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Stuttering of streaming music

I've encountered frequent stuttering of music playback while streaming via Time Capsule and my new Apple TV2. It's much more frequent than with the first generation Apple TV.

I thought it was related to wireless interference, the usual suspect in these matters (I live in downtown apartment with several neighboring wireless networks). So, I reconfigured the Airport settings on the TC, but to no avail. I then connected the Apple TV2 to Time Capsule via Ethernet cable. I still encountered stuttering, which suggests that the problem is not with the wireless connection.

I then re-established my first generation Apple TV. The streamed music did not stutter, with either wireless or Ethernet.

I see that other users have experienced poor streaming performance (both video and music) with the new Apple TV2. Any solutions forthcoming?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4), iPhone 4, iPad, Apple TV (1 &2)

Posted on Oct 9, 2010 7:57 AM

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10 replies

Oct 9, 2010 8:11 AM in response to davald

I don't have a new one yet, but am frankly amazed that despite some occasional problems on the old one that many put down to limited hardware capability, that they have not fully ironed out streaming issues on the new unit.

Of course, all issues cannot be prevented, but if an old appletv worked you'd at least expect a newer one to give similar or better performance.

Oct 9, 2010 1:29 PM in response to davald

Well, I spoke too soon. The music stutters even through my original generation Apple TV when connected directly to my Time Capsule via Ethernet cable.

So, the problem does not appear to be either wireless or the Apple TVs (1 & 2), but something else. Could it be iTunes? Yet, I don't encounter the stutter when I listen to music in my library through headphones connected to my MacPro; the problems occur only when trying to stream via Time Capsule, whether wirelessly or using a direct Ethernet connection.

I'm flummoxed. The stuttering began in earnest at the time I installed the new Apple TV (2). But this is also about the same time that I upgraded to the latest version of iTunes (10.0.1).

Any suggestions out there?

Nov 1, 2010 4:38 PM in response to davald

An Apple support person suggested the problem was the usual "wifi interference." I live in an apartment and there are several routers visible via iStumbler. The technician had me change my wireless Time Capsule radio channel settings to "manual," then set the 2.4 GHz to "9" while leaving the 5 GHz at "automatic." He then said something I found interesting: the Apple TV2 connects wirelessly via 2.4 GHz and not 5 GHz. Since all but one of my neighbors uses 2.4, the interference hypothesis might make sense--if the technician is correct.

But all this is academic, since changing the settings, channels, etc. has not helped. I still experience stuttering while streaming music. So…

I connected an Airport Express (the latest 5 GHz model) to my amplifier then set iTunes to output music via the AE rather than the Apple TV. I've yet to experience any stuttering, after several hours of continuous playback. Keeping my fingers crossed here.

However, the new Apple TV seems flawed. As others have reported, I also experience problems streaming video via the Apple TV2. Perhaps a software update will resolve the issues. The first-generation Apple TV didn't get working right until after several software updates, although it was always terribly sluggish.

Feb 16, 2012 5:06 PM in response to el chubasco

el chubasco wrote:


I tried accessing my music library from ATV2 and no stuttering. Only when streaming from my iMac to ATV2 and streaming to my two other AE simultaneously. This is deffinetley an iTunes flaw! Very frustrating!! Especially when you buy apple products thinking that they will communicate easily.

If you are streaming to 3 devices simultaneously you'll be using 3 times the network bandwidth at least.

Stuttering of streaming music

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