Trouble streaming Netflix! Please Help!
13" Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)
13" Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)
I have finally "solved" an annoying problem. When I watch Netflix, I get very frequent buffering time outs or disconnects. I have tried everything from rebooting the ATV, Airport etreme, Comcast modem..........etc. Sometimes it has temporarily fixed the problem. By temporarily I mean for a few min utes. While looking for solution, I have phisically moved the ATV away from the Sharp TV, Tivo Box, Panasonic DVD and ..............BINGO it worked. The fix was a sort of blind leading blind concept, but I have reproduced the condition over and over again and proved that when the ATV is close to other components there is some sort of EMI (Electro magnetic interference)present. That caused the Netflix streaming problems.
So now I have a solution, but I have to look at two ugly wires connected to my ATV (AC and HDMI), which is about 6 feet away from my other components. Hope this helps.
Many people have been having a streaming problem with the Apple TV - especially with Netflix. In fact, it's often the most popular topic on this forum. After having the same problem off and on for two years, I finally figured out the following solution. It uses Google's public DNS service instead of your ISPs DNS.
1. Navigate to Settings >> General >> Network and select Configure TCP/IP.
2. Select “Manually” next to Configure IP.
3. Dont change the IP address or the Subnet Mask and Router Address. Just click "Done".
4. Set the DNS Address screen with the following: 008.008.008.008 and click “Done.”
You should now be able to stream more smoothly on your Apple TV.
This problem is probably caused by a bad streaming server somewhere on Netflix's CDN (Content Delivery Network). The DNS points your Apple TV based on location. By using Google's DNS, you get a different streaming server. That is, of course, a wild guess and is not verifiable by me. But, it makes sense so I'm going with that.
If this works for you, please buy a cup of coffee for a complete stranger or some other selfless, random act of kindness.
OHHHH! Ohhhh! It worked!!! Thank you! I'm going to go buy someone a cup of coffee.
Trouble streaming Netflix! Please Help!