Does this sound like a plausible fix?
#1
OK so I have XBMC 13 (had the same problem on XBMC 12 though) running on a HTPC (Windows 8.1), playback is flawless 99% of the time, however on occasion (I'd guess, maybe once every 3-5 movies) the playback will freeze for about 5 seconds, stop playback and then go back to the movie title page.

At this point I can press play > resume from last viewed time to carry on watching the movie. It happens with movies of all file sizes.

I firmly believe this is a problem with my network, and not Windows, XBMC or my hardware. (apologies if this is the wrong section)

My movies are stored on NAS drives, and my HTPC is connected to my network via Home-plugs/power-line adaptors (Devolo 500MB/s)

I have drawn a network map in paint, which hopefully explains my set-up a lot easier than me writing it out.

Image

I am only experiencing this problem in the living room, the set-up running in the bedroom never has any connection problems, but it uses VLC as a media player.


Today I tried swapping the home-plug/power-line adaptor in the living room over to a different one (again, Devolo 500MB/s), as I'm hoping it's just dipping out for whatever reason.


Obviously I can watch some movies, but considering it only happens on occasion, I could be watching for several hours.

Is there anything else I can try? My Wireless router is pretty old (802.11g) but considering I use home-plugs/power-line adaptors, it shouldn't matter should it?

I should add at this point, that my network knowledge is limited, so please bear with me on this.

Thanks
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#2
A few questions:

1) Is your router 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Mbs?
2) Is your switch in the living room 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Mbs?
3) Did you try going directly to the HTPC in your living room, bypassing the switch? Same issues?
4) Are both your NAS 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Mbs? How about the HTPC and the Bedroom PC?


Just curious if you are overloading your network anywhere. It is hard to do, but if multiple devices are consuming at the same time it could happen..
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#3
Thanks for your reply.

I don't think I'm overloading the network, I usually watch movies when it's just me at home, where nothing/no one else is using the network (no downloads or anything like that)

My router is 10/100, the switch, HTPC and bedroom PC are all 10/100/1000

The NAS drives are WD MyBookLive and WD MyCloud drives.
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#4
Did you try going directly from your power line adapter to your HTPC in the living room?

Also, does it happen with movies stored on either NAS, or just one?
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#5
yeah, both NAS drives.

I watched a movie tonight without any dips. I'll try and get through a few more and see if I still have the same problem since swapping over the powerline adaptors.

If I do then i'll go straight from the powerline to the HTPC
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#6
If you can try running a temp Ethernet cable from router directly to the HTPC and see if that can rule out the router. I have a feeling it is the power line adapters, if you have dirty power it may be disrupting the signal.

I have the same problem but I am on wireless, every so often the signal drops out and my movie will pause for a few seconds and then go back to the library. This doesn't happen enough for me to worry about it though
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#7
Unfortunately running an Ethernet cable isn't possible.

I'm hoping it was just the powerline adaptor. The one connecting my router and NAS drives is a Devolo Mini 500MBs

I bought a twin kit and was using the other one in the living room, when I build my bedroom PC I bought 2 extra Devolo 500MBs adaptors (not mini ones)
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#8
I was saying run a temp cable for testing.
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#9
I know, and I was saying it's not possible.
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