Netflix pausing/buffering issues

@ Mark

Go to Settings -> Audio & Video -> Dolby Digital Out

Push 'Select' on your remote to toggle through the options.

Disabling 5.1 seems to have fixed it. Thanks for the tip!

Jorj

For me, the jury is still out. I disabled digital output but still saw some problems. It does seem to have improved, so I now have a new theory....

The problem may stem from memory utilization... Netflix employs HDCP to protect its streamed content, which takes some horsepower to decrypt. I believe the Apple TV runs out of memory after a while. I can't recall a time when I had the problem immediately... It always seemed to build up over time and then get unbearable. And last week, it started crashing the Springboard app (which is basically the UI program for the Apple TV).

So it's possible that turning off digital out reduced the amount of information that needed to be decoded or in some other way raised the threshold for memory utilization, which is why we're seeing fewer problems.

So... Thoughts? Has anyone noticed that cutting the power to the Apple TV and then restarting it fixes the problem? Even for a while? Is anyone else still noticing a problem?

I had this issue and tried the DNS fix which didnt work. Then I went into Settings > General > Network > Test Network and selected lower than 10mps (which isnt actually true for me) Apple TV made the test and afterwards my buffering issue was gone!

Hope this helps someone else!

As can easily happen on forum threads with 17 pages and counting, the issues can get a little muddled.

If memory serves, the original pause/buffer problem showed up for lots of users with the first(?) update after the ATV2 hit the streets. Posts here document attempts by novice and tech-savvy users as well to fix the thing and be able to watch Netflix content reliably. In my opinion, when you put it all together, the only common denominator that is always present in the complaints is the Netflix/ATV2 interface. We can theorize forever about the why, but the what always remains the same.

Update 4.2 was issued in part to add DD 5.1 surround-sound capability to accommodate Netflix titles that offer it. The update in no way addresses the original pause/buffer problem. But in what may have become another example of poor Apple quality control, the update caused other problems, variously reported as video freezing (other than the original pause/buffer as far as I can tell), and some have reported that the menu selection for audio locks up and can't be changed from "auto" for example.

The tactic of changing speeds for the test has been tried by myself and others trying to "trick" the unit to buffer more because it "thinks" you have a slow connection. In my case, that made absolutely no difference whether I selected less than 1 mb/s (at the bottom end) or more than 6 mb/s, the highest value offered on my menu. The unit tests good every time, for all the good that does.

I'm not about to install the update because there's no way to back up one step if I have problems. The only way to cancel out 4.2 is to revert to the version that shipped with the unit. And now I have to keep telling the thing that no, I don't want to install the update now, and I can't find a way to tell it to quit asking me that. Obnoxious isn't the word for it.

Just adding my voice to the chorus here. I had been using my original Roku box on our primary TV and decided to swap it with my Apple TV 2, finally, so we would have both netflix and our iTunes library available. But I've found that Netflix streaming is basically unusable, pausing and buffeting every 30 seconds to a minute. I'm able to watch the same movies on our iPad or iPhone or MacBook Pro with no such issues. I ran the network diagnostic on ATV and tried both the highest setting ( which passed) as well as a lower one (2-6 MBps I think it was). After doing so the stream ran for a whole 3 minutes before buffering. One not, I am able to get the HD streams on my MacBook without issue when they are available. I know this wasn't an issue, at least not to this extent, with the previous AtV software, so it definitely screams theree is a bug to be. I'm going to try doing a factory reset in the next few days to see if the original software exhibits the same issue.

For me, the pausing started to appear after I made the iOS 4.3 update to my Apple TVs. My internet service is with Optimum Online, and my connection is 30 Mb downstream/ 5 Mb upstream. I see no pauses with iTunes HD movie rentals. I see pauses with Netflix on both standard and high definition content. The pauses are more frequent in the evenings and occurs every minute or so and sometimes more frequently. I have two AppleTVs and they both have the same issue.

I've tried the following with no improvements seen:
- I had optimum online out to replace my cable modem and test my line for errors. There are no errors on my line and they confirmed 30 mbit down and 5 mbit up.
- Rebooted both my Apple TVs
- Turned off Dolby Digital out on the AppleTVs
- Switched DNS servers from OpenDNS to Optimum Online's DNS. Achieved slower downloads from Apple by a factor of 3, so I switched back to OpenDNS.
- Checked that both AppleTVs are hard wired through Ethernet. They are. I am running 1GigE at home with no errors.
- Turned off QoS on my Cisco E3000 router and updated to firmware 1.04. Rebooted router.

I'm not sure what else I can try.

To all of those who say this problem sprung up after the 4.2 update - I have had this problem since the beginning, so I doubt that is the cause.

It happened again this weekend to me. It started crapping out right around 7pm last night. And once it started (or stopped, as it were), it continued to do so for a while, even to the point where it would not continue playing. When this happened, I decided to test my memory theory by cutting power to the Apple TV and then restarting it and resuming the video. It turns out, the problem persisted through the reboot. This tells me that it's not specifically a memory issue.

The interesting thing is, the reboot didn't fix it, but a little later Springboard crashed and restarted and then everything worked fine. Bizarre, eh? (NOTE: Recall that Springboard is the app that runs by default on the Apple TV. It is the user interface we all use to navigate our content.)

So, this is a bit confusing, right? I am now thinking that it's possible that the Apple TV memory had previously been serialized to disk (which is what happens on the iPhone/iPad to support multitasking) and rebooting it just reloaded that memory from disk. And that the fix didn't occur until Springboard crashed, which caused it to start up without any serialized memory store.

MY DIAGNOSIS: This is a bug with the way that the Springboard app manages its memory when dealing with Netflix streams. It rears its ugly head when traffic is high and has to rebuffer frequently.

Please write to Apple and tell them to fix it!
http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html

When you experience a problem with Netflix, you should report it to Netflix.

They will not respond BUT you will be giving them data. This will help them drive a fix, regardless of where the problem is. The more of us who report our problems, the better.

- From a computer, log onto your Netflix account.
- At the top right, click on "your account and help"
- Under "instant watching", find the program and click "report a problem"

(If you are logged into Netflix, you can also get to your viewing history with this link: https://www.netflix.com/WiViewingActivity )

Here is a list of the things the form will let you report:

Please tell us if you experienced any of the following problems. (Check all that apply)

Sound problem:
Audio did not match the picture/was out of sync
Parts of the audio were missing or cut-off
Missing or partial subtitles on a foreign language film

Video problem:
Picture was blurry
Picture was unwatchable or missing

Other problem:
Wrong movie/TV episode started playing
Unexpected pauses/frequent stops and starts

PS: I am not saying not to report to Apple, go ahead and do that too!

Message was edited by: caa100

I've been having this issue ever since the new 4.2 update adding the 5.1 Netflix support.

I have a 30Mb/sec down 5Mb/sec up optimum online connection.
I also have a business grade 3.0 modem wired via gigabit Ethernet cable to a Netgear N600v1 wireless N dual band router.

The problem is as all of you described and is starting to occur on my second apple tv as well. During Netflix only the television show would buffer or freeze over both wireless N and wired gigabit ethernet. I ruled out hardware because it is now happening on my second apple tv.

My second step was to rule out environmental factors so I launched an HD movie via YouTube on multiple devices to test my bandwidth. I had (3 iPhones) an (iPad 2 & 1) (2 Apple TVs) (4 Xbox 360s streaming Netflix in HD) 2 desktops 1 laptop and a wii. All 15 devices were streaming HD content without a single buffer on any device and my speedtest.net test showed that I still had a 15/5 connection while all this was running.

I proceeded to shut everything down besides one apple tv and launched Netflix. 5 minutes into a 40 minute show I received the buffering issue and eventually a complete freeze. Netflix works on every single one of my other devices perfectly even simultaneously and that to me points to 2 possible issues.

1) Apple tvs hardware cannot handle HD content with 5.1 audio encoding which was enabled in the latest update.

2) The apple tv Netflix software is flawed and has some sort of bug in the programming causing the stuttering and freezing.

Either way apple needs to acknowledge this problem and provide a fix.

Same problem here. I have tried everything I know to do, but the problem persists. It can turn up on any movie, and once you have the problem, it stays or gets worse. Pulling the plug and waiting doesn't help. Turning Dolby Digital off or setting to Auto does not help. Netflix movies seem to run fine on my Mac or iPad, so the problem seems to reside in Apple TV. However, to add to the mystery, I can often go to another movie and not have the problem with Apple TV. I have a fast internet connection.

I have sent the problem to Apple Feedback.

I have confirmed that this is a Apple TV software issue.
Here is the proof:

1. Watching PPV movies through Apple TV do not have the issue, I have tried 4 so far.

2. I have 20 mBps download speed and 5 MBps upload

3. My Samsung and Xbox360 do not have the Netflix pause bug.

4. I have tried 2 different routers and also with no router (plugged into cable modem)

5. I have tried many different DNS addresses

6. I have tried unplugging the ATV for 4 hours and also the latest upgrade and all the possible ATV settings like Dolby auto

7. I had my ISP come one site to verify signal quality and speed.

I have contacted and reported issues more than 15 times to both Apple and Netflix and no one seems to help or offer a fix other than to exchange the device.

I really like the Apple TV but with this software bug it is not usable. I will probably need to see it on ebay and get the Google TV or something else.

In all my decades of owning Apple products I have never seen a product with such a major BUG / DEFECT making it un usable. This is real bad.

Message was edited by: Bob200000

Message was edited by: Bob200000

Message was edited by: Bob200000

Message was edited by: Bob200000

i totally agree with Bob above. same experience, but it has resolved itself . My ATV2 is now WORKING GREAT after 3 months of timewasting!

When I upgraded to the latest software last week,i tried a few things from desperation:

i disabled 'DNS masq 'on my DD-WRT router,

i entered the DNS numbers into the ATV as well as the router (previously my ISP said i didn't need to enter the numbers at all, just leave it blank,) .

i also did the download test on the ATV and chose the 2.0-4.0 setting, a bit slower than i can download.

since that time, the ATV has behaved perfectly, for over one week..wish i knew what did it, or whether it was something from Netflix's end, or even my ISP.

The one stutter i have had in a weeks viewing was when i had a 5.1 soundtrack and an HD movie, probably beyond my D/L speed, although watching HD seems fine.

I hope this helps . I was really shocked that it works now.I have not tried itunes movies yet, after at least 4 failures before.

Trailers also load faster now, more like 15-30 seconds instead of 2-3 minutes and podcasts are good too.

The upload speed can be important too: pure speculation follows...

I have Spotify in my house , which i know is sometimes uploading music as its a p2p app, which might cause problems? If i use yousendit to upload, it totally swamps the upload connection which stops the Netflix . I have also heard skype uses computers to relay calls etc, as it's also a peer-peer app. That is all pure speculation...i guess my next step would be to try and break netflix to see what i changed....

Message was edited by: catman2

I just updated my Apple TV 30 minutes ago. Now Netflix streaming is 100% broken. Can't even log into the service. Most of the time just selecting Netflix will hang the device. This is ******* ridiculous of Apple.

Ah, crap, I thought that was just me.

I've still been having the "15 minute lockups", after the last update I thought I was OK as I got through two 30-min episodes without a hang but now it's doing it again regular - till tonight where it's just plain not connecting to Netflix at all. Nice.