Stream using Airport Express

[mybgmail]

Hi.

Best streaming software I've seen so far. Congrats!

Here's my question:
I'm using the following setup.
MacBookPro (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM) -> Airport Express (n only, 5 GHz) -> Airport Express (n only, 5 GHz) -> wired connection to PS3

All settings are default. When I'm streaming 720p & 1080p movies the video is very choppy. I thought that 802.11n can handle this... Am I wrong? Should I change something to make the wireless streaming possible without a lot of quality loss in 802.11n?

Thanks.

[j2048b]

sorry, but you may want to post this in the OSX support section?

great question though because i have a buddie who is getting an airport ex and wants the same info.


Also wondering if you have the drives (if external) connected directly to the back of the express thru usb/

i was told it would make them (if external) network drives and thus they would stream a bit faster?

the designer (shagrath) explained this to me as well about streaming movies:

THIS IS WHAT MY LAST BLU-RAY WAS AT)
Bit rate : 26.5 Mbps

wireless can't go higher than 15, 16 Mbps: you must be wired if you want to play blu-ray original streams, OR 1080P in most cases!!

[meskibob]

wireless can't go higher than 15, 16 Mbps

That comment is meant for Wireless G. N has higher throughput, I've heard upto 40 Mbps, although I don't remember where.

Edit: Seems there's a mix. A lot of the N routers have 200-300 Mbps burst speed, but can sustain 85 Mbps under ideal conditions. General throughput looks to be in the 50 Mbps range, which should be enough for most 1080P material.

[j2048b]

ok then i may have been wrong? Thats cool,

hopefully that is not the problem, i know when i go wireless ant it is 1080p it is ussualy choppy!!

have not tried wired though yet!!

[meskibob]

To the poster's original question: yes, there are settings you can change for transcoding, but these may not apply if you're just streaming. Take a look through the other threads on this forum as there are plenty stating various PMS configurations that work for various types and qualities of media. Once you get a flavor for the various options, you may want to try some of the files listed in the Stress Test thread (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=322) to see if your system can keep up and tweak PMS as needed.

[mybgmail]

I have problems only when transcoding 720p (not all movies) and 1080p (all movies). When I try using wired connection using router everything is fine. I'm really confused cause 802.11n should be fine with that kind of bit rate... and I use only n, no g...

(Can someone move the topic in OSX section pls... haven't seen it, stupid me)

[meskibob]

I'm not sure if N works the same as G, but you could try changing the channel on your two Airport Expresses. I know in my apartment the people around me are mostly on Channel 6, and switching to Channel 11 increased my overall performance by reducing the interference. This could also just be an issue with trying to use two Expresses as a bridge instead of going through a router.

[shawndre]

yup try changing the channel. i changed to channel 3 and i havent had choppy video since

[mybgmail]

The only available option for channel when in 802.11n only (5 GHz) is Automatic... at least that's what my Airport Utility is showing.