Dropped Frames or Stutter Issue Real?

I use my ATV solely for AirPlay audio, and I don't dispute what you're saying about the video issues, but I don't think you can use Netflix as stuttering evidence. The problem with Netflix is that so many of their encodes are atrocious and have horrible stuttering built in to them; it's a major reason I canceled their service. It was at the point that when I saw the Starz logo, I'd immediately abort the program. It wasn't just Starz, though. Many of their other programs were like that. This was on a Roku HD and HTPC, and there were no network or bandwidth issues. It's the crummy Netflix encodes. There are threads on this at places like avsforum.com.

I think I would agree to some extent that AppleTVs do not give as smooth playback of video as say DVD players or BluRay. I'm quite sensitive to this kind of thing and don't see it as frequently as you point out, but I can certainly appreciate that the silky smooth motion I get from DVD and Blu Ray is sometimes lacking.

Encoding quality can have a major part to play, as I guess can decoding algorithms which can change (AppleTV1's did causing major blocky artefacts with some Handbrake settings).

Maybe the problem is that AppleTV probably does most decoding and rendering in software not hardware unlike other dedicated machines, but we don't know for certain.

My main bugbear is poor colour depth causing banding in dark/light areas with iTunes store encoding that I rarely see with my own video.

The problem unfortunately is potentially multifactorial, and when you add in artefact from motion processing circuitry/scalers in TVs it can be difficult to pin down.

As I said I'm pretty sensitive to video artefacts, maybe you more so, but I don't think it should be as bad as you suggest.

I bet your friends were really happy when you pointed out the issue 😉 - it's a bit like seeing rainbow effect with DLP projectors - ignorance is bliss, but once you know you look for it....

AC

GoodCaptain wrote:

This is NOT a Netflix issue.

Were you replying to jon8979?

GoodCaptain wrote:

This is NOT a Netflix issue.

As I carefully said first thing, "I don't dispute what you're saying about the video issues, but I don't think you can use Netflix as stuttering evidence." The problem in even mentioning Netflix is that the stuttering inherent in its many poor encodes can be hard to distinguish from stuttering due to poor decoding by the device you're using. That is all.

Assuming you are correctly ruling out your network, you may find changing the output frquency corrects your problem.

I don't see this issue on any but one of my Apple TV's and having interchanged the Apple TV's I am able to confirm it stays with the TV and not the Apple TV.

The TV is question is a sharp 42" (my other TV's are mostly LG, but I have 1 that isn't, and oddly enough it's one of the cheapest TV's you can buy - Goodmans)

On the Sharp TV, if I play 30 fps content at 60 Hz I have no problem, if I play it at 50 Hz it stutters as you say. If I play content at 25 fps at 50 Hz I have no problem, if I play it at 60 Hz it stutters as you say. If I play content at 24 fps at 50 Hz it stutters as you say, if I play it at 60 Hz, it's almost OK but carefully examine the picture and you can on occasions see a stutter.

I've been having this problem with my ATV since I got it when the gen 2 version first came out. I see it with YouTube. Netflix, VODcasts, AirPlay, and streaming from my MBA. It's very simple, my ATV get into some state and then I start getting this stuttering, and it varies, usually stuttering every 15 seconds or so. Once it starts stuttering, I have to power cycle it and I'm good for a day or so. I've found no other solution than power cycling.

Doug

This is killing me. I am experiencing a frame skip/stutter about every 15-25 seconds. I thought it was a problem with tv...but its only with appletv. Any solutions??

The solution is to use anything other than Apple TV to watch Netflix in particular. Both my TV and my BluRay player can stream Netflix effortlessly, but the Apple TV (3rd Gen) simply chokes too frequently to be usable. All players use the same wireless hub too. Apple needs to get the lead out and issue a firmware update or something.

Same issue here. ATV2 on Samsung UE55D8890 TV.

Switching ATV2 to 50hz did solve it for some previews of iTunes movies. But the video frame drop or stuttering happens in many movies.

However the Samsung tvs do also have a problem with certain streaming formats, too.

It is really annoying!

I am so disappointed.

I am a uge apple fan. I owned very single iphone, every single iPad.

I have a MacBook Air and pro.

I revived my Apple TV yesterday as a birthday gift. This was missing in my collection.

I was perfectly happy with my HTPC and plex, however I could not use netflix on it, due to some issues.

So I craved a Apple TV.

Sad thing is, I get the exact same frame skip. This destroys the entire experience for me.

It happenes about 2 times a minute. This is a deal breaker.

iPad, iPhone and my Mac displays the content just

I recently returned my MacBook Pro retina due to the scroll lag.

Now this. Seems like its becoming fashionable on I devices

Common apple, fix your ****.

I'm glad I found this thread as I purchased my first iTunes movie last night through Apple TV 3, and after about 20 mins of ******* about with settings on ATV and my tv, I'd had enough. My wife said she did not notice the frame drop, until I mentioned it, but to me it was awful!! I stopped the film, and went and bought the film AGAIN using the on demand service from my tv service provider. So having now paid over £4.00 TWICE for the film my question is this..... Do Apple with all their gazillions, due to all the apple products I, my family, and billions of people out there have bought, provide me with a refund on the iTunes film purchase??? And if so how do I go about it?? I won't even mention the ATV refund yet!! Many thanks.

Turn off any motion plus on your TVs menu. This fixed it for me.