Want to upgrade to a Wireless-N Router
- Thread starter Hells_Fury
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Hells_Fury
Discoverer
What you have mentioned earlier is correct. I am using the Xtreamer to stream movies from my PC HDD/External HDD (connected to PC). The Xtreamer has a UPnP server ability as well as the ability to connect to other UPnP servers (like PS3 media server running on my PC).
I tried streaming a 1080p movie from my PC HDD using PS3 media server which did not work out.
I tried streaming a 1080p movie from my PC HDD using PS3 media server which did not work out.
blr_p
Oracle
Good, this is what i wanted you to do. You confirmed..
- xstreamer has a upnp client.
- you already have a upnp server (ps3 media server) installed on your pc.
- PC is connected by wire to the router.
- xstreamer can see and access the ps3 upnp server.
Am not expecting 1080p to work with your present router. What about smaller than 1080p but bigger than what you could do before.
Would for instance a file with an avg bitrate of 5mbs and peak no more than 15mbs work. If not what about with a peak no more than 10mbs . What is the max you can manage with the new setup.
How much improvement (if any) did option 1) and PS3 UPnP provide ?
Are you able to stream bigger files to the xtreamer than previously with the new setup.
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
I do not have that much variety of source files to test. Can try with some 720p movies and report back.
blr_p
Oracle
In addition to your files here are some samples to try.
http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests/
Bear in mind these samples are more proof of concept than guarantees. What matters is files of longer duration than these that play successfully.
http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests/
Bear in mind these samples are more proof of concept than guarantees. What matters is files of longer duration than these that play successfully.
blr_p
Oracle
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
blr_p
Oracle
While you're at it. Turn on the FTP server on the xtreamer and try to upload from your PC. What speed do you get. Try to get a USB extension cable no longer than 6 feet and attach the xtreamer wifi antenna to it. Is there any difference in speeds.
Do you have shell access to the xtreamer ? It will make disagnosing what the xtreamer is actually receiving easier.
Do you have shell access to the xtreamer ? It will make disagnosing what the xtreamer is actually receiving easier.
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
I cannot do that since there is no internal HDD in the Xtreamer. The FTP option only works if the internal HDD is installed.
BTW... I did not try any detailed tests over the weekend. Was able to play one 720p movie but I did not watch the whole thing. Just a couple of minutes. Not sure of the bit rate.
blr_p
Oracle
Get a cross ethernet cable, install PS3 DLNA server on your laptop. Load those same 3 movies you mentioned on the last page on your laptop or connect the HDD they are on to the laptop.
Now attach the laptop directly to the xtreamers ethernet port via the cross cable and play the 3 files from your laptop via DLNA.
This will test whether the SoC on the xtreamer can handle playback as well as streaming from a network file server. Its that latter bit that adds extra workload on the chip and is being tested here.
If the xtreamer fails this test it might be time to look for another streamer or forget about streaming 1080p over the network. Only local file system playback via USB HDD presumably as you are currently doing is possible with your xtreamer model.
If the wired test is successful (as i expect it to be) then your model should be able to do the same via wi-fi (with the appropriate equipment) as well. That is to say the xtreamer IS technically capable of playing your 3 files over a network provided the bandwidth is adequate.
With g the best possible speed you can expect is ~24Mbs. In reality more like 10-20 mbs. No way to tell whether its more like 10 or closer to 20mbs now is there.
FTP server on xtreamer not possible with just external USB HDD or pen drive ?
Before you could stream only 'small' files (you did not tell us their bitrates) but NOW you managed to stream a 720p that too with a 'g' router.
Run it for ten minutes at least. Then try moving to different points in the movie and see what the response is. Is the response acceptable.
Make sure the encryption on your router and xtreamer is WPA2+AES. Other encryptions add more overhead.
Also if there is a 'g' only option prefer that over any 'mixed' option for both router & xtreamer config.
Basically your problem is twofold, the wifi adapter that xtreamer provides is marketed as a N300 adapter. I've found no evidence on the xtreamer forums that it is a N300 at all. The mods recommend setting it up in B+G mode, which indicates to me its only been tested for b,g wifi let alone n.
Getting a different dongle is not feasible, as the xtreamer firmware is very tightly linked to the chipset of their dongle, which the xtreamer page misreports as a Ralink when in reality its a realtek. There is a very telling line at the end of their wifi adapter page, which basically says its only good for 10Mbs. heh, so its only for internet browsing and nothing more.
To stream full HD movies you need a client bridge, this way the xtreamer thinks its on a wired connection and you can be assured of getting higher speeds. Then you couple that with a N300 router and it should work. In theory you have a 20-40mbs wifi link that should just about handle those 3 movies of yours. This will be an exclusive video network. All your other wifi devices will be connecting to your old linksys g router and nobody other than the xtreamer will work on this one.
So thing is to find bridges readily available in the market here. Otherwise have to get a router and use dd-wrt on it to work as a bridge. You would get 2 routers of the same model, one works as a better wifi adapter connected by ethernet to the xtreamer and the other functions as a regular router. A bridge is better than a router though because it has a bigger antenna and is specialised to do just one thing.
How serious are you about streaming movies over wifi ? As you can see there are quite a few hoops to jump through otherwise you can forget this hassle and just connect a wire to the xtreamer and be done. That is, assuming your xtreamer passes the wired test mentioned above. In which case you don't even need a new router as the present one will suffice for your other needs.
Or you can get your PS3 DLNA or another to transcode any full HD movies down to 720p or whatever rate that works. You will need a powerful server to do this transparently.
Now attach the laptop directly to the xtreamers ethernet port via the cross cable and play the 3 files from your laptop via DLNA.
This will test whether the SoC on the xtreamer can handle playback as well as streaming from a network file server. Its that latter bit that adds extra workload on the chip and is being tested here.
If the xtreamer fails this test it might be time to look for another streamer or forget about streaming 1080p over the network. Only local file system playback via USB HDD presumably as you are currently doing is possible with your xtreamer model.
If the wired test is successful (as i expect it to be) then your model should be able to do the same via wi-fi (with the appropriate equipment) as well. That is to say the xtreamer IS technically capable of playing your 3 files over a network provided the bandwidth is adequate.
Then we have no way to test what your throughput to the xtreamer actually is. This is crucial if wifi is preferred as there has to be some way to tell whether you are getting the best speeds possible with the present placement of your wifi-adapter+ router. You have to get this right before even thinking of replacing with better wifi devices.
With g the best possible speed you can expect is ~24Mbs. In reality more like 10-20 mbs. No way to tell whether its more like 10 or closer to 20mbs now is there.
FTP server on xtreamer not possible with just external USB HDD or pen drive ?
I take it this is an improvement over your previous configuration of two wifi links over one?
Before you could stream only 'small' files (you did not tell us their bitrates) but NOW you managed to stream a 720p that too with a 'g' router.
Run it for ten minutes at least. Then try moving to different points in the movie and see what the response is. Is the response acceptable.
Make sure the encryption on your router and xtreamer is WPA2+AES. Other encryptions add more overhead.
Also if there is a 'g' only option prefer that over any 'mixed' option for both router & xtreamer config.
See my first post in the thread for a tool you could use to measure the bit rate. Ensure that the tool reports the correct duration of the movie as indicated by your media player. I find there is this problem with a minority of files where there is a duration mismatch in which case what the tools reports isn't reliable.
Basically your problem is twofold, the wifi adapter that xtreamer provides is marketed as a N300 adapter. I've found no evidence on the xtreamer forums that it is a N300 at all. The mods recommend setting it up in B+G mode, which indicates to me its only been tested for b,g wifi let alone n.
Getting a different dongle is not feasible, as the xtreamer firmware is very tightly linked to the chipset of their dongle, which the xtreamer page misreports as a Ralink when in reality its a realtek. There is a very telling line at the end of their wifi adapter page, which basically says its only good for 10Mbs. heh, so its only for internet browsing and nothing more.
To stream full HD movies you need a client bridge, this way the xtreamer thinks its on a wired connection and you can be assured of getting higher speeds. Then you couple that with a N300 router and it should work. In theory you have a 20-40mbs wifi link that should just about handle those 3 movies of yours. This will be an exclusive video network. All your other wifi devices will be connecting to your old linksys g router and nobody other than the xtreamer will work on this one.
So thing is to find bridges readily available in the market here. Otherwise have to get a router and use dd-wrt on it to work as a bridge. You would get 2 routers of the same model, one works as a better wifi adapter connected by ethernet to the xtreamer and the other functions as a regular router. A bridge is better than a router though because it has a bigger antenna and is specialised to do just one thing.
How serious are you about streaming movies over wifi ? As you can see there are quite a few hoops to jump through otherwise you can forget this hassle and just connect a wire to the xtreamer and be done. That is, assuming your xtreamer passes the wired test mentioned above. In which case you don't even need a new router as the present one will suffice for your other needs.
Or you can get your PS3 DLNA or another to transcode any full HD movies down to 720p or whatever rate that works. You will need a powerful server to do this transparently.
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
I believe I read somewhere that the Xtreamer SoC is capable of streaming full HD content over a network. Just that I don't remember if it was a wireless or wired network. Will try to get a crossover etnernet cable and check it out.
Nope, it works only if there is an internal HDD connected.
Yes this is definitely an improvement once my PC is connected to my router via an ethernet cable.
Actually the website mentions the adapter to be an N150 adapter. What is the theoritical max speed for N150?
Now that you mention it, it does seem to be a big hassle. Guess I'll continue to do what I am currently doing. Copy movies to my pen drive and watch off it or connect my external HDD directly to the Xtreamer.
PS: Thanks for all the help man...really appreciate it.
blr_p
Oracle
If it works over wired it will work over wireless if you can get enough bits across in time. This is a good test to do if you ever plan to stream over the network vice local filesystem.
Ah, then until you put a drive in there we don't know what throughput you're getting. No spare HDDs around for this ?
Does your router offer any throughput data. If the xtreamer is the only client then that will be better than presently.
So what was the bitrate of that 720p file you streamed across ?
Yes, but they also use the word MIMO in their literature. This implies multi-stream. The mods insist its a realtek chipset with a model# which is a 2x2 so i thought it was a N300 but no confirmation ever materialised. Its a N150 for all intents and purposes.
N150 means a raw or link speed of
- 130-150Mbs with a 40Mhz channel or using two two channels
- 65-72 with a 20 Mhz channel or one channel
With protocol + encryption overhead, you theoretical best throuhput is ~40Mbs. I've read somebody claim the best speed they ever got was 30Mbs. Which must have been in the same room as the adapter.
How far away is your router from the xtreamer, what obstacles are in between ? How many walls and how thick.
I believe its possible to stream 1080p under the right conditions ie you need a throughput of at least 30mbs and it needs to stay at that level.
Which of the five above are g devices and which are n ?
Are the PS3 & xtreamer located close to each other ?
Your present router is going to die one day and you will need a replacement.
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
It only accepts 2.5" HDDs and I don't have any.
Nope, I have not seen any such option. Will check again though.
Not sure. Did not check.
Its around 25 feet away and there is one wall in between. Also, the Xtreamer is enclosed within a TV Cabinet with a glass door.
The PS3, the laptop and one cell phone are n devices. Rest are g.
Yes, they are in the same cabinet.
Hells_Fury
Discoverer
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