Will the Infuse devs fix slow smb speeds soon?

Streaming & Network
1

Hi, I know this has been discussed ad nauseum, but FireCore needs to do something about how Infuse handles SMB-shares on macOS / tvOS / iOS at least. On my Macbook (client) I can only get 90mbps in Infuse streaming from Mac mini (smb-server, built-in-vanilla macOS file sharing, nothing fancy). Doesn’t matter if it’s SMB2, SMB3 or Auto. It’s just 90mbps when on wireless. Testing with iPerf3 I get 280mbps between my Macbook (client) and Mac Mini (server). Same with Apple TV, 90mbps.

Judging from the posts here, it seems to be a recurring theme that SMB and Infuse works suboptimal. I think it must be Infuse.

All macs are on latest Ventura. Connecting to SMB is just fine, it’s the speeds that are the issue. SMB 2, SMB3, Auto, doesn’t matter, it’s always 90mbps, and much much slower than my actual local network-speeds - ie transfering one file from mac my Macbook (client) to Mac Minin (server). All devices are on 5Ghz wireless. Asus AX86U WiFi 6 router with latest firmware.

Are the developers aware of this? Are they working on a fix? What are our options - moving to Plex?

2

I can’t help directly as my smb share (and webdav) perform fine but that’s through a Synology.

However,

Do you mean as a complete client replacement for Infuse or connecting Infuse into a Plex server?
If it’s the former then that’s no option at all. Plex on Apple TV is all kinds of broken and seeing as they made 25% of their staff redundant and it takes two months to confirm that an issue is even acknowledged let alone fixed.
Add to that a couple of Plex Team Members/ninjas highlighting all the issues Plex has and mentioning Infuse has none of them.
There are several issues that mean that you will not (depending on Video codec, Audio codec, dynamic range of the file) complete a movie.
It actually gets much worse if you happen to also be a user of HomePods/Airpods.

3

There have been numerous changes to both Infuse and the MacOS some of which include networking changes in the last year since this thread was active.

It would help if you would detail the problem you’re seeing as well as what version number of Infuse and MacOS you’re running.

What you have in settings for the SMB share as far as auto, smb1, 2,3 or legacy would also help.

Have you tried using an Ethernet connection just to test speeds?

Edit to add, since you posted in an old thread and then started a new one I moved my answer to this one and deleted your other post. Keeping things in one thread makes it far easier to help.

4

Also, you say you’re getting 90Mbps but not that you’re having any problems viewing.

The speed test in Infuse is NOT a full tilt speed test, it simulates what a video would pull so it rarely would be the full speed possible.

What do you have set for the streaming cache in the playback settings?

5

@Hitsville: Do you mean as a complete client replacement for Infuse or connecting Infuse into a Plex server?

Yes I meant move over to Plex entirely. I tried, but hated the GUI especially on Apple TV, so that is not an option. I also don’t want to use Plex either even as a media server, it just seemed too invasive to have it run always. I will continue with Infuse as I have for years already.

@Hitsville: It actually gets much worse if you happen to also be a user of HomePods/Airpods.

I do sometimes connect my AirPods Pro 2 to the apple TV, but not always. Nonetheless, using AirPods Pro 2 while streaming on Infuse 7 has worked without issues before, but that was when both my mac mini and apple tv were connected to my router by ethernet directly - it was in my previous apartment I moved out of three weeks ago, internet outlet, modem, router everything was lcoated right behind the TV, so everything was wired. Not an option anymore in my new apartment I’m afraid. Wireless is the only option available to me. But the Asus AX86U - which is a premium router with a total of 5700mbps capabilities - can push 280mbps on my wlan according to iperf3 tests I have run, so why Infuse can only do 60-80mbps is to me a puzzle, and suggests to me (knowing the frequent complaints about slow smb-speeds in this community) that Infuse is the culprit.

@NC_BullseyeIt It would help if you would detail the problem you’re seeing as well as what version number of Infuse and MacOS you’re running.
What you have in settings for the SMB share as far as auto, smb1, 2,3 or legacy.

Infuse 7.5.9
macOS Ventura 13.5.1

Like I wrote, I tried with Auto, SMB3, SMB2 and legacy, same low speeds 60-80mbps, even though iPerf3 pushes out 280mbps. Changing the SMB-protocols didn’t increase nor decrease the file transfer speeds. It was irrelevant whatever I picked in terms of speed.

NC_Bullseye Have you tried using an Ethernet connection just to test speeds?

I tried with the mac mini connected through ethernet (but I cant have that as a permanent solution due to the way our new apartment is - only for testing purposes, but wifi is the long term solution here) and streaming from wired mac mini to wireless macbook pro yielded only a modest speed increase to 130mbps. iPerf3 showed 700mbps, but Infuse shows only 130mbps.

So to me it is clearly something going on with SMB in Infuse. According to iperf3, my network speeds are fine, and are not reflected in Infuse. Yes I understand the Infuse speed test is not very exact, but 130mbps when it should be 700mbps according to iperf3? Infuse speed test can’t be that much off, can it? And again, smb-speeds is a recurring complaint for years on this forum, so clearly something is up with Infuse’s implementation of it, no? I’m just asking.

NC_Bullseye What do you have set for the streaming cache in the playback settings?

I tried switching between Legacy, memory-only and auto. No difference in streaming speed. Still 60-80mbps on wireless-to-wireless and 130mbps on wired-to-wireless.

6

In general, SMB will perform better when using a wired connection on both ends. Wi-Fi can be used, but it may have an impact on the maximum speeds you are able to see. This is due to the nature of SMB, and not something specific in Infuse.

Infuse supports a number of different connection types, so if you device supports other methods, such as NFS, FTP, WebDAV, etc… you can try using those to see if you are able to get betters speeds.

7

Hi James, thanks for chiming in. I agree, wired performs better than wireless. But why does Infuse only stream 130mbps from my wired mac mini to my wireless macbook when iperf3 shows the actual network speed is 700mbps? SMB shouldn’t be that much slower than the rest of the network? And why exactly does smb perform differently on wifi than wired? I’m curious.

8

This is part of the nature of SMB, as it includes more protocol overhead compared to something like WebDAV which is http-based. Most internet speed tests apps will use http so it’s not uncommon to see faster speeds when using these.

For further reading, you can Google smb slow wifi for more details on why SMB tends to be slower over Wi-Fi, as there is quite a bit of discussion on the topic.

As a point of reference, when using Ethernet on both ends, SMB speeds can easily be in the 500-600 Mbps range. I have seen reports of 800+ Mbps as well, so it greatly depends on the other devices (server, router, switch, cables, etc…) you are using on the network.

9

Sure, but when all devices are on wireless, I can transfer a file through smb in macOS Finder from one mac to another over wireless and get speeds of consistent 280mbps (35MB/s). Infuse gets only 90mbps (11.25MB/s) on wireless. Why is Infuse smb 3X slower than Finder’s smb? That surely is due to your devs implementation of smb, no?

10

Unlike some other protocols, SMB speeds are also somewhat dependent on the processing power of the client device.

IE A more powerful device will see faster speeds compared to a less powerful device.

Different devices also have different Wi-Fi capabilities, so comparing speeds of Mac-to-Mac, Mac-to-iPhone, and Mac-to-Apple TV are certainly all going to vary to some extent.

11

I think you misunderstood. In my example above it’s the same mac doing the file transfer in Finder at 280mbps (25MB/s) and doing 90mbps (11.25MB/s) from Infuse - not an Apple TV. (Also not at the same time obviously). It’s a MacBook Pro M1 Pro (14 inch) with AX-wifi running Ventura 13.5.1 using Infuse 7.5.9 to stream a .mp4-file from a Mac mini M1 with AX-wifi also running Ventura 13.5.1 (file is located on internal SSD capable of 2200mbps) through an Asus AX86U (1.8Ghz QuadCore router with 1Gb Ram - no slouch) so hardware is not the limiting factor here.

So please, I kindly ask you to explain why or acknowledge that Infuse mac (and Apple TV version for that matter) has slower SMB speeds than what can be expected, in this particular case 1/3 the speed of macOS built-in SMB in Finder. Infuse caps at 90mbps (and that’s rounding up, it usually fluctuates between 65mbps and 87mbps) while Finder has consistently 280mbps between the same two M1 and M1 Pro powered macs. Explain it please, or admit Infuse has issues with SMB.