Airport Express or Airport Extreme better for Apple TV

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Level 1

1 points

Airport Express or Airport Extreme better for Apple TV

I currently have an Airport Express router (1st gen). Among items used on it are two iPhones, two Macs, and an iPad in addition to Apple TV. Load times for Apple TV are just so-so. Thus far, I've been connecting to my Macbook Air to watch things downloaded from iTunes, as it's much faster to download contact via Macbook. I would prefer faster loading and whatnot and have Comcast Blast internet. Would switching out the Airport Express for an Airport Extreme make a difference in Apple TV performance? Let me know - thanks.

AirPort Express 802.11n (1st Gen)

Posted on Jun 30, 2012 12:22 PM

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Answer 1

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vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Jun 30, 2012 12:33 PM in response to Mean Reltner

What is your connection speed (www.speedtest.net)? 6mbps is required for instant 720p, 8mbps for 1080p.

Viewing content stored on your laptop would be through the local network.

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Answer 2

Mean Reltner Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 1, 2012 6:49 AM in response to vazandrew

I was getting lousy connection speeds (between 3 Mbps and 7 Mbps) when I had the Airport Express in another room. After moving it to the same room as the Apple TV, I get speeds of between 25 Mbps and 33 Mbps. It seems as though the Airport Express just broadcasts a very weak signal through walls and into adjacent rooms. Would the Airport Extreme broadcast a much stronger signal?

Now, the performance of the Apple TV is much better, but still not flawless. For instance, last night, I was trying to watch a TV episode, and it wouldn't load. I got a message saying that iTunes experienced an error. At 9am this morning, it works perfectly. Does iTunes just get overloaded with users at peak times?

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