Lepotato buffering issues
Hi all,
Please keep in mind that my level of experience with linux is next to nothing, so if you would like to propose solutions, PLEASE break it down to the actual commands I need to type.
My story is as follows.
I got a lepotato (2gb ram) to use it as 4k media player for my content which is stored on a NAS. My tv is LG OLED55B7.
The problem is that no matter which image I tried so far, I have buffering issues when trying to view 4k HDR content every few seconds for more than 5sec at a time.
Few details on my setup
The NAS is on a linux vm, operated by win10. (This is a temporary setup, as it was the only way I had so far to view 4k content by running kodi from windows and via hdmi to send it to the tv. The intention is to get rid of windows.)
It runs on a gigabit network. But both the TV and lepotato have a 100Mbps connection.
TV is LG OLED55B7 with wired connection.
There is an AVR from denon in between the different devices to project the image to the TV (but I have tried even connecting lepotato directly to the tv).
Lepotato has no issue finding the content via smb.
Also Lepotato is sitting on a case with active cooling and a heatsink, so temp shouldn't be an issue.
Images I have tried so far are:
Libreelec v8.2.3.1
coreelec 8.95.3
Libreelec 8.90.006
Things that I have tried so far:
Tried the dlna source on the tv, as I set kodi to publish the library. Buffering is exactly the same.
Used advancedsettings.xml on coreelec with a memorysize of 333MB. Coreelec eventually stopped sending image singal to the tv even after reboots and power off while on the menu. By the way there was stuttering every couple of minutes lasting for 2-3 sec. Coreelec then was removed.
Used the libreelec version from the libreelec website. The new version shows exactly the same buffering behvavior. Currently I am trying to test different values for advancedsettings.xml (50MB and 150MB gave the same message that read source is too slow to have a normal flow of the movie, trying as we speak with 200MB - Update: 200MB memsize for buffer also doesn't change a single thing. Still buffering). The other settings of the advancedsettings.xml are constant. Following is the .xml I managed to create in /storage/.kodi/userdata
<advancedsettings> <cache> <buffermode>1</buffermode> <memorysize>my value in B</memorysize> <readfactor>10</readfactor> </cache> </advancedsettings>
Before I resorted to lepotato, I tried the renegade, but there is no libreelec image for it yet (which is a pity, as it has gigabit lan if that is the issue).
Also tried Plex media server before buying those SBC's, with the buffering being an issue always.
Tried to play one of those movies on another PC connected on the same network and grabbing the content via smb and it runs fine. When I checked the network usage, I saw a flow that averaged at around 60Mbps with peaks at 120Mbps.
Checking the same when playing via lepotato, I see that the speed is around 40Mbps.
Info on one of the movies I am trying to play as an example, but all of them do buffer:
`Format : Matroska
DXVA Compliant : No (requires HEVC/H.265 Decode)
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 47.2 GiB
Duration : 2 h 8 min
Overall bit rate : 52.7 Mb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2018-09-09 18:34:42
Writing application : mkvmerge v26.0.0 ('In The Game' ) 64-bit
Writing library : libebml v1.3.6 + libmatroska v1.4.9
IMDb Information : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881806/
Genre : Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
[color=red][b]Audio 1 Info[/b][/color]
Codec................: DTS X / MA / Core
Bitrate..............: 4 231 Kbps / 4 231 Kbps / 1 509 Kbps
kHz/bit..............: / 48.0 KHz / 48.0 KHz / / 24 bits / 24 bits
Channels.............: Object Based / 8 / 6
Language.............: English
Subtitles............: English (SDH), Spanish, French.
[color=red][b]Audio 2 Info[/b][/color]
Codec................: DTS MA / Core
Bitrate..............: 2 046 Kbps / 1 509 Kbps
kHz/bit..............: 48.0 KHz / 24 bits
Channels.............: 8 / 6
Language.............: Spanish
Subtitles............: English (SDH), Spanish, French.
[color=red][b]Audio 3 Info[/b][/color]
Codec................: DTS MA / Core
Bitrate..............: 2 046 Kbps / 1 509 Kbps
kHz/bit..............: 48.0 KHz / 24 bits
Channels.............: 8 / 6
Language.............: French
Subtitles............: English (SDH), Spanish, French.
[color=red][b]Video Info[/b][/color]
Codec................: HEVC
Type.................: 2160p UHD BluRay Remux
Format Profile Level.: Main 10@L5.1@High
Resolution...........: 3840x2160
Aspect Ratio.........: 16:9
Bitrate..............: 44.2 Mbps
Framerate............: 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
[color=red][b]Source[/b][/color]
QUICK SUMMARY:
Disc Title: JWFK_UPK75
Disc Size: 86,653,925,376 bytes
Protection: AACS2
BD-Java: Yes
Playlist: 00800.MPLS
Size: 58,722,895,872 bytes
Length: 2:08:17.690
Total Bitrate: 61.03 Mbps
Video: MPEG-H HEVC Video / 44266 kbps / 2160p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 Profile 5.1 High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / HDR / BT.2020 /
Video: * MPEG-H HEVC Video / 44266 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 Profile 5.1 High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / Dolby Vision / BT.2020 /
Audio: English / DTS:X/DTS-HD Master Audio / 7.1-X / 48 kHz / 4231 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: Spanish / DTS-HD Audio / 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2046 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: French / DTS-HD Audio / 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2046 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle: English / 34.324 kbps
Subtitle: Spanish / 24.741 kbps
Subtitle: French / 23.287 kbps
Subtitle: Spanish / 0.189 kbps
Subtitle: French / 0.631 kbps `
What I would like is to find the root cause of this, so that I can check what do I need to do to fix it.
It could be a network issue for example (synergy between gigabit and 100Mbps might not be that good from my router).
If you need more, I am happy to provide, as long as I know how to do it already or you tell me exactly where can I find it how to retrieve it in linux. (My windows expertise is a lot better by the way, so don't lose hope 
)
Thanks in advance for your time.
Update: Tried a 720p for around 10 minutes. No buffering. Tried a 1080p movie (13GB), buffering is there with same behavior as in 4k.
Comments
Update: I removed the advancedsettings.xml and tried the same 1080p movie. Now it is playable, but with a couple of buffering incidents in the course of approximately an hour of playing the movie. There were though occasional black screens and stuttering as well.
One of the possibilities is that the encoder is not generating an imperfect bit stream or your source has a damaged bit stream. Have you tested the file with the reference decoder?