Q: Netflix quality HORRID after update

bodosom wrote:

 

The facts at my house:

1. Only the ATV regularly fails to perform as rated with Netflix.  It has periods of superHD but they're rare.
2. The ATV can pull over 30Mbps from Apple's CDN and in excess of 20Mbps for HBO Go (those are the only services I use on it that consume much external bandwidth).

Conclusion 1: The ATV is then capable of acceptable quality, but not from Netflix.

bodosom wrote:

 

3.  All of my devices source from Netflix's New York center (nyc001.ix.nflxvideo.net) 99% of the time.

Conclusion 2: The Source (Netflix) and Destination (your house) are fixed 99% of the time. Just an idea, if you take your ATV3 to the nearest Apple Store in the evening, does it still connect to the same destination and what the corresponding viewing experience is. WiFi and wired testing at the Apple Store would be very interesting data points.

bodosom wrote:

 

4. As one migh expect the ATV performs better in the morning that it does in the evening.  This has led some people to suggest the Netflix adaptive code is failing.  I suggested that myself but I'm less confident.

Conclusion 3 (My amended version) : Better in the morning (less loaded network between Source and Destination) vs Evening (highly loaded network between Source and Destination) AND Netflix Adaptive code failure. Extrapolating this line of thought, the worse the load/congestion, the more catastrophic the ATV failure due to it's 'extra' sensitivity to load. It is certain that you have done bandwith/latency tests to ensure other Destinations are still reasonable. The remaining six devices still provide an acceptable (and perhaps the highest) video quality within such a window of time. Example Short 23.946 must be quite boring with the familiar fountain, moon-walking, cartwheels, Pompeii and audible bubble making, though.

bodosom wrote:

 

I can also stream superHD to a device while simultaneously getting sub-par service on the ATV.  A time or two I've  gotten simultaneous HD streams using the ATV and another device which suggests that good or poor performance is not a timing artifact.

Question: Is there any video source/consumer device combination which exhibits the opposite behaviour? That is, ATV provides acceptable quality, while the remaining six do not,e.g., PBS, HBOGo, Netflix, etc. (excluding Apple CDN).

Loner T wrote:

Question: Is there any video source/consumer device combination which exhibits the opposite behaviour?

The overlapping set consists of HBO Go.  The ATV consumes slightly more bandwidth than the Roku.

This is purely anecdotal since I am merely a user and not the least bit versed in trying all different contortions to achieve some blessed consistently from Netflix on my ATV.  That said starting in December I began having all sorts of problems with Netflix...ranging from horrid quality to Netflix being totally inaccessible...then lo and behold after doing nothing except giving up trying to watch Netflix on ATV .......it started working again in late December and all the way through to end of January...we were gone first 2 weeks of February - returned home and last week started experiencing Netflix issues all over again...this time it was not so much the quality issue but the fact that the spinning wheel kept trying to connect until it spun itself out and gave the error message that Netflix was not available.  Every day I turn on ATV I go to my settings before I attempt anything with Netflix to make sure my wifi is connected and it is with full signal strength!  I have 7 wireless devices connected to my AirPort Extreme which include 2 IPads, 2 iPhones and an IMac.....I have no problem accessing internet or Netflix through any of these.

I have only been able to access Netflix once in last 3 days and gave up any hope of using ATV the other two and resorted to watching Netflix on my Ipad in SuperHD which seems really strange to me.   I should also note that I am able to access the other apps on ATV with no issue.

I live in East Texas and Suddenlink is my ISP provider.  My download speed is 30 Mbps and I have not even approached using half of my monthly D/L allowance.....I'm glad to hear that deals are being brokered with other giant internet providers with Netflix but I'm beginning to feel that other providers have and will continue to follow suit by compromising consumer experience to achieve financial gain. 

jimpal wrote:

 

Looks like your individual ATV may have a problem. You probably shouldn't generalize based on your one device, particularly since so many others (like me) have reported ours work well.

I cannot believe you posted that!

bodosom contributed greatly to this thread and was the one who indentified the issue with Apple TVs streaming from Netflix Streaming Services.

In December many people (but not all) saw their Apple TVs regained reliable Netflix streaming by connecting to Limelight as a CDN - not surprisingly they have moved on and don't post here anymore.

You confuse two issues

- Those who see streaming issues on multiple devices and were/are suffering from overloaded interconnect points between their ISP and Netflix - which the Comcast / Netflix agreement should address (for the most informed on the Netflix Comcast agreement see http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2014/02/media-botching-coverage-netflix-comcast-d eal-getting-basics-wrong.html

- An Apple TV issue that started early November and was fixed for most including me when their Apple TVs started connecting to Limelight but continues for some including bodosom (and is reported by many others in other forums).

You know because you were an active contributor during this time

Yay! After today's news about Netflix and Comcast I'm delighted to announce that the *maximum* speed I can now get on my Apple TV streaming the Example Short movie is...

<drum roll...>

235kbps!

That's after restarting both the ATV and my router.

And I'm on a 100 MEGABYTE line. None of your slow coach US 30mbs lines, lol.

Oh look! I do Netflix a disservice. After 5 minutes streaming it's sped up to the heady heights of...

375kbps!

How lucky and fortunate I am!

njstone9 wrote:

 

How lucky and fortunate I am!

Some posters have called Netflix and have had sucess after the device was deauthorised on the Netflix end. It may be worth a try - https://contactus.netflix.com/contactus

Will they help me if I admit I'm in Singapore?

Vandergraff wrote:

bodosom ... was the one who indentified the issue with Apple TVs streaming from Netflix Streaming Services.

I'm not sure that's the case.  Various people have made various measurements at various times.  It would be nice to see more measurements though.

njstone9 wrote:

 

Will they help me if I admit I'm in Singapore?

There should be chat link on the link that I provided, which may help.

Loner T wrote:

 

njstone9 wrote:

 

Will they help me if I admit I'm in Singapore?

There should be chat link on the link that I provided, which may help.

Hope the following helps.

Vandergraff wrote:

 

- Those who see streaming issues on multiple devices and were/are suffering from overloaded interconnect points between their ISP and Netflix - which the Comcast / Netflix agreement should address (for the most informed on the Netflix Comcast agreement see http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2014/02/media-botching-coverage-netflix-comcast-d eal-getting-basics-wrong.html

Verizon also expects a deal - http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/us-verizon-fios-idUSBREA1N1BH20140224

Vandergraff wrote:

for the most informed on the Netflix Comcast agreement see http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2014/02/media-botching-coverage-netflix-comcast-d eal-getting-basics-wrong.html

While I applaud getting closer to the truth Dan Rayburn takes two steps back for every step forward.

The biggest problem is he behaves as if there's a competitive market so pricing will be reasonable.  I'm sure unhappy Comcast customers would like to know who's competing with Comcast for "last mile" broadband.

He is correct that much of coverage is inaccurate in various ways.

bodosom wrote:

 

He is correct that much of coverage is inaccurate in various ways.

The condescending tone of Mr. Rayburn will win him no friends. Talking to other Network Engineers, still does not make him one, either. Traceroute? OMG.

bodosom wrote:

 

While I applaud getting closer to the truth Dan Rayburn takes two steps back for every step forward.

 

The biggest problem is he behaves as if there's a competitive market so pricing will be reasonable.  I'm sure unhappy Comcast customers would like to know who's competing with Comcast for "last mile" broadband.

 

He is correct that much of coverage is inaccurate in various ways.

I absolutely agree that there is not a competitive maket for broadband here in the US. Susan Crawford nails it '“the United States now has neither a competitive market for high-speed wired internet access nor government oversight.”

However I think his summary is spot on  "Bottom line is this is good for Netflix, Comcast and for consumers and it has absolutely nothing to do with Net Neutrality."

The proof I think is that AT&T and Verizon now are saying don't worry we'll get the same deal with Netflix........

Wonder who has the stronger negotiating position now?

Loner T wrote:

The condescending tone of Mr. Rayburn will win him no friends. Talking to other Network Engineers, still does not make him one, either. Traceroute? OMG.

I think he is calling it like he sees it and it is significantly better than the hysterical mainstream press who look for cliches rather than facts.

Agreed his point on traceroutes seems off - but the rest pretty much spot on.