Q: Netflix quality HORRID after update

Any chance this has anything to do with the old ATV DNS issue?  https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2608444?start=750&tstart=0

That's what I thought.  Tried changing from Google DNS to Time Warner's DNS and it had no impact on my situation.

As a sidenote, I upgraded my Time Warner internet service from "Ultimate" to "Extreme".  With 50 down and 5 up, I'm still having problems getting Netflix to stay in HD on the ATV.  Sometimes it will stay for quite a while and then just drop into unwatchable blurriness.  Other times, not a chance.

My current status -

I have an ATV3 wired and an ATV2 wireless.  Both are on 6.0.2. Symptoms are exactly the same for both.

The Netflix example short typically starts off high, sometimes as high as 3000.  Then it drops to 235 or 700.  Occasionally it will jump back up.  I have not seen it higher than 3000 after the infamous November 11 date.  Prior to then, I had flawless Netflix access on ATV since early 2012. 

My Playstation 3 is wired.  When I run the Netflix example short on that, it will start out low and then ramp up to 5800.  It stays there and does not move.  For now, I am watching all Netflix movies and shows on the PS3 instead of the Apple TV.  Let's hope Apple and/or Netflix sorts this out.

Has anyone in the thread submitted a formal bug to Apple?

SlamSlam wrote:

 

Has anyone in the thread submitted a formal bug to Apple?

Yes, I did two days ago, but it can emphasize the extent of the problem if you and others do too.

To add to my post above - Netflix encodes each video many times for different platforms (not just the Apple TV). From a Netflix video prepared for a job fair in 2012 (so the numbers may be different now) - Netflix encodes each movie 120 times to deploy across 900+ different platforms

http://vimeo.com/52637219 (see 1.35 into the video)

I tried Open DNS, Google and Comcast DNS - makes no difference I am afraid

Can everyone post their model number, their OS build number and DNS setting? Perhaps we can zero in on some common factors.

You can find this info in:

Settings > General > About and Settings > General > Network

Mine:

MD199LL/A

6.0.2 (6646.81.1)

DNS: 8.8.8.8

J. D. L. wrote:

 

Sunday night (12/1) prime time was only getting 256 Kbps on both ATV3 and iPad Air using Netflix app.  On the Mac using the Silverlight plugin I managed 512 Kbps.

 

This morning at 9AM pacific I'm getting a solid 5800 Kbps on ATV3 and 3000 Kbps on iPad Air app (guessing this is max for iPad).

 

For those who are seeing good prime time data speed on another device, has it ever crossed your mind that the streaming servers are *different* depending on the client device?  We know that iOS will use an h.264 stream, but what about the Chromecast or other non iOS devices? The difference in prime time speeds could simply be the result of connecting to a different, less utilized streaming server.

 

My take is that this is specific to iOS/ATV simply because there are a lot more of us using that client, and we are overloading Netflix's ability to handle iOS client requests during prime time.

I can't see into the Netflix cloud (or any others) but in the same window of time all of my devices will talk to the same IP address be it somewhere inside netflixvideo, limelight etc.  So there could be a difference once inside the CDN but it seems unlikely to be a simple load problem.

Compared to the number of other devices there aren't that many ATV3s.  There are far more iPads and at the beginning of this year the PS3 passed general purpose computers as the most popular Netflix platform.

By the way I tested my iPad at work (multi-gig connection albeit shared by 10s of thousands) and I reliably get 4300 on the test clip.  It's not unheard of to get 4300 at home as well.

SlamSlam wrote:

 

You can find this info in:

 

Settings > General > About and Settings > General > Network

 

Mine:

 

MD199LL/A

6.0.2 (6646.81.1)

DNS: 8.8.8.8

Keep in mind that for many folks, looking at Network settings for DNS simply reveals the DNS of one's router. i.e. not the DNS that your router is using for the web.  It depends on how you set it up.  If your router is handling DNS, then you will want to look at Airport Utility (if you are using an Apple Airport) or whatever 3rd party utility your router uses to see what DNS server it is using.

Dave

AppleTV #1:

MD199LL/A

6.0.2 (6646.81.1)

DNS 68.238.64.12

AppleTV #2:

MC572LL/A

6.0.2 (6646.81.1)

DNS 68.238.64.12

ISP is Verizon FiOS 50/25

No problem getting 5800kbps on AppleTV #1 consistently during offtimes.

AppleTV #2 has no problem with 3000kbps (it is a 720p model)

I also submitted a bug report to Apple about the same problem. I chatted with Neflix yesterday. They confirmed that a lot of people are seeing sudden drops in quality right now. I even sent them a link to this thread, which they did take a look at. They said they are investigating the issues with the Apple TV software update.

BUT: at the same time they also said we should all do some basic network troubleshooting, since it could very well be our network connections. They suggested power cycling our equipment and having our ISP's monitor our connection, while the low-end quality streaming of Netflix content is going on (not sure how you get AT&T - in my case - to do that). - This of course is tech support 101 - "give your customers something to do, while we're looking into a possible fix".

I've tried all possible DNS settings on my router and my Apple TV, I had AT&T over to exchange my modem/router, they tested the line - line, connection and networkd are perfect - I get reliable download speeds of 20 Mbps and more, my line quality according to Pingtest.net is a solid A - I honestly don't know what else to do.

This is either an Apple or a Netflix issue. I hope enough people keep complaining to both companies (in a constructive and friendly way).

Markus Wernig wrote:

 

I also submitted a bug report to Apple about the same problem. I chatted with Neflix yesterday. They confirmed that a lot of people are seeing sudden drops in quality right now. I even sent them a link to this thread, which they did take a look at. They said they are investigating the issues with the Apple TV software update.

 

BUT: at the same time they also said we should all do some basic network troubleshooting, since it could very well be our network connections. They suggested power cycling our equipment and having our ISP's monitor our connection, while the low-end quality streaming of Netflix content is going on (not sure how you get AT&T - in my case - to do that). - This of course is tech support 101 - "give your customers something to do, while we're looking into a possible fix".

 

I've tried all possible DNS settings on my router and my Apple TV, I had AT&T over to exchange my modem/router, they tested the line - line, connection and networkd are perfect - I get reliable download speeds of 20 Mbps and more, my line quality according to Pingtest.net is a solid A - I honestly don't know what else to do.

 

This is either an Apple or a Netflix issue. I hope enough people keep complaining to both companies (in a constructive and friendly way).

Thanks for the update and glad to hear Netflix is investigating 'the issues with the Apple TV software update'.

As a number of us have reported we can see (from our router bandwidth monitor) iTunes files downloading at full speed to our Apple TVs. This indicates that the network connection for the Apple TV is not the issue (at least in those cases where we get full speed download from iTunes).

I have contacted Apple and will contact Netflix (as posted above the interaction with Apple was pleasant and useful).

A lot of people are posting download/streaming speeds for their Apple TVs while watching Netflix content. How do you do that? How can the Apple TV display actual download speed?

Thanks.

See my post - third in the thread

'You can check the Netflix video quality by playing 'Example Short 23.976' (search for this title on Netflix). This title embeds the actual stream kbps you are receiving.'

'You can check the Netflix video quality by playing 'Example Short 23.976' (search for this title on Netflix). This title embeds the actual stream kbps you are receiving.'

Perfect. Thanks.