'11-11"-TBD Netflix+Hulu Lag?

[Boe11]

Good morning,

I recently picked up a 2011 MBA 11"/Apple thunderbolt display and so far I'm completely in love with the setup (will probably write up a review at some point).

One issue I have noticed, however: Last night I was watching Workaholics(not a bad show, surprisingly) on netflix and this morning I was watching Modern Family (incredible show) on hulu, both full screen, and there was noticeable lag. It seems more prevalent with netflix.

It wasn't like normal bandwidth lag, where it would hang or stop to buffer, it was like video game lag. It became choppy like it couldn't keep up. The odd thing is, when I watch HD downloa....purchased movies, it plays smooth as silk. Also other streaming sources like teamcoco seem to work fine.

So I'm curious to see if anyone else has had these issues. I'm using the MBA in clamshell mode and haven't checked on my temps or anything, so I'm not sure if it's a heat issue. I'll have to do some further testing this weekend. I'm really enjoying the setup as a whole, but if this was a chronic problem, that might throw a monkey wrench into what has otherwise been a perfect setup for me so far.

Any insight would be much appreciated.

 

[gentlefury]

Try using XBMC for Hulu and Plex for Netflix (XBMCFlix hasn't been updated for Eden yet). They will play H.264 streams instead of Flash/Silverlight garbage.

 

[Boe11]

Try using XBMC for Hulu and Plex for Netflix (XBMCFlix hasn't been updated for Eden yet). They will play H.264 streams instead of Flash/Silverlight garbage.

Haven't heard of either. Downloading them now. Do they serve as browser plugins or how do they convert streamed content?

 

[jterp7]

Haven't heard of either. Downloading them now. Do they serve as browser plugins or how do they convert streamed content?

as "snappy" as these MBA's are, nothing brings them to their knees like flash. It's practically kryptonite lol. What's strange is that on 1080p TVs its fine, but as soon as I got the TBD I noticed the lag, and not just at full screen. Playing the same stream on my 3yr old pc is smooth as silk, which is quite sad.

 

[Boe11]

as "snappy" as these MBA's are, nothing brings them to their knees like flash. It's practically kryptonite lol. What's strange is that on 1080p TVs its fine, but as soon as I got the TBD I noticed the lag, and not just at full screen. Playing the same stream on my 3yr old pc is smooth as silk, which is quite sad.

That's disappointing. Watching streamed content is about 50% of what I do on my computer. I'll have to see if I have any luck with the suggested alternatives. I can return the MBA until march 5th, so if it continues to be an issue, I might just return it and get a refurbished mac mini(w/ 6630) to hold me over until the MBA refresh, then use the MM as a media server or something.

I'm convinced that the ultra portable computer and big ass display combo is the best option for me, but I don't want my video content to look like a power point. I'll have to see what develops.

 

[gentlefury]

Haven't heard of either. Downloading them now. Do they serve as browser plugins or how do they convert streamed content?

Standalone backend. You will have to do some simple google research to set it up, but it makes Hulu and Netflix way better!

I don't have any problems playing flash....except Hulu...which for some reason is total crap. But the H.264 backend videos are great!

If you use XBMC hulu plugin make sure you set your source to Akamai, that way you get the HD streams. Limelight is default and it is SD.

 

[Boe11]

Loving XBMC. Installed a bunch of channels - there is some really cool content out there. Unfortunately both the hulu and netflix (XBMC flicks) addons aren't really working. Hulu, when I find an episode to play, it gets through the first round of commercials and just reverts back to the file menu. Netflix just errors out when I try to load it.

I'll mess with it a bit more this weekend, but let me know if you have any suggestions. So far I'm really impressed with the program, and if I can get everything working it should alleviate my problem, except for Conan :'(

 

[gentlefury]

Loving XBMC. Installed a bunch of channels - there is some really cool content out there. Unfortunately both the hulu and netflix (XBMC flicks) addons aren't really working. Hulu, when I find an episode to play, it gets through the first round of commercials and just reverts back to the file menu. Netflix just errors out when I try to load it.

I'll mess with it a bit more this weekend, but let me know if you have any suggestions. So far I'm really impressed with the program, and if I can get everything working it should alleviate my problem, except for Conan :'(

Are you using Eden? Hulu only worked in Eden for me. Netflix no longer works in Eden. I use Plex for that.

For Hulu, go into the settings and set the pre-roll from 2 to 0, then it will skip the commercials all together and go to the content commercial free.

 

[Boe11]

Are you using Eden? Hulu only worked in Eden for me. Netflix no longer works in Eden. I use Plex for that.

For Hulu, go into the settings and set the pre-roll from 2 to 0, then it will skip the commercials all together and go to the content commercial free.

Okay, that makes sense. I'm using dharma. I'll have to switch to Eden tonight. Thanks for the tip on these programs. I was enjoying XBMC so much last night, I started to think I should get an apple tv or mini to hook up to my projector and surround sound. I'll have to give it a test drive for a few weeks.

 

[gentlefury]

Okay, that makes sense. I'm using dharma. I'll have to switch to Eden tonight. Thanks for the tip on these programs. I was enjoying XBMC so much last night, I started to think I should get an apple tv or mini to hook up to my projector and surround sound. I'll have to give it a test drive for a few weeks.

I have a Mini in the living room, but if you are willing to jailbreak an apple tv you can install XBMC on it. Only downfall is you are limited to 720p. Mac Mini is 1080p thru HDMI.

 

[Boe11]

I have a Mini in the living room, but if you are willing to jailbreak an apple tv you can install XBMC on it. Only downfall is you are limited to 720p. Mac Mini is 1080p thru HDMI.

I might go the Apple TV route since my projector only does 720p (it's a few years old).

I haven't been able to find a netflix plug in that works for plex. Any ideas?

Thanks again for all the help! Hulu has been working great.

 

[gentlefury]

I might go the Apple TV route since my projector only does 720p (it's a few years old).

I haven't been able to find a netflix plug in that works for plex. Any ideas?

Thanks again for all the help! Hulu has been working great.

Netflix plex plugin should be in the app store. Unless they removed it. I have a google tv that I watch netflix with....so its been a while since I used plex for netflix. You might have to use XBMC dharma to run netflix for the moment...until they update it for eden.