XD9305 - Kodi keeps buffering 4k footage playing through Ethernet connection

[costin_iatan]

Hello,

Here is my setup: 

TV - Sony Bravia KD-55XE80XX - Ethernet connection to network

PC - Windows 10 - GigaBit connection to network 

Kodi app (Leia 18.0) on the TV works great playing 1080p footage from the computer through the Ethernet connection. When playing 4k footage it keeps buffering randomly, sometimes every 1-2 minutes. The computer is having a gigabit connection.

I have been monitoring the computer with Task Manager while playing the video on the TV to see if there is a transfer bottleneck on the HDD or Ethernet but everything seems fine. I am thinking it is the TV or Kodi app. 

Is there a way to fix this?

Costin

[rooobb · Accepted solution]

Your tv, like most of the TVs, does not have a gigabit connection so the streaming is limiteed to 100Mbps. This is normally enough even for UHD movies, but strictly depends on the compression of your video. If it is near the limit of the bandwidth you do not have any option (or you may try a 5Ghz wifi connection that theorically can go beyond the 100 Mbps limit), if the streaming does not need so much, the problem may rely on the app so you can try an alternative player (like nova or even the stock Video app if you have a DLNA media server)

[costin_iatan]

Dear Rooobb,

I have monitored the data transfer on the computer while playing and it is below 100Mbps. This means it is the Kodi app doing the buffering. I will install a DLNA server on the computer and try using the stock video app and see how it goes. I will revert here with the result, maybe it will help others. 

Thank you for your answer.

[rooobb]

Be aware that for sure won't hit 100mbps limit on the PC stats since the TV is not able to go over ...so you should check the bitrate in clue itself or just do a rough calculation dividing the size of the video by the seconds it last....