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jc1118 Author

Level 1

19 points

Apple TV 3 Bad Streaming Quality

I have been streaming Netflix with my Apple TV 3 and, more often then not, the quality is horrible and blurry. I have checked my Wifi signal streangth in the Apple TV's setting and I have full bars. Then I checked my internet speed using both my Macbook and my iPhone (www.speedtest.net) while standing next to the Apple TV I consistenly get [>20Mbps Down] and [>4Mbps Up] and [~17ms Ping]. When I stream Netflix with my Macbook Pro I stream in HD without any problems.

As far as I know I have no way of running a speed test directly with my Apple TV so I have to assume that since my laptop and phone are getting sufficient bandwidth for HD streaming and the Apple TV has full signal strength, that there is some other problem here that I am not experienced enough to see.

Any suggestions? Are there any network settings that could be contributing to this that only affect Apple TVs and not Apple's Laptops or Phones?

Possibly relevant information:

Comcast internet with wireless N combo modem/router

Apple TV runnnig at most current update (as of 11/20/2013)

Speed Tests done using Macbook Pro Retina (late 2013 model)

Speed Test done using iPhone 5S

Apple TV (3rd generation)

Posted on Nov 20, 2013 8:31 AM

Top-ranking reply

brucefromwauconda

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Nov 23, 2013 3:10 PM

Hey jc - I have the same problem. A little history here. I recently as two months ago I watched every episode of Breaking Bad on Netflix on my Apple TV 3. No hickups, beautiful (which I would call HD) quality no problems every episode perfect. Same with Battlestar Galactica a month or two prior to that.

Now since last couple to three weeks I cannot stream ANYTHING in any decent quality.

So for me what has changed - Comcast upgraded my old Cable modem from a DOCSIS 2 to a DOCSIS 3 modem with built in Wifi (which I dont use) and doubling my speed to 57Mb download. This is the only major change to my environment which EXACTLY coincides with the drop in quality on my Apple TV 3.

Interestingly my Apple TV 2 works perfect. All my devices are hard wired on Gig network links usually to a hub/swicth then off to the cable modem which has 4 ports built in.

I tested by direct connecting my Apple TV 3 to the back of my cable modem and still had horrible quality.

I ran the streaming test movie and it started out at 5800kb for 5 seconds looked awesome - then it kicked down to 275kb and looked like garbage. Very frustrating.

I got the Apple TV 3 to use in my home theater thinking it would be better than the verison 2. And it has been. Until now.

Not sure where to go with this but sure seems to me like it MAY be a comcast issue / cable modem issue. Seeing your post you may also have the same modem - mine is a TC8305C (Technicolor).

Everything else on my network is screaming fast. So maybe its something with Apple TV 3 communication through this particular cable modem/router. Firmware update?

I may try to turn off the router portion of the cable modem and revert that function back to my old router and see if that does anything interesting.

Let me know if you have found anything.

View in context

150 replies

Nov 26, 2013 9:42 PM in response to Community User

I'll and one more report of the same issue. I'm not sure of my ATV generation (though it's 1080p capable)' I'm a Comcast customer and when I check on my iPad I see >25 Mpbs down load speeds. All the while the Netflix picture quality is awful. This started for me in the last week or so.

Nov 27, 2013 12:27 PM in response to jc1118

I have Also had issues with netflix streaming with my Apple TV. The bit rate starts high then quickly drops. The only fix I have found so far is to use the netflix app on my ipad 2 and use airplay to send it to my tv. When I do this, the picture quality is awesome. I have no idea why this would work, but it does.

Nov 29, 2013 11:35 PM in response to jc1118

Ok So more data. This is impacting most but not all devices on my network.

Apple TV 3 (Wired or Wireless) -> 235kbps

Apple TV 2 (Wired) -> 1750kbps

Macbook Pro (Wireless) -> 750kbps

PC (Wired) -> 560kbps

iPhone 5 (Wireless same access point as Apple TV 3) -> 3000kbps

In fact I can Airplay from my iPhone to my Apple TV 3 @ 3000kbps. As Realcheck5 says above it looks awesome way better than using Netflix app on AppleTV 3.

I chatted with Comcast one evening last week - they reset my cable modem (actually they said something about resetting user data and optimizing the video data) I think they just rebooted it. When they did that my datarate on my MacBook Pro when to 3000kbps. I thought the problem was solved but alas a few days later Im back in the same boat as before. Also it doesnt matter what time of day. Bad performance all day. By the way my Apple TV2 looks great - would never have noticed that there was an issue. I assume this is because its 720p - no Super HD.

Very frusterated that this point.

Dec 4, 2013 2:46 PM in response to jc1118

Same here. Last few weeks Netflix looks like 1990s internet video. Comcast 50 meg, new airport extreme, new motorola sb6100. Talked to Netflix today and they said they are getting a lot of calls and are "working with Comcast" on it.

Dec 4, 2013 5:32 PM in response to jc1118

Based on this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3092145?answerId=24021001022#24021001022

It looks like an issue with the AppleTV's software. Considering that on the same network, between 2 apple devices based on the same softare, that only the ATV has issues, it looks like the ATV's OS might be the problem.

Hoping Apple gets wind of this, and a fix is released.

Dec 4, 2013 8:50 PM in response to jc1118

I've had the same issue recently. I can barely even see the screen the quality is so low. I have Comcast 100+ Meg Xtreme service and am having issues on PC, Win 8 App, Apple TV 2, and Apple TV 3.

I am fairly confident that this is Netflix (and platforms affected by it). They released their new upgraded 'platform' about 2 weeks ago which overhauled how the service looks on all platforms (except Apple TV, but they released an update at the same time, obviously to correspond with the Netflix update).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2013/11/13/meet-the-new-netflix-the-mor e-things-change-the-more-they-become-the-same/

mpr123

Level 1

0 points

Dec 4, 2013 9:25 PM in response to cgbarrett

Netflix performance on my Apple TV took a nosedive after the recent update that added progress bars for previously viewed content. I use Comcast as my ISP.

Dec 5, 2013 12:07 AM in response to cgbarrett

Update - on my PC using Chrome with Silverlight - I get the worst stream possible and it never improves.

Using the Windows 8 Netflix App (with Silverlight uninstalled) started poor and then was able to stream up to full HD quickly.

Dec 5, 2013 8:54 AM in response to jc1118

As another poster mentioned, it looks like I get the blurry streams during primetime (evenings). In the mornings and very late at night it is super HD. Maybe when Netflix gets slammed during primetime they can't keep up with something on their end with ATV?

My ATV3 always has 5 bars for WiFi, wether it's in the primetime or early mornings.

ISP is U-Verse with 16Mbps DL.

Dec 5, 2013 9:10 AM in response to SuperKirby

I had an AppleTV update waiting to be installed this morning. No indication of what it's for of course. After installing I checked Netflix and it looked like real HD (the same program was mediocre SD last nite). However it looked HD this morning even before I did the update so the real test will come during primetime.

Dec 5, 2013 11:46 AM in response to jc1118

Netflix on Sony Blu Ray player and Samsung SmarTV both getting HD. But on AppleTV it's unwatchable. Like others in the forum, I get about a minute of moderate quality on ATV (though still not HD), then the video stops momentarily and switches into ugly mode. I prefer the UI of the ATV, so hoping for a fix soon. Until then, I've switched the cat5 cable to my BD player on which I can use both Amazon and Netflix.

kamtra

Level 1

0 points

Dec 6, 2013 8:23 PM in response to jc1118

Same here. Was using AirPort Extreme n class- same setup for two years then about two weeks ago netflix quality went to crap. Went out and bought extremely fast dlink router last night and same issue. Tried restarting everything multiple times, signing out of netflix.. Netflix works fine on iPhone and MacBook- only atv3 is affected and only netflix. iTunes streaming is great. Driving me crazy- I'm getting over 50 Mbps. I did run an atv3 update around that time- that may have caused it.

Dec 6, 2013 11:06 PM in response to Hugh Kremer

Hugh Kremer wrote:

Netflix on Sony Blu Ray player and Samsung SmarTV both getting HD. But on AppleTV it's unwatchable. Like others in the forum, I get about a minute of moderate quality on ATV (though still not HD), then the video stops momentarily and switches into ugly mode. I prefer the UI of the ATV, so hoping for a fix soon. Until then, I've switched the cat5 cable to my BD player on which I can use both Amazon and Netflix.

Netlix on Apple TV is broken right now - basically every Apple TV user is experiencing the same issue - substandard video streaming quality. However, few people actually contact Netflix and Apple about this issue directly. Posting on this forum is helpful for others, but will do little to convince Apple or Netflix to move this issue up the priority chain.

So, everybody here, please call Apple tech support http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

send bug reports via their feedback page: http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html

Call Netflix or chat with them online https://help.netflix.com/help and let them know that streaming works fine on other devices but is broken on the Apple TV (be prepared - they'll try to blame it on your internet connection or a faulty device, which is nonsense in this case). Tell them to send a report to their tech department. They need to hear from as many users as possible.

Dec 7, 2013 12:40 PM in response to Markus Wernig

Good suggestion, Markus Wernigthanks. Did you also suggest this on the other thread yet? https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5565870?tstart=0

Dec 7, 2013 4:21 PM in response to jc1118

Okay, sent in a report to Apple, and also started a chat with Netflix. Apparently, the issue has to do with how you have your account set. In Account>playback settings, check to see what your Data Usage is set to. They told me to set it to Auto instead of High, and that should stop the pixilating and the buffering. Obviously, there is an issue that Apple needs to work out, but this temporary fix seems to work right now.

Apple TV 3 Bad Streaming Quality