Netflix pausing/buffering issues

I tried the previous solution of forcing my AppleTV to take my ISP's DNS address rather than what was assigned to it from the router (DHCP). That seems to be working like a charm with no more buffering problems. In fact, the quality of the video stream is amazing and also seems better.

How do you do that exactly?

Thank you ...

tucsonbil

zengard wrote:
I am sorry you are having the problem too, but it is not just the new download, I posted this long before. Since I have also gotten a new Roku, which rarely has the problem. I am now telling all my friends who plan to get an ATV about the issues, which are not limited to this problem. The really annoying problem is that the ATV remote changes the screen on my iBook every time I use both. I am keeping the ATV because I like to play the podcasts on it.

The problem of crosstalk between the Apple Remote and other Apple devices is easily addressed, and has been explained in multiple threads on this forum. There are two solutions.

1. Set the preferences of your iBook to ignore IR remote commands, or
2. Pair your iBook with a different Apple Remote

I too have been have intermitten problems. Have tried to resolve them with the various fixes (including hardwired, resetting ATV, etc.). None of our other means of Netflix (Mac and Wii) have any issues at all. So I'm hard pressed to believe it is anything but an ATV2 issue.

Of course the best way to get this resolved is to highlight the issue to both Apple and Netflix and hope that they address it quickly. And I believe it will need to be Apple (just guessing here) that actually will need to and do the fixing (via some software update).

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that Apple is a bit slow to both address issues with their products and provide fixes.

There is a way to "help" them appreciate the issue. And that is to affect their bottom line. If you are within the time frame for returning your ATV2 (i.e., being able to get your money back), I suggest returning the unit and merely buying a new one. The returned product cannot legally be resold by Apple as new and would have to be priced as a refurb. Apple would lose profit from the sale.

I realize this post will be deleted as soon as Apple folks read it but until then perhaps it will get some views.

And again, I'm only suggesting folks whose return is valid (i.e., within the 14 days of purchase) do this.

Problems with reliability of Apple TV will inevitably hurt Apple's bottom line, so Apple certainly has an incentive. For example, the next update of Apple TV will reportedly work around problems that Apple TV has had communicating with certain TV models. This will be the 3rd Apple TV update, indicating that Apple is giving quite a bit of attention to resolving Apple TV problems. But returning the unit you bought to buy another is silly, unless you just want to make sure that you didn't get a defective unit (to the best of my recollection, nobody on this forum has reported a problem that was resolved by exchanging the Apple TV, but you never know). If the problems that you are experiencing cause you to feel that you aren't getting your money's worth, then you should certainly take it back--but then why buy another? Buy another device, like the Roku, or watch this forum to see when the problems that you are experiencing are resolved.

Moreover, there is a pretty good chance that these Netflix issues (at least, the ones that aren't due to bad wifi connections or router problems) are at Netflix's end rather than Apple's. Streaming from Netflix is a complex operation, involving interactions with software hosted by Amazon and content supplied by servers operated by content delivery networks under contract with Netflix. It is likely that different devices are talking to different servers. Netflix has reported that Apple TV is one of their fastest growing clients, so it may have outgrown capacity. Netflix in general seems to be very concerned with quality control and the user experience, but their incentive to solve Apple TV problems in a hurry may be a bit less than Apple's, as Netflix has a lot of other clients available to consumers. If the problem is a traffic jam at Netflix's end, there's not a whole lot that Apple can do about it.

It depends on your router. I'm using an airport. Go to where your router gives you the IP settings to your ISP, or you can call your ISP and get the address for their DNS (domain name system). What happens is that (and you pros don't yell at me as a layman) your Apple TV "asks" your router for an address for itself (the IP address) on your network, and it automatically "asks" for a DNS address. My router gives the Apple TV a DNS number that IS NOT the same DNS address given by your ISP to your router. This is normal, but seems to be creating a problem with buffering on the new Apple TV.

What you do once you have the actual DNS number from your ISP is to go to the Apple TVs settings. Select Manual configuration for your network settings. On each address (IP, Subnet) just click forward and accept the numbers that are already there. For DNS, change the number to the DNS address from your ISP. That's it.

After I did that change, my Apple TV works GREAT with Netflix.

cylonempire-

I have to admit that I missed this fix. I've tried it and indeed it appears to have fixed the issues for me.

I will test this out the rest of the evening and tomorrow as well and report back. Hopefully others can give this a go and report as well (it's better confirmation if this really works if a lot of people test it).

Cheers

cylonempire wrote:
It depends on your router. I'm using an airport. Go to where your router gives you the IP settings to your ISP, or you can call your ISP and get the address for their DNS (domain name system). What happens is that (and you pros don't yell at me as a layman) your Apple TV "asks" your router for an address for itself (the IP address) on your network, and it automatically "asks" for a DNS address. My router gives the Apple TV a DNS number that IS NOT the same DNS address given by your ISP to your router. This is normal, but seems to be creating a problem with buffering on the new Apple TV.

What you do once you have the actual DNS number from your ISP is to go to the Apple TVs settings. Select Manual configuration for your network settings. On each address (IP, Subnet) just click forward and accept the numbers that are already there. For DNS, change the number to the DNS address from your ISP. That's it.

After I did that change, my Apple TV works GREAT with Netflix.

I set my DNS to Google's DNS (8.8.8.8) and things started off fine, I had hope, but 10 minutes into a TV episode bam, lockup again. The angry pinwheel of doom taunts me. Pretty much after this happens I have to power off for a while to get things back working reliably. Good thing to try though.

I tried manually setting the Google DNS address as well based on earlier suggestions in this thread and thought it worked . . . until it didn't. I'm going to try the ISP DNS tactic tomorrow.

My first experience with wireless ATV2 over the last two weeks brought me to this thread because although there were periods of calm, once the SWOD took over, it simply wasn't worth it to sit there and dread the next interruption. This is supposed to be for entertainment, which is supposed to be relaxing. Using a borrowed Powerline Ethernet system with the ATV2 definitely improved watchability, but it didn't prevent periodic audio cutouts and video pauses of short duration. I also noted video speed-ups lasting a few seconds, as if I had hit fast forward.

Earlier today I hooked the Powerline up to an LG BD550 and had no issues whatsoever with streaming reliability over about four hours. Then I put the ATV2 back on wireless to try both this afternoon and extending into prime time. Maybe Saturday nights don't pressure the system as much as I thought they would, because both connections resulted in flawless streaming. I like that, but the variation in performance of the ATV2 is so unpredictable wired or wireless that I remain puzzled as to what the best solution might be.

I'm considering whether to update my router to one using WiFi 802.11n to "pair" the router's wireless technology to that of the ATV2. I'm a novice at this, but it seems reasonable that this might eliminate any possible contribution of technological incompatibility (if there is such a thing) to the pause/buffing problem.

On the other hand, recent comments here have educated me about the extreme variation in wireless environments based on location. If we can predict anything, it's probably that the potential for interference caused by proliferation in wireless signals will only increase. In my case, the Powerline Ethernet system is the only practical option for obtaining wired stability in relation to wireless uncertainty, and I'm tempted to think that it would be the wiser purchase.

Unless, of course, trying the suggestion to change the DNS appears to consistently eliminate the SWOD. To obtain the streaming quality I expected from ATV2 without buying anything else would be the best outcome of all.

**SOLUTION** I found this by searching around different forums and it worked for me. Netflix buffering spinning wheel issue gone.

Use Google’s Public DNS Server To Fix Apple TV 2 Streaming Problems

1. Start your Apple TV 2 and navigate to Settings => General => Network and click on Configure TCP/IP.

2. Select “Manually” next to Configure IP.

3. Click “Done” on the IP Address screen and do the same for both the Subnet Mask and Router Address screens.

4. Configure the DNS Address screen with the following IP address: 008.008.008.008 and click “Done.”

You should now be able to stream Netflix on your Apple TV 2.

MAKE SURE YOU ONLY CHANGE ONLY THE DNS ADDRESS TO THIS AND NOT THE OTHER ADDRESSES THAT ARE ALREADY THERE



http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html

I have made the Google DNS fix and it seems like it's reduced the incidence of the problem by 50% but it's still there. Sometimes I turn on the ATV and it won't talk to Netflix/iTunes. Sometimes I play something and it runs fine; about 50% of the time on a TV show length thing at some point it seizes up and pinwheels - sometimes briefly but mostly for 15 minutes plus.

i did try the google dns solution about a month ago..it made things much worse. it was much faster not using it. my ATV is wired, and all my other netflix gadgets work great, but the ATV is slow. I tried it today and it played a few episodes without stalling during peaktime, so i am hoping it's fixed.

I don't know if this has been tried or discussed here on Apple's Apple TV forums, but a post on another website claimed that the problems with Netflix streaming can be fixed simply by going into the Apple TV's Network Diagnostics/Test screen and setting your expected network speed to a low value (like "Less than 1.0 mbps" or "1.0 to 1.5 mbps"). The person who posted this theorized that after you run the network test with values like these it seems like the Apple TV will allocate larger buffers for Netflix streaming. He also reported that after doing this on his Apple TV he noticed that the delay that happens before a Netflix movie begins increased rather dramatically but that afterward he had no pausing once the movie began.

Frankly, I think that this person was just seeing random or intermittent results, but he claimed that it fixed his problems with Netflix streaming. Unfortunately, I can't confirm this "fix" since I don't own an Apple TV 2.

In any case, has anyone tried this?

great idea...trying it now.will report sat.

It seems like some, but not all, problems may be related to poor WiFi reception. A good test is to try a wired connection to the router, at least temporarily. If problems persist with a wired connection, it is not a WiFi issue. If poor WiFi reception does seem to be the problem, here are some tips for optimizing wireless reception:

http://www.tested.com/news/10-essential-tips-for-improving-your-wi-fi-network/23 4/