Why is my Apple TV cutting out when watching TV and Films?

There has been a problem with homesharing since I updated to iTunes 11. Everything has been tried by the Apple technicians communicating with me over the telephone. After over 20 hours They eventually said that my network was too complicated, although everything else works DNLA streaming to television using my Synology Diskstation and a software server programme (Playback), AirPlay from iPad and iPhone ( AirPlay keeps dropping out and connecting again since I upgraded IOS on all my devices. Netflix and YouTube stream perfect.

I made my network as simple as possible Cisco modem from cable company connected directly to an AirPort Extreme with LAN cable. Ethernet cable from extreme to ATV2 and iMac. Simple system but when used with homesharing plays only one song then freezes

Now Apple say it is maybe an incompatibility with my modem and router. I told them a hundred times before that the problem started with iTunes 11. I have now told them that I do not wish to continue with the fault finding, because everything seems to point to iTunes server. They have said that I can ring anytime to continue the fault finding, but I think personally that it is just a waste of their time and mine.

By the way my ATV2 is 2 years old. I had the same problem when I upgraded to iTunes 10 in November 2011. I used my ATV2 as an expensive paperweight until iTunes 10.5 came along in February 2012 and homesharing worked again, and worked flawlessly until iTunes 11.

King regards

I got an Apple TV for Father's Day this year and had this exact problem: lots of cut outs, mostly video but sometimes audio, too. I have a fast Internet connection (FiOS) and great WIFI reception in my home. I have a Panasonic plasma TV (about 10 years old) that supports 1080p. Anyway, I was about to give up and assume the Apple TV is buggy when - just for grins - I tried a new HDMI cable. I had been told that HDMI cable quality doesn't matter (expensive vs cheap), and this proved true for my non-Apple TV components. Never had a problem with FiOS TV (even rentals) or Blu-Ray. But check this out: swapping out my cheap HDMI cable for an expensive one (I had an old Monster cable in another room I wasn't using) fixed the problem. I have been renting movies from iTunes, using Airplay from my iPad, streaming Pandora for two weeks now with absolutley no cut outs. My best guess is the Apple TV is more sensitive to cable issues. Another food-for-thought is I shortened the cable length. My original, cheap HDMI cable was about six feet long, coiled and tied. The Monster cable is about two-feet long and not coiled or tied. Anyway, I hope this helps someone. Pretty simple fix.

Why will Apple not fix this!!!!!!!! It is so annoying it is clearly an issue with Apple TV if this many people on different networks with different platforms and Pc's, Mac's etc.

I started having this issue after the most recent update or buying the new ATV2/3 (same thing) and its really annoying. We do not have cable at all only Internet so I rely on ATV as the only way to watch anything. And I am about to throw this thing in the trash and switch to a different viewer. When ever it decides to have a spell I can not watch anything. Hulu plus, HBO go, nothing. I go to the show, I press play and it just cuts right back to the show menu. Its the most annoying and most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with.

Apple you are really starting to let me down. Stop worrying about the latest and greatest iphone and focus on fixing what you have now.

Highly suggest trying out coopnkc's suggestion!!! Changed out my HDMI cable and stopped all cutting in and out issues!

@Sandancer: I know this is an older post... but I am having similar issues and wonder where you are storing your media for iTunes. I have a Mac Mini (mid 2011 model) with an external firewire 800 Seagate drive. I have been having various external firewire drive issues (across both my MacBook Pro 2013 and my Mac Mini 2011), ever since Mountain Lion came out.

I am curious if you are running an external firewire (or T-bolt or USB) drive or is your iTunes Homeshare media stored on the internal drive?

Here's an idea...Why don't you idiots let someone who knows how to correct the problem (IDK, maybe an Apple tech) reply to the issue at hand? I count 18 jack wagons who replied with the age-old stupid reply, "I have the same problem...", with varying degrees of idiotic rambling pertaining to their own situation that adds basically nothing of value to the thread, except that other people have this problem. We all know what the problem is based on the first post, so STOP asking the same question over and over. Imagine you are someone who actually knows how to fix the problem yet you must go though all of these posts to get to a point where you can help. I would give up and not respond because of all of this useless rambling. That's the problem with threads of this nature...too many dummies simply reiterating the same question. Nobody cares about your personal situation! People only want a solution. If my response here keeps just one idiot from doing this in the future, I think I've made the world a better place.

Hilarious and a bit rude but this is a good point. These support discussion pages are much better than the apple support pages. The problem is they get clogged by the repitition of each persons agony. "I also have suffered." In our time of vast impersonal complexity, poeple want someone to know. But all the tech agony simply obscures the solution. Thank god Apple has "This solved my problem." It does cut some of the dross. The offsite pages for apple don't have this very useful feature.

@Chevy2222 - what's a Jack Wagon? Is that something y'all in tha Appalachians use for travel when the gas money runs out?

You know, of course, that Apple doesn't respond to these posts? At least, it's very rare. The whole point is for the community of users to share their experiences and to learn; and, maybe, Apple can get a sense of how serious an issue is by seeing, anecdotally, how many of their active customers are experiencing similar problems.

But thanks for your helpful reply, nonetheless.

Jack Wagon: n. Slang term derived from the Freight or Chow wagons used in the late 19th century. These were often the last wagons in a wagon train, making them the least favorable to drive due to the dust, waste, and debris from the front of the train. When used as an insult it refers to one's lack of intelligence, implying the insultee is capable of no more than operating a Chow wagon.

I apologize for my crass response that seemed to upset a few people (sarcasm). I am sorry that I had to resort to a somewhat rude response, but sometimes you need an eye-catching post for people to understand that these are pointless acts of repeating a problem that was clearly stated at the beginning of the thread.

I understand what you are saying but my point is that a thousand readers stating the same thing over and over is useless information and solutions are what people need in these forums. I highly doubt that Apple is using these forums to measure how big a problem is for their users. Also... I've seen Apple experts respond to these forums a lot so I really don't understand that train of thought.

Anyway... Though I appreciate those of you that attempted to offer viable solutions to the problem at hand, I do not benefit at all from the many people who just repeat the problem.

Thanks for the response. Any feedback here that generates a productive conversation helps everyone and may actually get us to a helpful resolution.

Now see what you made me do? I've babbled on and on in this thread and nowhere in my comments did I help anyone with the problem. That's called irony.