Constant freezing through wired connection

[OzJustin]

Hi all, I really hope someone can help me as this is driving me crazy.

I've been using PS3 Media Server for a few years now with minimal to no problem but it has become really flaky for me the last few months no matter what version I run and network setup I use. It just seemed to start one day and nothing I've done has been able to fix it/make it reliable again.

Essentially I cannot get our wired network to play any content smoothly. I've tried both 100mbit from our router and also added a gigabit switch to no avail. It's a freezing slideshow non-stop whether a dvd rip, 720p or 1080i file of varying file types.
Switching to wireless and I have been able to make content play smoothly but every second day the server will not detect any renderers no matter what I do.

Our setup:
My serving PC is a 5GHz quad core, 16gb ram, ATI 7970 video card, gigabit lan and 802.11n spec wireless usb, Win 7 64-bit, PS3 Media Server v1.82 (but have tried many different versions)

Network - iiNet Bob2 modem/router (100mbit capable and N spec wireless) > PS3 (via cat5e cable) > My above PC (I've tried both cat5e and N spec wireless usb) > TP-Link TL-SG1008D Gigabit switch (I also tried a Netgear GS105 Gigabit switch but this didn't help) (I've had the PS3 plugged both directly into the Bob2 router and into the switch with no success)

I have disabled our router firewall and allowed PS3 Media Server on my PC's firewall all to no avail.

Tonight I was able to have our Samsung TV find the PS3 Media Server and stream 1080i content fine. The PS3 however was a slideshow. What could be causing these issues?

I've forced PS3 Media Server to run through my PC IP and can ping my PS3 fine. I have my max bandwidth at 150Mb/s and Transcode buffer size of 400Mb (but have tried different numbers for both of these too).

My debug log reproducing the problem is saved here: http://pastebin.com/HrhYk175

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Raptor399]

Tonight I was able to have our Samsung TV find the PS3 Media Server and stream 1080i content fine. The PS3 however was a slideshow. What could be causing these issues?

The difference could be that your Samsung TV got the content streamed, while the PS3 got it transcoded.
Huge performance difference between the two; streaming is by far the most efficient method to get media to your device.

[OzJustin]

Our Samsung TV was still connecting through the PS3 Media Server though so I thought it would've been transcoded too?

This is besides the point however. My problem is trying to get the PS3 playing content smoothly. Ideas?

[Raptor399]

Our Samsung TV was still connecting through the PS3 Media Server though so I thought it would've been transcoded too?

This is besides the point however. My problem is trying to get the PS3 playing content smoothly. Ideas?

On the contrary, it is very to the point.

PMS can do two things: stream media or transcode media.
Let's say you were trying to view an .mkv file. Your Samsung TV can handle that format, so PMS streams the .mkv file to it (without transcoding the file first). This saves your CPU a lot of work.

Now if you try to view the same .mkv file on your PS3, it's a completely different story. The PS3 cannot handle the .mkv format. So PMS must first transcode the file to a format the PS3 knows and then stream the transcoded result. Depending on the file you are trying to view, this can be very CPU intensive.

Try the FAQ to see if it has useful tips for you:

FAQ: How can I fix/reduce stuttering video playback?

[OzJustin]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I very much doubt it is my cpu being unable to handle the transcoding though. I have a 5GHz quad core...That and I have successfully transcoded HD files in the past.

Re the FAQ page - I have tried working my way through some of the suggestions but no luck yet. I did also swap out my PS3 with my brother's and the same slideshow problem still occurring under the wired setup with the switch.
I have also tried Universal Media Server and Serviio Media server and I'm experiencing the same problem.

This suggests it must be the network setup or some consistent settings in the PMS itself?

[OzJustin]

Update for those interested. Spent a large amount of time today testing out different settings, combinations etc and I have finally been able to make PMS stream content smoothly from my PC through our gigabit switch.

For anyone interested I applied the following settings on my Windows 7 PC with an ASRock motherboard (Z68 Fatality). Went into Device Manager > Network Adapters > Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller 1 & 2 (I have two gigabit ports) > Properties > Advanced > Large Send Offload v2 (for IPv4 and IPv6) > Disabled.

After applying these settings I am now able to stream 90% of my content smoothly. There are still one or two movies that won't work (slideshow/sit refusing to play) but it is much better for now. PMS does stream 100% of files to our Samsung TV however (even the ones that still aren't working through the PS3) so I'm not sure what other settings I need to tweak on my PC or the PS3 to fix this last aspect.