new apple tv user with slow connection

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Level 1

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new apple tv user with slow connection

I connected Apple TV to my Denon AVR 1909 receiver with an HDMI cable we picked up at the apple store...We have and HDMI cable going out to the TV from the receiver.

We use commcast broadband and have a wireless system in our home...(a router from comcast)

After trying to stream a movie from NET FLIX, apple TV tells me Netflix is unavailable...when I try again it slowly lets me pick a movie, but never boots it up, or begins the stream...

As an experiment I tried streaming the same movie on my macbook from NETFLIX over the same wireless system at home, and it worked fine...do I need an additional cable or is the HDMI cable good on it's own?

imac, Mac OS X (10.6.5), apple tv

Posted on Dec 19, 2010 4:22 PM

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Answer 1

vazandrew

Level 8

40,840 points

Dec 19, 2010 6:14 PM in response to loidets

Was the macbook test done in the same room as the apple tv? There could be wireless interference causing problems on ATV. Try connecting via ethernet.

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Answer 2

Dec 19, 2010 6:29 PM in response to loidets

Vazandrews suggestion is likely on the trail. The ATV2 connect directly via you wireless and not through your computer or any cable (unless you connected via ethernet to your network. Even the WiFi if it's 802.11n will support streaming to the ATV2 and several people surfing the web without noticeable slowdown and ethernet is faster still. It is not anything to do with HDMI.

Be aware that netflix usually streams faster than the iTunes store as they use a lower quality video to reduce file size.

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Answer 3

Dec 28, 2010 7:59 AM in response to loidets

It seems that this is a Netflix problem.

At home I have 3 AppleTVs. After the latest software update all but one of the ATVs experienced pauses and buffering problems when streaming Netflix videos. I connected to the Netflix web site and went to Your Account > Manage Netflix ready devices and computers.

It seems that Netflix allows 6 connected devices to each account. In my case there were 4 appletvs, 1 iphone 4 and 1 mac. However I've never actually connected 4 appletvs, so it seems Netflix kept the old ATVs from before the software update in its registry list.

Unfortunately, it seems that once you hit the 6 device limit, Netflix doesn't tell you you have too many devices registered. The devices in the list work fine, but any extras over the 6 device limit get REALLY slow. Deauthenticating all the extra devices on the Netflix web site seems to fix the problem so that now all my ATVs work fine without any pauses or buffering issues.

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Answer 4

loidets Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 9, 2011 8:20 PM in response to jpolsonaz

Not sure what the issue was - yes the laptop was in the same room as the test, and never exceede the net flix limit of 6 different streaming devices...

I landed up returning the Apple TV to the local Apple Store, and exchanged it for another one...this one works GREAT - no streaming problems, no error codes, no pauses during play...it works fantastic !

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