Z9X - SMB playback issues while streaming from NAS

The problem I face that after rollbacks to 0.22 0.45 0.60 etc the lags are keeping consistent......So maybe at a certain point some setting was introduced (hidden to us, or driver for the NIC etc etc).......which is not going away since....That's why I use my X9S again.....(I do not have a HDR TV, that's my luck).

 

New version (0.98). Had one freeze in a 2 hour movie. It's much better than 0.90 as is 0.97 but it hasn't completely fixed the problem. Hard to say if it has improved on 0.97 the stutters are so far apart now it's getting hard to compare.

Dolby Vision standard mode is still broken same as in 0.97.

 

Just to say I had the same issue with 4K MKV rips over SMB.

Streaming from a mini PC capable of reading and writing over SMB at 110MB/s consistently when I copy files on and off it.

5th Element, Leon, Matrix all stutter to the point of being unwatchable with latest stable firmware (0.90)

 

Try reboot QNAP.

 

I personally switch my QNAP always off after using (in the evening) I use SMB 2.0 as minimum SMB version, I will try 2.1 since only 3.0 is not supported by the Zidoo.

I will install 0.98 and report.

 

With new fw 0.98 yesterday, I have watched a whole 4K movie on SMB share without a stutter.
I did notice that copy-pasting on SMB (from pc ssd to Z9X ssd on SATA) transfer speed is reduced to an average of 550 mb/s. I've always had higher speeds with that. Still, it should be more than enough for high bitrate videos, my guess.

 

Where does it say 3.0 is not supported on the Z9X or did you test it? There was mention it was added to Z9S with an update http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/smb-v2-support.77710/ would be strange if Z9X didn't get that update.

I have been using Windows as the server and looking at Microsoft docs it allows 2.02, 2.1, 3.0, 3.02, and 3.1.1. Would be interesting to know what version Z9X is using.

 

Also for pc maybe, Rob W? I normally don't do SMB and wouldn't know what issues could arise when both client and server are not on the same version .
But now I see that copy/paste speed is reduced on SMB, can this have something to do with what version SMB my Win 7 pc is using?
And is there any way how to check and/or alter this on the pc itself? I never gave much thought to SMB versions in general, TBH.

 

It must! use 1.0 to 2.0 or 2.1 since I disabled 1.0 support on my NAS SMB was still working But only 3.0 is not supported by the Zidoo......no connection to NAS possible..

 

With Nas systems I usually find using the IP of the server better than using the UNC path it seems to give more consistent performance might be worth a try
UNC path \\Server name\share name\movie folder
IP path \\IP of the server\share name\movie folder

example
smb://192.168.1.41/movies/Hitman (2007)/Hitman (2007).mkv

I don't seem to have stuttering issues but did initially seem to have tuned out the problem and are using firmware .90.
I do think the issue I was having was more than one thing as I changed several things in my system and it is possible that new updates from zidoo will resolve or improve things.

This fix does vary on the brand of NAS being used I have found that Asustor NAS's in particular can have intermittent issues when using UNC paths to connect to them.
My current NAS is a synology Diskstation.

Here is someone with a QNAP having a similar issue with SMB transfers.
https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1358081

Make sure if you use the IP path to put the NAS on a static IP

 

Where can I download 0.98 from?

 

I believe the server and client just negotiate the newest version that they both support. So if the Z9x only supports 2 or 2.1 that is the version that would be used from a Windows 10 server. There are speed improvements and reduced CPU utilisation in newer versions but your often hitting the interface limit (GbE) before realising this extra speed.

Operating System
SMB dialects supported

Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server operating system, Windows Server 2019
SMB 3.1.1, SMB 3.0.2, SMB 3.0, SMB 2.1, SMB 2.0.2

Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2
SMB 3.0.2, SMB 3.0, SMB 2.1, SMB 2.0.2

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
SMB 3.0, SMB 2.1, SMB 2.0.2

Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2
SMB 2.1, SMB 2.0.2

 

ok testing latetst. it def changes something, one H264 file did start well, and some freezes, but much less. One H265 file is perfect. setup is Z9x<>Syno DSM7 1019+
<video>
<aspect>1.77777779</aspect>
<bitrate>28543694</bitrate>
<codec>x264</codec>
<framerate>23.976</framerate>
<height>2160</height>
<scantype>Progressive</scantype>
<width>3840</width>
<duration>45.35225</duration>
<durationinseconds>2721.1349999999998</durationinseconds>
</video>
<audio>
<bitrate>2920840</bitrate>
<channels>6</channels>
<codec>FLAC</codec>
<language>English</language>
</audio>

and this is the H265
<video>
<aspect>1.77777779</aspect>
<bitrate>14485610</bitrate>
<codec>HEVC</codec>
<framerate>23.976</framerate>
<height>2160</height>
<scantype></scantype>
<width>3840</width>
<duration>45.4729</duration>
<durationinseconds>2728.374</durationinseconds>
</video>
<audio>
<bitrate>1822916</bitrate>
<channels>6</channels>
<codec>DTS</codec>
<language>English</language>
</audio>

 

also interesting to see is the network traffic from NAS to Z9x. When a freeze is happening, network traffic dips, syno settings

 

So, is the freeze because of the network traffic dip or vice versa...

 

Yup, this is my observation too.
It’s like Z9X is not asking for data...

 

Z9x is not asking for data. The 1019+ has the ability to fill a LAN connection to the max of 1GB, so 110-113 MB/s. And that is the normal max traffic speed i get when swapping files from a wintel or other machine.
Must say that the interesting part is that a H264 still has freezes , but a H265 version not anymore.

 

My freeze on 0.98 was also h264. A 1080p blu ray extracted into a mkv.

 

I used before x9s and z9s but I haven't had any of these problems.

It is very interesting...

 

I verified 0.98 but in a 2 hour movie I had 3 freezes: 1st around 1h playtime <0.5 seconds 2nd 1:45 around 1 second and next 1:50 3 seconds (SMB version used 2.1).

NFS will be tested today.

Automatic Frame Rate switch is still not working for me in that FW (was working in 6.0.22 and 6.0.45) not for me in .60 .90 .97