Netflix pausing/buffering issues

I have a new theory... I checked out the DNS settings on my AppleTV and it turns out it was set automagically to the router's local IP (192.168.1.1). This is the first of two DNS servers that my router is broadcasting - the second is one of Verizon's. I suspect that using the router's IP is causing the problem.

So instead, I gave my Apple TV a static IP and set the DNS to Verizon's DNS. I set up the static IP on the router admin page and manually set the TCP/IP settings on the AppleTV. I will test my theory tonight or tomorrow during a high volume time window.

For those of you who think that Netflix can't handle the traffic, I am fairly confident that they can. Scaling up their streaming capacity should be very easy for them since they're using a content delivery network (CDN). Level 3 is their CDN. They would be serving content for your laptop and Apple TV. Plus, when I talked to Netflix they said that they have 10 times the max capacity. So, it is more likely a routing issue. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

I have found that if you back out of the Netflix show/movie all the way to the Apple TV landing screen and select Netflix again - navigate back to your show/movie and Start From Beginning rather than Resume Playback it should resolve the buffering issues. Hope this helps.

@Chet- I have noticed that that will reset the buffer but I don't see that as an acceptable solution.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

I talked to a senior advisor at Apple and he suggested manually setting the DNS server to use OpenDNS. I set my DNS server IP to 208.67.222.222 and it hasn't had the problem in the last few days since I did it. You may need to assign it a static IP so that when the DHCP lease expires so you don't get a collision.

Let me know if this solves the problem for anyone else...

Extreme n00b with this sort of thing--how do I go about getting a specific IP address for my Apple TV? (I am using an Airport Extreme router, if that helps.)

I have a verizon router so I don't have a reference here, but I believe the Airport Utility calls them DHCP Reservations. You can google around, but here is one, outdated, windows-based version of the doc you're looking for (check page 30):

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPort_Networks10.5-Windows.pdf

I think the MAC address of the AppleTV can be found under Settings > General > About.

Holding my breath here, but for the moment it works. Details: Time Warner Cable with consistent download speeds of about 15mb/s or more; Buffalo Air Station TurboG High Power Router; Plaster Networks Powerline Ethernet connection to the ATV2 purchased 1/22/11; and a long conversation with Apple support on 2/20/11 to perform a Restore function that installed one (or maybe two, I can't remember) updates. Since performing the restore, I've experienced no pausing or buffering in prime time when streaming Netflix. Assuming the update(s) made the difference, it never occurred to me that a device less than a month out of the box would need updating, but that's just my naivete about all this. It might have been on the shelf for a long time before I bought it. The other issue is knowing when an update is available, and maybe it's just up to the customer to determine that.

Thanks Tango mike for that helpful post ! I have been struggling with netflix and even regular downloads so will try the update process. Tried the DNS fix, the unplug fix, etc etc none of them did anything.

That is worth checking out.

On a side note, I had the COX tech out her this weekend for an unrelated TV issue. He discovered that my signal at the TV was at a minus-16. The standard operating spec is a range of -10 to +10. Seems I had split the cable too many times. (we use Elgato iTV on the iMac) So a little further investigation discovered that the main splitter in the attic was a dinosaur - 20 Y/O analog model so he replace that and brought the signal into the operating specs. Heads up to anyone suspecting a weak signal that the splitters can be a problem. Also if you have a splitter with an unused port to put the threaded cap on it because the signal will leak...
I'm not proclaiming that this improves the ATV2 - but I will try it tonight. (works fine in the daytime hours with no buffering issue) He also told me on a side note that the Apple TV issue topic was brought up in a meeting at COX last week. I tried to interrogate him on it but he was not talking a lot. He said they are getting a lot of complaints from customers and COX is aware of the issue. There was no immediate fix and this is a new science and is not perfected yet was the managements standpoint. But they are aware of it.... He acted Non committal to the throttling practices when I asked about that.
The mystery continues..........

Message was edited by: jmac1957

What is COX, jmac1957?
I've been following all these discussions since I bought my ATV last October 2010. Still have problems. Put new filters on cellphones; that helped my download speed - maxed out at slow 2.5Mbps download speed (no fiber in my area of Berkeley, CA),which is the highest speed DSL connection speed in my area. Seems like it should be pretty simple, but it makes Netflix unusable most of the time.

Cox is the cable carrier here in San Diego and the 4th largest in the US. I'm surprised that don't cover the bay area to...
BTW, cross your fingers for that Fiber in your area. That's the most consistant signal and the Download/upload speeds will not vary as much as cable.

Message was edited by: jmac1957

Yeah, Netflix requires 5-6 Mbps for HD streaming. You might be able to get SD streaming with it though. Apple should be able to help.

Thanks, jmac1957. Nope, they're not up here.

Unfortunately, they did not provide that system requirement info (required 5-6 Mbps) when I ordered the device. See http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html My 3-month service is over, so no one will talk to me at Apple. Anybody know how to set HD to SD?

On the question of how to tell your ATV2 that you want content delivered in SD to solve an Internet connection speed problem, I found a review of the device at http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/03/new-apple-tv-cloud/ which says that one of the differences between the old ATV and the new one was removal of the user-selectable SD option. According to the review, Apple did that under the assumption that most users would want HD content by default whenever it was provided and accept SD only when they had to. This decision obviously ignores any customers with Internet connections that can't meet the 5-6 mb/s HD stream from Netflix. And that brings up another reality, which is the difficulty of being an informed consumer even when you try to gather all the information you need. I stood a foot or so from an Apple Store employee and quizzed him about what happens to the signal from the time it enters my home until it appears on my TV. His answers all supported the advertised "plug-and-play" simplicity of the device, which turned out to be a myth.

Tango Mike:

Thanks for the tip. I dod not know about the older device and the SD/HD options and I did spend a few frustrating minutes looking on my ATV2. The posters here need to specify which they own. I just added to my signature...
OTOH, I find for the most part that unless the Apple Store employees are behind the genius bar the chances of conclusions to complex issues like this are slim. Stumping the genius is sometimes tough to do, otherwise asking anyone else is like going to a doctor - they are just practicing. Sometimes you need to get more than one opinion. <sorry I had to throw that in> 😉