Problem with streaming from Netflix and more in general also with Youtube

[geppetto61]

Hi !
i am using a 30 Mbit/s web connection and the Pipo wifi (Asus router).
I am experiencing some problems when streaming from Netflix and also with Youtube videos.
I do not know it this is normal.
I have blocked the autoupdate feature and i have not update any driver.
What i could try to get a smoother streaming without hiccups (if this is not due at the limitations of the unit of course) ?
Thanks a lot indeed, gino

[Scooberdanje]

Hi !
i am using a 30 Mbit/s web connection and the Pipo wifi (Asus router).
I am experiencing some problems when streaming from Netflix and also with Youtube videos.
I do not know it this is normal.
I have blocked the autoupdate feature and i have not update any driver.
What i could try to get a smoother streaming without hiccups (if this is not due at the limitations of the unit of course) ?
Thanks a lot indeed, gino

The most common problem is CPUthrottling due to overheating. Look at the heatsinkmod-thread. Otherwise you got the bios where you can crank the gpu settings which also you find in the Pipo X7 thread. Download the latest drivers dude

I experienced small stutters in Popcorn Time but i lowered the DHL and connection limit to half the values. Maybe there's a setting for netflix also? Take care /Scooberdanje

[geppetto61]

The most common problem is CPUthrottling due to overheating. Look at the heatsinkmod-thread. Otherwise you got the bios where you can crank the gpu settings which also you find in the Pipo X7 thread.

Hi and thanks a lot !
After posting i found the 3D about enabling GFX boost in the bios and set 256 MB as reserved memory for graphics and it indeed works ! much better now without big hiccups.
Great ! Thanks a lot ! i have to thank Mr.Scoobydoo for sure. I will do immediately.

Download the latest drivers dude

i downloaded a package of drivers but they do not work.
Could you kindly provide me with a tested link ? please ...

I experienced small stutters in Popcorn Time but i lowered the DHL and connection limit to half the values. Maybe there's a setting for netflix also? Take care /Scooberdanje

I have set in the profile max quality for streaming and now it works quite ok. No more complaint.
This little thing is amazing.
And also the sound quality is astonishing at the point that i heard it is winning consensus even among audiophiles with extremely expensive systems.
I am using it mainly as a AV media player and streamer and i am very pleased now.
When i looked the 1st time at Bios i was shocked by the number of settings available.
I am quite ignorant and i would like very much to find a user guide somewhere, but first i will read the other threads for sure !
Thanks again !
Kind regards, geppo

[twig]

I am pretty much in the same boat, at least in regard of Youtube - it just doesn't work properly on Firefox and Chrome based browsers. If I right click on the youtube video and select "stats for nerds" I can see that it sometimes drops frames even at 720p. However, at the same time, Youtube on IE is flawlessly playing 1080p movies at 60 fps, even 4k!

I did the gfx bios tweak, got the latest Intel drivers + whatever was in the driver pack, I also have all the hardware accelerations enabled in browsers and yet, I saw very little improvement.

One thing I noticed is that the box is very sensitive to background tasks, even the built in anti malware tool can make youtube's 720p stream very choppy.

[twig]

i downloaded a package of drivers but they do not work.
Could you kindly provide me with a tested link ? please ...

They do work, just read their instructions. Don't bother with Intel graphics driver there, it is old.

Get Intel Driver Update utility (will autodownload drivers for you):

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu

Or directly - HD Graphics driver:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24695/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-32bit

[geppetto61]

I am pretty much in the same boat, at least in regard of Youtube - it just doesn't work properly on Firefox and Chrome based browsers. If I right click on the youtube video and select "stats for nerds" I can see that it sometimes drops frames even at 720p. H
owever, at the same time, Youtube on IE is flawlessly playing 1080p movies at 60 fps, even 4k!
I did the gfx bios tweak, got the latest Intel drivers + whatever was in the driver pack, I also have all the hardware accelerations enabled in browsers and yet, I saw very little improvement.
One thing I noticed is that the box is very sensitive to background tasks, even the built in anti malware tool can make youtube's 720p stream very choppy

Hi and thanks for the very kind and valuable advice.
I guess that streaming HD content is a stress test for the HW, and other processes going on make things worse.
If i remember well streaming with an Android 4.4 media player was smoother and the HW should be poorer than that of the Pipo. So i guess it is also a matter of OS.
I am using Chrome but i will try IE after your words. I can only say that the bios settings change has improved the vision. The streaming quality is set to highest (i think max bit rate).
Thanks again, geppo

[geppetto61]

They do work, just read their instructions.

Hi and i will read the thread this weekend.
I have downloaded a package from where i do not remember ... it is a 170 MB rar file ?
I run the Wlan driver but got a run time error.
So i am not sure the drivers are the right ones. Could you please direct me to the good ones ?
Thanks !

Don't bother with Intel graphics driver there, it is old.
Get Intel Driver Update utility (will autodownload drivers for you):

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu

Or directly - HD Graphics driver:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/dow...-7-8-8-1-32bit

i will do it for sure. Maybe they will improve vision even further.
Now it is quite decent. Of course not like with a more powerful pc but this little pc has
a huge potential as an HTPC.
The sound is already much better than with a win 7 64 bit much more powerful pc. I
start to believe what many people are saying, that win 8.1 is a better OS than 7 !
Only the difficulties to run Skype on Linux have stopped me to migrate to that system.
Only Skype ... i must stay connected always for family problems.
Thanks again a lot. Kindest regards, geppo


P.S. i have bought already other 4 as back-ups ... i feel absolutely no need to go back to my bigger pc really.

[loko]

When i looked the 1st time at Bios i was shocked by the number of settings available.
I am quite ignorant and i would like very much to find a user guide somewhere, but first i will read the other threads for sure !
Thanks again !
Kind regards, geppo

I should mention once more that the device is prone to bricking by changing some BIOS settings.

[geppetto61]

I should mention once more that the device is prone to bricking by changing some BIOS settings

Hi and sorry but what does it mean ? english is only my 5th language ...
No seriously .. i have only activated some video acceleration feature as recommend here and indeed now streaming from Netflix is much better.
The unit cover does not get hot even after some hours of streaming, just warm.
Am i risking something ? Thanks a lot.

[no_spam_for_me]

If you only change recommended settings (like you had done) every thing is fine...
BUT you should not do any "try and error" at settings only to find out if it will have a positive effect or not, because at worst case the effect could be that your device doesn't boot any longer

[scropion86]

Hi and sorry but what does it mean ? english is only my 5th language ...
No seriously .. i have only activated some video acceleration feature as recommend here and indeed now streaming from Netflix is much better.
The unit cover does not get hot even after some hours of streaming, just warm.
Am i risking something ? Thanks a lot.

cover is Just warm but the CPU is burning inside use any CPU temperature utility to check the actual temp

[geppetto61]

cover is Just warm but the CPU is burning inside use any CPU temperature utility to check the actual temp

Hi and thanks for the valuable advice
I have search and found free CPUID ... but they want to monitor even when i go the toilet ... no thanks.
Could you recommend me any SW to check the temperatures and less curious ?
However with the default settings it was completely unacceptable.
If it cannot resist these new setting for my purposes is not usable. I use it only for streaming video from Youtube and Netflix. With default settings the vision was absolutely choppy.
Unbearable honestly.
Enabling the GFX boost (i think it is name) and reserving 256 MB of memory for video changed substantially the quality vision.
Now it is instead quite decent.
I will read the heatsink mods thread for sure.
The fact that the cpu gets hot and the case stays cold means that the heat transfer is quite poor.
A bad design thermally speaking.
Thanks again sincerely.

[geppetto61]

If you only change recommended settings (like you had done) every thing is fine...
BUT you should not do any "try and error" at settings only to find out if it will have a positive effect or not, because at worst case the effect could be that your device doesn't boot any longer

Hi and i understand now better the limits of the HW.
I wonder if there is any kind of temperature control that shuts down the unit automatically when the T is too high
I did not know that wrong bios settings could make the boot impossible ... unbelievable.
Really strange. It should be possible anytime a recovery like for OS.
Thanks again.

[scropion86]

Hi and i understand now better the limits of the HW.
I wonder if there is any kind of temperature control that shuts down the unit automatically when the T is too high
I did not know that wrong bios settings could make the boot impossible ... unbelievable.
Really strange. It should be possible anytime a recovery like for OS.
Thanks again.

first i don't recommended anybody to change the bios settings as many faced a dead devices because of that

i saw somewhere in the bios that if device reach 90 C the bios will shutdown and cut the power to protect the CPU damage

but again running system for along time in high temp even if that not damaged your device it will make the life time of that pipo very short .
suddenly it will stop working .
myself i stoped using it till i find a time and effective way to get the temp down at least 60 -65 C max

[geppetto61]

first i don't recommended anybody to change the bios settings as many faced a dead devices because of that

Hi and thank you sincerely again
Still i have to say again that before enabling GFX boosting and reserving 256 MB for the video the unit was useless with Netflix, now especially with wired connection is almost perfect.
Nevertheless i will try again to disable GFX boosting and see.
Last thing i want is to fry this thing.

i saw somewhere in the bios that if device reach 90 C the bios will shutdown and cut the power to protect the CPU damage

very very interesting and welcome feature indeed ! do you know if it is possible to decrease the 90 C value ?
I have to add one thing. I have installed Core Temp and i see that the cores' T tend to stabilize around 35 C. I have also set a shutdown point at 60 C of core temperatures. The unit should go to sleep if any core reaches this T i assume.
But as i say after 2-3 hours of Netflix streaming the temperatures for all cores stay below 35 C. Assuming that this Core Temp program works rightly of course.
Anyway i am thinking seriously about the heatsink mods. I will do that soon.

but again running system for along time in high temp even if that not damaged your device it will make the life time of that pipo very short . suddenly it will stop working .
myself i stoped using it till i find a time and effective way to get the temp down at least 60 -65 C max

I see and agree with you completely. Maybe Core Temp is not working properly because i am quite distant from this level of T.
I will try to reduce the T limit for shutdown to 60 C in the bios, if possible, and see what will happen.
Do you know if this is possible ?
Maybe i have found a cold unit ?

Thank you so much again.