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Q: Apple TV HD Rental Streaming Problem
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Dec 2, 2010 11:45 AMby TWalkerPolk,I think you are right in that those factors probably play a role. Slow internet speed, I think, is a big factor...most people pay for "10-20 mbps," but actually receive much less. I've tested mine and I only get around 4...and I'm paying for 20 mbps!
But, the bigger issue is that the buffering and streaming by the ATV is making the issue worse and unusable. If you use a Roku or Blu-ray player that streams Netflix HD movies, this is not an issue because the buffering/streaming set-up adjusts for those differing factors. But, the ATV does not (or does it in a way that is not helpful and makes things worse).
That is where Apple needs to concentrate it's energy and fixes. -
Dec 2, 2010 11:53 AMby vazandrew,Netflix streams perfectly fine (instantly) on my ATV. I don't have problems with iTunes either. Some fixes wouldn't hurt but nothing that will fix this.
iTunes content downloads to the cache and won't start playing until it has enough so it can play uninterupted. So on a slow (or throttled) connection this will take awhile.
I wouldn't bring netflix into it, it is a separate service with different protocol. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:11 PMby vazandrew,If you are talking about renting a movie from iTunes on ATV, you can't compare. They are different services and use different protocol.
If you are referring to netflix, well I have no problems as well as many others i've talked to. Turn off HD if you have a slow connection. I've heard that atv tries to stream the best quality and doesn't degrade on slower connection (which is what netflix does on every other device)
Message was edited by: vazandrew
Message was edited by: vazandrew -
Dec 2, 2010 12:12 PMby jpjd,It's great that you're not suffering from this issue, but many are. there is a definite problem. Apple's had to refund me for 4 movies so far due to interrupted service. I never had one problem with my original Apple TV and nothings changed on my end except for this new APPLE TV 2 box.
I've stopped renting movies from them.
I hope Apple sorts it out soon. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:14 PMby TWalkerPolk,Please explain why I would buy an ATV2 to rent HD movies if it takes hours for it to cache? Or will start the cache over when you pause a movie? Especially while other devices stream HD movies immediately (and have no problem pausing them) over the same slow connection the ATV2 is using?
That is with the ATV2 that aren't found in other devices. It's not as simple as saying "get a faster connection" since the device should be able to adjust for that issue (and not take 8 hours to do it). It's time for Apple to fix it. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:21 PMby jpjd,Yes I can blame Apple because nothing on my end has changed except replacing my Apple TV 1 box with an Apple TV 2 box. So how is it something else? Apple is the one that's changing the way their service integrates with the new Apple TV 2 box (streaming only service). Looks to me like they're going through growing pains. Netflix on Apple TV 2 works amazing. I guess I'll just watch movies that way until Apple fixes the issue. Maybe Apple should take a page from Netflix book because they're doing it right and Apple is doing it wrong because not everyone is happy. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:29 PMby vazandrew,So you're saying as more people stream content and hog bandwidth, causing things to slow down, or ISP's throttle connection.. that it's all apples fault.
I'm not saying they are innocent in all of it but it's not as easy as pointing the finger at one company.
If it was all apple, a lot more people would be having problems. You just aren't going to see people coming hear just to say it works amazingly well.
Hopefully everyone gets their act together. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:43 PMby sschwar4,I am certain there are a few that have not seen the issue, for one reason or another. I have successfully watch at least 2 movies, with fast download and no pauses. However, that is only a 10% success, the others have had load times in greater than 3 hours and stopped mid stream with delays as long as 10 minutes to start again.
Most user are not on this forum, I bet less than 10%. I know of 20 ATV2 units that have been returned for long delays.
I've learned for now to rent movies through my Mac and then play them on the ATV. At least then the hole movie is local and typically only takes 2-3 minutes to download. And with the timer broken between the ATV2 and iTunes, I can watch the movie as many times as I want in 30 days, not 24 hours. -
Dec 2, 2010 12:45 PMby jpjd,I'm the biggest Apple fan around. I own a Mac Pro, Mac Book Pro, iPad, iPhone, Airport Express, Magic Track pad..etc...etc, but I will be first to call them out on an issue. It keeps them honest and they want to make everyone happy.
Again, I haven't changed anything on my end. My internet service is 35 mbps. I've even ran speed tests before and after trying to rent a movie and my ISP is fine yet the movie buffer in extremely slow! 4 hours to watch a film? Common. How can this not be an issue on their end. I think the reason some people are not having issue and some are is due to which Apple server the movie is being pulled from and where it's located...also the proximity of where people live I think comes into play.
