Will port-forwarding increase my download speeds to ps3?

[thestrangebrew1]

I'm trying to stream HD content to my ps3 from my server using Plex but I'm only getting about 10-12MBps on a wired/wireless connection. Two questions:

1. Will port-forwarding increase these speeds? I've setup static IPs for both my server and the ps3 and I have NAT2.

2. On my server, where the media files are located, I'm just using the on-board LAN controller (realtek I believe). Would getting an intel NIC help with the speeds?

Here's my setup:

Cable modem -> Lynksys E3000
Server (where Plex is installed) -wired-> Linksys E3000
PS3 -wireless (atm)->Linksys E3000
Main rig -wired->Linksys E3000

Specs are in my sig.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

What kind of cables are you using? Have you made sure the PS3 is negotiating at 1000mb? How far are the runs? Have you ruled out interference? Can you transfer from the main rig at faster speeds? The realtek network cards have been crap in my experience, but shouldnt be THAT bad. Port forwarding is going to do nothing, that only pertains to outside (internet) connections coming in.

 

[imagoon]

Port forwarding is a WAN -> LAN function and will have zero affect on LAN download speeds.

I would venture a guess that the PS3 being wireless is the most likely issues as 12Mbps is a realistic continuous wireless-g connection if there is any interference or other users.

Try plugging the PS3 in to test.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

What kind of cables are you using? Have you made sure the PS3 is negotiating at 1000mb? How far are the runs? Have you ruled out interference? Can you transfer from the main rig at faster speeds? The realtek network cards have been crap in my experience, but shouldnt be THAT bad. Port forwarding is going to do nothing, that only pertains to outside (internet) connections coming in.

I'm using Cat5e cables, and I don't have a crossover to test connection from the pc itself to the PS3. I'm not sure how to check if the PS3 is negotiating at 1000mb. The PS3 itself is only about 12' from the router, so theoretically, it should have great reception via wireless, but I onlt get around 10MBps. When I run wired, the speeds only increase a few MBs though. I've never seen it go over 12MBps wired actually.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Port forwarding is a WAN -> LAN function and will have zero affect on LAN download speeds.

I would venture a guess that the PS3 being wireless is the most likely issues as 12Mbps is a realistic continuous wireless-g connection if there is any interference or other users.

Try plugging the PS3 in to test.

I've tried a wired Cat5e cable from the router to the PS3 and only got about 12MBps at most. I did fool with the windows network throttling but that didn't improve anything. I'm thinking either I'll need to get a NIC or there's some settings I need to adjust in the PS3 to get better speeds. I've read the PS3 should be in a DMZ but I'm not sure if that will help and I don't play games on it, I just use it as a Blu Ray player.

 

[piasabird]

If this is wireless, maybe you need a wireless device that gives the priority to the streaming device. If you have multiple wireless devices most routers try to balance the load. This is an option that is not available on most cheap consumer wireless routers. I think Samsung makes a device like this, but I have never tried it.

don't know what plex does exactly.

What is the download speed of your wired Internet access? You can not go any faster than your Internet access speed. Often that speed is slower than your quoted speed. Typically Internet access providers ISP's will give you a speed like "Up to 12mbps" That does not guarantee that speed. They often throttle heavy users if they get bottlenecks in high usage locations.

On my computer I can stream speeds video at 360p but not much faster than that. A lot also depends on the speed of the server on the Internet and Internet congestion.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

If this is wireless, maybe you need a wireless device that gives the priority to the streaming device. If you have multiple wireless devices most routers try to balance the load. This is an option that is not available on most cheap consumer wireless routers. I think Samsung makes a device like this, but I have never tried it.

don't know what plex does exactly.

I'll look at the manual to see if I can set priorities on it. I thought I saw somewhere on the main menu an option for this but I'll have to check when I get home from work.

Plex is just a Media Server like PS3 Media Server or TVersity, XBMC. I like it for it's interface and it was a breeze to setup and manage on my WHS box.

 

[imagoon]

I've tried a wired Cat5e cable from the router to the PS3 and only got about 12MBps at most. I did fool with the windows network throttling but that didn't improve anything. I'm thinking either I'll need to get a NIC or there's some settings I need to adjust in the PS3 to get better speeds. I've read the PS3 should be in a DMZ but I'm not sure if that will help and I don't play games on it, I just use it as a Blu Ray player.

First MB or Mb (big difference BYTES / BITS), second, DMZ again is "WAN -> LAN" and have nothing to do with LAN <-> LAN traffic.

12MB/s = 100Mb/s LAN speeds. Wireless is typically finicky and 12Mb/s is not an atypical speed while 12Mb/p on wire = something is a misconfiguration or hardware issue.

PLEX is likely not the issue unless you don't have enough CPU to transcode properly. However PS3 supports a decent number of codecs and PLEX should pass them through to the PS3.

PS I know what PLEX is and personally use TVersity, no reason other than TVersity once configured has been dead stable.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

What is the download speed of your wired Internet access? You can not go any faster than your Internet access speed. Often that speed is slower than your quoted speed. Typically Internet access providers ISP's will give you a speed like "Up to 12mbps" That does not guarantee that speed. They often throttle heavy users if they get bottlenecks in high usage locations.

On my computer I can stream speeds video at 360p but not much faster than that. A lot also depends on the speed of the server on the Internet and Internet congestion.

Sorry didn't see the tail end to your response.

My download speed on my main rig and server that's hard wired to the router is about 23Mbps, upload is 3-4 on speedtest. I get good transfer rates between the two rigs, but for some reason the PS3 is stuck at a max of 12 Mbps. I think the problem definitely is in the configuration settings on the PS3 more than my network.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

PLEX is likely not the issue unless you don't have enough CPU to transcode properly. However PS3 supports a decent number of codecs and PLEX should pass them through to the PS3.

PS I know what PLEX is and personally use TVersity, no reason other than TVersity once configured has been dead stable.

My CPU on my server is definitely not up to par for transcoding. If I try streaming something via the net to my android phone, my cpu skyrockets to 100% and I get terrible stuttering with the video. When I stream it to my network, 720p content works awesome, 1080p stutters pretty badly depending on the movie. But my cpu usage over my LAN is only about 10% if that.

 

[imagoon]

My CPU on my server is definitely not up to par for transcoding. If I try streaming something via the net to my android phone, my cpu skyrockets to 100% and I get terrible stuttering with the video. When I stream it to my network, 720p content works awesome, 1080p stutters pretty badly depending on the movie. But my cpu usage over my LAN is only about 10% if that.

Have you tried multiple movies? Have you tried playing it locally to the PS3? I would expect issues for 1080p on wireless, less so on cable unless you tried to transcode in subtitles or something.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Have you tried multiple movies? Have you tried playing it locally to the PS3? I would expect issues for 1080p on wireless, less so on cable unless you tried to transcode in subtitles or something.

I've tried streaming different movies to the ps3 both wired and wireless. I've also tried streaming to different devices including the ps3 at the same time and have no issues except for when I try playing 1080p to the ps3. I get stuttering on my wireless devices streaming 1080p obviously, but regardless of connection for the ps3, stuttering is ineveitable. It's driving me nuts, and it's really pissing my wife off lol

 

[imagoon]

I've tried streaming different movies to the ps3 both wired and wireless. I've also tried streaming to different devices including the ps3 at the same time and have no issues except for when I try playing 1080p to the ps3. I get stuttering on my wireless devices streaming 1080p obviously, but regardless of connection for the ps3, stuttering is ineveitable. It's driving me nuts, and it's really pissing my wife off lol

I was wondering if you tried playing it off a USB drive or not. I am trying to eliminate the network if we can. If it can't play it off USB it suggests that the codec used is "not quite" correct for the PS3. You can also try forcing transcoding and setting the buffer up a bit, if plays fine then stops when the buffer runs out it indicates something is wrong with the encoding / bitrate is to high for the ps3 etc.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I was wondering if you tried playing it off a USB drive or not. I am trying to eliminate the network if we can. If it can't play it off USB it suggests that the codec used is "not quite" correct for the PS3. You can also try forcing transcoding and setting the buffer up a bit, if plays fine then stops when the buffer runs out it indicates something is wrong with the encoding / bitrate is to high for the ps3 etc.

I haven't tried this yet. Nor have I tried playing it from the PS3 hd yet. I'll give this a shot tonight when I get home from work if time permits. All my movies have been encoded to .mp4's but I'm going to start fooling around with changing bitrates etc. I normally just use handbrake to convert dvd's and Ripbot for bd. I'll try some other converters and see how they work out.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I seem to remember reading somewhere, that the PS3 is not truely capable of gigabit speeds on wired, even though it has a gigabit-capable NIC, because of drivers/firmware issues. Thus you only get slightly better than 100Mbit.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1052942

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I seem to remember reading somewhere, that the PS3 is not truely capable of gigabit speeds on wired, even though it has a gigabit-capable NIC, because of drivers/firmware issues. Thus you only get slightly better than 100Mbit.

I thought someone had said this too in possibly another thread that I had going on here. My problem is that I can't get it to get anything better than 12Mbps regardless of connection. One thing I saw while reading the manual to day is that the different colored lights on the ports indicate the speed from port to port. IE, a green lit port indicates its a gigabit connection vs a blue light indicating a 100Mbit connection. I'll have to plug the PS3 in to the router to see what color comes up.