Greetings, I have been using the Z9x for two years. It is wired to my network via ethernet. My sources are a NAS connected via SMB, several external hard drives, two connected to my PC via USB and two connected directly to the Zidoo via USB. All of my rips are MKV files. My display is a JVC 4K laser projector. All of my sources, including the Z9x are run through a Marantz AV7706 processor. This set up has been flawless in terms of playback. Two days ago I went to resume playback of a 4K rip of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" (Dolby TrueHD 5.1) and the image began stuttering (momentary slow motion) and the audio was cutting in and out. I then tried to play a 4K rip of "Drive" (Dolby Atmos) and it behaved similarly. At the same time I watched 4K rips of "Changing Lanes" (DTS-HD 5.1 MA), "In the Heart of the Sea" (Dolby Atmos) and "Jumanji - The Next Level" (DTS:X). All of which played without incident. It should be noted that these files are stored on drives connected to the NAS, and PC connected USB drives. So, I ruled out the drive being the issue. I did a hard restart of the Zidoo which appeared to solve the issue for Scary Stories and Drive which played fine afterward. I watched all of "The Mist" (Dolby Atmos) which played fine until the last 20 minutes when it began doing the same thing. The next day I tried to play a 4K rip of "Daddy's Home" (DTS:X) and it exhibited the same behavior after 3 minutes or so. I tried playing back a 4K rip of "Tropic Thunder" (DTS-HD 5.1 MA) and it wouldn't get through the opening without the same issue. I began trouble shooting and did the following: - Re-ripped Daddy's Home using a different drive (same result) - Powered the unit down and left unplugged overnight (same result) - Tried playback using a different display (same result) The last thing that I tried was moving "Daddy's home" and "Tropic Thunder" to a drive directly connected to the Zidoo via USB. They both no longer exhibited the behavior. Not seeing how this could be network related given that the other files played back without a problem. I rebooted my router just the same. Does anyone have any thoughts? Have been considering moving to one of the newer Zidoo models but, didn't want to jump the gun and still have the problem. At this point I don't think it's player related but, can't be sure. Any insights would be appreciated. Regards,
Try replacing the ethernet cable between your NAS and the ZIDOO... I left the NVIDIA shield because of micro stutters... since moving to the ZIDOO, I've read very few posts regarding stuttering. In the one's I have read, 100% of them are network related. My inelegant setup consists of 2 x 7 port powered USB 3.0 hubs attached directly to the ZIDOO. I keep adding 8 and now 14TB drives as needed...I have NEVER had a single stutter of any kind...
I would suspect your server PC working on some scans or upgrades. Check PC idling CPU usage. You should see few % the most. Anything over 10% is a problem. All LAN connection should be verified as Gigabit by status info or the LED light on the switch between PC and Zidoo. Connect laptop to Zidoo end of the LAN cable and download the mkv file. What speeds are you getting?
Greetings, I suspected it had to be network related. I realized that I had recently been consolidated cabling and had connected the Zidoo to an ethernet switch shared by 7 other devices. Prior to that the Zidoo had been directed connected to the router. I switched it back and haven't had an issue since. I will keep an eye on it but, my guess is that the additional traffic was enough to cause the hiccups. Thank you for the input! Regards,
Theoretically, having it hooked to a switch shared with 7 other devices shouldn't have necessarily caused your issues.. unless of course that switch or its port or its cabling was deficient in some way between your Zidoo and your sources.... But, I definitely have run across defective wall jack ports and such that caused negotiated speeds to drop from what you should be getting.. Glad you sorted it out though!
