[stutter/jumping] Some files work; others don't!

[3th0s]

Hi everyone,

I've been a long time user of PMS, and have really loved using this as a cheap solution substitute for a HTPC. I recently moved, however, and have had to switch my PS3 to WiFi instead of LAN, and have had problems ever since. After a ton of tweaking, googling, and trouble shooting, I thought I would try here!

I get random stuttering, jumping, and quality issues. The odd part is that it doesn't seem to have any correlation with the size/quality of the file. For the most part, pretty much all of my media is x264 MKVs, and for the sake of simplification, that's all I'd like to focus on and fix. Files that "work" just work, while some files I can't get to ever work properly no matter how many things I try to tweak!

I'll give 3 examples of the 3 possibilities I have with my media:

it works : 1080p rip of Drive
it stutters: 720p rip of a UFC fight
it jumps: medium quality (600mb) rip of a boxing fight

I can't for the life of me figure it out, and it's really bumming me out. All of these files play perfectly well without any issues on my PC using MPClassic. Hopefully someone is able to help me troubleshoot this!

My specs:
sandy bridge core i5-2400, 4gb ram, windows 7. I've re-done all of my tests and files today after making sure that my java is up to date, and upgraded to the most recent release of PMS (1.72.0)
I'm streaming to my ps3, I don't know if I'm using any custom renderer profiles?
I believe that I'm using MEncoder
debug log on pastebin
(I tried testing on another 1080p x264 MKV file, pulp fiction, which played flawlessly with no stuttering/jumping/quality issues)
Some other general thoughts/setting that I've played around with in the past:

On the Transcode Settings page:
For the common transcode settings:
I have buffer at the maximum (600mb), 4 cores for transcoding (maximum), I've played around with the MPEG-2 options, and have had the best success with vqmin=2 (good quality for HD wifi), although I've tried the vqmin 3 and 4 setting which do not improve anything.
For the MEncoder tab, the only two setting I have selected are "Use multiple CPU cores" and "skip loop filter deblocking".

Pretty much every setting on every page/tab I've tried playing around with over the past 3-4 months. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide, and thank you for taking the time to read and shoot me your suggestions. Cheers!

[rtmpro]

I was having the same issue last night.

Whether my PS3 is wireless or ethernet over power, my video skips forward every 2-4min.

In the past, (given you don't have Hide #--TRANSCODE--# Folder checked in the Navigation/Share Settings) using TSMuxer through the Transcode folder or installing an older version of PMS would fix the problem.

As a last resort, MKV2VOB would always fix the issue for me...though it's more time consuming to sit there and convert 20-40 files

BUT, today, with PMS 1.70.1 installed again...no stutter/jumping...so far!

Only issue I have with 1.70.1, that I DON'T have with 1.72.0, watching 1080p movies. Huge overhead bitrate/buffer problem. 1.72 works sweet and follows the MPEG-2 transcode settings but stutters/jumps...1.70.1 says screw that, we're giving you 108+Mb/s bitrate (max Mb/s I had was over 718,000...and that was last night) even with keyint=25:vqmax=8:vqmin=3 /* Low quality, low-end CPU or HD Wifi transcoding */...but doesn't stutter/jump!

When will they make the best of both worlds!!!???

[DrakeFS]

I have an issue with video playing @ 2x normal speed with the audio being normal. Supposedly its actually an issue with the newer versions of FFMPEG. Sucks having to use earlier versions of PMS but it is a way around it. While im not sure if your issue is linked to the one i experience, its a theory.

[3th0s]

SOLVED:

I found a suggestion to lower the transcode buffering. I changed mine from 600mb to 300mb, and have found great success!I'll continue to test on more files and quality types, but it looks like so far this has been a solution!