Mezzmo stops streaming for no reason

[Paul]

Hi Andreas,

If you provide a set of logs when the problem occurs, then we may be able to see what's going wrong. Turn on logging (see http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread...nostic-logging) and restart your Mezzmo server. Reproduce the streaming problem on your TV and then stop your Mezzmo server and exit Mezzmo. Zip up all the logs and email them to us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com. In your email, let us know your TV model and the type of home network you are using (Ethernet cables, wireless, powerline, etc.).

[darkopsy]

Hi Andreas,

If you provide a set of logs when the problem occurs, then we may be able to see what's going wrong. Turn on logging (see http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread...nostic-logging) and restart your Mezzmo server. Reproduce the streaming problem on your TV and then stop your Mezzmo server and exit Mezzmo. Zip up all the logs and email them to us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com. In your email, let us know your TV model and the type of home network you are using (Ethernet cables, wireless, powerline, etc.).

I've already sent my logs so I don't think there's anything there. In any case you can find them here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6609911/logs.rar

Yesterday I had no problems with streaming any video without problems. Even 1080p videos were transcoded (remuxed) and finished streaming completely. So there must be a solution to this problem other than doing a full transcode.

[Paul]

The fact that you streamed without any problems yesterday but you have problems on other days hints that your home network could be the cause (e.g. wireless connection is not strong or has interference so streaming aborts) or that certain videos are badly encoded and your device's firmware cannot decode and play the files well.

[darkopsy]

The fact that you streamed without any problems yesterday but you have problems on other days hints that your home network could be the cause (e.g. wireless connection is not strong or has interference so streaming aborts) or that certain videos are badly encoded and your device's firmware cannot decode and play the files well.

While I can accept that the wireless connection maybe the issue even though it seems unlikely cause it's always been quite stable (I keep track through utorrent at all times), I have tried the same file over and over and some days it works and sometimes it doesn't. Basically it's not a problem with a specific video file but an a problem with mezzmo just stopping streaming it.
I assume the logs weren't any help in indicating the problem?

[Paul]

Thanks for the further details. Just to explain what happens - each time to play a file from your device, your device requests that file from Mezzmo server and Mezzmo server then streams the file to your device. Mezzmo server will continue to stream the file to your device until your device aborts the connection between Mezzmo server and itself. For some reason, your device is aborting the connection whilst streaming. Common reasons for this are (i) your device's firmware has been interrupted by another event, (ii) your home network connection is not stable, or (iii) the file is not able to be decoded and played by your device so it gives up. It seems we can rule out reason (iii) since you say that you can play the same file many times over but only sometimes does it stop midway.

Regarding reason (i), we know this can happen for Samsung devices as they are easily disrupted by DLNA/UPnP communication whilst streaming. Try turning off all other DLNA/UPnP devices in your home and play the file several times to see if it plays OK. Also reboot your router to make sure it is not causing the problem.

Regarding reason (ii), an unstable wireless connection or one that is getting interference from other electronic devices can cause disruptions in streaming. If possible, as a test, try using an Ethernet cable between your device and router to see if that improves things. It may isloate the problem down to your wireless connection. Also, if you have a dual band router, then try using the 5GHz band rather than the 2.4GHz band. The 5GHz band may provide better streaming performance and have less interference from other devices in your home. Many Mezzmo users have reported better wireless streaming performance when using the 5GHz band. Consult your router's and devices' documentation for the recommended 5GHz configuration.

[darkopsy]

Thanks for the further details. Just to explain what happens - each time to play a file from your device, your device requests that file from Mezzmo server and Mezzmo server then streams the file to your device. Mezzmo server will continue to stream the file to your device until your device aborts the connection between Mezzmo server and itself. For some reason, your device is aborting the connection whilst streaming. Common reasons for this are (i) your device's firmware has been interrupted by another event, (ii) your home network connection is not stable, or (iii) the file is not able to be decoded and played by your device so it gives up. It seems we can rule out reason (iii) since you say that you can play the same file many times over but only sometimes does it stop midway.

Regarding reason (i), we know this can happen for Samsung devices as they are easily disrupted by DLNA/UPnP communication whilst streaming. Try turning off all other DLNA/UPnP devices in your home and play the file several times to see if it plays OK. Also reboot your router to make sure it is not causing the problem.

Regarding reason (ii), an unstable wireless connection or one that is getting interference from other electronic devices can cause disruptions in streaming. If possible, as a test, try using an Ethernet cable between your device and router to see if that improves things. It may isloate the problem down to your wireless connection. Also, if you have a dual band router, then try using the 5GHz band rather than the 2.4GHz band. The 5GHz band may provide better streaming performance and have less interference from other devices in your home. Many Mezzmo users have reported better wireless streaming performance when using the 5GHz band. Consult your router's and devices' documentation for the recommended 5GHz configuration.

I 've tried using the 5GHz band but the issue persists. If I stream any video file without subtitles it will play just fine. If I add subtitles into the mix then I get the freeze. Sometimes if I restart the video it will play until completion. But I don't understand why playing a remuxed video with subtitles is so problematic. The wifi is great, obviously the video plays fine on the tv without the subtitles with no hiccups or stuttering so the above explanation about communication disruption doesn't make sense. This is something else.

[Paul]

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for the testing notes. It is odd that subtitles are possibly causing the freezing/streaming problem on your TV. I guess this could happen if your subtitles files/resources (external or embedded) are badly encoded in such a way that is causing the renderer in your TV's firmware to have problems decoding and displaying them. Can you email us a new set of logs when streaming a video with an external subtitle file and then stream the same video file without an external subtitle file. We will be able to compare what your TV is doing regarding streaming. Email the logs to us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com.

Also, as a test, try using different external subtitle files for the video and see if that plays OK. That may help you isolate if the problem is with particular subtitle files that you have. The test subtitle file does not need to match the movie - just use any subtitle file that you have (.SRT, etc.). Rename the subtitle file to the same name as the video file. Then right-click on the video in Mezzmo and click Properties. On the Properties dialog, go to the Subtitles tab and click 'Update Subtitles' so that your subtitle file is read by Mezzmo before streaming.