Some minor issues playing playing via SMB

Platforms Apple TV
#1

This is my (new!) setup:

  • Switch Ethernet Netgear GS308 with 8 ports at 1Gbps
  • Apple TV 4K wired to the switch
  • ZyXEL NAS 326 wired to the switch running smbd version 4.1.7

iPerf3 reports up to 940Mbps between my MacBook Pro (connected to the same switch) and the NAS. It reads the files in the NAS at up to 110-115MByte/s.

And these are my issues:

  • Skipping back/forth 10s may take 1 or 2 seconds with high nitrate videos
  • Skipping back/forth 10s the audio always has a delay of another (about 0,5-1,5s?)
  • Planet Earth II in 4K HDR (well… you know which ones…) micro-stutters

If instead I play the same video in Infuse via DLNA from a Plex server all those issues are (usually) greatly reduced. Planet Earth II doesn’t stutter either. Using the Plex client the experience is even better. Sure, the rare times that messed up Plex server doesn’t start transcoding for nothing or crashing, typical with HDR content…

I have read in another thread that Infuse was using SMB 2 (is it still the case)? Is there any chance it can get improved… soon?

#2

Currently Infuse supports SMB1 and SMB2.

The upcoming 5.6.9 update (which will be available soon) adds support for SMB3, and much improved SMB1/2 performance. In our tests this new implementation is delivering speeds that are up to twice as fast as 5.6.8, which puts it on par with NFS…maybe even a bit faster in some cases.

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#3

Hi James, I’m curious, my NAS support all three protocols. When v5.6.8 is released, what is in your opinion/expertise the best choice to get the best/optimal speed? Because I can arrange for my NAS to supply a certain version for the connection. Your answer would be much appreciated!

#4

Infuse will work to connect with the highest version possible, so it’s generally recommended to disable SMB1 and use SMB2 or later. SMB3 adds even more security which isn’t found in SMB2.

Overall, SMB performance will be greatly improved in the new update no matter which version Infuse is connecting with.

#5

Thank you James, useful as usual!! :slight_smile:

Just one thing, though. You wrote “which puts it on par with NFS”. I don’t know what’s with Apple devices, but NFS is usually quite slower. Which is why I use SMB. I first tested my MBP 13" retina as NFS server and the performances where quite bad. I then tested the NFS server on my new NAS and they were similar. Do you have any idea about what it could be? Do you use any special setting in the NFS servers/clients?

#6

Ah yes, quite a few people have reported slowness with NFS on Mac, while on other devices it is very fast.

SMB, especially once 5.6.9 rolls out, will be the way to go when streaming from a Mac.

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#7

So 5.6.9 is out, but I am afraid I am not seeing much of a difference. The small issues reported on my first post are still there. Especially the slow 10s skipping (with spinning gear sometimes) and audio delay. Also on 1080p videos. Maybe the micro-stuttering is less noticeable in Planet Earth II 4K HDR HEVC (although I wonder if that is a decoding issue).

Plex, which has this setup:

NAS <- SMB on Ethernet -> Plex Server on MBP <- Ethernet -> Apple TV 4K

instead skips instantly (well… when with the videos that doesn’t transcode. Which are the majority…)

So I was wondering… In Kodi (from my Sony Bravia - wired at 100Mbps) the experience improved raising the RAM buffer for videos. Any chance it is undersized in Infuse?

#8

Just to add that I discovered my NAS has native webDAV support (I believe via an Apache web server? I am not really keen on web technology). I have enabled it and added the webDAV shares in Infuse. It took quite a while to create the libraries (1000+ videos) but then the vision is quite better. Skipping 10+ seconds is at most immediate and t even manages to play the 400Mbps jellyfish demo.

Planet Earth still micro-stutters, though. Nothing major, but I believe at this point it might be something with the Codecs/player.