Netflix quality HORRID after update

I made the mistake of updating to latest firmware, 6.0.2. Ever since, Netflix quality *****. SuperHD used to be so sharp and crisp. Now it's pixelated and NOT hd in the least bit!


How can I undo the software change? Has anyone else had this issue?

Posted on Nov 15, 2013 7:17 PM

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1,356 replies

Dec 4, 2013 8:23 AM in response to GaryJR4

GaryJR4 wrote:


jimpal wrote:


Now this is amazing! It's 9:00 pm here in Minneapolis (right in prime viewing time) and I am getting 5800 kbps on Example Short 23.976 on my ATV 3. I have done nothing special, but just tried it on a whim, since pretty much giving up on it for the past week and complaining on this thread.


Only one data point, I know, but someone seems to have changed something. Of course, it is snowing and getting cold. Could that be it?

"just tried it" for how long? I can get 5800 for a few minutes at a time too then it goes bad.

Good question, as I know many have seen good performance for only a short time. I was only on for about 10 minutes last evening when it was performing at 5800 kbps. I'll report back if I show this performance for a longer period of time.


Meanwhile, this morning (low Netflix viewing time, of course) I was able to sustain 5800 bps on my ATV 3 and 4300 on my iPad Air. Both have been as low as 235 kbps at various times over the last week. My internet speeds 70 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up.

Dec 4, 2013 3:35 PM in response to Markus Wernig

I've also been having terribly horrible quality Netflix, mainly during peak hours. Youtube is also horribly slow to load videos (like 30 minutes for a 5 minute video).


The only way to get HD from either is to run my AppleTV through my Mac Mini's VPN connection.


I use waterroof to create an NAT interface forwarding rule that sends any traffic to the mini through the VPN interface. Then, the AppleTV router address is manually set to the ip address of the mini.


Through the VPN, I can get SuperHD no problem and youtube videos load lickity split. When I switch back to my regular connection, Netflix and Youtube are horrid once again.


It makes no sense. All of my other Netflix/Youtube connected devices are fine through my standard connection, and the AppleTV is fine taking whatever route to Netflix my VPN is using.


It's almost like there's a piece of broken equipment out there in the bowels of the internet that ditches AppleTV traffic and we're all unlucky enough to get sent through it.

Dec 4, 2013 9:41 PM in response to Vandergraff

@Vandergraff ~ Many thanks to you for your heads up about the Chromecast and speed reference video, both have been super helpful, cutting through the confusion and frustration.


Have been a loyal Apple fan since the first in 1984 and I love the ATV user interface but for now I'm using 2 Chromecasts to get back to pleasurable viewing and it's working out great! (After weeks of frustrating calls/chats/troubleshooting)


This is the power and best of what these forums can offer, A Big Thank you!

Dec 4, 2013 10:47 PM in response to Brunello88

Brunello88 wrote:


@Vandergraff ~ Many thanks to you for your heads up about the Chromecast and speed reference video, both have been super helpful, cutting through the confusion and frustration.


Have been a loyal Apple fan since the first in 1984 and I love the ATV user interface but for now I'm using 2 Chromecasts to get back to pleasurable viewing and it's working out great! (After weeks of frustrating calls/chats/troubleshooting)


This is the power and best of what these forums can offer, A Big Thank you!


Glad it helped.


Tonight on the 'Example Short' from Netflix I get


Apple TV 750 kbps

Chromecast 4300 kbps (actually a bit less than normal - but still Super HD)

Airplay to the Apple TV from an iPad 4300 kbps (seems to be the max I can get on Airplay)


Hopefully we'll get a fixed Netflix app for the Apple TV soon.

Dec 5, 2013 4:53 AM in response to Vandergraff

I was on the phone last night with an Apple engineer for about an hour. The engineer said that he too had a problem that Netflix on the ATV. He said he too had a problem where the Netflix stream would pause after two seconds and then downgrade to the lowest quality. He said he had Time Warner cable at home. He said the way he resolved that was to call Netflix and they did something to his account that fix the problem. Of course I don't necessarily believe what he says. Just relaying it here as one more tactic where Apple is blaming Netflix. When I challenged it by saying that the problem started with the latest firmware update ... He kept saying that his problem was fixed by calling Netflix.


One thing he did say is that unlike all the other devices AppleTV has a special handshake with Netflix servers. If what he say's true ... It is quite possible that Comcast and Time Warner on monitoring for that handshake and throttling the speed depending on network loads.

Dec 5, 2013 7:59 AM in response to jimpal

I'm in the dark here. What is this Example Short 23.976 and how are you guys getting these speeds? If the speeds are from your computer, that shouldn't have anything to do with ATV or Netflix. That would be a provider problem, wouldn't it?



" I am getting 5800 kbps on Example Short 23.976 on my ATV 3."


"

Good question, as I know many have seen good performance for only a short time. I was only on for about 10 minutes last evening when it was performing at 5800 kbps. I'll report back if I show this performance for a longer period of time.


Meanwhile, this morning (low Netflix viewing time, of course) I was able to sustain 5800 bps on my ATV 3 and 4300 on my iPad Air. Both have been as low as 235 kbps at various times over the last week. My internet speeds 70 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up."

Dec 5, 2013 11:16 AM in response to Sundog66

I´m having exact same problem. After I upgraded one of my Appletv´s from 5.3 to 6.0.2, i´m only getting 750 in bitrate wathing Netflix. The second one, which still has 5.3, is giving me SuperHD.


After reading this post yesterday, i tried the 6.1 beta, but the problem still remains there.


BUT, then i tried downgrading from 6.1 beta to 5.3, and Apple is still signing the 5.3, so now I am not back on the old IOS version with great quality. As a temporary solution, u may want to follow the same route untill the problem is solved.


Best regards

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Netflix quality HORRID after update

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