now

To solve the "uitzending gemist" thing, I created the file ~pi/.xbmc/userdata/advancedsettings.xml with the following content:
Code:
<advancedsettings>
<network>
<cachemembuffersize>26777216</cachemembuffersize>
</network>
</advancedsettings>

The larger the value of cachemembuffersize, the longer you can watch uitzending gemist before it breaks off.

My question is then:
  1. is this indeed the right solution to the problem, or should I pursue another one?
  2. if this is the right solution, what is the optimal value to put in?


Thanks in advance for your feedback!
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#2
Hey Mhel,

give:
Code:
<cachemembuffersize>0</cachemembuffersize>
a try

That will push the cache off to your SD card instead of ram... it may give you the best of both worlds.

the catch:
1. this will stress your SD more, some people say that will cause it to fry... but ive been good for a month+ now
2. depending on if you compiled your own or used a pre-made image you may want to increase the size of your storage partition. the more you have there the more it can buffer.
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#3
Hi Apeg,

Thanks for your reply.
I'm afraid it didn't help, though: after a few minutes playing stops. Also xbmc was non-responsive (but I could ssh into the raspberry).
Is the storage partition you're talking about on filesystem level, or is it some directory xbmc uses? The box only has two partitions:

$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mmcblk0p2 15G 1005M 13G 8% /
/dev/mmcblk0p1 69M 6.5M 63M 10% /boot
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#4
that's the one:
/dev/mmcblk0p2 15G 1005M 13G 8% /

it looks like you're doing everything right... you have a 16gb SD and you have 15gb of it for "buffer" but if this is the output right before freezing the buffer is full. Which is odd, i know with my 8-10gb movies the buffer fills but not to death (on my 8gb cards). XBMC is smart enough to handle that, im wondering if the problem you're seeing is caused by uitzending gemist.

During the ADSL times:
- uitzending gemist worked "ok" because your connection was probably just about the same speed as what you needed to watch... so the buffer would never build up enough
- youtube needed to keep buffering because im assuming the quality was a little higher and your 2mb connection could not keep up

Since the switch to fiber:
- uitzending gemist is filling its buffer WAY faster than you watch it... so it builds and builds, my guess is your plugin "uitzending gemist " does not handle buffer maxes properly (or at least with the RPi)
- youtube working supports the assumption that uitzending gemist is your problem... and you can verify it

1. set your cachemembuffersize back to 26777216 and reboot, than watch the biggest video you can find (longer the better, the idea is to max your buffer via youtube). From there your (now ram stored buffer; all ~26mb*3) will max out, if the Pi chokes than im wrong and there is something else wrong with buffer handling... BUT i would guess its going to work perfect and that means the issues is specific to how uitzending gemist deals with a maxed buffer.

If that turns out to be the problem than your options are limited:
- get an updated version of uitzending gemist (probably already using the latest)
- try openelec (its a long shot as raspbmc usually plays with plugins better, but worth a shot)
- *terrible option*, if your router lets you limit the speed of specific devices bring the Rpi back down to 2mb. not only is this a bad option but also brings back your youtube problem... However if your goal is just to watch TV, it stands a chance

good luck,
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#5
Hi Apeg,

Thank you very much for your replies!
Indeed it appears to be the uitzending gemist plugin. For the moment we will just live with its limitations. Smile
Thanks again for your time.
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