First Post

[djcwardog]

Thanks for keeping this forum up and running. I got a Squeezebox Touch for Christmas and I am enjoying it. I did find that the first thing it wanted to do was update its software - over the wireless connection. That failed several times so I plugged it into my network with an ethernet cable and let it initialize right away. Now it is back in the listening room with wi-fi used to stream my music. Now I need to search the forum for known issues with it "buffering" quite often and interrupting my listening. I am sure that this is known and addressed by all you experts out there.

Again - thanks for the resource and I will enjoy getting up to speed with my new tech device.

[pski]

Thanks for keeping this forum up and running. I got a Squeezebox Touch for Christmas and I am enjoying it. I did find that the first thing it wanted to do was update its software - over the wireless connection. That failed several times so I plugged it into my network with an ethernet cable and let it initialize right away. Now it is back in the listening room with wi-fi used to stream my music. Now I need to search the forum for known issues with it "buffering" quite often and interrupting my listening. I am sure that this is known and addressed by all you experts out there.

Again - thanks for the resource and I will enjoy getting up to speed with my new tech device.

Most common streaming solutions:

1. Turn off the "B" radio in your AP by selecting "G-only" connections.
2. Move the AP away from any electrical sources (desktop computer, CRT monitor/tv.) Locate the AP on top of rather than under furniture.
3. If you have a laptop handy, install inSSIDer and check for bleed from neighbor's AP's that may be on the same channel. Even if there aren't conflicts, move your AP to the lowest "free" channel.
4. Arrange the AP and SBT so they are as close to "line of sight" as possible and distance the SBT from your amplifier(s) if you can.

Welcome to the club.

P

[toby10]

Is your server running LMS wired to your router? What is the WiFi signal strength on Touch?
Touch > Settings > Advanced > Diagnostics > Wireless Info

Another quick test, move Touch much closer to the WiFi router, see if it fixes the buffering issue. No speakers or amp needed, Touch display will tell you if it is buffering.

[cdeford]

I've had a more or less constant buffering issue with just one station. I assumed that the problem was the station somehow. Can buffering problems just be down to whatever a station is pumping out? Sometimes with a radio station you get a choice of formats (usually wma or mp3). Is one preferable over the other for good streaming?

[toby10]

Yes, can be the station itself. For a test go to Internet Radio > Search > *enter text* LINN, select one of the LINN stations (jazz, radio, classical), let it play for a while.
Does that stream buffer at all?

[emalvick]

There are a lot of things that can cause problems with buffering.

Do you have a relatively fast download speed capability from your internet provider? With my previous provider, I was only getting about 2 Mbps, which was ok, but if I was using the internet connection for anything in addition to the streaming, buffering would be an issue.

I don't necessarily endorse the change your router to G only unless you know you have no B devices. I realize that B devices aren't common anymore, but changing that is only going to have a minor affect on the connection anyway.

I guess you are listening to your own music (as opposed to a radio-stream), so the question of distance from the router to computer or receiver can be an issue.

Another issue related to the bleed can be if you have cordless phones around your house on a similar frequency as your router. My house was close enough to my neighbor that their cordless phone would interupt my signal (could tell by the ring of their phone and an immediate loss of signal from my router).

[cdeford]

Yes, can be the station itself. For a test go to Internet Radio > Search > *enter text* LINN, select one of the LINN stations (jazz, radio, classical), let it play for a while.
Does that stream buffer at all?

Yes, LINN stations are re-buffering every few seconds. The other station I mentioned was typically re-buffering at the end of a song.

[djcwardog]

Most common streaming solutions:

1. Turn off the "B" radio in your AP by selecting "G-only" connections.
2. Move the AP away from any electrical sources (desktop computer, CRT monitor/tv.) Locate the AP on top of rather than under furniture.
3. If you have a laptop handy, install inSSIDer and check for bleed from neighbor's AP's that may be on the same channel. Even if there aren't conflicts, move your AP to the lowest "free" channel.
4. Arrange the AP and SBT so they are as close to "line of sight" as possible and distance the SBT from your amplifier(s) if you can.

Welcome to the club.

P

Thanks for the quick responses and suggestions. I set my router to disable the 5 GHz band and to run in "G" mode only on the 2.4 GHz band. I will now look into possible channel conflicts. Screen data from the LMS pages for my device right now:

Player Model: Squeezebox Touch

Firmware: 7.7.1-r9558

Wireless Signal Strength: 13%

I let the (latest version updated when I installed the new SBT device just last week) software in LMS run with iTunes, then unchecked that box. I have 2700 Apple Lossless songs in iTunes on this PC and that is what I am wanting to stream across the ground floor to my main system and the SBT. Better to let LMS access iTunes in this way or leave that box unchecked?

Checking the settings on the PC for LMS, I saw a "possible software conflict" noted with with "Norton" - my internet security suite. I am not finding (in either Norton or LMS) a simple means to explore this further and to perhaps resolve the conflicts, if present.

[virgiliomi]

The 13% signal strength is a likely cause of buffering issues. You might want to scan for other WiFi networks that could be interfering, or try a different channel on your AP/router to see if you can improve that. With that low of a signal, a microwave would likely obliterate the signal, causing the Squeezebox to not be able to communicate with the router.

Downloading inSSIDer onto a laptop would help with finding the channels of any neighboring WiFi networks to see if they might be interfering with yours. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are all non-overlapping channels, so if you and a neighbor are both on channel 6, but no one is on 1 or 11 (or there are low/weak signals on those channels), then switching to one of those should help.

If you have a lot of different networks on all three of those channels, then often picking a channel between them can help. For example, I live in a condo community with lots of home routers in it, all on 1, 6, and 11. I use channel 8 and have seen no significant performance issues for my wireless devices.

Or if you have somewhere closer that you could plug in your router, that would be an even better option. Or you could always add an additional access point (NOT router) to your network closer to your Squeezebox, and give it the same name to extend your wireless network coverage.

[dbinder101]

Another solution, though it will cost some money, is to extend your wired network with powerline ethernet adapters rather than deal with wi-fi:

http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-HomePlug...5285057&sr=8-1


You can pick up a pair for around $60. I have been using them in my house and have been very satisfied with their performance.