Apple TV 1 and Apple TV2 both streaming and syncing very slowly

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Level 1

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Apple TV 1 and Apple TV2 both streaming and syncing very slowly

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can help. After a long time of not being able to get either product to work (Bonjour would not work until the latest update), I now can finally use my old ATV1 and new ATV2. I can play music and use my photos on the screen saver fine. BUT playing any TV programmes or movies is almost impossible - very slow period whilst it is 'loading library' then when I finally get to the programme, it takes 15 minutes before the programme will stream enough so it will start playing.

Movie trailers are also slow to load. I haven't tried to stream a rented movie yet as I have no confidence of being able to watch it all.

Also, the ATV2 keeps dropping the wifi connection so I have to constantly reenter the password.

Third, I have never managed to get both Apple TVs working at the same time - if I switch one on when the other is on, it knocks out the connection.

Finally, the ATV1 seems to take an age to syc content onto the machine.

I've tried the main troubleshooting options with no luck.

The connection is over wifi, from a base station upsatairs to the room beneath. Signal is 2-3 bars out of 5 and works on everything else. The router is Netgear WNR-2000. Our internet is 30Mbps fibre optic.

I really like Apple TV when it works (enough to buy ATV2, when I was having problems with ATV1, go figure) but I have been having problems with it altogether now for over a year! Pl

AppleTV 2, Updated with latest software

Posted on May 6, 2011 11:27 PM

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Answer 1

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,548 points

May 7, 2011 1:31 AM in response to razza

I would be tempted to create a new user and itunes library and try to stream from there to see if it improves to eliminate a corrupt itunes library.

Given issues with trailers however I doubt this is the cause.

I think your network is likely the issue here.

Make sure the AppleTV's have different names.

Test your internet connection on the computer at speedtest.net to see what kind of sustained rates you get.

Even if your internet is delivering high speed, if your internal network is much slower both streaming and previews/rentals will be slow.

If you can try connecting the AppleTV's by ethernet or invest in some mains powerline network adapters from Devolo/Netgear/Belkin etc - they are very effective if wireless is unreliable due to signal or stability issues.

If you find your internet sustained rates are slow at speedtest.net consider renting SD rather than HD (1GB vs 3-4GB film sizes). For example, I know I can watch an SD film on a 4 Mbps sustained connection in under 30 secs whereas HD films take 30-40 minutes to buffer.

In addition AppleTV 2 is useless on slower connections if you want to rent HD while doing other things - merely browsing movies and playing a trailer is enough to flush an ongoing download from memory - it's messed up my viewing plans a couple of times now so I'm either going to put the AppleTv 1 back in the living room or rent SD.

AC

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Answer 2

razza Author

Level 1

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May 7, 2011 4:37 AM in response to Alley_Cat

Thanks for those suggestions.

Speedtest shows ping 12ms; download 29.26mbps; upload 2.96mbps.

Everything else we ever use on the network (laptops, ipad, iphones, playstation) has no issues at all.

I think maybe you are right that I should invest in the powerline adaptors. Seems annoying to have to do this!

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Answer 3

razza Author

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May 7, 2011 7:27 AM in response to razza

Actually I realised that's not quite correct. The iPads do seem to drop the wifi signal intermittently. We don't seem to have a problem with the (windows) laptops

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