Lower bandwidth for MediaMVP

[mattsm]

Currently I am forced to use my MediaMVP over wireless. It works fine, but sometimes the wireless is just not fast enough to watch TV smoothly. During certain times of the day that is, anyways that is not the main question.

My question is can I tell my MediaMVP, through some setting, to have the server always encode my MPEG streams to a lower setting? I know this is possible with the placeshifter and it works very well. Any ideas?

-Matthew

[Opus4]

Verison 6 has an option in the Advanced tab to choose Standard or High quality when transcoding for an extender, but this only comes into play when the video has to be transcoded for MVP playback.

- Andy

[mdnttoker]

That'd be a great feature to have, to be able to tailor the data rate to the capabilities of the network connection (wired or wireless).

The transcoding engine is there already, seems like it wouldn't be too hard to add...

-Dan

[mattsm]

I agree. There should be an option to transcode everything sent to the MVP.

-Matthew

[stevech]

Originally Posted by mattsm

Currently I am forced to use my MediaMVP over wireless. It works fine, but sometimes the wireless is just not fast enough to watch TV smoothly. During certain times of the day that is, anyways that is not the main question.

-Matthew

Times-of-day - suggests that you are getting RF interference - either from a neighbor's WiFi that is within 3 channels of your channel #, or the interference is from a non-WiFi source. Make sure your antennas (both ends of link) are situated so that you have a consistent high signal strength - and this results in a reported bit rate, e.g, 48Mbps or more on the 802.11g link. The IP layer yield on 48Mbps air link rate of WiFi is about 40%. This should be more than sufficient.

So if your WiFi is setup with strong signals and on a channel (among 1, 6 and 11) so you aren't competing with a neighbor, then you should not have to resort to higher video compression rates and lower quality.

[mattsm]

I know there are always these sorts of issues. But I am in a very compact area with many microwaves around (my TV is in the kitchen, others microwaves are nearby, there are about 12 wireless networks nearby also). So I settle on the fact it won't be perfect. I am just looking for a way to improve my odds.

Thanks for the input though.

-Matthew

[stevech]

you can change and use 802.11a on 5.8GHz. $$$

And if you have a 2.4GHz cordless phone - see if its use correlates. Then get a 900MHz or 5.8GHz phone.

relocate wifi router to shorten the path length. Or use a WiFi access point located optimally, and connect it to your w-router.

[mattsm]

Right, but I am aware of all these things that interfere. I have already tried placement as well. The last thing I want to do is spend more money. There are also other clients on the network which can cause it to skip also, and there is no way to prevent that.

I was looking for the easy solution of just lowering the bandwidth.

-Matthew

[Deadbolt]

Originally Posted by mdnttoker

That'd be a great feature to have, to be able to tailor the data rate to the capabilities of the network connection (wired or wireless).

The transcoding engine is there already, seems like it wouldn't be too hard to add...

-Dan

This would also allow for the use of an MVP over the Internet via a VPN.

[mattsm]

Is there a way to formally put in a feature request?

[blade]

Originally Posted by Deadbolt

This would also allow for the use of an MVP over the Internet via a VPN.

The MVP can only playback mpeg2 so you'd be transcoding from one mpeg2 bitrate to a lower one which would still require far too much bandwith to use across the internet.

[DaFrogBoy]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Verison 6 has an option in the Advanced tab to choose Standard or High quality when transcoding for an extender, but this only comes into play when the video has to be transcoded for MVP playback.

- Andy

So is High quality the same as what it was in version 5? Or is Standard quality the same as version 5?

When recording at 2GB / Hour, is there any benefit to setting the quality to High? Or is that primarily for bitrates higher than 2GB / Hour?

Thanks!

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by DaFrogBoy

So is High quality the same as what it was in version 5? Or is Standard quality the same as version 5?

I think it was the same as High in v5. The short comment about the option is on p. 178 of the v6 manual -- Standard is SVCD quality, High is DVD quality.

When recording at 2GB / Hour, is there any benefit to setting the quality to High? Or is that primarily for bitrates higher than 2GB / Hour?

That setting only comes into play when the video has to be transcoded, so if the recording is mpeg2, it doesn't get transcoded at all since the MVP can play it as-is.

- Andy

[AngelofDeth]

Originally Posted by blade

The MVP can only playback mpeg2 so you'd be transcoding from one mpeg2 bitrate to a lower one which would still require far too much bandwith to use across the internet.

2Mbit upload would give reasonably results for SD even in MPEG2... certainly watchable at 2mbit sec.

[blade]

Originally Posted by AngelofDeth

2Mbit upload would give reasonably results for SD even in MPEG2... certainly watchable at 2mbit sec.

Of course there are connections fast enough, but they are not common. Personally I don't know anyone with a 2 mbit upload speed from their home. It's not like you could transcode like you do for placeshifter and use over a typical cable or DSL connection.

[autoboy]

I am using a HomePlug adaptor. I found that I could not get the wireless to work correctly. My Netgear HomePlug adaptor is a 85mbit version, and the homeplug software says I am getting 60mbit but my MVP still cannot send my shows encoded at 3GB/hr to the MVP. I have to go down to 2GB/hour or less. I don't like the 2Gb/hour setting on my main system because I can see some blockyness. I can't tell the difference on the MVP but I find myself not using the MVP in my bedroom because I can't stand the 2GB/hr setting in my living room. If the server transcoded it to 2GB/hr I would be in good shape.

Also, how come the homeplug shows 60mbit (which is very high for homeplug, 10mbit is common) and I still can't get 3GB/hr? I figured 20mbit would be fine considering a DVD is about 10mbit.

[stevech]

try measuring your IP layer speed. I would expect it to be about 40% of the speed that you get on the powerline or wireless media. That bit rate you speak of is, like WiFi, the bit rate of one frame on the wireless link. Each such frame has a lot of overhead bits, and each frame must be receipt-acknowledged by the receiving device. All this adds up.

My WiFi with a -80dBm signal (excellent, but I wish it were closer to -70), says the air link bit rate is 48 or 54Mbps (802.11g). The net throughput at the IP layer about 60% of that. This is normal.

Do an FTP to/from your sage server on your powerline, or run Qcheck (freeware) to see what your IP layer speeds are.

There are different versions of homeplug - I think the newer one is of course faster.

Lastly, be aware of homebplug signal attenuation (and slower speeds) due to
1. transmitter and receiver are on different AC power phases - you may need a phase bridge if they are (same issues as with X10)
2. if the receiver or transmitter is plugged into or wiring-wise near an AC power strip or a PC that has internal surge suppressors, these can attenuate the signal.