Wireless network card cause of slow streaming?

dl8860

dl8860

dl8860

Soldato
Joined
25 Jul 2010
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4,146
Location
Worcestershire
Since moving flat, my PC is now in one room and TV +router are in another, I've invested in one of these - a straight wired connection between PC and router isn't an option as it's a rented place and I don't want to go routing cables.

The TV and router are just the other side of a wall to my PC, so I figured it wouldn't cause too many signal issues, and opted for the wireless solution instead of homeplugs as it'll be a bit tidier as well due to less cables. My PC does indeed seem to show a high signal strength at all times, and I don't have any problems loading webpages or streaming videos on my PC.

The problem comes when I use plex on my Samsung H6400, with my PC as the media server. Sometimes it will play an entire film without a problem (~2GB for a 2 hour film), though sometimes on a smaller film it'll buffer, sometimes really chronically.

It seems to my as if the likely culprit is the wireless connection between PC and router, in which case, should I upgrade my router, or get some homeplugs?

Current router is this one http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/atta...392640388-sky-router-firmware-sagem-2504n.jpg

Thanks
 
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Interesting, just tried monitoring my wifi speeds while streaming 1080p music video via YouTube, and it looks like this

bXZDlTT.png


No one else using the network as far as I know. The video streams plenty fast enough to play, bit that graph is noticeably very jumpy. Is this the flaws the in wireless connection being shown up? Or just how YouTube buffers?

I would still expect plex to buffer quick enough for what I normally play even with intermittent speeds like that, though obviously my testing hasn't exactly been thorough.

Appreciate any thoughts.
 
A jumpy graph is to be expected.

I'd start by testing with a cable as that has got to be your baseline for any testing. Even if you can't leave it in place permanently you should be able to leave it in place for long enough.

If you're in a flat you're probably surrounded by other wireless networks. Have you checked that you're using the least congested channel? Is 5GHz an option?

Powerline is a bit of a lottery and there's no way to predict how well they'll work in your particular situation. If you do try them make sure you do set your own encryption keys to avoid any possibility of cross connecting with your neighbours.
 
If you must use wireless, put your media server on a LAN connection to the router. This will 'halve' the loss associated with using wireless.
 
Bledd is saying to connect your PC to the wireless router in a non-wireless fashion, as in, with a cable. Homeplugs do seem to be your only real option for it. You could buy some and try it out, choosing to return them if they don't do the trick.
 
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