How Long to Download a Movie?

That all depends on one's Internet speed and the content being downloaded, both HD and SD content start immediately for me.

If you can tell us your Internet speed we can tell you how long a movie should take to download and how long before you can start to watch it.

30 minutes may be correct for some connections.

Try www.speedtest.net

Dont measure the speed while Downloading a movie though

With DSL it took 45 mins to watch a movie. Cable it takes 30 secs to strat.

You should be able to watch an SD movie immediately, an HD movie should take approximately 2/3 of it's duration before you can start to watch it, for example an hour movie would be ready to watch in 40 mins, a 90 minute movie would be ready in an hour and a 2 hour movie in about an hour and twenty minutes.

This is assuming your network speed doesn't vary too much over that time.

headshrinker2 wrote:

You said in your earlier post that your downloaded rented movies (i.e. both SD and HD) start instantly in your system. Is that correct?

Yes, it takes about 15 seconds or so in actuality, but I figure that's close enough to immediate.

Are your internet speeds much faster than mine?

Yes, I have a 16 Mbps connection and obtain real download speeds of 14.5 Mbps

Is your AppleTV connected to your network via an Ethernet cable?

Some are some are connected by wifi (most by wifi)

Would it make more sense for me to rent a movie from iTunes directly on my PC (would this make for a faster download) and then stream it to the Apple TV?

If for some reason your Apple TV was having issues over the internet, it might do, some have said it makes a difference. Generally speaking though if things are working as they should it won't make any difference.

There are advantages to downloading to your PC. For example if you want to watch it again, or you navigate away from the download on your Apple TV, you won't need to download the rental again. However unlike the Apple TV which will let you watch it once enough has downloaded to ensure uninterrupted viewing, you would have to download the entire movie before you could begin to watch it.

I am working on strengthening my WIFI signal throughout my house right now. I can test this out, but would speedtest be faster on my PC (ethernet internet connection) than my wirelessly connected laptops?

It shouldn't be. Download speeds are generally restricted by your WAN not your LAN (the other side of your router as opposed to this side), a typical 'g' wifi network should be able to manage 20+ Mbps, so unless a WAN connection is faster than that it won't make any difference.

It only takes about 45 sec. To watch a rental on my Apple tv 2nd gen. Sd or Hd. I have cable Internet and have an Apple Airport Extreme router, by the way the best wireless router I have ever had and I have had 7 different routers and finally the Airport Extreme is the fastest and strongest I have ever seen. I have had it running on my network for 8 months now and have never had to rest or power cycle. If you are having downloads taking that long you need to invest in a new router. Hope this helps.

For the avoidance of doubt the router the OP is using won't make any difference to their download speeds, which is dictated by the service provided by their ISP

Don't be fooled. Netflix Streams, Itunes Movie rentals will not. Its a huge flaw that renders Apple TV worthless. 2, 4 6 hours to watch a rental on Itunes vs. instant on the same connection with NetFlix. Should have left the hard disk in the sencond gen. Very frustrating. No suppport from Apple. Scores of unhappy buyers out there -- Google it and see.

Connection speed is not an issue. Netflix streams, Itunes does not. Flawed delivery system and no company support. Apple TV2 is a dog. Should have left the hard disk for downloads. Repeat the connection speed is no issue. Thousands of unhappy users -- Google it!

This is the answer here. I had DSL and it was horrible. I now have Comcast and it starts right away. At first I called apple support and they told me two different things. I'm surprised there first question is not "what do you have for internet". I almost gave my apple tv away I was so mad. I'm happy now that I have Comcast cable. It's the way to go.