Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[EGLynum]

I have a really frustrating problem.  I use Windows Media Center to stream Amazon VOD TV shows from my 4500 to my 360 (with the N adapter).  But I can't buy the HD versions of a show because my 4500 seems to stream at a max of 10Mbps when I try to watch anything - Amazon VOD or recorded TV.  To confuse me more, when I run the Media Center "Tune Network" test I get 33Mbps.  33 is off the chart, and good enough for HD, but where is my 100+?  And why can't I stream with at least the 33 that I test at?!    

Any idea why this is happening?

EDIT: (answered)

Media Center was streaming with the settings from a different router. I uninstalled and reinstalled the extender (360) in Windows Media Center from my computer and with the exception of one little video glitch, I was able to watch an entire episode of Stargate Universe in HD.

[FurryNutz]

I for one can't offer any assistance in this are as I have not explored this. I would contact one of the moderators on here and ask them or contact DLink on the phone if nobody here can assist you. However it would be appreciated if you do find any info about this if you could post your results here for others that do use the streaming section of the 4500 more than others. Let us know what happens. Hope you can find a good solution.

EDIT: best solution for any streaming is via LAN wired cable for best performances or use a 5Ghz N or AC class bridge for use on a 360.

[Lycan]

What speed does the router report the XboX 360 N adapter is connected at?

What encryption are you using?

How many other wireless networks do you see?

Any other 2.4ghz devices in the area?

[EGLynum]

What speed does the router report the XboX 360 N adapter is connected at?

What I look at is the display on the router, under "statistics, wireless" as I test my connection with Windows Media Center's "tune network" and it says 33Mbps.   Where can I see what the apapter is connected at?

What encryption are you using?

AES

How many other wireless networks do you see?

About 10, I think.  I'm not home now.

Any other 2.4ghz devices in the area?

In addition to those 10 other wireless networks, probably lots.  But one of the reasons I got this router is so I can use the 5ghz spectrum.  Microwaves, cordless phones, and bluetooth connections shouldn't get in the way.

[Reinvented]

What ISP do you have?  What is your line actually rated for?

That is the most important question that needs to be asked.  Simply because a test that Windows runs, isn't going to really cut it.  Or help you stream your video.  It might skew the results a lot.

[EGLynum]

What ISP do you have?  What is your line actually rated for?

That is the most important question that needs to be asked.  Simply because a test that Windows runs, isn't going to really cut it.  Or help you stream your video.  It might skew the results a lot.

Maybe you're thinking I'm streaming from Amazon... ?

I download shows and then stream from my computer to my 360.  My ISP doesn't matter.  And if I could get 10Mbps from my ISP, I'd be in heaven.

[EGLynum]

Is it possible that upgrading my firmware (currently at 1.15) could help with this 10Mbps limit?

[EGLynum]

Is it possible that upgrading my firmware (currently at 1.15) could help with this 10Mbps limit?

The answer is no.  I tried 1.22.  Everything works exactly the same (from my perspective).

I think I went overboard on this post, so I'm just gonna bold all you need to know.

For anyone who's looking for an answer and found this thread... I'll explain what I've learned after a couple tech support calls.  (Then I'll return this router and try my luck with a Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700... another reason for the switch is for it's SIMULTANEOUS dual-band capability... I want to wake up to Pandora using my Chumby One.)

Anyway... I started with a Belkin N+ router and that thing could barely stream SD content (because of 2.4ghz interference).  The 4500's 5ghz stream was good enough for SD, but there was still a little lag every now and then.  And Amazon VOD HD was impossible (which is confusing since Netflix HD worked fine even when limited by my 5Mbps ISP).

D-Link tech support was not helpful (although it was QUICK, which I can appreciate after calling Microsoft).  By quick, I mean they said I needed to open ports, I said I've already opened ports, they said ports that are different than for gaming, I said what ports, they said I had to call Microsoft to figure out which ports.  Quick.   So I called microsoft and after a few escallations I was lucky enough to reach a brilliant tech who just kept trying everything he could think of.  Nothing worked, but opening ports had nothing to do with my problem.  Thanks D-Link.  We tweaked Windows services, enabled and disabled things in the router, blah, blah, blah, nothing worked.  I think this router just isn't capable of streaming to the Xbox N adapter faster than 10 Mbps (which is fine for everything except watching HD shows.)  But without that... I have no reason to go N.  This *N*ightmire won't end.

[zippoking]

Why is it that you think you're capped at 10Mbps?  You said the media center test reported 33, but what's that indication that you're only getting 10? 

[EGLynum]

Why is it that you think you're capped at 10Mbps?  You said the media center test reported 33, but what's that indication that you're only getting 10? 

Good question.  I used the display on the router (statistics, wireless) to see what the speed was when I tested, and what it was when I was actually watching (or buffering) an HD video.  Whenever I tested, it showed 33-ish. Whenever I was streaming, it showed 10-ish.  And it would buffer, play, buffer, play - all at 10Mbps.

[dfensman]

Lurker here too, been patiently pondering upgrading to v1.22na, but regardless, I think the issue is not with the router, but with the XBOX 360 and its limits.

see this link, with max bit rates for various codecs

http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/GamesandMedia/Movies/VideoFAQ/ViewVideoPlaybackFAQ.aspx

[zippoking]

I'm not so sure on how much I trust that display, I don't look at it a lot but when I do it seems way off.  At the moment, though, I don't have it near the computers I use it with so I haven't done a side by side comparison with anything.

[EGLynum]

Ho....ly....****.
Dfensman, you're the greatest.

There's my answer right near the top of that page:

Q: What does the Xbox 360 console support for WMV (VC-1)?
A: The Xbox 360 console supports the following for WMV:
File extensions: .wmv
Containers: ASF
Video profiles: WMV7 (WMV1), WMV8 (WMV2), WMV9 (WMV3), VC-1 (WVC1 or WMVA) in simple, main, and advanced up to level 3
Video bit rate: 15 Mbps

I typically saw 10-ish, but if 15Mbps is the absolute maximum, that makes sense (and that won't work for streaming HD content BTW)

It looks like 15Mbps is the best the 360 can do with any video format.  I never knew those limits were there.  I guess I'll have to look around for a better way to stream to my TV.  Damn.  I still need a router that can simultaneously use the 2.4 and 5.0ghz bands, but without your help I would've been over at the Netgear forums saying "Why!?!  For the love of God, why!?!"

Thanks.

[Beeder]

Look a little further down the FAQs on the Xbox Live page...it's actually NOT limited to 10Mbps; that's the max bit rate that they commit to decoding well on the 360...from the "See this question" link:

Q: What are the "real" max bit rate, resolution, and frames per second that the Xbox 360 console supports for all the different formats?
A: The Xbox 360 console does not block video from playing based on a maximum bit rate, resolution, or frames per second. Each codec's maximum has been tested using various video playback sources.

Content with a higher bit rate is not blocked, but playback quality may be less than optimal. Use higher bit rates at your own risk.

If you're not talking about streaming video from a local machine on your network, the 10Mbps limit you're seeing is likely due to internet traffic, your ISP's limitations, or the server bandwidth from which the video is being streamed.

[EGLynum]

Well this has all been real fun... but it's over.  Something I hadn't tried was to uninstall and reinstall the extender (360) in Windows Media Center from my computer.  With the exception of one little video glitch, I was able to watch an entire episode of Stargate Universe in HD.

So the problem was that Media Center was doing all it's complicated wizardy with the settings from a different router.