Hi, I have been working my way through solving the stuttering problem. I've had some minor successes, and some setbacks. I'd like to post my findings and ask a few questions.
Here are my system specs: SS 6.5.0 (tried 6.5.1, but went back) PIII XPPRO D-Link 524 SB3 WiFi Before updating to 6.5.0, the SB3 was basically useless. I was having so much trouble with stuttering, I didn't use it for like 3 weeks (major bummer). I bought a wifi range extender, but it was the wrong one, so I returned it. In the mean time, I updated the firmware on my router, updated SS to 6.5.0 and viola, it was rock solid for like 4 weeks, I played it and played it, with no stuttering. As soon as the relatives came over for Thanksgiving, wouldn't you know it, the stuttering starts, so embarassing. So typical. I reboot, try just about everything, but to no avail. Back to MusicChoice (blah)... So after everyone is gone, I read all the threads about the stuttering and try some different tacticts. One screwed me up, late in the game: Unchecking MP3 in the file list. I did this and then, guess what? ERROR: "Unable to play file" (all my files are MP3). I didn't remember that I had done this and reverted to 6.5.0. When it still didn't play any files, I remembered that check box and I was back in business. But only for about 2 songs, and on the third song, it starts stuttering again. I noticed that it crossfaded so nicely between song one and song two, but it hung up when crossfading to song 3. So I turned off crossfade. From that point on, it has been playing fine. Seems like trouble with crossfade. Only until after about 10 songs and then it starts stuttering again. So I think it is cool to use the Show Buffer Level setting for my display. I'm watching it when it has the above problem with the crossfade and notice that when it gets to the end of song two, it does not load song three into the buffer. I'm thinking to myself, why does it have to load the song right at the beginning? I mean, with a bit of flash memory the unit could load the next 10 songs into the buffer while song one is playing. This way, IT NEVER RUNS OUT OF BUFFER. I really don't understand the idea that only one song should be in the buffer at any given time. Maybe there is a setting to change this that I am unaware of? Even two songs would be better. This statement re: the buffer from the server health pages makes me scratch my head: This drains to 0 at the end of each track and then refills for the next track. (totally illogical in an era of cheap memory) Here is my signal strength graph: < 10 : 0 : 0% < 20 : 0 : 0% < 30 : 11 : 8% #### < 40 : 68 : 52% ######################### < 50 : 21 : 16% ####### < 60 : 32 : 24% ############ < 70 : 0 : 0% < 80 : 0 : 0% < 90 : 0 : 0% < 100 : 0 : 0% >=100 : 0 : 0% max : 58.000000 min : 21.000000 avg : 39.166667 And my summary: Control Connection : OK Streaming Connection : OK Signal Strength : Poor Buffer Fullness : Low Server Response Time : Occasional Poor Response The final thing I did was when it was stuck at 0 buffer (always between tracks) and not loading the next song into the buffer, was to pick up the SB3 unit and wave it through the air (to increase the likelyhood that it would pick up the wireless signal) and that works. So I'm back to thinking it may be that I need a wireless range extender. However, I'm concerned that it is not the signal strength that is causing the stuttering and therefore a wireless range extender would not help. Why would I be concerned? Because for about 4 weeks after upgrading to 6.5.0 I never had any stuttering suggesting that my signal strength is fine even though it seems low. Not to mention that it plays an entire song fine all the way through once buffered, it is just the transition between songs where it gets hung up, leading me back to the buffer. Why should it not at least load the first xx seconds of the next song as the buffer starts to empty from the prior song that is is playing? I believe that I would not need a wireless range extender if it would just buffer say, 10 songs, instead of One at a time. Finally, I would like to use the debugging, but I'm not sure where to start. My goal is to be CERTAIN what is causing the stuttering before I go out and drop more cash on the extenders if those will not solve my problem. Thank you for all your consideration and help. I still love my SB3 and would not trade it for anything or ever sell it on E-bay. I'm in this for the long haul. tek -- caldvd ------------------------------------------------------------------------ caldvd's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7302 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30029 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
