Anyone able to stream full HD to their Prime? - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

So, my wifi signal near my router is at best -48db. Not sure if that is normal or not. The wifi seems capped at 65mbps at best...which should be enough but we all know it isn't.
My problem is that I can't stream large HD files from my server. I'm not talking about transcoding them. On my laptops, I can easily stream and play any HD file. The Prime is choking on them because of wifi and network issues.
Is anyone streaming full HD (mkv or otherwise) to their prime from their network? I'm using Es file explorer to do so and Mx Video player to play the file.
PS..the files play fine if put on the internal hard drive of the Prime.

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Try using plex. It worked for me with bdrips

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Thanks. Regarding Plex:
1. Can you install that on Windows Home Server Version 1? I'd hate to put it on my regular desktop since it would have to be awake the whole time (unless Plex wakes it up).
2. Plex transcodes right? How much reduction in quality are you getting for those bluray rips?
3. Do you know if Plex plays WTV (windows media center) files? I have a ton of Recorded TV on the server.
Thanks.

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I was able to do a 1080p Avatar bluray rip steam onto mxplayer
NO problem at all..

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azzurrony said:
Thanks. Regarding Plex:
1. Can you install that on Windows Home Server Version 1? I'd hate to put it on my regular desktop since it would have to be awake the whole time (unless Plex wakes it up).
2. Plex transcodes right? How much reduction in quality are you getting for those bluray rips?
3. Do you know if Plex plays WTV (windows media center) files? I have a ton of Recorded TV on the server.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Plex on my WHS (V1, not 2011) and it's changed my life. I use it to stream 2TB of MKV rips to my phone, tablet, and Google TVs. It transcodes brilliantly and steps video quality based on bandwidth available. It streams great to my tablet over a 3MB 3G connection. And you can access your content from any outside 3G or Wi-Fi connection. I can even stream over the ****ty GoGo connection on airplanes.
I don't know about WTV files. If it doesn't work with Plex, try PlayOn. PlayOn provides access to all audio and video files you have stored on your WHS. It also provides access to Hulu (better than the native app), Amazon VOD, Netflix, and a host of other online video channels. It too works remotely. Between Plex and Playon I only store content locally when I'm going to be on a long flight without Wi-Fi.
When you first set Plex up, read the instructions for renaming your files in to the format for them to be tagged. It's a pain in the ass but the end result is worth it. It adds cover art, descriptions, and, for TV series, sorts them by season and episode. Plex is one of the most underated pieces of s/w out there.
P.S. - What h/w is your WHS running on? It needs to be at least dual-core.

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720p is working fine. 1080p I am still having problems with it.
(performs the same as my original TF).
Not sure what is going on here. Using Estrongs File browswer to browse
to Windows 7 PC. Hooked of course 100mbit lan cable to my Netgear
Wireless N 300mb. Pulling 1080p .mkvs 6 to 8GB rips.. I get stuttering
in Diceplayer, Mxplayer. Right from the start.
Tablet on Normal performance setting. Like 15 feet from my router.
I tried different compression settings in the players.
Those that are having flawless 1080p video what player are you using?

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I am using MXplayer with Upnplay streaming with PS3 Media server. no problems.

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BarryH_GEG said:
I use Plex on my WHS (V1, not 2011) and it's changed my life. I use it to stream 2TB of MKV rips to my phone, tablet, and Google TVs. It transcodes brilliantly and steps video quality based on bandwidth available. It streams great to my tablet over a 3MB 3G connection. And you can access your content from any outside 3G or Wi-Fi connection. I can even stream over the ****ty GoGo connection on airplanes.
I don't know about WTV files. If it doesn't work with Plex, try PlayOn. PlayOn provides access to all audio and video files you have stored on your WHS. It also provides access to Hulu (better than the native app), Amazon VOD, Netflix, and a host of other online video channels. It too works remotely. Between Plex and Playon I only store content locally when I'm going to be on a long flight without Wi-Fi.
When you first set Plex up, read the instructions for renaming your files in to the format for them to be tagged. It's a pain in the ass but the end result is worth it. It adds cover art, descriptions, and, for TV series, sorts them by season and episode. Plex is one of the most underated pieces of s/w out there.
P.S. - What h/w is your WHS running on? It needs to be at least dual-core.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an HP Ex487 so I only have an Intel Celeron 2ghz. Probably won't handle Plex.

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I don't think its the video player. Mxplayer plays those files fine locally. I just don't think the Prime's wifi can stream a full HD file directly from the server.
I'm using a Netgear WNDR3300 router with 2.4ghz at 270mbps. The Prime reads that connection at a max of 65mbps. The result is that high def video will stutter over that connection.
Not sure how you guys are getting 1080p to play unless you transcode it.

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>Hooked of course 100mbit lan cable to my Netgear Wireless N 300mb.
The 300Mb/s is the theoretical link rate, not actual bandwidth. Do a big file copy with ES. Then calc filesize / xfer_time * 8 bit/byte = actual avg bandwidth in Mbit/s.
Video content has highly variable bandwidth needs. Per the graph below, this particular 1080p Avatar clip's video requires 18.6Mb/s on avg, 32.5Mb/s at peak. Add bandwidth for each audio track (DTS=1.5Mb/s, normal AC3=0.64Mb/s). Does your actual avg bandwidth at least equal the clip's total avg bandwidth use?
Wifi also has drop-outs, not to mention it's a shared resource. Rule-of-thumb is to take your video's avg bandwidth use x 3 (to account for drop-outs and bit spikes) and compare it to the connection's bandwidth, in determining the wifi connection's viability for HD streaming.
For the typical wifi setup, 720p is usually OK, assuming the user isn't sharing the wifi. 1080p is usually not OK. That's why there is a proliferation of proprietary wireless HD equipment on the market.
Streaming, as some mentioned, has its strengths. Its weaknesses are that it requires a beefy PC on the server end to do real-time transcoding, its video quality is lowered, and seeking is problematic. But for some situations, it may be a good choice.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1348488
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I guess.. my i7 2600k at 5.2 and told to use all 8 cores to do.. helps.. I def do not have a fancy router at all..

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Has anyone tried using Skifta/Twonky paired with TVersity on the PC with the prime
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

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e.mote said:
>Hooked of course 100mbit lan cable to my Netgear Wireless N 300mb.
The 300Mb/s is the theoretical link rate, not actual bandwidth. Do a big file copy with ES. Then calc filesize / xfer_time * 8 bit/byte = actual avg bandwidth in Mbit/s.
Video content has highly variable bandwidth needs. Per the graph below, this particular 1080p Avatar clip's video requires 18.6Mb/s on avg, 32.5Mb/s at peak. Add bandwidth for each audio track (DTS=1.5Mb/s, normal AC3=0.64Mb/s). Does your actual avg bandwidth at least equal the clip's total avg bandwidth use?
Wifi also has drop-outs, not to mention it's a shared resource. Rule-of-thumb is to take your video's avg bandwidth use x 3 (to account for drop-outs and bit spikes) and compare it to the connection's bandwidth, in determining the wifi connection's viability for HD streaming.
For the typical wifi setup, 720p is usually OK, assuming the user isn't sharing the wifi. 1080p is usually not OK. That's why there is a proliferation of proprietary wireless HD equipment on the market.
Streaming, as some mentioned, has its strengths. Its weaknesses are that it requires a beefy PC on the server end to do real-time transcoding, its video quality is lowered, and seeking is problematic. But for some situations, it may be a good choice.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1348488
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks for the info. I take it this is why airvideo with airserver is working so well on the IPAD2.
Keeps the bit rate lower and does all the work on the PC. I guess I would need something similar on PC
like airserver to stream videos to the Prime.
Laptop is fine. I have no problems streaming same 1080p to it. More powerful.
Only tablet I have found that will handle it. Was the Samsung S7 Windows 7
tablet powered by I5 processor. That thing I was using Klite mplayer and
streaming 1080p to it without any hiccups. Of course it only has about 5 hours
of battery life, and costs $1100.00

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I used to do some live streaming golf video lessons through a HD video camera. I found that the most important thing to get a flawless video stream was CPU power. Regardless of the speed of my connection and at that time it was sprint 3g or comcast cable connection I had to have my core 2 duo on high performance to get a good stream.
So in short, I found that the #1 requirement for good streaming was CPU power followed by connection speed.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App

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Erusman said:
720p is working fine. 1080p I am still having problems with it.
(performs the same as my original TF).
Not sure what is going on here. Using Estrongs File browswer to browse
to Windows 7 PC. Hooked of course 100mbit lan cable to my Netgear
Wireless N 300mb. Pulling 1080p .mkvs 6 to 8GB rips.. I get stuttering
in Diceplayer, Mxplayer. Right from the start.
Tablet on Normal performance setting. Like 15 feet from my router.
I tried different compression settings in the players.
Those that are having flawless 1080p video what player are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks more like an issue with encoding of the file that a network/hardware limitation. It probably was encoded using some wonky parameters (especially if you pulled it from the internet,who knows how they encoded it) that do not comply to a standard that the prime is looking for, so it's forced to be software decoded which the Prime doesn't have enough muscle for, at least not at 1080p.
Try re-encode from the DVD/BR using handbreak using one of the presets and see if it works.

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The problem is that the Prime has plenty of CPU to play the 1080p files natively.
So, when it chokes playing the 1080p files over wifi from the network (while my laptops play them flawlessly), that tells me that there is something wrong with the Prime's wifi.
I believe the problem lies in the fact that there is some sort of cap in Android which keeps max throughput capped at 65mbps. I've never seen it higher than that. My laptops on that same connection get up to 270mbps.
There is no margin for error in the Prime's wifi signal. Thus, 1080p videos over the network (not transcoded) struggle. Wish there was a way to unlock the full wifi capability of that chip.
Any ideas?

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@OP
I'm guessing you're not a numbers guy, else you would've read my post which says there's no way on God's green earth you're gonna get 270 or even 65Mbs on the Prime. That's OK. I got lots of practice in making stuff simple for non-techie peeps (my parents).
The table below is from the Prime's FCC RF test report (here)
See the Antenna Type where it says "PIFA Antenna with gain 0.4 dBi"? That's your (and everybody else's) problem. The typical rubberduckie antenna has a gain of 2 dBi. Your laptop's built-in diversity antenna is probably 3-5 dBi. Per the bigger-is-better maxim, any mobile device's reception ain't gonna be all that great. BTW, dBi is a log measure, but you get the idea. Small antenna = sucky reception.
Mobile devices suck for wifi reception because of their small antennae. That's just the way it is. It won't improve until tabs can accept external (USB) wifi receivers with big honking antenna, like this one (that's a 12 dBi ant BTW):
TL;DR: Forget 1080p over wifi. Get a streamer.

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azzurrony said:
The problem is that the Prime has plenty of CPU to play the 1080p files natively.
So, when it chokes playing the 1080p files over wifi from the network (while my laptops play them flawlessly), that tells me that there is something wrong with the Prime's wifi.
I believe the problem lies in the fact that there is some sort of cap in Android which keeps max throughput capped at 65mbps. I've never seen it higher than that. My laptops on that same connection get up to 270mbps.
There is no margin for error in the Prime's wifi signal. Thus, 1080p videos over the network (not transcoded) struggle. Wish there was a way to unlock the full wifi capability of that chip.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's if it's not encoded to standard then it's forced into software decoding which the Prime does NOT have the muscle to do. Especially if it's a high bitrate encode. Has nothing to do your Wifi.
A full bitrate blurry is on average is 25Mbps... So if your prime is capable of pushing 65 Mbps network is not an issue.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

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You could also try copy the file you're tying to stream to Prime and see if it will play smooth. If it does then you know for sure it's a network limitation.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk