Incessant buffering

[jstraw]

For the last few days I've been suffering from incessant buffering. It happens on WiFi, 3G, and hardwired LAN. It happens if I'm accessing the server over a local IP or via a port forwarded through a VPN service. It happens with Windows Firewall on or off on the server. I'm at my wits end.

I've restarted the computer, modem, router, the attached storage housing my library, *everything*.

Any thoughts?

[jstraw]

Here's the log file.
server.log.zipserver.log.zip

[jstraw]

Updating to the latest nightly build of 8.2.x may have repaired a corrupted file or something. It seems to be working...fingers crossed.

[jstraw]

So, no change. It's a mess. Any ideas? Anyone?

[gstalnaker]

Windows trouble-shooting sucks. Sorry you're in this boat. You don't mention your system topography (where LMS is, library is, etc.) so I'm flying blind ...

I took a look at your server log and though I'm no LMS expert some comments:

1. https://kcurlive.umkc.edu/kcur893 - lots of attempts at using this fail; if you load it in a browser tab, you'll hear an audio clip saying that URLs are changing and directing you to a new site for more info
2. On 5/22 these errors begin to appear:
   

   [22-05-22 18:09:06.7656] Slim::Player::Protocols::File::open (101) Error: could not open F:\MP3\MP3b\Whitburn\1970s\1970\pop\70_345 - Candi Staton - I'm Just A Prisoner Of Your Good Lov.mp3: Too many open files

   I'd have thought your restarts would fix resources issues this suggests, but maybe other applications/OS processes are opening files you're not aware of and consuming available resources; perhaps TaskManager and ResourceMonitor may help you identify if this is true and what apps are doing it
3. On 5/23 there are a lot of these:
   

   [22-05-23 08:09:23.7198] Slim::Web::Cometd::handler (421) errorNeedsClient: 00:04:20:22:13:1a, status, -, 10, menu:menu, useContextMenu:1, subscribe:600

   I've no idea what "errorNeedsClient" references
4. On 5/23 just after the above are:
   

   [22-05-23 08:11:18.6683] Slim::Networking::Discovery::Players::_players_error (144) Unable to get players: Connect timed out: Bad file descriptor

   seems suggestive, yet your issue is buffering not connections.

That's what the log shows - not sure if it's useful as is. You can modify what is logged, both content and depth in the Server:Settings:Logging. A setting of Debug provides the most detail. Perhaps reviewing the options there that seem pertinent to networking, database, and library might provide more useful log information. The server.log file you uploaded is remarkable for its brevity -- it contains 15 months of log data in 34k lines. My server.log file for two days has 115k lines.

Also, if your library is attached to a system to which you have login access, can you install a media player (Clementine, Foobar, VLC) and open media files in the library directly? If so, are there buffering issues? That would isolate LMS entirely. If issues exit outside of LSM use, then it's likely not LMS that's causing playback problems but something deeper.

Regards.

[Paul Webster]

Any thoughts?

https://kcurlive.umkc.edu/kcur893 - lots of attempts at using this fail; if you load it in a browser tab, you'll hear an audio clip saying that URLs are changing and directing you to a new site for more info

As a result, I have just added KCUR (and KC Classical) to the latest beta build (0.0.22g) of my Radio Now Playing plugin.

For KCUR it should show programme name and duration and for KC Classical it should show some track details and when none found, the programme name.

It uses their new stream URLs - and for KCUR they are now using streamtheworld so you can listen via
https://playerservices.streamtheworl...KCURFM_ADP.aac

[jstraw]

Windows trouble-shooting sucks. Sorry you're in this boat. You don't mention your system topography (where LMS is, library is, etc.) so I'm flying blind ...

I took a look at your server log and though I'm no LMS expert some comments:

1. https://kcurlive.umkc.edu/kcur893 - lots of attempts at using this fail; if you load it in a browser tab, you'll hear an audio clip saying that URLs are changing and directing you to a new site for more info
2. On 5/22 these errors begin to appear:
   

   [22-05-22 18:09:06.7656] Slim::Player::Protocols::File::open (101) Error: could not open F:\MP3\MP3b\Whitburn\1970s\1970\pop\70_345 - Candi Staton - I'm Just A Prisoner Of Your Good Lov.mp3: Too many open files

   I'd have thought your restarts would fix resources issues this suggests, but maybe other applications/OS processes are opening files you're not aware of and consuming available resources; perhaps TaskManager and ResourceMonitor may help you identify if this is true and what apps are doing it
3. On 5/23 there are a lot of these:
   

   [22-05-23 08:09:23.7198] Slim::Web::Cometd::handler (421) errorNeedsClient: 00:04:20:22:13:1a, status, -, 10, menu:menu, useContextMenu:1, subscribe:600

   I've no idea what "errorNeedsClient" references
4. On 5/23 just after the above are:
   

   [22-05-23 08:11:18.6683] Slim::Networking::Discovery::Players::_players_error (144) Unable to get players: Connect timed out: Bad file descriptor

   seems suggestive, yet your issue is buffering not connections.

That's what the log shows - not sure if it's useful as is. You can modify what is logged, both content and depth in the Server:Settings:Logging. A setting of Debug provides the most detail. Perhaps reviewing the options there that seem pertinent to networking, database, and library might provide more useful log information. The server.log file you uploaded is remarkable for its brevity -- it contains 15 months of log data in 34k lines. My server.log file for two days has 115k lines.

Also, if your library is attached to a system to which you have login access, can you install a media player (Clementine, Foobar, VLC) and open media files in the library directly? If so, are there buffering issues? That would isolate LMS entirely. If issues exit outside of LSM use, then it's likely not LMS that's causing playback problems but something deeper.

Regards.

Thanks for taking a look.

Working backwards:

I have no trouble playing files from the same attached drive across my network on another machine, with no buffering.

I'll try to configure more useful logs.

Yes, that 144 error is suggestive.

Mulling over the other things...thanks again.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up purging and reinstalling LMS, not just updating it. It's such a drag. The library will take days to scan and I'll have to reconfigure my plugins...and it still might not be fixed.

[jstraw]

As a result, I have just added KCUR (and KC Classical) to the latest beta build (0.0.22g) of my Radio Now Playing plugin.

For KCUR it should show programme name and duration and for KC Classical it should show some track details and when none found, the programme name.

It uses their new stream URLs - and for KCUR they are now using streamtheworld so you can listen via
https://playerservices.streamtheworl...KCURFM_ADP.aac

Thanks for that new URL!

[bpa]

So, no change. It's a mess. Any ideas? Anyone?

You've got many different errors happening with LMS I'm guessing LMS is just not able to handle stream reliably as those errors will block LMS

Error like "too many files open" are indicative of a system problem not a LMS one.

Install an up to date version of LMS as a first step.
Then clear and rebuild database.

[gstalnaker]

Feel you. Been there. I have an intermittent issue that occurs if I've done
too many partial library scans (look for new or changed). Then sometimes
playback of media files starts & stops, jumps forward or backward. Only fix
is a completely library rebuild (delete & rescan).

Guy

On Thu, May 26, 2022, 8:46 AM jstraw <
jstraw.al1bao (AT) no-mx (DOT) forums.slimdevices.com> wrote:

>
> gstalnaker wrote:
> > Windows trouble-shooting sucks. Sorry you're in this boat. You don't
> > mention your system topography (where LMS is, library is, etc.) so I'm
> > flying blind ...
> >
> > I took a look at your server log and though I'm no LMS expert some
> > comments:
> >
> > > >
> - https://kcurlive.umkc.edu/kcur893 - lots of attempts at using this
> > fail; if you load it in a browser tab, you'll hear an audio clip
> > saying that URLs are changing and directing you to a new site for
> > more info
> - On 5/22 these errors begin to appear:
> > >
> Code:
> --------------------
> > > [22-05-22 18:09:06.7656] Slim::Player::Protocols::File:pen
> (101) Error: could not open F:\MP3\MP3b\Whitburn\1970s\1970\pop\70_345 -
> Candi Staton - I'm Just A Prisoner Of Your Good Lov.mp3: Too many open files
> --------------------
> > >
> > I'd have thought your restarts would fix resources issues this
> > suggests, but maybe other applications/OS processes are opening
> > files you're not aware of and consuming available resources; perhaps
> > TaskManager and ResourceMonitor may help you identify if this is
> > true and what apps are doing it
> - On 5/23 there are a lot of these:
> > >
> Code:
> --------------------
> > > [22-05-23 08:09:23.7198] Slim::Web::Cometd::handler (421)
> errorNeedsClient: 00:04:20:22:13:1a, status, -, 10, menu:menu,
> useContextMenu:1, subscribe:600
> --------------------
> > >
> > I've no idea what "errorNeedsClient" references
> - On 5/23 just after the above are:
> > >
> Code:
> --------------------
> > > [22-05-23 08:11:18.6683]
> Slim::Networking:iscovery::Players::_players_error (144) Unable to get
> players: Connect timed out: Bad file descriptor
> --------------------
> > >
> > seems suggestive, yet your issue is buffering not connections.
> -
> > > >
> >
> > That's what the log shows - not sure if it's useful as is. You can
> > modify what is logged, both content and depth in the
> > Server:Settings:Logging. A setting of Debug provides the most detail.
> > Perhaps reviewing the options there that seem pertinent to networking,
> > database, and library might provide more useful log information. The
> > server.log file you uploaded is remarkable for its brevity -- it
> > contains 15 months of log data in 34k lines. My server.log file for
> > two days has 115k lines.
> >
> > Also, if your library is attached to a system to which you have login
> > access, can you install a media player (Clementine, Foobar, VLC) and
> > open media files in the library directly? If so, are there buffering
> > issues? That would isolate LMS entirely. If issues exit outside of LSM
> > use, then it's likely not LMS that's causing playback problems but
> > something deeper.
> >
> > Regards.
>
> Thanks for taking a look.
>
> Working backwards:
>
> I have no trouble playing files from the same attached drive across my
> network on another machine, with no buffering.
>
> I'll try to configure more useful logs.
>
> Yes, that 144 error is suggestive.
>
> Mulling over the other things...thanks again.
>
> I have a feeling I'm going to end up purging and reinstalling LMS, not
> just updating it. It's such a drag. The library will take days to scan
> and I'll have to reconfigure my plugins...and it still might not be
> fixed.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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