ASUS RT-N66U can't stream 1080p videos ?!

[ahmadka]

Hi guys ... So I bought an ASUS RT-N66U for my new house because its considered as one of the best and fastest routers out there currently ..

Firstly, let me say that I'm *extremely new* to ASUS RT-N66U, so it's very likely that the following issue might just require some tweaking or something ... I've not even connected the router to my modem yet .. I'm just testing it out ..

Setup:

Okay so I wanted a router which can stream 1080p videos without a sweat. To test this, I took one of my Blu-rays (The Island), decrypted it, converted it to an MP4 file using 'High Profile' in Handbrake, which gave me a 16GB MP4 file of the movie ...

Now, I fired up my RT-N66U (on all default settings - I haven't configured anything in it so far), connected my Laptop (Core i7, 8GB, Win 8.1, Sony VAIO) and PS3 to the 2.4 Ghz default SSID 'ASUS', and tried streaming the 16GB video file on my PS3 using Windows Media Player's streaming features ..

Note that my PS3, NT-R66U and streaming Laptop, were all within 10-12 feet of each other, so range isn't an issue ..

Problem:

When streaming the 16GB 1080p file on a PS3, I got a LOT of stutter .. Most times, the video played for one second, then stopped for one second, etc .. Also, I noticed that when I was streaming, even internal LAN communication virtually came to a dead stop .. I say this because while I was streaming, I was monitoring the wireless network traffic in RT-N66U's Traffic Monitor page .. With no video streaming, the graph updated every second .. When the video WAS streaming, the graph updated like one every 15 seconds or so. Also, the bandwidth graph is made was incorrect. It incorrectly showed zero network usage at most times, even though the video was streaming .. Also, if I tried browsing the router's console pages while the video was streaming, they didn't load, or loaded after a long time .. The second I stopped playing the video, the graph started updating regularly, and I was able to quickly jump between the router's configuration pages again without any delay..

Network Usage Graph from Router Console:

Router incorrectly reports only 'spikes' of usage, even though the video was continuously streaming all this time:

Possible theories ?:

Because of the constant stuttering, and the lag in the router's graph updating and pages loading, it seems that the router is probably struggling with the 1080p video ..

On the other hand, the 16 GB file is for a 136 minute movie, so it translates to exactly 2 MB/sec data transfer on average, which is equivalent to an average 20 Mbps internet connecting working at full bandwidth ... 20 Mbps is a *very small number* in today's data transfer speeds, so why is that a problem for a router which has dual 450 Mbps connections ?!

What is the reason behind all this ?

 

[sm00thpapa]

Your running a very old insecure firmware in .276. Update to the latest firmware from Asus or Merlins Builds. Reconfigure your router and then try it again.

 

[ahmadka]

Your running a very old insecure firmware in .276. Update to the latest firmware from Asus or Merlins Builds. Reconfigure your router and then try it again.

Yeah I can try that, but updates normally only fix minor issues ... On its face value, this seems like a pretty big issue to me ..

I mean I had an old Netgear W100 router before this which I bought like 6-7 years ago, and even that could stream 720p videos with lag .. It streamed 1080p with the same amount of lag which I'm seeing here with R66U ...

Also regarding updates, I read on some other forums that some recent firmware updates also tend to decrease total bandwidth .. I don't know if downgrading firmwares is a possibility for these routers, so I don't want to upgrade to a firmware which might put more limitations ..

 

[jlake]

Basic troubleshooting steps are in link below.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=12453

 

[CaptainSTX]

A possible reason that you are seeing more data transmitted than the file size being transmitted is because of re transmission of data packets when errors occur.

You need to trouble shoot your WiFi connections to maximize through put and minimize errors.

Many people on this site are going to tell you that if you want to stream uncompressed video trouble free WiFi should be your last choice. Your best choices are Ethernet cables, MOCA, Powerline and then 5Ghz. For most people 2.4Ghz is going to be problematic and require constant tweaking as competing 2.4Ghz networks seen locally come and go and other sources of interference slow your speeds down.

Test your streaming first using a hardwired Ethernet connection and if that works then the problem is WiFi. You then can decide if you want to fight it or stream the easy and reliable way using a hardwired connection.

 

[ahmadka]

Alright I'll test with a wired connection tonight.

But why would ASUS advertise the router as having 2x 450 Mbps, when it can't seem to even do 20 Mbps properly ? :/

Or is something else being the bottleneck and not the router (if yes, what ?) ?

 

[CaptainSTX]

Alright I'll test with a wired connection tonight.

But why would ASUS advertise the router as having 2x 450 Mbps, when it can't seem to even do 20 Mbps properly ? :/

Or is something else being the bottleneck and not the router (if yes, what ?) ?

ASUS and all other router manufactures market and sell their gear based on the theoretical link rate. Bigger is better but you will never achieve those rates in the real world. Use the router ranker/picker on this site and see what the real transfer rates are measured under very controlled conditions.

Similar to what car manufactures do with the EPA mileage. In fact I'm even old enough to remember when Detroit iron came with speedometers that were calibrated up to 150 Mph.

 

[r00t4rd3d]

Use Merlins firmware, version 39_0 EM. Also curious what your connected link speed is showing and what speeds can you upload/download to the network drive.

 

[ahmadka]

@r00t4rd3d, thanks for the firmware suggestion ... Any reason why should I use this particular FW ?

Also, any other firmware to use maybe ? And why ? I'm just trying to see which firmware for this router is generally the most recommended, and why (if possible) ..

And can router firmwares be downgraded if needed ?

Also, will going to a DD-WRT firmware improve the performance maybe ? I've never tried DD-WRT or any other custom router firmware before, so don't know how recommended they are ..

 

[CaptainSTX]

Also are you streaming the files from a USB drive attached to the router?

If yes that is another big problem. To stream HD video you will need a NAS device or a PC connected to the router using an Ethernet connection. Again look at the router reviews to see what speeds you might get if using a USB drive.

To stream uncompresed video on a network everything needs to be close to perfect.

When you test tonight using an Ethernet cable run some LAN speedtest to proof your network.

 

[ahmadka]

No I'm streaming from a Laptop wirelessly. It's being received by the PS3 wireless too.

I understand that speeds on Router specs may be overexagerrated, but getting 20 Mbps at least for a router capable of 450 Mbps is safe to assume, right ?

Also, how do I do 'LAN speedtest' ?

 

[r00t4rd3d]

Also, how do I do 'LAN speedtest' ?

With the program Lan Speed Test.

In Windows open your available wireless network list, right click on your connection and click Status and tell me what the Speed is.

 

[CaptainSTX]

No I'm streaming from a Laptop wirelessly. It's being received by the PS3 wireless too.

I understand that speeds on Router specs may be overexagerrated, but getting 20 Mbps at least for a router capable of 450 Mbps is safe to assume, right ?

Also, how do I do 'LAN speedtest' ?

Run a series of LAN speed tests to find out where the bottleneck is.

1. Connect both the laptop (media server) and the device streaming to the router using cables. Test a number of times and average your speeds. Be sure that the only application running on the laptop is the WAN speed test utility.

2. Use Wifi on one device and Ethernet on the other. Retest and average.

3. Switch the connection so that the end that was Ethernet is now WiFi. Retest.

4. Test using WiFi at both ends and average your speeds.

Hopefully this will show you where your weak link(s) are. Before you spend money for 5 Ghz WiFi adapters, new NIC cards, etc. seriously consider a wired solution.

As you may have noticed no one has jumped into this conversation saying that you will be able to reliably stream uncompressed video using WiFi in a real world home situation. The best you can hope for is good most of the time.

 

[DavidEBSmith]

The router can handle 1080p video, if it has a good connection.

I have an N66W (and formerly had an N53) sending to an LG smart TV and/or Sony Blu-ray.

Streaming over 2.4 GHz WiFi in a neighborhood crowded with 30 other WiFi sources does not work reliably for me.

Streaming over Ethernet works reliably for me.

Streaming over powerline networking works reliably for me.

Streaming over 5 GHz WiFi (where I am so far the only user on 5 GHz in the neighborhood) works reliably for me.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

Setting the router up completely will help as well.

Do you have interference from neighbors? Do you have a congested 2.4Ghz zone? How is the 5Ghz zone?
Are you set at 20Mhz wide? 20/40? 40?
enable encryption to gain speed.. WPA2
are your clients N speed? if so, what are there connection rates?
It does not matter if all items are sitting 1 foot away, there is a bunch of stuff which matters to ensure it works properly.
The Asus RT-N66U can handle it, can your wireless clients handle it? what chipset do they use.. some work better than others with certain brands of chipsets used in the router.
Sony PS3 ( I do not have one, but I have heard there are some nuances to getting them connected and working well)

search PS3 issues. Maybe channel selection or something...

 

[tmorris1]

PS3 is only wireless G and not capable of N speeds so a max of about 22mbps. You are also streaming wirelessly from laptop so you are cutting your available bandwidth in half since ps3 and laptop are competing for the same wireless bandwidth. I bet if you use the wired GB connection of the PS3 you will be fine.

 

[legitsu]

pretty much everyone here nailed it
you can't stream from wireless to router to wireless it just isn't fast enough also the ps3 is notorious for terrible video streaming support try plugging the laptop into a wired connection and use ps3mediaserver http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/

the ps3 supports up to 125Mbit via "afterburner/Speedboost" make sure thats enabled
still don't expect miracles with the ps3 it sucks as a media-box regardless of what sony would have you believe
at anyrate your SOURCE for your media needs to be wired or have wifi N support

 

[tmorris1]

I have never had an issue with streaming 1080 hd to my PS3 but I use a wired connection to it. It has GB Ethernet.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I can get 1080P Super HD to my PS3 which is upstairs from the router using Merlins .39 em build. I do have a 60 Mbps DL connection.