Now that you have XBMC set up and configured it’s probably good to run through a test to see how well your system performs. I’ve been able to run through a 1080p flawlessly when I followed all of the buffering recommendations we covered yesterday. Not all videos are created equally though, and as a result you may find that some 1080p videos work fine for you while others don’t.
So what’s different between videos? Generally the thing that will have the biggest affect on smooth video playback will be the bitrate it’s encoded with. Many times videos will use what is referred to as a variable bitrate which means that scenes with little movement will have a low bitrate while action scenes with lots of movement will have a higher bitrate.
I have a list of videos below that you can use to test your setup, along with the average bitrate of the video. The one with the highest average bitrate is at the top, and the bitrate drops as you go further down the list.
Birds
HD Quality: 1080p MKV
File Size: 110 MB
Frame Rate: 23.976 FPS
Average Bitrate: 39.1 Mbps
Duration: 23 seconds
HD-DVD Demo Video
HD Quality: 1080p MKV
File Size: 278 MB
Frame Rate: 29.970 FPS
Average Bitrate: 17.5 Mbps
Duration: 2 minutes 1 second
Big Buck Bunny
HD Quality: 1080p AVI
File Size: 886 MB
Frame Rate: 24.000 FPS
Average Bitrate: 12.0 Mbps
Duration: 9 minute 56 seconds
Elephants Dream
HD Quality: 1080p AVI
File Size: 815 MB
Frame Rate: 24.000 FPS
Average Bitrate: 10.0 Mbps
Duration: 10 minutes 53 seconds
If you see any buffering warnings that means you either hit the limit of what your hardware is capable of, or you need to do a little more tweaking. With the HTPC that I built coupled with the buffer tweaks I previously mentioned I was able to play the “Birds” video above without any troubles along with all the other videos. There may be other things that I could still change to scrape every last ounce of performance out of the system, but given that I already have smooth streaming playback at high bitrates I’m not overly concerned with tweaking my machines any further.
CyberNet’s XBMC Guides:
- XBMC: Introduction to Our Upcoming Guides
Our introduction provides some of the deciding factors for switching from Windows Media Center to XBMC. - XBMC: Build Your Own HTPC
Our extensive guide on the hardware we chose for our home theater PCs (HTPCs), the cost, and some tips on choosing the hardware for your own HTPC. - XBMC: Prepare and Optimize Windows 7
A helpful list of tips to optimize the performance of Windows 7 so that the system is able to offer as many resources to XBMC as it can. - XBMC: IR Receiver and Remote (Harmony, Xbox 360, and More)
If you want your HTPC to operate like a set-top box you’ll definitely want to get a remote control configured, and for me this was a critical step so that I wouldn’t have to be concerned about less tech-savvy users trying to use my TV. - XBMC: Share and Sync Media/Settings Between Multiple XBMC Installs
Configuring XBMC to share settings between multiple instances means you’ll be able to stop a show in one room, and seamlessly pick up where you left off in another room. - XBMC: Fit the Picture to Your TV with Overscan
If XBMC doesn’t fit your TV screen perfectly there are a couple of steps you can take to get it just right. - XBMC: Installing Skins
How to tweak the appearance of XBMC so that it looks the way you want it to. - XBMC: Custom Home Screen Menu Backgrounds
Make the backgrounds of your chosen skin/theme a little more interesting by having it flip through artwork from your favorite TV shows and movies. - XBMC: Dynamic Weather Backgrounds
If you’re using the Aeon MQ 3 theme you can have it use dynamic wallpapers that change based on the time of day and current weather conditions. - XBMC: SMB on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
I use a Mac to serve up files to my XBMC instances running on Windows, and so my preferred protocol for sharing files is SMB. This guide explains how you can get a XBMC-compatible version of SMB running on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. - XBMC: Adding Media Sources
Learn how to add your media to XBMC and turn on the appropriate content scrapers. - XBMC: Troubleshoot Buffering Issues
Trying to troubleshoot buffer issues in XBMC can be quite a pain, and so I lay out some of the most common culprits. - XBMC: Test Your HTPC with High Bitrate Sample Videos
Want to see how well your HTPC performs? Throw some of these high bitrate 1080p sample videos at it. - XBMC: More Advanced Settings
Configure some of the settings that you won’t find anywhere in the GUI. - XBMC: Stream Hulu, Food Network, and More
Thanks to add-ons you can stream videos from some of your favorite sources including Hulu, Food Network, HGTV, TWiT, and more. - XBMC: AirPlay on Windows
Send videos from your iOS device to any XBMC instance with very little configuration. - XBMC: Web Interface and Chrome Extension
As long as you are on the same network as your XBMC box you can control it from any browser using the built-in web interface, or you can install a Chrome extension to make it even easier. - XBMC: iPhone and iPad Remote
If you own an iPhone or iPad you can enjoy one of the best XBMC remote control experiences I’ve seen, and it will only cost you a few bucks. - XBMC: A List of Our Guides, Plus Helpful Wiki and Forum Posts
A recap of all the guides we’ve written as well as useful wiki and forum post from the official XBMC.org site. - XBMC: Free and Official iOS Remote for XBMC Released
This is the free and official XBMC remote control iOS app (optimized for both the iPhone and iPad). It will let you easily control all of the XBMC instances in your house as long as they are all on the same network. - XBMC: Running XBMC on Startup in Windows 8
Learn how you can make XBMC start automatically when Windows 8 boots. - XBMC: Send YouTube Videos From Chrome to XBMC
Send YouTube videos from your PC to any XBMC instance in a single click. - XBMC: Aeon MQ 4 Skin
If you’re looking for one of the best and most popular XBMC skins the Aeon MQ 4 is a great choice. - XBMC: Android Widget Remote Control
Control multiple instances of XBMC without ever having to open an app on your Android device!