Lag when playing some movies through apple tv

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Lag when playing some movies through apple tv

Hey,

I have recently bought myself apple tv (latest model) and have tried play back of movies which I have on my computers internal hard drive and also from my iPad but have suffered lag issues. I was wondering if you could help me try to solve the issue?

I have have taken digital copys of 2 movies from 'triple play' blurays which I have purchased and ripped then to iTunes using the given code and these seem to be the ones I am having problems with. I have another movie which I have a ripped myself with some third party software and that movie doesn't lag at all but this film has copied at a lower resolution.

That suggests to me that the difference between the resolutions maybe the issue with playback lag.

If anyone could shed any more light on this issue I am having and any potential solutions it would be appreciated as I don't want to purchase any movies through iTunes of they are going to be leggy and waste my money.

Additional information -

I have replaced my router yesterday to an apple extreme but the problem occurs with both of the routers so I assume it's not a router issue?

All other apple tv feature seem to work fine without any issue with my iPod iPad 1 and PC. Streaming trailers etc is adequate.

Also one last question - I believe I can add an external hard drive to my airport extreme is this recommended for use with apple tv or is playing from a internal hard drive in pc a better way? I have western digital wall plug powered external HD.

Sorry if this issue has been covered else where I just felt it was worth mentioning again as I know everyone situation is slightly different.

Any help would be great as I am a bit of an apple newbie

Cheers

Apple TV, Windows 7

Posted on May 20, 2012 1:07 AM

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Answer 1

May 20, 2012 3:04 AM in response to Apl Boy

Welcome to the Apple community.

If your network is slow for whatever reason, then yes higher resolution content may well cause problems where lower resolution content doesn't. However saying that, a properly configured network should be able to cope with any content the Apple TV can play. For this reason it would be interesting to understand what you regard as lag.

Sometimes settings on Routers can be the cause of network problems, however by changing your router you have not reduced the distances between the devices using the network, or the bandwidth used by devices using the network or removed any interference that may have been there previously from neighbouring networks or other devices.

Intermittent problems are often a result of interference. Interference can be caused by other networks in the neighbourhood or from household electrical items.

You can download and install iStumbler (NetStumbler for windows users) to help you see which channels are used by neighbouring networks so that you can avoid them, but iStumbler will not see household items.

Refer to your router manual for instructions on changing your wifi channel or adjusting your multicast rate.

There are other types of problems that can affect networks, but this is by far the most common, hence worth mentioning first. Networks that have inherent issues can be seen to work differently with different versions of the same software. You might also try moving the Apple TV away from other electrical equipment.

Finally, yes you can use an external drive attached to your airport extreme and some people do do this. However you will be much better using an external drive attached to your computer, this places far less strain on your network.

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