Wire Emby Server on PC Directly to TV?

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

Hello!

I am having buffering issues over my wireless network when watching high bitrate files on my TV. My PC is my server and the TV is right next to the PC -- is it possible to wire the TV and the PC together via ethernet and have the emby app on the TV use that connection?

Thanks!

[Carlo 4561]

Hi,

Sure if your TV has an Ethernet jack on it.  This is how my Samsung TVs are hooked up.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

You must go through a router. That is server->router->TV. Without the router I doubt it could be made to work but, even with it, you must have a wired connection to your router.

BTW: Servers should never be wireless. It is OK, with enough bandwidth, to have clients wireless but servers need to be wired to function correctly.

If you already have a wired connection to your server and you have an ethernet connection on your TV but your router is some ways away you can place a simple ethernet switch near your TV and server and connect the current wire to that and connect your TV and server to the switch.

Personally I think using apps on a TV is a mistake and you would be better off getting a seperate streaming client and streaming through that. Tvs have notoriously poor network connections and their so called "smarts" are often inferior. It is best, in my opinion, to have the TV as a display device and stream using a box designed for the purpose.

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

I know it is possible to set up a PC to share its internet to a device connected via ethernet. Has anyone done this between their server directly to the TV?

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

20 minutes ago, Gilgamesh_48 said:

You must go through a router. That is server->router->TV.

Are you sure? I can't just share my computer's internet over ethernet to the TV?

And yes I am using a streaming box, I just say "tv" to make the question less complicated because for these purposes it probably won't matter if I'm trying to do this directly with the TV or to my streaming box.

[Carlo 4561]

Hi,

How do you get Internet on your PC?  Don't you already have a cable modem/router already?

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

3 minutes ago, bauerhunter11@gmail.com said:

Are you sure? I can't just share my computer's internet over ethernet to the TV?

I am sure there is a way to do that but I am also sure that it is complex and less than reliable.

It would be easier to get an ethernet switch and connect the switch to your router and your streaming box and server to the switch. If you do not currently have a wired router and are connection both your streaming box and your server wirelessly to some wireless router you are doomed to having problems as wireless is unstable at best. 

Emby is designed to work with a local network that includes a router and using it otherwise is just not going to work well.

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

2 minutes ago, cayars said:

Hi,

How do you get Internet on your PC?  Don't you already have a cable modem/router already?

No, I have wireless gigabit internet to my PC. Unfortunately, however, my streaming devices are capped at 100mbps which gives me issues with high bitrate videos.

But i don't do any remote streaming, so it doesn't matter to me anyway. But my computer and TV are right next to each other, but the router is on the other side of the house so a wired connection is unfortunately not possible.

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

4 minutes ago, Gilgamesh_48 said:

I am sure there is a way to do that but I am also sure that it is complex and less than reliable.

It would be easier to get an ethernet switch and connect the switch to your router and your streaming box and server to the switch. If you do not currently have a wired router and are connection both your streaming box and your server wirelessly to some wireless router you are doomed to having problems as wireless is unstable at best. 

Emby is designed to work with a local network that includes a router and using it otherwise is just not going to work well.

Yes, in a perfect world I would of course have it all wired, but my PC and TV are right next to each other but far far from the router so wiring either one is not an option.

This setup actually works fine for any files with a bitrate below 40mbps actually. I just want to be able to also enjoy my very high bitrate shows! As for complex options, I am fairly tech saavy and willing to put in the time to get it working, so just point me in the right direction!

I can't be the only one out there with this issue so I will also post a solution if it is out there.

Edited September 25, 2020 by bauerhunter11@gmail.com

[Carlo 4561]

You really need to redo your network to be successful.

For example move the Server next to the router so it can be directly plugged in reducing WIFI by half.  Most clients are fine over WIFI but you want at least the server connected and NOT using WIFI.

[vdatanet 1617]

If you can't connect your router, you can add a switch, connect both TV and Computer and add a wireless AP in bridge mode connected to the switch.

Edited September 25, 2020 by vdatanet

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

19 minutes ago, vdatanet said:

If you can't connect your router, you can add a switch, connect both TV and Computer and add a wireless AP in bridge mode connected to the switch.

I think that is the only way you might get acceptable performance without actually wiring to the router. I believe that network traffic that goes from the server to the TV does not need to actually progress through the router. But my networking expertise is quite  old and I may be misremembering how networks actually function. But, even if the traffic must go through the router in this mode you will see an improvement in performance. Generally decent wireless access points have better performance than the cheep adapters found in most consumer devices.

[rbjtech 5284]

A router is used for the routing/NAT only - it is not used for LAN traffic.    Therefore as @vdatanet has said, you just need to create an Ethernet network (with a small gigabit switch), next to your PC and TV, plug them both into it - and then use a Wireless bridge plugged into the same Ethernet switch which will give you wireless access to your router for internet access and core LAN services such as DHCP.   All emby traffic between your TV and PC (and anything else plugged into the switch) will stay wired.  

The downside is if you lose wireless, then you lose the internet on the wired network and the ability to renew your DHCP leases.

edit - it's Friday afternoon and I'm bored - so a quick mock up below ... 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by rbjtech

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

31 minutes ago, rbjtech said:

A router is used for the routing/NAT only - it is not used for LAN traffic.    Therefore as @vdatanet has said, you just need to create an Ethernet network (with a small gigabit switch), next to your PC and TV, plug them both into it - and then use a Wireless bridge plugged into the same Ethernet switch which will give you wireless access to your router for internet access and core LAN services such as DHCP.   All emby traffic between your TV and PC (and anything else plugged into the switch) will stay wired.  

The downside is if you lose wireless, then you lose the internet on the wired network and the ability to renew your DHCP leases.

edit - it's Friday afternoon and I'm bored - so a quick mock up below ... 

 

Amazing -- this sounds super viable. Once I implement this and have time to test, I will post the outcomes for future users.

Thanks guys! You all rock so hard.

[Carlo 4561]

Most home routers do have a 4 port switch built in (just saying).

[vdatanet 1617]

3 minutes ago, cayars said:

Most home routers do have a 4 port switch built in (just saying).

If the router is near, you can use the router switch. The location of the router has not been discussed, but I have understood that it is far from the TV and the server.

[rbjtech 5284]

1 minute ago, cayars said:

Most home routers do have a 4 port switch built in (just saying).

lol sure - semantics I guess, but the switch part is not a router...

 

1 hour ago, bauerhunter11@gmail.com said:

But my computer and TV are right next to each other, but the router is on the other side of the house so a wired connection is unfortunately not possible.

 This is the reason the OP can't use the switch on his 'router' ..

[vdatanet 1617]

If the router's wifi is poor, you can add an AP in bridge mode next to the router, to get an optimal link between the switch and the router.

[emdubya77 35]

[deleted]

Edited July 6, 2022 by emdubya77

[rbjtech 5284]

1 hour ago, emdubya77 said:

Out of interest, in a situation like OP's current setup does the video stream go directly from server to client over wireless, or does it have to go through the router/AP?

On a simply flat network, no routing is ever done unless you need data from 'outside' the network - then, and only then does the network attempt to use the 'gateway' and 'route' to where it needs get to.  Wireless is ultimately no different to Ethernet in that a table of MAC addresses are held on the switches and once identified, they are used directly for 'point to point' connectivity.

[Carlo 4561]

Agreed but routing aside.  Ethernet is almost always FULL duplex while WIFI is usually half duplex and time sliced. With WIFI only one device at a time get's the bandwidth as a time slice of the total bandwidth.  However it's not clear cut when it comes to WIFI as many modern/new routers can use multiple channels with beam forming and can essentially do "full duplex" quite fast if close to the WIFI AP assuming the client can do this as well. Then throw in MESH networks and it's difficult to know what's going on or what bandwidth is ALWAYS available.  What works perfect one day changes the next day when a new client is on the WIFI even it not doing much at all or there is some other electrical interference like your neighbors WIFI on the same channels or near by channels that's being used.

WIFI is always a "wild card" to some degree.

[pwhodges 2012]

I use mains wiring adaptors to take my ethernet to places that my router's wifi doesn't reach and to which I've not (yet) taken a cat6 cable.  It is possible to get them such that the remote one is a wireless AP in case you don't want to use cable at the far end.  I use the German "Devolo" range with complete satisfaction.  In a large property, just be sure that there isn't an earth-leakage breaker between the units, as the coils in them block the HF signals used.

Paul

[rbjtech 5284]

59 minutes ago, cayars said:

WIFI is always a "wild card" to some degree.

With ISP supplied routers/switches/ap's - definitely.    Wifi 6 should improve things but ultimately, you are never going to get a more reliable connection than wired. 

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

34 minutes ago, rbjtech said:

With ISP supplied routers/switches/ap's - definitely.    Wifi 6 should improve things but ultimately, you are never going to get a more reliable connection than wired. 

That is one of the strong reasons I never use a router supplied by an ISP for my home network. Even if my ISP refuses to put their router in bridge mode I use a private router and live with the issues that are the result of a double NAT. (I've actually never had any real problem with a double NAT.) Fortunately my current ISP (Charter) provides a bare modem so that is not a problem for me at this time.

I have found that I can stream on my Fire stick wirelessly just fine but every other streaming device I own is wired to my network and, when I help others, I try to get them to use wired as much as possible.

Some people go to great effort to hide wires but I find the visible wires somehow comforting. Just knowing that the wires are acting to make my streaming and other activities more stable gives me a heightened feeling of security.

[bauerhunter11@gmail.com 1]

11 hours ago, pwhodges said:

I use mains wiring adaptors to take my ethernet to places that my router's wifi doesn't reach and to which I've not (yet) taken a cat6 cable.  It is possible to get them such that the remote one is a wireless AP in case you don't want to use cable at the far end.  I use the German "Devolo" range with complete satisfaction.  In a large property, just be sure that there isn't an earth-leakage breaker between the units, as the coils in them block the HF signals used.

Paul

 

@pwhodges Yea agreed, I think powerline ethernet (assuming this is the US equal to 'mains wiring adapters') is very underrated. In a previous residence, I had this and it was amazing. The downside is that the speeds they do are never as good as advertised. I have gigabit fiber internet at my current place, and even with the adapters in adjacent wall sockets (and every other condition I could think to optimize to find the best performance) they only gave me about 200mbps out of the 600mbps coming out of the modem. That being said, 200mbps isn't all that terrible and would be more than enough for a lot of people, but I really wanted to enjoy the full speed of my fiber internet so I had to find other solutions. But yes, I think more folks should give powerline ethernet a chance.