ASUS RT-N66U can't stream 1080p videos ?!

[ahmadka]

Hi guys ... So I bought an ASUS RT-N66U for my new house because its considered as one of the best and fastest routers out there currently ..

Firstly, let me say that I'm *extremely new* to ASUS RT-N66U, so it's very likely that the following issue might just require some tweaking or something ... I've not even connected the router to my modem yet .. I'm just testing it out ..

Setup:

Okay so I wanted a router which can stream 1080p videos without a sweat. To test this, I took one of my Blu-rays (The Island), decrypted it, converted it to an MP4 file using 'High Profile' in Handbrake, which gave me a 16GB MP4 file of the movie ...

Now, I fired up my RT-N66U (on all default settings - I haven't configured anything in it so far), connected my Laptop (Core i7, 8GB, Win 8.1, Sony VAIO) and PS3 to the 2.4 Ghz default SSID 'ASUS', and tried streaming the 16GB video file on my PS3 using Windows Media Player's streaming features ..

Note that my PS3, NT-R66U and streaming Laptop, were all within 10-12 feet of each other, so range isn't an issue ..

Problem:

When streaming the 16GB 1080p file on a PS3, I got a LOT of stutter .. Most times, the video played for one second, then stopped for one second, etc .. Also, I noticed that when I was streaming, even internal LAN communication virtually came to a dead stop .. I say this because while I was streaming, I was monitoring the wireless network traffic in RT-N66U's Traffic Monitor page .. With no video streaming, the graph updated every second .. When the video WAS streaming, the graph updated like one every 15 seconds or so. Also, the bandwidth graph is made was incorrect. It incorrectly showed zero network usage at most times, even though the video was streaming .. Also, if I tried browsing the router's console pages while the video was streaming, they didn't load, or loaded after a long time .. The second I stopped playing the video, the graph started updating regularly, and I was able to quickly jump between the router's configuration pages again without any delay..

See the graph here: http://i.imgur.com/9ckWAV3.png (Router incorrectly reports only 'spikes' of usage, even though the video was continuously streaming all this time)

Possible theories ?:

Because of the constant stuttering, and the lag in the router's graph updating and pages loading, it seems that the router is probably struggling with the 1080p video ..

On the other hand, the 16 GB file is for a 136 minute movie, so it translates to exactly 2 MB/sec data transfer on average, which is equivalent to an average 20 Mbps internet connecting working at full bandwidth ... 20 Mbps is a *very small number* in today's data transfer speeds, so why is that a problem for a router which has dual 450 Mbps connections ?!

What is the reason behind all this ?

 

[smakme7757]

First let me start by saying that you have bought a good router.

Secondly I an able to stream without complications on my own RTN66U.

Start with some ballpark figures:
file transfer speeds over wireless
Streaming to the laptop
Or some other test to gauge throughout over wireless.

If the numbers look OK, then there might be something wrong with your configuration. I didn't do anything special with mine though. I did flash the Merlin firmware when I was having problems, but when I first got the router it worked flawlessly.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Disable VLANs and QoS. It sounds like something is pegging the router's CPU.

 

[smakme7757]

Disable VLANs and QoS. It sounds like something is pegging the router's CPU.

From memory i think QOS is enabled by default, that is a good pickup!

 

[Mushkins]

2.4 Ghz default SSID

You're trying to stream 1080p video over 2.4Ghz wireless from your laptop to your router, then from the router to the PS3.

Run something like inSSIDer to view what's going on in the air around you. My first guess is that 2.4Ghz is very saturated there. Lots of interference means lots of damaged/dropped packets, means lots of retransmissions. Trying to stream a massive 1080p blu-ray rip with *two* 2.4Ghz wireless hops like that in a high interference environment could easily cause so many retransmission requests as to overwhelm a SOHO router and lock up your network.

 

[Emulex]

The ASUS wrt skips a lot of functionality in the code (channel hopping,power management), so you'll find that it doesn't do so hot on performance in crowded areas.

nobody really benchmarks these routers in a busy environment!

I've found best most reliable performance sustained from the latest apple time-machine!

Also use FTP instead of SMB/CIFS - filezilla will outperform SMB all day long when it comes to lossy networks.

 

[elmolebowsky]

hello gentlemen,
i bought the router for a good price and believed that it fits perfectly to my requirements.
once my girl started to watch her favorite show online the router suddenly came out with his weaknesses. as described each streamed movie stops after 5sec and starts after 2 sec loading the stream.

pretty much all action i have done to get it working:
-
updated firmware
-named channels to different names
-installed merlin FW
-switched off 5GHZ antenna
-switched off all useless features
-stitched to 20khz and fixed channels

what else to do? i am close to throw it away and to buy a new one!
regards
elmo

 

[imagoon]

Wireless is half duplex, single collision domain. 1 device at a time only can transmit unless it is 2.4 ghz to 5ghz. So your laptop will try to send a frame, the wireless AP will have to buffer it then send it to the PS3. During this time nothing else can use the band. If there is noise near by the devices will have to retry repeatedly further making the issue worse. A high bandwidth, time sensitive stream is going to have a lot of trouble in that environment.

 

[SithSolo1]

Is there any way you can connect the laptop, router, and ps3 via a wired connection temporarily just to rule out the wireless part? Then try the laptop directly to the ps3 to issolate the router as the issue.

 

[smitbret]

It's because the PS3 is only wireless G. You'll never get a Blu-Ray stream to work with a PS3 regardless of the router you use.

In reality, wireless is poor for BR streaming. You may get it to work on and off but a wired 100Tbase will be better than any wireless.

Also, don't get caught up in the 450Mbps bullshit. Is it faster than 300Mbps?. Yep. Will you get anywhere close to 1/2 the 450Mbps rating? Nope.

 

[azazel1024]

I see your problem.

PS3 is 802.11g, max 54Mbps signaling rate. Realistic rate with overhead, about 30Mbps MAX. The laptop is ALSO streaming over wifi, so it is sucking up some of that too. Your video bit rate is around 18Mbps assuming a 2hr movie.

At best, you are probably getting 20Mbps to the PS3 because it is 802.11g AND you are sharing air time with the laptop that is trying to stream it. Odds are, you are getting less than 20Mbps real speeds to the PS3, maybe more like 10-15Mbps. You'll have to moderate your expectations with the PS3 because of sharing airtime.

Look at something more like a 10Mbps bit rate movie if you want non-choppy streaming if you are streaming from ANOTHER wifi source. If the laptop was hardwired to the router, or the PS3 was an 11n client, it probably would be fine with an 18Mbps bit rate source video.

You are asking too much of your wireless with an 802.11g client on there, especially since you are streaming from ANOTHER wireless client.

For the console acting wonky, probably QoS/WMM. Its attempting to prioritize video over web and because you are crushing your wifi, its getting relegated to a very distant 3rd priority over the stream from the laptop to the router and then from the router to the PS3.

If you want any chance of this working, you need to hardwire your streaming source to the router, this'll approach effectively doubling your wireless bandwidth to the PS3. Or, hardwire the PS3 to the router and problems solved.

 

[cubby1223]

It's because the PS3 is only wireless G. You'll never get a Blu-Ray stream to work with a PS3 regardless of the router you use.

In reality, wireless is poor for BR streaming. You may get it to work on and off but a wired 100Tbase will be better than any wireless.

Also, don't get caught up in the 450Mbps bullshit. Is it faster than 300Mbps?. Yep. Will you get anywhere close to 1/2 the 450Mbps rating? Nope.

There is the option to get a 5ghz router that can set up as a wireless client and connect one of the lan ports to the ps3. That'll give a wireless connection to the PS3 at 5ghz

 

[smitbret]

There is the option to get a 5ghz router that can set up as a wireless client and connect one of the lan ports to the ps3. That'll give a wireless connection to the PS3 at 5ghz

Yep, a wireless bridge would be the other solution other than wiring it up directly. Newegg usually has some Netgear WNDR3400s that are about $25 refurbished. Flash them to DD-WRT and they'll be a great inexpensive option if wired is out of the question.