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[JmsRyan]

I have been enjoying the DSM-520 for three months.  However, now that I have started using Netflix, I've encountered more "stalling" in the video streams. This happens occasionally on files on my HD, as well.

My desktop is running Vista 32-bit. I am on cable broadband (me and everyone else in the apartment complex). What I have is a 1.5Tb external drive connected to my desktop, which is connected to a Linksys Wireless-G router. This has worked well for general internet/filesharing purposes. I do have Norton Internet Security installed on the desktop.
Connected to the TV is a D-Link DSM-520 Media Center.  For the streaming videos, I have installed PlayOn (recommended by D-Link).

The PlayOn window occasionally shows my online bandwidth to be “low” (and sometimes CPU performance).  Of course, on the desktop, I run either the IE version, or Windows Media Center, and virtually never have a problem.

Do you think replacing/upgrading the router would be a solution?

I thought that I could access/run Windows Media Center from the DSM-520, too?

[ECF]

Is the DSM-520 or PC connected wirelessly?

[JmsRyan]

The PC is connected to a Linksys 54G wireless...the 520 runs through that.
Most of the time, the media files on the drive play great (sometimes they stall).  However, the streaming Netflix virtually always stalls.

[ECF]

Its probably a lack of bandwidth from the wireless connection. I would recommend trying it wired especially if streaming HD video content.

[JmsRyan]

Would a different wireless router be a solution? I've got a Linksys WRT54G router. I'm in an apartment and stringing cables isn't a good option.

[ECF]

I don't think a different router would make a difference as the DSM-520 does not support 802.11N wireless for faster wireless connections. Also your wireless environment has alot to do with this.

[simoncutting]

My experience with wireless connections for streaming decent quality videos is that it works most of the time but after a while the video stream would stall and that was all she wrote - after that it's like watching a video with a stammer because it never seemed to recover.  I tried 802.11N (using a wireless->wired converter next to the DSM-520) and that was an improvement but still had fairly frequent freezes.  I found that the higher the bit rate of the movie, the quicker it would stutter.

The wireless connection has the bandwidth but has trouble sustaining the throughput you need for a high quality movie.  When I use wireless in the family room on my laptop I notice that the signal strength comes and goes, which is what killed the video performance.  Wireless worked well for music which has a much lower bandwidth requirement.  I would imagine that in an apartment complex you have a veritable soup of wireless signals which would only serve to make matters worse for streaming video.  If you're unable to run an ethernet cable then you could try an 802.11N router with a wireless->wired gizmo (don't recall the technical term) connected to the DSM-520 - may work for you.

I ended up under the house pulling an ethernet cable...  big pain in the rear but haven't had any issues with video freezing from the DSM-520 since.  I'm going to give the Netflix streaming box a try too now that I have a high speed connection at the TV.