Why is VLC lagging when playing MP3 files over my LAN?

Question

I'm using VLC 1.1.7 on Mac OS X 10.6.8 for listening to MP3s stored on my NAS, which is a QNAP device. My MacBook Pro is connected via Gigabit LAN over a Linksys WRT-610N router.

Problem:

Every file I play lags every minute or so. There's a short delay or glitch, then it continues to play. How can I get VLC to stream them correctly? Can I enable some buffer?

Things I've checked:

• It plays local files fine without a problem
• The network connection itself is not the issue (the NAS streams HD movies to a TV just fine)
• It occurs on both SMB and AFP mounted shares

Answer 1

It is possible that the values for file cache times are too low. To be on the safe side, the buffer can be made larger.

Go to Preferences and navigate to the Input / Codecs tab. Click the Show All button.

Ensure Input and Codecs is selected in the sidebar and scroll way down to the Advanced section. In Network caching slider, enter larger values than the default ones. I found 1000ms for Local and 3000ms for Network to be sane. If you still see stuttering, try progressively larger values until playback is smooth.

Click the Save button. It might be necessary to restart VLC. Now you don't have any playback problems anymore.