N5 using Chromecast for video, laggy?

[chezm]

Hey guys,

I got Chromecast a few weeks ago and LOVE it, great for downloading and watching videos on the TV. The only issue I encountered is when playing videos, every 7-10 mins or so the video gets choppy/laggy for 20-30 seconds. Originally I thought it might be a weak connection signal but more suspect the phone is having issues at time running the video and casting to TV. Has anyone else encountered this? I tried to shut off all processing running, mainly to only have Google services and Video player running to ensure available Ram to avoid congestion on the processor of the phone. I also suspected it was the video quality but it isnt, i can rewind to the same moment and the video displays fine. Any input or advice would be appreciated.

 

[B. Diddy]

It may have more to do with your home wi-fi network. If there's a lot of traffic, it might cause occasional hiccups. Also, check to make sure there aren't a lot of other networks around you that are using the same wi-fi channel, because that can also degrade performance. Use an app like Wi-Fi Analyzer to see which channels are most congested and which are most free.

 

[Ed Briggs]

Hey guys,

but more suspect the phone is having issues at time running the video and casting to TV.

Once you click play video, the video is streamed from the chromecast, not the phone. All the phone does is tell the chromecast what video to play, and then the chromecast gets the url and plays it. It is definitely a chromecast or network issue, not your phone.

 

[chezm]

OK great thanks for the clarification gents, much appreciated. During video play i disable all devices connected to my wifi (which is protected) expect for my phone and the chromecast. Most times when i run a speedtest i get 15-25mb down with upload of 5mb, to me thats not too bad of a connection. Ill run some more tests, such as what was offered above...i was more curious to know if it was the phone. Do you guys recommend any specific video players? I use MX Player but not sure if better ones available.

 

[B. Diddy]

For Chromecast, the download speed isn't the main issue, assuming you have speeds >3-4 MBPS (which is needed to stream video to your phone reasonably well). The main issue may be how well your router communicates between devices. As I mentioned above, if your wi-fi channel is congested, this might cause problems.

 

[jj14x]

Are you streaming video that is stored locally on your phone? or are you streaming from the cloud?

 

[chezm]

Are you streaming video that is stored locally on your phone? or are you streaming from the cloud?

I am running video files locally stored (downloaded) yes, not streamed from a site.

 

[chezm]

For Chromecast, the download speed isn't the main issue, assuming you have speeds >3-4 MBPS (which is needed to stream video to your phone reasonably well). The main issue may be how well your router communicates between devices. As I mentioned above, if your wi-fi channel is congested, this might cause problems.

Unfortunately the router is a modem/rounter combo from my ISP and I dont think i have full access to check all the details, but will give it a shot thanks.

 

[B. Diddy]

What's the brand and model of the modem/router? I have a combo modem/router from Arris for Comcast, and I was able to log in to the settings. You need to know the local IP address and just enter that into your browser bar. Look at the sticker on the back of the unit--it might tell you the default username and password (often "admin" for the username, and "password" or simply blank for the password).

 

[jj14x]

I am running video files locally stored (downloaded) yes, not streamed from a site.

ok, so if you are mirroring your phone's screen, then your WAN connection speed is not the bottleneck. It is your LAN connection speed. You will need to troubleshoot your router's WiFi connection. Do you know if your router is 801.11N? (or does it use an earlier protocol?) How close is the router to your chromecast and your phone?

 

[chezm]

OK thanks guys, I will log into my modem/router and troubleshoot from there. The modem is very new from my ISP (http://www.rogers.com/web/link/modems, Advanced Wi-Fi Modem, Top), running a Speedtest i get roughly 15-30mb down and this is almost the same distance from my TV to the modem, but ill retest. I'll log into the router and check the wireless connection settings. Appreciate the help, again my inquiry was more inquisitive if the phone was the issue but most of you confirm its not and i trust that judgement.

 

[bjrosen]

There is a web interface to your router that will allow you to check all of the settings.

You might want to consider getting a good 802.11AC router to suppliment the ISP router. My recommendation is an ASUS. I have two 802.11AC routers, an ASUS and a Netgear. The ASUS has slightly better performance and a much better user interface. I have the ASUS set up in series with my Verizon router and the Netgear set up as an additional access point in a different part of my house. The reason for configuring the ASUS in series with the Verizon router is to improve security. Verizon has a backdoor into their router which you can't close, they also don't bother updating the firmware. What I did was configure the Verizon router to port forward to the ASUS router. I configured the WAN port on the ASUS router to a fixed IP address and then configured the Verizon router to forward to that address. I disabled WiFI on the Verizon router and configured both the 2.4G and 5G access points on the ASUS router. The N5 does really well on 5G as long as it's in the same room as the router. I get about 220MBits/second to the ASUS router and 200 MBits/second to the Netgear router (this is measured using iperf to a machine on my LAN). The Chomecast runs on 2.4G, it doesn't support 5G. When I cast I have the N5 running on 5G and the Chromecast on 2.4G so there is no interference beween them.

One more thing, I recommend that you try Allcast. It finds all of the DLNA clients on your LAN including the one built into your smart TV (assuming you have one). My TV is connected to Ethernet which is much more reliable than WiFI. With Allcast I can cast anything directly to the TV without having to use my Chromecast (Allcast supports the Chormcast also, but a wired connection will always be better so I use that).

 

[Shilohcane]

Unfortunately the router is a modem/rounter comb from my ISP and I dont think i have full access to check all the details, but will give it a shot thanks.

Check if what your ISP chargers you every month for the modem/rounter comb. My break even point with buying over renting was about 10 months. So that cut my ISP bill a lot each month after that 10 months.

BTW, I know you said you download the video local to the N5 but it still could be coming from the cloud since that is the way the Chromecast is designed to work. The only way to be sure it is streaming from you N5 and not the cloud is to turn off you N5 during the video playback.

 

[chezm]

Using all cast fully resolved all my issues, streaming works flawless. The issue before was when I mirrored my screen... Using allcast has no lag or video playback problems. Thanks guys.

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