4k streaming to TV buffering and stuttering

[Mchaggis69]

Setup is a QNAP TS-251A
1Gb internet connection
fully wired (cat 5e) setup to a new Sony KD-55AF8 Television

I've been trying to stream 4k content from the QNAP to the TV.

I've tried
Kodi (on the TV)
Plex (on the QNAP)
VLC (on the TV)
I've even tried the Sony media player via DLNA to the QNAP
and various other so-called media players.

For the record, Kodi is my system of choice and plays my 1080p content flawlessly.
I have disappointingly found out the TV does not have gigabit network hardware built in, but I've also tried wireless which I was suggested would get me better speeds/playback.

However on high bitrate 4k files (80Mbps) no matter what I do, I'm getting varying levels of buffering and stuttering playback (depending on what media player I'm using).
4k playback via the internet (youtube etc) plays fine, so why can't I stream 4k from my NAS properly?

Any clues or things to try very much appreciated.

Is it possible to plug a gigabit network adaptor into the TV via USB to give me more bandwidth?

[IamNic]

Hello @Mchaggis69,

depending on the NAS, there are different tiers of harddrive read speeds. 

So no matter how fast your LAN network is, the bottleneck could be the NAS itself.

If you can play the files from your NAS with another device flawlessly, I would try to check every component and monitor network speeds from every part of the network.

- Nic

[Mchaggis69]

The NAS transfer speeds across the network (1Gig) are all fine (tested).

I have managed something of a solution to some 4K content which is to disable AC3 transcoding on Kodi.

However on test 4K files (including Sonys own HDR and other 4K demos) I am still getting buffering and stuttering on high bitrate material. Kodi installed on the TV actually reports the source as being too slow, but as noted above, the network is all gigabit and wired and the hard drive speeds from the NAS are fine. I can only assume the 10/100 adaptor on the TV is to blame. Who the hell in this day and age on a £2,700 TV puts in a 10/100 network adaptor?

To get any software issues out of the way, I will try again on VLC player (installed on the TV) and see if the 4k samples I have play smoothly.

[Newtothis]

I am still in the same situation, my server is gigabit and is not casuing the bottleneck. its obviosly to do with the £0.50p  100mbit network adapter in my £2500 TV. Why didnt they spend an extra couple of pounds to enable us to watch high bitrate videos.

[Kuschelmonschter]

The built-in MediaTek SoC only has 100mbps Ethernet MAC. It is nothing you can easily change by spending a few cents.

Indeed the BRAVIA has been designed for the relatively thin 4K 24p OTT streams. The processor stuggles hard when attempting to stream some high bitrate content, especially at 4K 60p.

depending on the NAS, there are different tiers of harddrive read speeds. 

---

The HDD is hardly ever the bottleneck.

[Mchaggis69]

I have read I might be better switching to wifi, but that seems counter intuitive. My wifi signal to the TV is good and measures at about 200-240Mbps.

Although I think I am going to bite the bullet, get an nvidia shield and 4Tb USB drive and just use that to watch movies (HDMI to TV) to cut out the network bottleneck altogether.

[stormyuk]

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@Mchaggis69 wrote:

I have read I might be better switching to wifi, but that seems counter intuitive. My wifi signal to the TV is good and measures at about 200-240Mbps.

---

Have you tried the same files via wireless?

[Newtothis]

The processor in my kd75xf9005 copes fine with massive bit rate movies, when the files are being play from a usb hdd plugged into the tv. 

The only issue is the network controller. Surely a usb to lan adapter is the answer, providing it's compatible. 

[Mchaggis69]

OK, so I nipped out and bought a USB to Lan adaptor (1Gb) and tried it in all the USB connections on the back of the TV.

It works with none of them.

Do SONY support read these forums? Is there a note of any LAN adaptors that are compatible or will none work?

[Newtothis]

Which one did you try? 

I have asked sony support which brands/models will work , but they just keep ignoring my question and asking silly questions about internet speed and firmware. Not sure why they think internet speed will impact my local network performance.

If I get anywhere with them I'll post here.