Apple TV is Downloading movie rentals very slowly

That does not prove its an Apple Tv issue. You need to go through steps to troubleshoot your network as different devices will behave differently. However, I agree that the download test isn't useful.

I do not agree with you. I have tried testing a number of devices and downloads on the same connection. The only slow download i experience is with Apple TV device. I also tried a new device from a friend of mine and the same problem occurs.

Apple have to admit that they have a problem with their units. Keeping up with Apple's philosophy, they MUST find a solution. We all switched to Apple because Apple made the user experience so unique by making so flawless. Failing on AppleTV would be a like dying of thirst at the cleanest water spring in the world.

That is not the same as actually troubleshooting the network, but if you would like to believe that go ahead. It works for the majority of users, if you would rather rant and wait for a "fix" then that will prove to be pointless. No use wasting anymore time.

Here's what I've learned - I've got the ATV 3 and my comments are in relation to 1080 res video.

-if I want to rent a 1080 res video from iTunes and be able to commence watching it within a few minutes, I do the rental and the download through iTunes on my Dell laptop. I initiate viewing by accessing the Computer/Movies/Rentals path on the ATV 3 main menu. No problem - I'm watching in 3-5 minutes, no stalls or stutters.

-if I want to rent a 1080 res video from iTunes and want to wait for hours - 3-5 hours, even for a 25 minute TV show - to begin watching the rental, I do the rental and the download through the ATV 3 unit using the Movie/Rental path on the ATV3 main menu. I also cannot do other things with the ATV3 while I'm waiting because this stops the rental download.

I had an ATV 2 and did not encounter the long download issue with it (I know the files were smaller, but still, not that much smaller). Same network, computers, ISP involved

I can't see how this isn't linked to the ATV 3 unit. I can't see how it links to my Wi Fi network (which works fine in an analogous situation with Netflix videos), my ISP, the Apple servers or anything external to the ATV3 unit. I've got an open mind on this, but my finger is pointing at the ATV 3.

Thanks for sharing your frustrations. Our friend VAZANDREW is a fervant defender of Apple.

I ahve an AT2. i actually have 2 devices at home. One in my bedroom and one in my TV room. the issue is the same with both of them. Also it does not matter whether you download SD or HD. I tried resetting both units. I also tried testing download speeds from Macbook Pro, an HP Laptop, an Ipad, an Iphone (over Wifi). All units downloads are super fast. I have a 30Mbps line and it is very stable. I also tried sutting down ALL internet connected units in my house and keeping only 1 of the ATV2. I restrated the ATV2 unit and the problem is persistent.

I did extensive trouble shooting and internet testing but can only point to the ATV2 units as they are the ONLY units which encounter excessively slow download issues.

I have started downloading movies and TV series on my network drive at home so that i can watch a movie or a series without cursing all the time.

By The Way, this is a relatively new problem. It started about 1 or 2 months ago. Until then streaming was great, superfast and flawless ...

Apple must have done something and they need to acknowledge it in order to fix it.

Hardly, I am stating the facts. It could be in relation to interference, DNS, throttling/traffic shaping etc.

However, if you really think there is an issue then contact Apple or take your unit in

I'm suspecting Apple's servers. I've had this issue with multiple ATV units on a network where I typically get 22 Mbps Speedtest.net results. I stream video from YouTube or Netflix (on the same unit) or Amazon (from my xBox in the same room) without problems. Sometimes, iTunes streaming works fine. And fast.

But it's unreliable enough that I can't trust it. It's ruined enough evenings with my family.

When it takes 8 Mbps to stream 1080p and the ATV is telling me "Ready to play in 1 hour 15 minutes" at the same time that Speedtest is telling my iPhone that I'm able to get over 20 Mbps via WiFi in the same room with the ATV, it seems like the likeliest variable at work is Apple's server capacity.

It doesn't matter if the ATV uses a wired or a wireless connection: I've tried both. And when it's working, it's fine either way, and when it's slow, it's slow, either way.

I've been having the same issue, I tried to rent the original Total Recall tonight (because i saw the latest one,and it was super bad) The Rental said 52 minutes before it would play, so i waited. After 52 minutes, i tried starting it and only got 10 minutes in, and the audio was off from the picture. So i tried buying it thru iTunes on my desktop, and the HD version says 6 hours to download (it's been 3, and now it says 7 hours to go) the SD said 3 hours to download (It's been 3 hours, and it says 4 hours to go)

I just finished watching the SD version using my PS3, and it took under 5 minutes to download the whole movie. So the problem is not my Internet. It is Apple. Looks like i will be throwing my 2 APV's in the garbage.

I agree with you. However, these last 24 hours or so it has been better at times. i hope Apple are finally doing something about it. yesterday i watched 2 movies and my girlfriend watched 2 episodes of her favourite series. they all downloaded perfectly normally (i.e. superfast). But then i could not go to sleep so i decided to watch another movie. i had the same problem again. Again, i downloaded it on my iPad (it took only 10 mins) then used AirPlay to watch it on my ATV2.

Maybe they are still working on it.

YShage

might as well add a 'me too' to the discussion.

I've an iTV 1, and an iTV 2.

I've had buffering issues with the iTV 1 in the past however they worked themselves out.

On getting the iTV 2 I also switched to a 50Mbps internet plan. Worked through some issues with that. May still upgrade my wifi router.

Setting the iTV 2 to 720p for playback did help. I don't believe this setting applies to previews.

The internal network test doesn't give much feedback. It still takes longer than I would expect. Anybody time theirs? Might be interesting to get some times from different locations.

I also get some odd behaviour where a preview starts streaming, it shows plenty of buffer, and then the video drops and the message shows about "change settings to being viewing faster".

Does anyone know if the movies streamed from Apples data center, or via a third party like akami? I just did a speed test however its 8:00 AM. super fast. (hmmm... should go try a preview). between winnipeg, mb, canada and toronto which I understand has an akami site.

I too have seen some improvement in the last couple of days. (aptv3 on ethernet connection, no other downoad issues, 28-32mbs per speedtest, no issues via netflix, hbo go on ipad wireless instant streaming). The only other difference is that I've been buying individual episodes (falling sky) as opposed to entire season (fringe) and then choosing to watch them one at a time (obviously). I think it's more likely a behind the scenes apple factor/improvement than being related to the episode vs. season factor.

Still suspecting Apple's servers, but I had an interesting experience last night.

First, I just replaced the main router on my network, the one that's plugged into the cable modem, replacing an old D-Link DIR-655 with a NetGear N900 (WNDR4500). I didn't think it ought to make any difference with regard this issue… and it apparently doesn't - but it made me willing to test iTunes streaming on Apple TV again, something I'm largely writing off for the time being.

I had the thought that Apple offers free episodes of TV shows, and that would be a painless thing to do: if it works, great - if it doesn't work, it cost me nothing. So I selected a show (the pilot for 'Go On', FWIW, which was in 1080p HD) and it started playing pretty much immediately and played through with no interruptions.

The last movie I rented, a few days ago, gave me an initial delay of 15-20 minutes (although it sometimes said it'd be an hour or two), and then when it finally said it was ready to play, stalled during playback 3 or 4 times.

Cool. Maybe the new router really made a difference? Emboldened, I immediately rented a movie I had been wanting to see, and… long delays again before starting. And hangs of several minutes each while playing.

Really? The free TV show streamed perfectly, but the movie that I paid for hangs?

In both cases, while trying to stream, I took Speedtest.net tests right beforehand that said that I had in excess of 18Mbps.

It's possible that the different programs were on different servers. But it certainly doesn't look like my ISP is throttling video coming from Apple, or that there's an issue with my network connection.

Well this looks like a fairly common problem. We also started out really well with no delay to downloading and movies etc weren't freezing and so forth. But that all changed about two months ago and now things stall and carry on which frustrates the **** out of me. I sent Apple an email regarding the issue quite some time ago and have not heard back from them - so much for customer service. I've done all of the testing and everything is fine - I also believe the issue sits with Apple, possibly their server/s. We have spent an absolute fortune through iTunes and my next move is to submit a greivance with the Ombudsman here in Aus. I will pursue this with absolute vigor as we are not getting what we have paid for.

Shame on you Apple - fix your faults.

Also searching on this problem and it seems that LordofCupertino has the right solution. You have to download the movie/show to your iTunes and then stream it from your computer. We tried to watch Hunger Games and ATV said ready to watch in 1 hour 42 minutes. I downloaded to my iTunes in 30 mins. I did a speedtest and my speed is about 20 Mbps. Definitely looks like Apple Server issue.

With a little bit of foresight, it's possible to download a rental in advance to your computer and use Home Sharing. Unfortunately, my family tends to be spontaneous about our rentals. We sit down in the evening and look at the DVR to see if we have anything recorded that we want to watch, and if not… is there something in our Netflix Instant queue or on iTunes to rent. So, already, the choice to rent something is fairly far down in our decision-making process: the first choices will be to watch stuff that we're already paying for through monthly subscriptions.

FWIW, I streamed the "Hunger Games" yesterday in 1080p, Dolby 5.1, from Amazon Instant Streaming (there's a free Xbox app for it) without any delay at all. It was only my third Amazon streaming attempt, but so far I haven't had any hiccups at all, and their prices are competitive with iTunes.

I hate to say this because I love Apple products and services - and I'm a shareholder - but they seem to have dropped the ball on iTunes streaming with the ATV. And I really want them to fix this. It's not a new problem: you'll find complaints about this going back years. I've experienced this for a long time myself.

And it's sporadic: at least for me. About half the time, there's no problem.

But it's just unreliable *enough*. It only takes a few bad experiences for the desire to rent a movie from iTunes to be extinguished in anyone who's in the room when 'ready to view in > 10 minutes' comes on the screen when there's an otherwise fast Internet connection.

And the fact that you can immediately go to Netflix or Hulu on the same device (and, yes, I know that Netflix dynamically trades off quality for bandwidth) or go to Amazon Instant or Zune on a device in the same room, and It Just Works… well, that's pretty damning. And it hurts Apple's brand.