Netflix - constant re-buffer on TV, not on PS3

I must have 15 devices that stream Netflix and the only one with problems is the Apple TV. Pathetic.

Similar here.

Xbox streams fine. Roku streams fine. Wii works just fine.

ATV2= constant pause/buffer/lose connection PLUS, the video box art rarely loads on all the movies!

Big time bummer....

Here is what I did for my Linksys E4200 router.

1. Update firmware

2. Uncheck Filter Anonymous Internet Requests on the Security tab

3. Set the MTU to 1364

4. Disable UPnP

Seems to have helped.

I posted this elsewhere on the forums but a repost might be helpful:

There are several things you need to check:

• What type of wireless network are you running?
  • Wireless G? (54 mbps / 2.4 ghz)
  • Wireless N? (108 mbps / 5.0 ghz)
• How many walls exist between your apple TV and your router?
• How many other, competing wireless networks can you see in the place that you live?

Wireless N is very sensitive to physical barriers. Because it is 5ghz (higher frequency) it is more easily blocked than Wireless G (2.4ghz - lower frequency) by physical obstructions. High frequency = shorter bandwidth = less penetrating power.

• Can you hardwire an ethernet cable your apple tv?
  • The apple TV appears to default to wireless N if available
  • Wireless N is not always faster than wireless G depending on distance from the router, number of walls etc.
• Can you purchase an Ethernet Bridge and configure it for Wireless G?

  Hardwire the apple TV to that ethernet bridge (this solved my problem)

What channel is your wireless network operating on?

• Wireless G has 11 available channels, each (if I remember this correctly) 5mhz apart.
• You may have a neighbor using the same channel
• Just like fine tuning an FM radio to get rid of the fuzz, maybe you need to change the broadcast channel
  • If you are on "auto" (should be available in your router settings) change to channel 1
  • If you are already using channel 1 change to channel 11
• Wireless N has a similar standard but I cannot remember the technical specifications.

I was *incredibly* frustrated with my apple TV for the first week or so of owning it. Once I changed the wireless setup in my home, it seemed to solve the problem.

This is 100% an Apple TV issue Please read the posts before replying.

I, as did the original poster have multiple wifi devices streaming Netflix

Only the Apple TV has the buffering issue and its very annoying. The integrated Netflix app in my TV has no issues. Went so far as to install the Apple TV on the same set so I could isolate between the two. When the Apple TV stalls I switch to the integrated application and have no problems.

Apple needs to fix it!

I have been using Apple TV for over a month. However, since couple of days when watching Netflix it starts to pause/buffer for 10-20 seconds every few minutes, which makes watching very painful. This problem starts to happen only after 45-60 minutes of watching Netflix. When I tried watching the same episode in my MacBook Pro it worked like charm with no issues.

Does it mean Apple TV needs an upgrade, or it is a Netflix problem? It appears more like a Netflix problem with Apple TV as watching it in a browser doesn't replicate the issue and I never had this issue since I bought Apple TV. It appears Netflix has changes something in the equation for Apple TV to behave like this.

I've posted this elsewhere but it my be helpful here. This got us going again after the recent firmware updates caused the frustrating buffering issues.

"So I gave another shot at trying to stop the ATV from constantly buffering. I'd seen a post where someone had run 'Namebench' to see which DNS server was the fastest for them. I downloaded, installed and ran the app. After using the reported fastest DNS address to manually program the ATV TCPIP settings we were finally able to enjoy uninterrupted movies tonight on Netflix. So I don't know why the ATV is so server sensitive but it appears it is. So far so good."

I stream Netflix to all sorts of devices using the same access to the Internet, only my ATV 2 has these problems.