Netflix Problems

Yep. I'm done. Got this unit just before Xmas and I only once attempted to rent a movie on it. Epic load time, ruined my evening. I learned my lesson the first time. Lost revenue, apple.

But I kept it around for Netflix. Which is now gone. My two laptops and 2 iPhones work fine, so this is clearly an ATV issue. I am ******. I have wasted so much time on this forum trying to figure it out. It's going back tomorrow. And I will be that customer.

The strange part to me is that it seems to crash the apple tv each time it fails to log in. My apple tv freezes on a black screen for about 90 seconds, then reloads the home screen as if it had just rebooted.

I have had problems on what seem like busy nights with Netflix freezing, buffering for a long time or just quitting. After the firmware update tonight, if I even try to click on NF on my ATV, the ATV locks up and has to be unplugged. NF works fine on my Mac, iPhone and iPod. Nice brick job, Apple. Thanks.

It's good to know that Apple is aware of the problem with their latest update to ATV2 relating to Netflix.
Could it be a conspiracy to increase rentals from the Apple Store? 😉

I'm kidding, I realize it's a pain for Apple to get a high volume of calls when something goes wrong. I'll look forward to letting our four year-old watch Blues Clues and Backyardagains via Netflix soon. Well, I'm sure he will.

Apple needs to release an immediate Update/Fix for the AppleTV2 for Netflix (and anything else that was screwed up by today's update). Otherwise, Apple can begin to start paying a pro-rated refund for everyone's Netflix subscription.

Or what about some real apps? Perhaps (dare I say it???), an apps store? Or what about the ability to play non-"apple formatted" videos from an external USB device plugged into the usb-mini port in the back? But that is my personal Apple TV fantasy. I am really more easily satisfied than that.... if I could just have a hulu + option, I wouldn't mind if Netflix was down occasionally (as long as Hulu + was working that evening!)... But, as it stands... Each one of these "hiccups" decreases the convenience factor and overall appeal of my apple tv.

Each time it happens, I Google some of the other competitors that seem to have more flexibility and I start to wonder what I can get for an apple Tv on craigslist. Perhaps, I will buy another option and start running them side-by-side - keeping the winner and craigslisting the loser....

Very interesting.

I too have an Airport Extreme and a Comcast 20Ghz/sec download signal, but still experience buffering delays/interruptions...more with some Netflix films than others. Since the 4.2 upgrade I am also experiencing moments when the video and audio are out of sync. I've worded with Apple Care Senior Advisors quite a lot since we got our ATV2 late last year. They provide far and away better tech support than I used to experience before we moved to Macs.

Nevertheless, we are still striking out.

But I am still patiently holding out for a fix...but my patience is beginning to wear thin.

I've just learned about Update 4.2.1? I decided to defer it until I learned more. Does it include a Netflix fix?

I currently have 4.2 and have seen some improvement in the buffering delays we had been experiencing, but as stated in my previous post were still experiencing them.

Here's another annoyed ATV / Netflix user. I've had my ATV for about a month. I have not watched 1 movie without some number of intertuptions. Either the stream freezes or the spinning gear appears.

Is there anyone that streams Netflix via ATV that IS NOT experiencing this issue?

Very un-Apple-like.

Although there are already enough people on this forum with this issue, I am one more. I am having the same freezing and buffering issues when watching Netflix. I tried the DNS change mentioned in this tread, which did not work. Really hope Apple addresses this issue soon!

Well why would Netflix blow smoke about the rates?

If anything they would give higher numbers if they wanted to blow smoke.

But they are reporting low numbers. I did question their measurements whether they were accurate or not.

btw just because you watch an HD movie doesn't mean you are getting HD. How did you know you are getting an HD picture?

I have a hard time telling with Netflix. I never thought the pictures on my 360 or Tivo were so much better than on my ATV even though the former were most likely streaming at much higher bandwidth than my ATV has.

Again though no problems with my ATV in 6 months. But I take it I'm not getting optimal picture. I perhaps have noticed a few times it ain't the greatest. But again its Netflix. and internet streaming. My expectations are lower.

My ATV is having problems whether wired or wirelessly connected to my Airport Extreme. I'm on a fiber network getting 20mbs. ATV gets about 0.5mbs. I plugged the ethernet cable directly into the ATV and bypassed the router. Same problem. It's got to be a software problem whether by design or by accident. All other devices have no problem. What gives, Apple?

Add me to the list of people who are having major issues with ATV2 and Netflix.

plugged in ethernet, 6mbs, ATT uverse. I have switched the DNS settings to .8. itunes looks great, youtube is great. Just netflix. It's past the return day. Just so frustrated and curios why Apple won't/can't resolve this.

And yes -- I'm a pro-Mac, Apple guy - but am ready to wave white flag on this ATV and get something else.

Add me as another ATV2/Netflix issue. Tried all the suggestions, nothing. Like most, streams well to all other devices in the house with no buffering or audio issues. Wired, wireless, blah blah blah......fix this please Apple. I just gave away my Roku to a friend. Bummer. Cannot return ATV2 either. Oh well.

Micheal,

Okay, I lied when I said I plugged it into my modem. I actually plugged it right into my ethernet line. I use a local ISP which has a fiber "backbone", but is an ethernet network. The line comes into my house as an ethernet line and I'm assigned a private, NATed, IP address.

Plugging this line right into the Apple TV and setting it up with my own IP address did not solve the problem.