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[Shadowen]

I would like to request for an enhancement to the way that Media Server streams media to clients.  Currently, I use Media Server to stream songs from home to my computer at work over the internet.

When traffic is heavy, the songs will often pause for several seconds as the next segment of the file is transferred from the server to the client.  This behavior can be very disturbing to the listener.

I would propose that either of the following options be added to Media Server to allow for better streaming of media files:

A) Force Media Center to maintain a buffer of data beyond the current point in the media file when connected to a remote server.

B) Force Media Server to dynamically adjust the bitrate (downsample) of the file being streamed to work better under the currently established connection.

I would prefer option A, as to not degrade the playback quality.  As it stands now, my only options seems to be manually downsampling files in a separate library for streaming over the internet.  This is a real pain to maintain.

If someone has any other suggestions, until a permanent solution could be offered, please let me know.

Thanks,
Shadowen

[JimH]

The best alternative at this time is to set up a new library in MC, import and convert to a lower bit rate.  Do not delete the originals.  Try a few and confirm that you haven't deleted the originals before you do many.

[John Gateley]

Also, on the client, set your buffer size to as high as possible.
This is in Tools->Options/Playback Output Settings

j

[Shadowen]

Hello,

I tried your suggestion John, and it still skips when playing tunes.  Granted, it does not happen as frequently, but still quite noticable.

I think the key here is to make it buffer ahead of the current position in the song.  This is not a unique or new concept and it is done successfully by other media players without incident.

Just throwing down my $0.02

Thanks,
Shadowen

[jsfarmer]

What is the likelyhood of supporting CUE sheets?

It is really nothing but an mp3 (which is already supported) with a text file for song titles at various points. Well it SEEMS fairly trivial...

Just wondering.
-Jeff

[John Gateley]

Hi Shadowen, the buffer you adjusted is the look-ahead buffer. We're talking about the on-the-fly conversion.

j

[JustinChase]

I vote for option B

I would rather not lose the quality, but there's no way its' ever gonna stream ape files, so I have to downsample.

Plus the ability to do it already exists, because it can do it to stream to TiVo.

And, I don't have to maintain seperate libraries.

I have no idea how hard it would be to use the TiVo engine for media server, but it would be a great addition.

[paulr]

I'd love to have Option B!

[hit_ny]

Option B too.

Was thinking about this for some time now, its good to see it being mentioned.

Would save wasting disk space for lower quality files. And its the only way one can stream APE (w/o having a T1).

user configurable Downsampling would be ideal.