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+--- Thread: Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet (/showthread.php?tid=378992)
Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet - mydogsal - 2024-09-29
Hi,
I'm using Kodi on a Firestick 4k Max 2nd Gen to watch videos from a TrueNas server on the local network, but I get lots of frame drops during portions of certain movies. I have an older Chromebox-based Kodi and it works fine. The Firestick network connection is through wired ethernet (ethernet to USB adapter connected to an OTG USB cable with power). Wifi is disabled. I'm using an NFS share on the TrueNas.
I can easily reproduce the problem playing the intro to the movie 'O Brother Where Art Thou where it's panning. Logs are here.
I don't think the basic network speed should be of concern. The local network is 1Gbps capable. To test just file transfer, I created a 1GB file containing random data and put it on the TrueNas. From the TrueNas to a Windows 11 box using WinSCP I see around 700Mbps (87MBps). Copying the same file from the TruNas to Kodi using file manager, I get ~240Mbps (30MBps).
It seems like this Firestick should be able to handle this, but I don't see what I'm doing wrong. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
RE: Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet - hdmkv - 2024-09-29
You'll get better performance using WebDAV and streaming over Wi-Fi 6E assuming you have it in your home.
RE: Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet - Luke M - 2024-09-30
Your file is VC-1, and the Fire stick CPU isn't fast enough to decode it. VC-1 is an obsolete codec used by some early blu-rays.
RE: Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet - Luke M - 2024-09-30
(2024-09-29, 21:58)hdmkv Wrote: You'll get better performance using WebDAV and streaming over Wi-Fi 6E assuming you have it in your home.
WiFi doesn't work properly on the Max2, so ethernet is the better choice.
RE: Frequent frame drops using Firestick 4K Max 2nd Gen over wired ethernet - mydogsal - 2024-09-30
Thanks, Luke,
Yes, I think you're correct. That would explain all the symptoms. I tried it with other titles encoded with H.264 and can't reproduce the problem. I guess I'll be looking for a more powerful Kodi box.
Thanks for the help.