Q: Netflix quality HORRID after update

Dave_K. wrote:

 

Markus Wernig wrote:

 

Dave_K. wrote:

 

Still running 6.0 on our ATV2.  Same problem as everyone here. I really don't think the update had anything to do with it. 

 

Dave, did your low quality problems also start around 2 weeks ago? What's the download speed/bandwidth of your home network?

 

Hi Markus-

 

Yep- around mid-November- same as everyone.  I posted my benchmarks earlier in this thread, but here's the short story:

 

Comcast Cable 25 Mbps down/5 Mbps up.  Speedtest/Pingtest scores consistently run solidly in that range- with Pingtest score of A.

 

Apple TV 2 running 6.0- not 6.0.1 or 6.0.2.  Connected to Airport Extreme via Ethernet- no wifi involved anywhere.

 

Predominant resolution I am getting now on Apple TV is 1,050 kbps, but very frequently degrades to 750 or even 375 kbps.  Occasional 235 kbps.

 

For comparison, my iPad 2 running the Netflix app runs steady at 1,750 kbps.  I'm thinking that might be the max for the iPad 2- not sure.

 

Lots of variables here...but my Apple TV system software is the same as before the problem when I was consistently getting a crystal clear image.  So for me, I'm inclined to suspect some issue between the new Netflix sytem architecture that was rolled out mid-November and the Apple TV Netflix app.  But as to whether the problem began with 6.0.1 or 6.0.2...I can tell you it is definitely there with 6.0 which I've been running since it came out.

 

No doubt lots of finger pointing probably going on right now between Apple and Netflix.  

 

Dave

Your iPad 2 should be getting at least 720P (3000 kbps) so you seem to have something else going on as well as the Netflix Apple TV issue that started 3 weeks ago. The iPad app actually got an update a couple of months ago to support 1080P playback but I am not sure that applies to the iPad 2.

The Apple 2 will never get more than 3000 kbps (720P) - but as you note you are seeing even lower lower speeds.

As posted above - when I talked to Apple Saturday they confirmed that the November of the Apple TV app from Netflix seems to have broken a few things (the issue we are discussing, limiting peoples queue/list to 256 entries etc) - hopefully Netflix will release a fix soon.

My Chromecast continue to get 5800 kbps reliably and Airplay from the iPad to the Apple TV gets 4300 kbps (may be a limit of Airplay).

Matthew Brownstein wrote:

 

I tried netflix on my Panasonic blu-ray player, which does NOT offer Super HD, and it looked great. The Example clip doesn't show bitrate, so I can't quantify the quality, but it appeared to be playing in HD.

Only newer Netflix players that support adaptive streaming will display the bit rate on 'Example Short'. I have an old LG Blu-Ray without support for adaptive streaming and is limited to 720P/2.0 platback on Netlix. It won't display the bit rate on Example Short but continues to get the 720P stream reliably (measured on my router bandwidth monitor).

I should of course have added above my Apple TV Native Netflix app remains below 1750 kbps (as it has been since November 11th).

Markus Wernig wrote:

 

Zoddie wrote:

 

To see for yourself that you are having a problem directly connected with the ISP, do what I did. When I get extremely bad stream quality on my desktop PC (ethernet connection), I just connect to my VPN service and connect to a local server in my city, and behold, all the sudden I get max quality without a hitch.

 

Zoddie - can you elaborate on that? How do you connect to "your VPN and a local server"?

 

I have been on AT&T U-Verse (20 down) for about a year now. I have never ever had a drastic drop in Netflix picture quality on my Apple TV - ever - until 2 weeks ago. I understand AT&T may not be part of the Netflix Open Connect Network, but why do these dramatic drops in quality all of a sudden happen now? These issues may not have anything to do with each other, unless something else has changed behind the scenes about 2 weeks ago.

Well what I use is Hide My @ss! VPN service and they have servers all over the US and the world. So when I want to connect to a VPN server to mask my IP but still yet have decent speeds I do a quick scan for the fastest server around me and it will usually be one in my city. From the list I just connect to it and test netflix.com again and there is no problem with high quality streaming.

Don't point the fingers at U-verse just yet, everyone started having problems with Netflix on apple tv two weeks ago so unless you have the same issue on multiple devices and/or the netflix site then you might be just fine and need to wait until either netflix or apple fix the app on their end.

Vandergraff wrote:

 

Your iPad 2 should be getting at least 720P (3000 kbps) so you seem to have something else going on as well as the Netflix Apple TV issue that started 3 weeks ago. The iPad app actually got an update a couple of months ago to support 1080P playback but I am not sure that applies to the iPad 2.

 

 

Well it may be costing me speed on my iPad 2, but I have intentionally not upgraded my Netflix iPad app past version 2.4.   Version 3.0 was a disaster that locked out most Netflix iPad users for weeks.  Then just when I thought I'd finally upgrade to iPad version 4.0, they introduced the mandatory post-play feature. Now they're up to iPad version 5.x and I have no reason to think they've gotten any better in light of the Apple TV mess.  I think I'll wait for Netflix to fix the Apple TV issue before I even think about letting them mess up my iPad. 

Dave

Zoddie wrote:

Well what I use is Hide My @ss! VPN service and they have servers all over the US and the world. So when I want to connect to a VPN server to mask my IP but still yet have decent speeds I do a quick scan for the fastest server around me and it will usually be one in my city. From the list I just connect to it and test netflix.com again and there is no problem with high quality streaming.

Zoddie, how do you run your AppleTV through a VPN service? Isn't that only possible through a computer?

Markus Wernig wrote:

 

Zoddie, how do you run your AppleTV through a VPN service? Isn't that only possible through a computer?

No I haven't done this personally with the Apple TV, I only did it on my Windows desktop PC when testing my netflix streaming on the netflix.com website. But it is possible to use VPN with the Apple TV (many overseas users do it to get around region restrictions on netflix) but you would need a VPN service and a VPN capable router with DD-WRT firmware.

Tried watching a new episode of "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" last night (east coast prime-time). Total crud. Unwatchable. I would be fine with a little degradation of quality during high load times (even though I shouldn't). But looking like a 3rd generation VHS dupe is ridiculous. Netflix and Apple have to be aware of this. They just don't want to admit anything.

How much longer?

And furthermore. All this talk of DNS servers, VPN, reboots, etc., is not the answer. None of it was needed two weeks ago. It should not be needed now. Apple and Netflix need to get their $&@# together and u do what ever they did.

Sundog66 wrote:

 

Tried watching a new episode of "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" last night (east coast prime-time). Total crud. Unwatchable. I would be fine with a little degradation of quality during high load times (even though I shouldn't). But looking like a 3rd generation VHS dupe is ridiculous. Netflix and Apple have to be aware of this. They just don't want to admit anything.

 

How much longer?

Sundog66 - have you tried to watch the same episode on your computer (Mac or PC) through Netflix.com at the same time?

I did that yesterday. Went to Neflix's "Example Short 23.976" on my 3rd gen AppleTV and on my Apple MacBook Pro at the same time - prime-time 10 pm Los Angeles AT&T U-Verse - unwatchable (320x240 235 kbps!!!) on both devices despite 24 Mbps download speed and a solid A in line quality through Pingtest. At the same time YouTube 1080p HD streamed fine on both devices, YouTube streaming speedtest revealed full bandwidth, Vimeo - full HD, Yahoo Screen - HD...

This morning 8:00 am Los Angeles AT&T U-Verse - same Example Short - 720p 3000 kbps on my MacBook Pro and 1080p 3850 kbps on my AppleTV, which I still find unacceptable given the fact that I have a super fast line and there is hardly any net traffic! This is the lowest quality 1080p Netflix is offering. I should be getting speeds of at least 5000 kbps if not 7000.

This seems to be strictly a Netflix bandwidth problem. It may have nothing to do with the AppleTV or any other Apple product. Good luck getting them to admit to that.... Nevertheless - everybody please keep contacting Netflix!!! https://contactus.netflix.com/Help

No solution here, but a very interesting article.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/getting-hd-netflix/

Yesterday, I posted that on Sunday night, I tried to stream an episode of 24 in prime time, got a blurry stream, stopped and restarted the stream, and then got HD.

Last night (Monday), I did the same thing: Started an episode of Orange Is the New Black around 8:30pm, got a blurry stream, stopped and restarted the stream, and again it worked -- I got HD on the second try.

A) This is a good thing.

B) Based on other things I've read here, it does make me wonder if the problem is indeed related to the initial steram quality negotiation that the Netflix app on the  Apple TV performs with the Netflix server.  It's possible that sometimes, when Netflix is under load, that negotiation logic doesn't work (or maybe Netflix doesn't respond in time), but trying a second time, or third time, etc., eventually results in a successful stream.

I don't have the answer, just sharing another data point.

I have to do that on the PS3 all the time. Sometimes reloading the stream 3 or more times to lock in HD. The Roku 3 handles it much better. Only twice so far I had to reload something and it was the same program Warehouse 13.

Anyway Netflix needs to dump those garbage 320x240 encodes. 

Urban Shocker wrote:

 

No solution here, but a very interesting article.

 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/getting-hd-netflix/

Thanks for sending. Consistent with what I see in Minneapolis. Best overall description of the conclusions this thread was reaching, based on several thoughtful inputs.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Netflix phone reps were allowed to recognize their company's responsibility for this situation before they send people around rebooting modems and routers, etc., for no good reason?

I'm curious... has anyone with a developer account tried the Apple TV 6.1 beta to see if there is any change in the behavior of the Netflix app?