NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
SMB/Win7 Video Lag/Stutter (NV+ V2)
Hoping someone can give me a simple answer to this problem.
I have just put in a ReadyNAS (primarily as media storage) and I am experiencing very poor HD Video playback when trying to access this from my windows 7 PC's using SMB.
Previously I was using a Iomega Screenplay TV link DX as a NAS with a USB Raided Hard drive bay (was extreemly good for the cheap price), which I never had a problem with and only replaced as I wanted the Iomega screenplay to put in another room to access media there too and increase the size of my NAS storage.
I was accessing this from 2x Windows 7 32bit notebooks, an Android Tablet, 2 Android phones, a Windows XP PC, a Windows Vista PC, Windows 7 64bit PC and an A.C Ryan Playon HD. With varying Wireless/Ethernet 100/1000MB between them, with no problems with video lag/stuttering (except sometimes with 720p+ content on the A.C Ryan which connected through 2 switches and a 30meter ethernet cable, so I think that is understandable). Even streaming multiple content to different devices at the same time had no issue.
How I use my NAS/Windows 7 for media content:
I am mapping a network drive on my windows 7 PC (i.e \\Readynas\Media) and then using XBMC on the windows 7 PC, adding the mapped drive as the source (as I want to use the XBMC library ability), the drive is scanned and the media content is loaded correctly into the XBMC library (exactly the same method I used for the Iomega Screenplay, with no issues). All good until you try and play something, it is noticable slower to load video content and with any content 720p (mkv, mp4) or better approx every 40sec it stops and buffers for 10-15sec. If I use VLC player it doesnt stop and buffer but it drops the frames and the audio video get out of sync.
I have exactly the same issues on my Windows 7 notebook, unfortunately I no longer have the XP or Vista PC so can't test if these operating systems would have been effected.
If I use the UPnP Readynas share and access this from my windows 7 XBMC PC, I have no playback problems at all (but unfortunately this does not allow use of the library function in XBMC otherwise i would use this method) I have tested this with 1080p 10mbps/18mbps/40mbps Quality video clips, none have playback issues.
Accessing content from the ReadyNAS with the Iomega Screenplay (wireless 54Mbps) is also having no issues, using UPnP. My A.C Ryan PlayON HD is also not having any issues using SMB from the ReadyNAS (may even be performing better than before).
A straight file copy from the Windows 7 PC to a Mapped Drive on the ReadyNAS gives me transfer speeds of approx 10-12MB/second, on ethernet 100MB, I can and will upgrade this to 1000MB but I don't see the need at the moment if everything works ok using UPnP (and haven’t changed the network at all since the Iomega screenplay was the NAS), it can't be a physical network problem but rather a setting somewhere either in Windows 7 when communicating to a ReadyNAS using SMB or on the ReadyNAS itself.
I read one post with similar issues to turn off DHCP on the windows 7 PC and use static IP, when I did this it seemed to help for a few minutes (maybe just coincidence) but I got 5mins of video with no interruptions and then it started buffering again every 40sec or so.
Equipment on the nework: (with Attached Devices)
ReadyNAS NV+ V2
A.C. Ryan PlayON HD
Iomega Screenplay TV link DX
Netgear DGND3700 Adsl Router (GS605, PAP2T, Iomega ScreenPlay, Windows 7 notebook 32bit, Android devices)
Netgear switch GS605 (WNDR3700, ReadNAS NV+ V2, Windows 7 PC 64bit)
Netgear WNDR3700 (ACRyan PlayON, Windows 7 notebook)
Linksys PAP2T
Any ideas?
I have just put in a ReadyNAS (primarily as media storage) and I am experiencing very poor HD Video playback when trying to access this from my windows 7 PC's using SMB.
Previously I was using a Iomega Screenplay TV link DX as a NAS with a USB Raided Hard drive bay (was extreemly good for the cheap price), which I never had a problem with and only replaced as I wanted the Iomega screenplay to put in another room to access media there too and increase the size of my NAS storage.
I was accessing this from 2x Windows 7 32bit notebooks, an Android Tablet, 2 Android phones, a Windows XP PC, a Windows Vista PC, Windows 7 64bit PC and an A.C Ryan Playon HD. With varying Wireless/Ethernet 100/1000MB between them, with no problems with video lag/stuttering (except sometimes with 720p+ content on the A.C Ryan which connected through 2 switches and a 30meter ethernet cable, so I think that is understandable). Even streaming multiple content to different devices at the same time had no issue.
How I use my NAS/Windows 7 for media content:
I am mapping a network drive on my windows 7 PC (i.e \\Readynas\Media) and then using XBMC on the windows 7 PC, adding the mapped drive as the source (as I want to use the XBMC library ability), the drive is scanned and the media content is loaded correctly into the XBMC library (exactly the same method I used for the Iomega Screenplay, with no issues). All good until you try and play something, it is noticable slower to load video content and with any content 720p (mkv, mp4) or better approx every 40sec it stops and buffers for 10-15sec. If I use VLC player it doesnt stop and buffer but it drops the frames and the audio video get out of sync.
I have exactly the same issues on my Windows 7 notebook, unfortunately I no longer have the XP or Vista PC so can't test if these operating systems would have been effected.
If I use the UPnP Readynas share and access this from my windows 7 XBMC PC, I have no playback problems at all (but unfortunately this does not allow use of the library function in XBMC otherwise i would use this method) I have tested this with 1080p 10mbps/18mbps/40mbps Quality video clips, none have playback issues.
Accessing content from the ReadyNAS with the Iomega Screenplay (wireless 54Mbps) is also having no issues, using UPnP. My A.C Ryan PlayON HD is also not having any issues using SMB from the ReadyNAS (may even be performing better than before).
A straight file copy from the Windows 7 PC to a Mapped Drive on the ReadyNAS gives me transfer speeds of approx 10-12MB/second, on ethernet 100MB, I can and will upgrade this to 1000MB but I don't see the need at the moment if everything works ok using UPnP (and haven’t changed the network at all since the Iomega screenplay was the NAS), it can't be a physical network problem but rather a setting somewhere either in Windows 7 when communicating to a ReadyNAS using SMB or on the ReadyNAS itself.
I read one post with similar issues to turn off DHCP on the windows 7 PC and use static IP, when I did this it seemed to help for a few minutes (maybe just coincidence) but I got 5mins of video with no interruptions and then it started buffering again every 40sec or so.
Equipment on the nework: (with Attached Devices)
ReadyNAS NV+ V2
A.C. Ryan PlayON HD
Iomega Screenplay TV link DX
Netgear DGND3700 Adsl Router (GS605, PAP2T, Iomega ScreenPlay, Windows 7 notebook 32bit, Android devices)
Netgear switch GS605 (WNDR3700, ReadNAS NV+ V2, Windows 7 PC 64bit)
Netgear WNDR3700 (ACRyan PlayON, Windows 7 notebook)
Linksys PAP2T
Any ideas?
3 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- As you probably know, the 10-12 MB/second speeds you are seeing now are limited by your 100 mbit NiC connection.
It sounds like you have a mixed gigabit / 100mbit network (with the network core all gigabit, but at least some edge devices 100 mbit).
One possible cause is that the ReadyNAS is over-running the switch buffering - as it can deliver data to the switch much faster the switch can deliver it over the 100 mbit link to the PC. So I think it might be useful to install a gigabit NIC in that PC sooner rather than later. One pretty definitive test would be to set the NAS to run at 100 mbit, and see if the performance on the PC improves. (That would be just a test, not a solution).
If it is caused by buffer overrun, you should probably turn on 802.3x flow control in the PC NIC (assuming it is off), as that might help minimize the buffering requirements in the switch. There might be some TCP settings you could also tweak in the PC that could help. However,if downspeeding the ReadyNAS fixes the stuttering I think I would simply replace the PC NIC.
BTW, are you using the WNDR3700 as a router or as an access point/switch. It probably should be in AP mode (if I understand your topology correctly). - Solved! Thank you
Did the upgrade over the weekend so all now is gigabit from the ReadyNAS to the switch and from the switch to the PC, and there are no problems at all with the video now using SMB :D
What I didn't think about was the fact that the Iomega Screenplay is 100mbit, so it would have been 100mbit all the way to the PC, hence not causing any issues until I put in the ReadyNAS which upped the speed to the switch to a gigabit.
I'm assuming that the Iomega and PlayON HD must have their own flow control as both of these are 100mbit but aren't having any issues with video playback from NAS. I will still have to figure out how to solve the issue of video playback over wireless for my notebooks (54mbps) but I don't often do this so it's not a biggy. Is 802.3x flow control applicable for wireless too?
And answering your question yes the WNDR3700 is an access point/switch in AP mode.
Thanks for your suggestion! - Wifi APs should support 802.3x. Though WiFi can stutter for a lot of reasons, especially if you are running 54 mbit links (which are limited to around 18 mbits/sec transfer speeds tops).
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
