[greenfish]

What's going on with xbmc lately? Ever since i did an upgrade of my htpc system to xbmc-svn 28276-1 i'm constantly getting reminded xbmc needs to do this god awful annoying "buffering" message everytime a movie boots. But that's not the worst thing, no... in the middle of the movie stream it pauses the movie to display this nice little message "buffering".

I've never had issues like this before using the stable version of xbmc or mediaportal on windows. Oh yeah my htpc is strictly linux (archlinux) running xbmc and my server is also linux along with my router (linux fw). The only windows thing I have left is my gaming laptop, and of course i've tried using my m8's computers to check if it's my hardware or not.

My htpc is tied to an rj45 cable which is hooked up to my router WRT54GL (Tomato fw)which is then tied into my server, everything is wired so there's no lack of bandwidth.

I've tried running mediaportal with the same hardware and i'm never getting any annoying buffering messages, so I know for a fact it's not my hardware. Same thing with using xbmc stable.

Please don't tell me to use stable because most of my skins needs an svn revision.

I love xbmc and it's lovely community but this "buffering" message in the middle of a movie is really affecting my movie experience. I watch movies to settle down,but having a buffering popup everytime is not calming me down.

I'm I the only one suffering this "buffering" thing recently or is it a known problem with recent xbmc builds? :confused2: :confused2:

If you wish me to provide logs of my system then please say so, and i'm game

EDIT: Watching lord of the rings, return of the king (mkv 1080p), i've counted 8 buffering messages in the entire movie, which is really killing the mood for me. 99% of my collection is all pure HD (1080p) MKV, DTS, and the rest percentage is dvds.

Thank You

Thank You devs for making the best media system/player in the world

Thank You community for helping out fellow movie lovers like my self

[ppic]

have you read the file info during playback (press "o")
can you post a debug log.
have you got problem with local files?

have you got a desktop management on your linux, cause you can't say it's xbmc fault just by testing it on windows , the os is different and it may be a bad system configuration could lead you there.
so the next question is have you updated your system between the time it worked and first buffering message ?
of course, a test with stable version if buffering appears, it may be an os problem.

[grassmunk]

I have the exact same issue and I posed about it in the wrong place apparently. You can see my issue here http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?p=5...post513714 or below (mods anyway to close/lock a thread?)

--------

So I'm experiencing a weird problem with my Revo running XBMC Live updated to SVN using the PPA site. Whenever I watch a video about 30 minutes in it pauses and I see "buffering..." on the screen (using the Alaska skin). When this happens cpu usage drops to about zero. At first I thought it was an issue with the routers or the windows server but I'm almost certain thats not the issue:

Code:

Xbox 1/Revo -> DD-WRT WRT54G Wireless bridge-> DD-WRT WRT54G router -> Windows Samba Share

If you look at the diagram my Xbox 1 and Revo are both connected to a DD-wrt router in bridge mode. Which allows me to stream content from my server ~15 feet away in the loft. The Xbox 1 streams without issue and even the same shows run to completion. The Revo seems to get stuck for some reason and once it experiences "buffering" issues it never seems to catch up enough. I've included a log here http://pastebin.com/Z9Q9PkhQ and below is when the first instance occurred:

Code:

21:14:21 T:2297686896 M:641187840   DEBUG: CPullupCorrection: pattern lost
21:14:27 T:2297686896 M:641224704   DEBUG: CPullupCorrection: detected pattern of length 1: 41708.33
21:15:15 T:2287197040 M:640348160   DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity - was:1276034740.217179, should be:1276024731.933708, error:-10008.283471
21:16:25 T:2297686896 M:639909888 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue
21:16:25 T:2287197040 M:639909888 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(audio)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue
21:16:25 T:2297686896 M:639909888    INFO: CDVDPlayerVideo - Stillframe detected, switching to forced 23.976025 fps
21:16:25 T:2297686896 M:639909888   DEBUG: CPullupCorrection: pattern lost
21:16:25 T:2287197040 M:639909888 WARNING: CALSADirectSound::GetSpace - get space failed. err: -32 (Broken pipe)
21:16:34 T:41171824 M:639922176   DEBUG: CDVDPlayer::SetCaching - caching state 1
21:16:34 T:2287197040 M:639922176   ERROR: Pause - pcm_pause, alsa error: -77 - File descriptor in bad state
21:16:34 T:2287197040 M:639922176 WARNING: CALSADirectSound::CALSADirectSound - device is not able to pause playback, will flush instead
21:16:34 T:3078498192 M:639922176   DEBUG: ------ Window Init (DialogSeekBar.xml) ------
21:16:34 T:3078498192 M:639922176   DEBUG: Alloc resources: 0.08ms (0.01 ms skin load)
21:16:40 T:41171824 M:639954944   DEBUG: CDVDPlayer::SetCaching - caching state 0
21:16:40 T:2287197040 M:639954944   DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity - was:1281135271.374708, should be:1346370751.584090, error:65235480.209383
21:16:40 T:2297686896 M:639954944    INFO: CDVDPlayerVideo - Stillframe left, switching to normal playback
21:16:40 T:3078498192 M:639995904   DEBUG: ------ Window Deinit (DialogSeekBar.xml) ------
21:16:44 T:2297686896 M:639963136   DEBUG: CPullupCorrection: detected pattern of length 1: 4170

Any help with this would be immensely appreciated. It's been going on for a while now (pre-nvidia updated drivers and the newest drivers and using LiveCD and installing the newest SVN PPA) and it's driving the wife and I crazy.

[greenfish]

have you read the file info during playback (press "o")
can you post a debug log.
have you got problem with local files?

have you got a desktop management on your linux, cause you can't say it's xbmc fault just by testing it on windows , the os is different and it may be a bad system configuration could lead you there.
so the next question is have you updated your system between the time it worked and first buffering message ?
of course, a test with stable version if buffering appears, it may be an os problem.

My htpc is strictly running a bare archlinux kernel with no GUI except for xbmc-bin-svn. The windows theory is mainly based on nothing have changed on my htpc therefore I reached the logical conclusion it's not my system

My htpc has been updated to the most recent linux kernel along with all the updates, running xbmc-svn produces buffering after x version (don't know which)

Running htpc without any updates to linux for 6 months, using xbmc-stable no buffering messages, but the minute i started using a recent svn after 6 months i've noticed 2 things: starting a video instead of booting directly it says (please wait) and buffering kicks in in the beginning and in the middle or sometimes 7-9 times throughout a movie.

I don't have issues running files localy, but that's mainly due to all of my HD movies are stored on my server, running samba protocol.

To put it simple, something happened during an update to a more recent xbmc-svn, and you know how linux is shaped the system doesn't update unless you say so, at least on a system you built from scratch.

If you have any ideas at all to solve this problem, then by all means

@grassmunk thank god i'm not alone, apparently you're also sharing your content on a server and the router acts like a middle hand (just like my own setup), let's keep in touch in case we solve this problem!

HTPCBOX:
2.6.32-ARCH
x86_64 system
Dual Core CPU 5000+ AMD
Nvidia 9500GT
4GB Ram

Server:
2.6.32-ARCH
x86_64 system
Dual Core CPU 4400+ AMD
4GB Ram
5TB SATAII
Protocols: FTP, SMB, NNTP

xbmc-svn 28276-1
http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=20156

Here's my xbmc-log:

http://paste.pocoo.org/show/196377/

EDIT: While I was watching a movie it started to "buffering" and then I closed down the movie, went into the log and saw this (entire log is filled with the same error as you can see on the pastebin link)

WARNING: Decode - avcodec_decode_video didn't consume the full packet. size: 90162, consumed: 0

<--------- hmm??

[elupus]

The please wait on startup is by design. It should not be delaying the startup at all. Just display that dialog where the older xbmc would have just hung untill startup.

Buffering during playback does look like a network issue to me (from the log). Please check with the files on local disk.

18:41:07 T:140029312706320 M:1870520320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue
18:41:07 T:140029304313616 M:1870520320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(audio)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue

These indicate that.

[greenfish]

The please wait on startup is by design. It should not be delaying the startup at all. Just display that dialog where the older xbmc would have just hung untill startup.

Buffering during playback does look like a network issue to me (from the log). Please check with the files on local disk.



These indicate that.

Sorry for a delayed response. Yes playback on local files is instant, no seeking at all. But I'm still puzzled how this could be a network issue on my end. How can a wired 100mb LAN not be enough to stream 1080p, I mean BD isn't that like 20mb max bitrate?

I will start a general networking debugging, hopefully i'll find some answers.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

[elupus]

Well it sounds like an intermittent issue. So some device resetting or some switch port renegotiating 100/10 Mbit connection or similar.

Or a network driver issue in the system.

[greenfish]

Well it sounds like an intermittent issue. So some device resetting or some switch port renegotiating 100/10 Mbit connection or similar.

Or a network driver issue in the system.

Maybe my router isn't good enough? According to stats a WRT54GL theotrical max speed is 54mb/s, although a good bluray is around 20mb to my knowledge.

Hmm buying true gigabit NICS (2x) and a 100mb router is pretty costly, hmm

[davilla]

Maybe my router isn't good enough? According to stats a WRT54GL theotrical max speed is 54mb/s, although a good bluray is around 20mb to my knowledge.

Hmm buying true gigabit NICS (2x) and a 100mb router is pretty costly, hmm

Try 35-45mb, that's what I see when playing decrypted bluray media over the network.

[dan1son]

I've seen QOS settings on routers cause speed decreases for LAN addresses as well. Not sure if you're using that feature of tomato, but in DD-WRT if you use the LAN/WAN QOS setting it'll slow down everything.

It's also very possible to be running a 100mb network below the 54.0mbps max spec for blu-ray. A bad cable, bad connection, faulty ethernet card, faulty router port, etc. can all slow it down but otherwise appear to work.

I'd do a file copy on the same protocol you're using from your server to the workstation and see what tomato says your bandwidth use is. That should give you a good estimate on the max...

[greenfish]

I've seen QOS settings on routers cause speed decreases for LAN addresses as well. Not sure if you're using that feature of tomato, but in DD-WRT if you use the LAN/WAN QOS setting it'll slow down everything.

It's also very possible to be running a 100mb network below the 54.0mbps max spec for blu-ray. A bad cable, bad connection, faulty ethernet card, faulty router port, etc. can all slow it down but otherwise appear to work.

I'd do a file copy on the same protocol you're using from your server to the workstation and see what tomato says your bandwidth use is. That should give you a good estimate on the max...

Hi! No QOS running here, and all my cables are brand new. Anyways I took your advice and ran a scp from my server to a workstation and voila, the transfer staid steady around 4.2mB/s that's roughly 33.6mb. Watching a bluray reveals almost the same results, they usually peak at 33-38mb/s.

I've done some research the ethernet chip in my router (wrt54gl) is only suppose to deliver roughly 32-40mb/s, and someone mentioned a throughput about max 40mb.

Based on above calculations there's no suprise i'm having buffering issues.

I will buy a Linksys by Cisco WRT610N and 2 Intel Gigabit NIC's, hopefully that will solve my issues

Thanks for reading my thread guys, and thanks for all your help!

@davilla

Yeah you were right, no wonder i'm having buffering issues.

[butchabay]

What's going on with xbmc lately? Ever since i did an upgrade of my htpc system to xbmc-svn 28276-1 i'm constantly getting reminded xbmc needs to do this god awful annoying "buffering" message everytime a movie boots. But that's not the worst thing, no... in the middle of the movie stream it pauses the movie to display this nice little message "buffering".

I've never had issues like this before using the stable version of xbmc or mediaportal on windows. Oh yeah my htpc is strictly linux (archlinux) running xbmc and my server is also linux along with my router (linux fw). The only windows thing I have left is my gaming laptop, and of course i've tried using my m8's computers to check if it's my hardware or not.

My htpc is tied to an rj45 cable which is hooked up to my router WRT54GL (Tomato fw)which is then tied into my server, everything is wired so there's no lack of bandwidth.

I've tried running mediaportal with the same hardware and i'm never getting any annoying buffering messages, so I know for a fact it's not my hardware. Same thing with using xbmc stable.

Please don't tell me to use stable because most of my skins needs an svn revision.

I love xbmc and it's lovely community but this "buffering" message in the middle of a movie is really affecting my movie experience. I watch movies to settle down,but having a buffering popup everytime is not calming me down.

I'm I the only one suffering this "buffering" thing recently or is it a known problem with recent xbmc builds? :confused2: :confused2:

If you wish me to provide logs of my system then please say so, and i'm game

EDIT: Watching lord of the rings, return of the king (mkv 1080p), i've counted 8 buffering messages in the entire movie, which is really killing the mood for me. 99% of my collection is all pure HD (1080p) MKV, DTS, and the rest percentage is dvds.

Thank You

Thank You devs for making the best media system/player in the world

Thank You community for helping out fellow movie lovers like my self

Believe me, you are not the only one.
As i installed one of the latest svn builds, several bugs appearing and one of that was " stream " problem. I used camelot stable release, everything worked fine, Radio Streams, Navy-x Streams etc. ... so i guess this is for sure a global problem of these unstable svn releases.

It's a fact, everytime i've done an Upgrade, i regret it.

I will never touch again a running system, till the next real stable XBMC build is released ...

It seems to be a big puzzle, to become a system running without bugs and crashes. I've found my optimal configuration:

Based on Win7 Utimate, Geforce 8600GT, Intel Dual Core 2.2Ghz, 4GB Ram

XBMC: 9.11 (Camelot Stable)
Skin: Aeon Showmix 2.5

So far everything works really stable.

[GrEn]

Hi! No QOS running here, and all my cables are brand new. Anyways I took your advice and ran a scp from my server to a workstation and voila, the transfer staid steady around 4.2mB/s that's roughly 33.6mb. Watching a bluray reveals almost the same results, they usually peak at 33-38mb/s.

I've done some research the ethernet chip in my router (wrt54gl) is only suppose to deliver roughly 32-40mb/s, and someone mentioned a throughput about max 40mb.

Based on above calculations there's no suprise i'm having buffering issues.

I will buy a Linksys by Cisco WRT610N and 2 Intel Gigabit NIC's, hopefully that will solve my issues

Thanks for reading my thread guys, and thanks for all your help!

@davilla

Yeah you were right, no wonder i'm having buffering issues.

Rather than buying a full new router you could just get a gigabit switch. I have 3 computers that I share files with using a gigabit switch with the router hooked up to that and it works great. The router takes care of the internet and everything but when using only the network the computers only use the switch then. The only reason I can see for buying the new router is if you need the 802.11n wireless.

My current setup is a WRT54GL and a D-Link 1000mbit switch. With this setup you should get the same functionality as the WRT610N router other than the 802.11n.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6833127083 is the switch I am using if you are interested. One of the cheaper ones and it works great for me.

[greenfish]

Believe me, you are not the only one.
As i installed one of the latest svn builds, several bugs appearing and one of that was " stream " problem. I used camelot stable release, everything worked fine, Radio Streams, Navy-x Streams etc. ... so i guess this is for sure a global problem of these unstable svn releases.

It's a fact, everytime i've done an Upgrade, i regret it.

I will never touch again a running system, till the next real stable XBMC build is released ...

It seems to be a big puzzle, to become a system running without bugs and crashes. I've found my optimal configuration:

Based on Win7 Utimate, Geforce 8600GT, Intel Dual Core 2.2Ghz, 4GB Ram

XBMC: 9.11 (Camelot Stable)
Skin: Aeon Showmix 2.5

So far everything works really stable.

Well it's always nice to hear i'm not alone using xbmc svns's. Still even with some flaws/bugs it's one helluva system and best of all it's FREE

The day nvidia relased CUDA for unix everything changed in my opinion, today you can watch full profiled HD movies without a sweat using a low GPU, and the best part is that the OS/Skin/Application looks kicking (xbmc)!

I'll take your advice and be careful about future upgrades.

GrEn

Rather than buying a full new router you could just get a gigabit switch. I have 3 computers that I share files with using a gigabit switch with the router hooked up to that and it works great. The router takes care of the internet and everything but when using only the network the computers only use the switch then. The only reason I can see for buying the new router is if you need the 802.11n wireless.

My current setup is a WRT54GL and a D-Link 1000mbit switch. With this setup you should get the same functionality as the WRT610N router other than the 802.11n.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833127083 is the switch I am using if you are interested. One of the cheaper ones and it works great for me.

I took your advice and bought a netgear 8 port switch along with a few CAT6 cables.

Hopefully this will get rid of all my buffering issues

Cheers

[greenfish]

Update: Buying the gigabit switch solved all of my buffering issues, thanks for the tip GrEn

And thank you everyone else for the suggestions!