LAN speed is being throttled somehow.

I have found a problem trying to stream 4K video from my PC to my TV. The video is stuttering badly when played. I have played the video directly from a HDD via the USB with no problem, so it's not the video file or the TV.

The network is Ethernet hard cable, not Wifi, so I bypassed everything and connected the cable from the router directly to the TV and there was still stuttering. So the video signal route is from PC to router to TV, all cable.

All cables are newly replaced with Cat 6. The router is an Asus RT-A66RU gigabit. I wondered if the on board network in the PC was faulty so it now has a Realtek PCI GbE card, also 1Gbps.

I have also tried the TV on Wifi and as expected, the stuttering was even worse.

Am I right in thinking the problem is looking like the computer, even though the video plays perfectly on the monitor? Belarc Advisor confirms the new network card is up and the Intel on-board is down. It is looking like there is something wrong with the PC network interface, and that is where I am lost, hence this post.

I hope one of you guys can suggest an answer.

Just in case it matters, my PC is:
3.40 gigahertz Intel Core i7-3770
16356 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
W10 64

I

Has TV got USB try the video from USB if it stutters it's the TV it may be codecs the TV has

I stated "I have played the video directly from a HDD via the USB with no problem, so it's not the video file or the TV."

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Problem explained. I also contacted Asus and they have informed me that the router is the problem. The hardware and the firmware will not allow 4K bandwidth. New router needed.

sydh said:

I stated "[FONT="]I have played the video directly from a HDD via the USB with no problem, so it's not the video file or the TV."[/FONT]

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Problem explained. I also contacted Asus and they have informed me that the router is the problem. The hardware and the firmware will not allow 4K bandwidth. New router needed.

Hi there @sydh

that sounds a bit "B/S" (or in plain English --Bovine Scatology) to me (not you or your post of course but the reply from ASUS).

Streaming is purely a function of DATA transmission --the router won't know or care if it's any file format whatsoever --it's just passing what it thinks is DATA. Even an older 2.4 Hz wifi router should be sufficient.

So long as the router can transmit at the required data rate (over any sort of even mickey mouse Lan !!! running at below 1Gb/s speeds) the problem is 100% NOT IN THE ROUTER.

Typical bog standard LAN though runs at far faster than the requirement data rate of 4K UHD provided the server can dish up the data fast enough. I assume that your Internet connection is OK for this stuff though -- even if only using a local LAN check all the settings on router e.g mtu / full / half duplex etc etc.

The chances are (and I'll bet almost 100% ) it's your CLIENT software on the receiving end i.e the remote TV / computer running the application that receives the media stream and plays it -that's got the problem --for example you might have the client software to do all sorts of things with the codec before reaching your TV / screen. or even the app on the TV itself --TV's don't normally have anything like the same processing power that even a modest computer has.

Personally for using streaming as a client I'd use KODI as you can optimise all sorts of things so you can get satisfactory performance -- note even for 4K UHD video you don't actually need a faster internet connection than around 2 - 4 Mb/s believe it or not !!!.

Streaming directly of course means the TV which probably doesn't have anything like the same processor power of a computer will struggle with newer codecs such as H265-HEVC whereas playing from a USB HDD a lot of the work has already been done.

Don't believe a load of these so called "I.T experts" based on the other side of the planet -- a lot are used because they are cheap to hire for Western countries -- but like most things "you get what you pay for" .

Always remember --basic physics still works (wherever you are in the entire universe) and the saying "The price of Education is expensive ... but the price of ignorance is Astronomical" applies more and more these days as people aren't often taught even basic science in schools any more !!.

Actually -- a different approach can be quite helpful in streaming to TV's -- if you do it via an Amazon fire TV box or something like a Roku system then 99% of problems solved as these devices have decent CPU's, can buffer enough data in the event of Internet slow downs / delays from the streaming site and can do all conversions / upscaling etc etc.

That's just a suggestion though as this won't answer your specific problem but well worth thinking about though --cheaper than a new router !!!!

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

Hi there @sydh

that sounds a bit "B/S" (or in plain English --Bovine Scatology) to me (not you or your post of course but the reply from ASUS).

Streaming is purely a function of DATA transmission --the router won't know or care if it's any file format whatsoever --it's just passing what it thinks is DATA. Even an older 2.4 Hz wifi router should be sufficient.

So long as the router can transmit at the required data rate (over any sort of even mickey mouse Lan !!! running at below 1Gb/s speeds) the problem is 100% NOT IN THE ROUTER.

Typical bog standard LAN though runs at far faster than the requirement data rate of 4K UHD provided the server can dish up the data fast enough. I assume that your Internet connection is OK for this stuff though -- even if only using a local LAN check all the settings on router e.g mtu / full / half duplex etc etc.

The chances are (and I'll bet almost 100% ) it's your CLIENT software on the receiving end i.e the remote TV / computer running the application that receives the media stream and plays it -that's got the problem --for example you might have the client software to do all sorts of things with the codec before reaching your TV / screen. or even the app on the TV itself --TV's don't normally have anything like the same processing power that even a modest computer has.

Personally for using streaming as a client I'd use KODI as you can optimise all sorts of things so you can get satisfactory performance -- note even for 4K UHD video you don't actually need a faster internet connection than around 2 - 4 Mb/s believe it or not !!!.

Streaming directly of course means the TV which probably doesn't have anything like the same processor power of a computer will struggle with newer codecs such as H265-HEVC whereas playing from a USB HDD a lot of the work has already been done.

Don't believe a load of these so called "I.T experts" based on the other side of the planet -- a lot are used because they are cheap to hire for Western countries -- but like most things "you get what you pay for" .

Always remember --basic physics still works (wherever you are in the entire universe) and the saying "The price of Education is expensive ... but the price of ignorance is Astronomical" applies more and more these days as people aren't often taught even basic science in schools any more !!.

Actually -- a different approach can be quite helpful in streaming to TV's -- if you do it via an Amazon fire TV box or something like a Roku system then 99% of problems solved as these devices have decent CPU's, can buffer enough data in the event of Internet slow downs / delays from the streaming site and can do all conversions / upscaling etc etc.

That's just a suggestion though as this won't answer your specific problem but well worth thinking about though --cheaper than a new router !!!!

Cheers
jimbo

Hello!
Sorry for "kidnapping" this thread, I have none of the problems mentioned.
Just wanted to say I love your answer. You are standing with both feet on the ground

snickie said:

Hello!
Sorry for "kidnapping" this thread, I have none of the problems mentioned.
Just wanted to say I love your answer. You are standing with both feet on the ground

Thanks !!!

If only people went a bit more back to "First Principles" rather than take what a load of salespeople tell them !!!!!

Cheers
jimbo

I have copied below the email that Asus sent me. They seemed so certain that their hardware was the problem. I don't believe it is a sales ruse as there is no recommendation for another Asus router. As it is, I have searched the review forums and ordered the Netgear Orbi. Very expensive £300 but hopefully it will also fix some wifi issues I was having with security cameras drifting in and out. Needless to say, I shall be pretty p***ed off if the problem with the 4k remains. To my knowledge, all the router settings were ok, and what with new network card and Cat6 cables, I was out of ideas, hence posting to the forum.
I use Plex but the stuttering was the same as running directly from the PC without Plex. I don't understand how playing an mp4 from a portable HDD through USB is different to playing the same file from the PC HDD via the LAN. Even Samuria suggested the TV would be ok if it played properly via USB, which it did. All the codecs you mention were put to bed in the M2TS / mp4 conversion within the camera. Even post-production if the file is split back into audio and video, Premiere once again does all the codec work.
The TV I am using is a 3 month old LG 4K big screen so very up to date. Even so, how is the TV any different to playing on the PC monitors (which are several years old), which are fine? As for "First Principles", I renewed cables and cards and checked all router settings according to Asus guidelines. I'm don't see what more I could have done, other than reach out for help.
Not sure when the Orbi will arrive but I will keep you informed.

Here is the email:

Thank you for contacting ASUS Support.

The issue is caused by the router indeed , however there is no fix.
It is hardware limitation ,this model in particular cannot stream 4k content flawlessly due to it's processor and RAM not being powerful enough for that type of video signal bandwith.

Newer more recent model will fix the issue.

Our apologies for the inconveniences caused to you.

Hi Snickie - I hope it's not the TV. Well over £1,000. I can imagine the argument I would have trying to make them beieve it is faulty. It has the likes of Netflix and Amazon built in so surely 4K should not be a problem over the network? As I said, it is fine via USB and HDMI so maybe it does need a new network card or whatever there is inside. Knowing LG, it's probably a complete motherboard needed. I shall keep my fingers crossed on the new router. Maybe the Asus router is faulty, says he grasping at straws.

sydh said:

Hi Snickie - I hope it's not the TV. Well over £1,000. I can imagine the argument I would have trying to make them beieve it is faulty. It has the likes of Netflix and Amazon built in so surely 4K should not be a problem over the network? As I said, it is fine via USB and HDMI so maybe it does need a new network card or whatever there is inside. Knowing LG, it's probably a complete motherboard needed. I shall keep my fingers crossed on the new router. Maybe the Asus router is faulty, says he grasping at straws.

Does your TV have a browser so you can browse any site on the internet? If it has, go to fast.com. It is Netflix test site. If you can get over 25 Mb/s you should be fine. When I tested I got 90 Mb/s. I have mobile internet.
Cheers!