[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa In the interests of science, I did some further tests: Removed the SB from the network, then, using shared folders on the PC and a laptop (PC cabled to network; laptop wirless to network)... 1. Copied a c. 7 Mb file from PC to laptop. Netstat showed 4912 retransmits 2. Copied the same file back from laptop to PC. Netstat on laptop showed 1 retransmit Should I be worried about the PC network card? -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Hi Adrian, I'll try to summarise the situation - with fresh eyes you might see something. The problem we're chasing is breakdown of the BBC mms stream on the SB - the same stream plays with no problem on the PC. Although SB plays music from PC fine but there are a high number of retransmits. This makes me believe there are problems with the wireless link which is not apparent when using the PC but when the stream is from the internet - the extra time to handle retransmits on a live audio stream means buffers run out and stream breaks down. The signals strength is 80-85% yet retransmits runrate is about 2/secs. As a test on my system with signal strength 81% - I get no retransmits playing a PC file. I shielded the router to reduce signal strength to 70% and still no retransmits. So as I see it 1. Is the retransmit issue a red herring or the underlying problem ? 2. If retransmit is the problem - what is the cure ? Regardless of the above, any suggestions for Diana to cure the mms stream problem ? -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Bryan, Logic seems reasonable - I was only really questioning the NetTest suggestions. [3000 at 100% is what I get for wireless - to a real squeezebox, are your higher rates to softsqueeze by any chance?] NetTest tries to send data at the defined rate into the control TCP connection and records when that is backed up, giving loss. In this case it looks like the rate is normally OK. Diana - Is this for 6.5? If so if you start NetTest from the web interface [Help - Server Network Health, click on 3000 kbps], leave it to run for a while, then refresh the page and then post what the graph looks like] I would suggest the next step is to test with a wired connection from SB to router if possible. Does this eradicate the problem? Adrian [Bryan - are you in email contact at present] -- Triode Triode's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=17 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa / triode Update: I just put the SB back in its place downstairs (PC router are upstairs). SB picked up the wireless network instantly. But I got odd results with the Network Test plugin. For the first time ever, I could not get 100% above 1000kbps; and even at 1000kbps, there was some fluctuation down to 97%. I tried again a bit later, and got 100% at 2000kbps, with slight fluctuations. Never gone below 100% at 2500 before. I am now seriously suspicious about the router, which may have been getting hotter than usual during my experiments tonight. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;145124 Wrote: ...I suggest 1. Using Softsqueeze or AlienBBC mplayer test to set up a RealAudio session between PC and BBC (i.e. no WIfi). Check TCP stats at start and end. 2. With no other internet traffic to/from PC. Play an audio file on SB and look at TCP stats at the beginning and end of song - this will give TCP stats mainly for the Wifi link. bpa Here are the results: 1. mplayer/RealAudio - 7 resets; no retransmists (in about 5 mins) 2. Audio file on SB - 8 resets; 3891 retransmits (in about 4 mins) Does this tell you anything usesful? I'm beginning to have doubts about my Linksys WAG54G modem/wireless router. SB reports wireless signal strength 80-85% (in the Information section); but the wireless network has stopped several times since I installed the SB (it did stop occasionally before, but it seems to happen more now). And quite often the SB - which I leave plugged in all the time - does not find the wireless network when the PC powers up in the morning until I switch the SB off and on again (sometimes more than once). I've changed the wireless router to channel 11 (it was on 1), which seemed to help a bit. But searches of linksys forums suggest a number of owners are unenthusiastic about the WAG54G's wireless. Have you - or has anyone else - had any experience of problems with Linksys WAG54G? And are there any recommendations for a modem/wireless router powerful and reliable enought for SB (using Win XP Pro)? -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
The Reset statistic is hard to judge but the retransmit number is a sure sign of data being lost. These tests say that data is lost on your Wifi link and not your ISP link. For internet streams this is significant because data will have to be retransmitted from the source and so you get choppy audio and stream breakdown because of your Wifi. There are a number of possible reason for lost data 1. Poor signal strength - but this does not seem to be case according to SB but it's possible signal strength value is misleading. 2. Interference - other Wifi, microwave, cordless digital phone are usual suspects but treat any wireless equipment with suspicion. 3. Access point - I can't offer any opinion on WAG54G but ensure the firmware is up to date. 4. SB - in other threads the SB handling of internet streams has been noted and firmware has been modified to rebuffer when internal buffer runs out due to errors/lack of data. This firmware is available in 6.5.1. This will help but it won't solve the basic wifi problem. What to do: 1. Run SB's net test - if it corroborates the retransmit problem with lowish 100% bitrate then use Net test for testing the following suggestions. 2. Try SB wired to router to verify that there is no failing hardware issues. 3. Move SB closer to router using wireless and run net test to see if any improvement. If no real improvement then there may be some compatibility issues or interference issues affect wireless. 4. Borrow a wireless router to see if it improves situation. 5. If wireless is unreliable in your location - you could use Homeplug (Devolo or similar) to either wire SB to router or move WAG54G router to a better locations. The process has been a bit tedious but at least you are very close to identifying the problem and hence fixing it so that you'll be able to listen to the Beeb in peace. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
I was afraid it would come up with a good figure but it confirms the signal strength. I'm not sure how the SB's net test works and how it handles retransmits but I don't think the result contradicts the retransmit statistics finding as I can get 5000kb @ 100% on my SB with signal strength 81%. I think retransmissions may have reduced your throughput so your aim is to increase your 3000 figure. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Assuming wireless, 3000kpbs at 100% seems reasonable to me. Key issue is whether it drops below this occasionally? -- Triode Triode's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=17 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;144409 Wrote: The significant ones in terms of quality would be connection resets and packets retransmitted. A connection is reset usually after timeouts and basically unrecoverable error in communications. If a packet is lost due to error, network load etc, then it has to be retransmitted. The Reset and Retransmitted counters should not change frequently. You might do a comparison between listening using a Media player and listening using SB/mplayer. bpa thought I'd update you on my test results.I tried the BBC stream mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e2s2 with WinAMP and with SS. In a period of 60sec with WinAMP, resets went from 217 to 219; retransmits didn't change from 503. In a period of 60sec with SB, resets went from 172 to 233; retransmits from 2472 to 5900. I'm not entirely sure what, if anything, to say to my ISP. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;145058 Wrote: Interesting results but to interpret them correctly I need to know: 1. What version of Slimserver are you running ? 2. The SB uses wireless to the router ? 3. The PC uses wireless or wired to the router ? bpa SS = 6.3.1 8468 SB uses wireless to router PC is wired to router -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
I forgot to say that with 'listen again' streams from AlienBBC Radio4 retransmits are c. 9/sec as compared with 50+/sec with live streams. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Sorry - some more background explanation on how SB works. With 6.3 mms streams - Slimserver sets up the stream and the SB talks to the mms stream direct - the PC has no part except to update the screen/ change volume etc. In your Winamp mms test - all data is between the PC and BBC so the TCP stats are mainly traffic between PC and internet. In your SB mms test - the TCP statistics as measured by the PC will be between PC and SB. The PC doesn't see the TCP traffic between the SB and the BBC/internet. So my interpretation of the data from the mms tests - your internet connection from PC to BBC is good - no retransmits / few resets. It looks like the connection from PC to SB is terrible - lots of retransmits and resets but a breakdown of TCP by destination is needed to be sure the errors were in fact between PC and SB. So my gut feel is that the AlienBBC problem are mainly due to the BBC with some Wifi but the BBC mms problems are due to Wifi. With AlienBBC - TCP statistics will measure both data from BBC and also to SB. At first glance it confirms the issue that live connections is more error prone - but the number don't back up the mms observations - I would have expected a lot more retransmits with Listen Again. I don't know if you want to investigate the issues some more - but if you wish here are some steps. AFAIK There is no standard Windows tool to get a better breakdown of TCP statistics so we need to get stats for session between PC and BBC and between PC and SB. I suggest 1. Using Softsqueeze or AlienBBC mplayer test to set up a RealAudio session between PC and BBC (i.e. no WIfi). Check TCP stats at start and end. 2. With no other internet traffic to/from PC. Play an audio file on SB and look at TCP stats at the beginning and end of song - this will give TCP stats mainly for the Wifi link. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa Thanks for your helpful reply. As it's a bit late now, I'll try the tests you suggest tomorrow. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa Thanks for this. I tried the URLs (using Radio Tune In): the buffer filled up, but the stream did not start (I waited 15 mins at first!). But putting a URL in Firefox starts Media Player, and the stream plays beautifully. And I can play them fine in WinAmp. Any idea why SS/SB won't play them? -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Good news that it works. The Radio 4 ASX has 4 URLs - usually for load sharing - SB may just be choosing the first one and the one most heavily used, so try the bottom ones first and see if it makes a difference. The other possibility is to go to Server Setting/ Filetypes and uncheck the Windows media (built-in) - this make WMA decoding happen on the server necessary for some WMA decoders and protocol settings. mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e1s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e1s2 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e2s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e2s2 -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa You're a star! The last URL works with the built-in windows media turned off. I'm going to leave it running for a while to see how it holds up. Do you have similar URL information for the other BBC channels? Thanks ever so much for all your help with this. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Warning: I think these ASX URLs are BBC trials - so they may disappear without notice. Radio 1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio1/radio1_nb_e1s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio1/radio1_nb_e1s2 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio1/radio1_nb_e2s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio1/radio1_nb_e2s2 Radio 2 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio2/radio2_nb_e1s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio2/radio2_nb_e1s2 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio2/radio2_nb_e2s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio2/radio2_nb_e2s2 Radio 3 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio3/radio3_nb_e1s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio3/radio3_nb_e1s2 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio3/radio3_nb_e2s1 mms://wmlivegeo.bbc.net.uk/wms/radio3/radio3_nb_e2s2 -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa Sadly, the URLs you sent are showing the same phenomena as the AlienBBC ones. The live streams work fine with media players on the PC itself - they play for hours; but mplayer shows buffer depletion with RealPlayer streams; and the wma streams playing through SS/SB also fall over after no more than about 15 mins. If the problem for SS/SB is packet loss due to network congestion, is it a stupid question to wonder why, say, WinAMP on the PC keeps going? I guess (and it is a naive guess) that the problem is something to do with the extra layer of processing by SS and its wireless communication to the SB??? (But if this thread feels as though it's turning into an individual tutorial on radio streaming, rather than an on-topic exchange about 3rd Party Plugins, please feel free to call a halt!) Thanks and best wishes. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
mplayer is mainly designed to play files and not streams and so its handling of network errors is minimal. There was a long running bug with Live RealAudio and it was only fixed when I tracked it down. So unless there is somebody who can produce the problems and track it down - mplayer will be inferior in this regard to the vendor players. I occassionally get the same RealAudio problems as you experienced but in these circumstances RealPlayer behaves the same as mplayer - it eventually collapses. In your situation, I think you should monitor your network connectons for errors and resets - many network errors will go unnoticed on data streams (e.g. web, file acccess) because TCP/IP will retransmit and recover. With media streams these error become more apparent. If you have significant number of errors, talk to your ISP. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;144367 Wrote: ...In your situation, I think you should monitor your network connectons for errors and resets... If you have significant number of errors, talk to your ISP. bpa Thanks for your advice. I'm afraid I really am a novice at this, so I hope it won't try your patience after all the help you've given me if I ask you to advise how I can monitor the network connections for errors and resets. Does Windows log this somewhere; or do I need to use a particular program? Thanks again for all your help. If I discover the kind of network issue you describe, I'll certainly talk to my ISP. Very best wishes. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
On Windows open a Cmd prompt window and the command netstat -s -p TCP will give a snapshot of TCP statistics. To see changes you need to do the same command and look to see which counters have increased. The significant ones in terms of quality would be connection resets and packets retransmitted. A connection is reset usually after timeouts and basically unrecoverable error in communications. If a packet is lost due to error, network load etc, then it has to be retransmitted. The Reset and Retransmitted counters should not change frequently. You might do a comparison between listening using a Media player and listening using SB/mplayer. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Thanks. Will do as you suggest. Very best wishes -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
I don't know the numbers very well but I think [EMAIL PROTECTED] is normally good enough for FLAC so if you selected only MP3 for RTSP streams and you are getting choppy audio then the problem is probably not simple signal strength. A better description of choppy audio would help especially whether the sound recovers and what is the timeframe of choppiness and the recovery. If you get the choppy audio with BBC listen Again programs as well as live then I would tend to believe you are getting intermittent interference on the wireless. The net test which stopped after 15 mins may be an indication of this - it would be best to try to run the test for longer and see if these breaks occur often but irregular. When running the test - contine normal routine and perform the test when there are people up about both in your house and in the neighbours. Intermittent interference can be caused by many sources including other Wifi, cordless telephones microwave ovens. The interference could also come from a neighbour depending on type/location of your home. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa 'Choppy' covers a few things. First, listening to BBC4FM, there are little pops and clicks in the stream - tiny breaks that clip off a consonant or a syllable in a word; but not enough to interfere seriously with intelligibility. Then there are much rarer breaks of a few seconds, when the stream stops and restarts - this might happen once or twice in half an hour, and then not at all for ages. But eventually, the stream just stops, and does not restart spontaneously. Pressing 'play' restarts the stream, as if from scratch. Such losses of connection happen at unpredictable intervals: 4m35s; 22m04s; 6m44s; 11m46s; 7m12s; 30m17s... The above issues seem to apply only to AlienBBC live streams. 'Listen Again' seems much better. And other internet radio (e.g. ClassicFM-London,UK) seems fine, as does wireless playing of my own MP3 files. After you raised the matter of signal strength, I had a look at the wireless signal in the Player section of 'Information' on the SB. I found that this was very sensitive to position and orientation of the SB (in the conservatory downstairs) and of the wireless modem/router aerial (3m-4m directly above in my office upstairs). Altering these even slightly could change the reported wireless signal strength from around 65% to nearer 90% (so I went for the latter!). I'm very grateful for all the thought and time you have put into this. Perhaps I just need to experiment for a while, and not take up any more of your time. (I may finish up just moving a digital radio into the conservatory!) Very best wishes. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Part of your problems sounds like a problem with the stream from the BBC since it affects the live stream much more than Listen Again. You could test this by using mplayer direct in your PC to the same source. By their very nature, the live streams cannot buffer data in case of network errors, instead they drop packets when packets cannot be sent out in time (e.g. network congestion). To the listener when a few packets are lost, this will sound sometimes as repeated fragments, sometimes as short gaps of silence. AlienBBC uses mplayer and it stores a buffer of data when the streams is started but if there are many network problems then this buffer gets depleted and then the stream will stop. However it will still try to keep going so you will get very short fragments of sounds amongst mainly silence. The problem can be worse for some listeners as the banks of servers seems to be assigned to areas and one server bank/network connection may be more heavily loaded than others. The problem also tends to be worse at peak times - that varies by station but typically for R4 it is Mon-Fri 7.30-9.30 and 5.00-10.00. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa I've done the test as you suggested with mplayer direct, and it performed just as you described, as the buffer gradually depleted. This was with BBC Radio 4 at about midnight (so very off-peak!). As I understand what you said, this is a characteristic of local network servers, and I guess I am therefore stuck with it. So using my digital radio looks like the best bet! Thanks very much for the painstaking diagnostics on this - I'm glad to have a convincing account of the phenomena, even if it's not a fix. Very best wishes. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
If you are based in the UK you could try these URL - they are BBC Live using WMA not RealAudio streams. WMA will be handled by SB directly and may handle network problems differently. As I am outside the UK they do not work for me but I believe they are very very slow to start up. If they don't work - try the same URL but without the _hi. BBC Radio 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/wm_asx/aod/radio1_hi.asx BBC Radio 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/wm_asx/aod/radio2_hi.asx BBC Radio 3: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/wm_asx/aod/radio3_hi.asx BBC Radio 4 (FM): http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/wm_asx/aod/radio4.asx BBC Radio 4 (LW): http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/wm_asx/aod/radio4_lw.asx -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;143428 Wrote: ...However before doing that _ I would suggest doing a network test and find out what the data rate to your player are as I suspect your choppy BBC may be due to something else. bpa Thanks for your help, and all the time you're spending on helping a newbie! I ran the 'server network health' in SS while playing an AlienBBC steam. (If you had something else in mind by 'network test' I'd be grateful if you could explain a bit more.) The reports all looked good, apart from persistent low buffer fullness (avg 0.24; max 3.9-ish). And player signal strength was: max 88.00; min 66.00; avg 81.48. The stream stopped completely sometimes - but no particular pattern: 30min, 140min, 5min, 10min. Pressing 'play' re-established connection. Does this indicate the sort of network issue you suspected? -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Re Network test - Easiest way is to navigate via the player (remote control) interface to Plugins - Network Test. When in this screen find the highest data rate which shows 100% - this is the fastest rate that the server is able to send to the player at. What do you see? -- Triode Triode's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=17 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Triode;143598 Wrote: Re Network test - Easiest way is to navigate via the player (remote control) interface to Plugins - Network Test. When in this screen find the highest data rate which shows 100% - this is the fastest rate that the server is able to send to the player at. What do you see? Triode Thanks for this. I'm running SS6.3.1, so didn't have the plugin; but after installing it, I ran the test for about 15 mins, at which point the wireless network went down - something that doesn't normally happen (???). But just before it did, the test was showing 3000kbps at avg 99% and 2500kbps at avg 100%. -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
bpa;143218 Wrote: ... Under Player Settings/Audio - there is the Bit rate Limiting setting which will force streams from the Slimserver not to exceed the limit. bpa Sorry for being thick about this (not very technical, I fear), but are you saying that setting the bit rate limiting to a lower value (e.g. 192 kbps, say) will help make the BBC stream (now being converted to MP3) less choppy? Supposing this works for BBC radio, will it mess up the quality of normal MP3 files being played on the SB? bpa / marthaF Thanks, both, for confirmation of correct directory for lame.exe Best wishes -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
The bit rate limit will affect all streams from slimserver to the affected player. This means all file type such as MP3, FLAC, WMA would be transcoded to the lower rate. Separately, if the BBC is choppy using the default FLAC setting, then changing the RTSP-MP3 will only affect the BBC stream. However it will be sent at a quality defined in you Player /Audio settings. I guess the highest rate is about 320kbps. If the BBC is still choppy then you could modify the RTSP-MP3 setting in the slimserver-convert.conf (6.3) or custom-convert.conf (6.5) file to choose a specific bit rate just for the RTSP streams this way it would not affect your other MP3 streams. However before doing that _ I would suggest doing a network test and find out what the data rate to your player are as I suspect your choppy BBC may be due to something else. -- bpa bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
I appreciate your suggestions. Since my SoftSqueeze player (hard wired) on the PC works perfectly, I think that the problem is most likely, as you sense, a mediocre signal (38-42%)in one particular room which also, not coincidentally, has a poor cordless telephone signal. I am told that this is due to an old (and perhaps more solid) NYC apartment building structure. I am going to test the AlienBBC on my other Squeezebox in another contiguous room to confirm, and if this is the problem, will try to make the setup adjustments you suggest on my Windows XP/DSL wireless configuration. It's just that I love hearing the BBC in the wee hours! Thank you again for your help. -- MarthaF MarthaF's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7548 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
Hello again, BPA. I did install LAME and changed the file formats as you suggested. This is indeed a vast improvement for AlienBBC in my apartment, although there is the occasional burp (excuse me!) so far. Since you are a SB guru, can you tell me if the server setting for streaming radio should be limited to a particular rate or does it adjust automatically? Many thanks. -- MarthaF MarthaF's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7548 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
[SlimDevices: Plugins] Re: AlienBBC - works but starts to stutter
A test and possible cure would be to use MP3 instead of FLAC. Make sure lame is installed. Go to Server Setting/Filetype and uncheck RTSP-WAV and RTSP-FLAC and press change. This should only leave RTSP-MP3 as the only RTSP option checked. Now try to listen to BBC. bpa More very helpful advice! I too had this problem, and changing to MP3 has helped. BTW, I installed lame.exe in C:\Program Files\SlimServer\server\Bin\MSWin32-x86-multi-thread rather than just ...\server\Bin as the Wiki suggests. Is this OK? -- Diana -- Diana Diana's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7463 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28257 ___ plugins mailing list plugins@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/plugins
