Apple TV 3 Bad Streaming Quality

"I'm" not the one having the problem- thus the whole reason of this discussion. If "I" was the one with the problem then 60 posts of other people having the same issues would not be within this stream. This issues seems to be with Netflix, SuperHD, and their Open Connect network.

CoryArdilio wrote:

Someone mentioned setting the resolution to 720p on the ATV3, that did not do the trick for me. Someone else mentioned going to the Netflix website and adjusting the bandwidth or resolution there to high, that did not do the trick for me....

These suggestions don't fix anything. Netflix alone can provide a fix by updating their Apple TV app (yes, they write it, not Apple).

In the meantime - there are temporary solutions that sometimes work. If you get bad picture quality, try clicking out of Netflix and then back into the movie/show you wanted to watch. Sometimes you get lucky and HD "locks in". You may have to do this serveral times. You may even have to restart the Apple TV and that may temporarily lead to a high quality stream.

Yesterday, an episode of Mad Men started off terribly blurry (despite my 50 down internet). I clicked out of it, back in, nothing. I even had a "Netflix not available" error message serveral times. Then I restarted the Apple TV and then - miraculously - I got HD. Did this "fix" the problem? No. But at least I was able to watch 2 episodes in HD.

jacenK wrote:

"I'm" not the one having the problem- thus the whole reason of this discussion. If "I" was the one with the problem then 60 posts of other people having the same issues would not be within this stream. This issues seems to be with Netflix, SuperHD, and their Open Connect network.

You said "i ruled out it being a Apple TV3 issue". It's well established that the problem is not with Netflix or superHD. I don't know why you're talking about Open Connect.

I'm not on an Open Connect network but I can get Netflix superHD whenever I want, as long as I'm not using my ATV.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28820834-Speed-Netflix-Comcast-does-not-support -HD-streaming~start=30

read away

jacenK wrote:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28820834-Speed-Netflix-Comcast-does-not-support -HD-streaming~start=30

read away

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

In the first post the OP says there's a problem. In the sixth post the problem is resolved. Much of the rest of thread is a mixture of conspiracy theory and misinformation about network transit.

Read away:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5565870?start=0&tstart=0

"conspiracy theory and misinformation?"

uhmm, and you know this how?

*leaving aside the fact that you troll for Netflix, of course*

Earlier in this thread, right after your Comcast assertion:

Hugh Kremer wrote:

IMHO, I can't see how it's a Netflix/Comcast issue. I have Comcast, and get Netflix in HD on my BluRay player and my SmarTV. But not on AppleTV.

Pretend I just said "In the first post the OP says there's a problem. In the sixth post the problem is resolved."

Ignoring my humourous asides regarding the thread what's your point in bringing it to our attention?

Same issue here. ATV3 using comcast wired directly to the router. Did video chat wi three Netflix reps, various restarts and such taking over an hour. Netflix blames my ISP and was desperate to convince me that since netflix is "different" that it is more demanding so the quality goes down. Sounds like malarkey. I get 15mbps download and 2mbps upload and all video quality from other sources is full hd. Using the sample video described only got 520 resolution. Btw, this only started about a month ago. Btw, Daniel at netflix was condescending and rude. Have been a netflix subscriber since the beginning. Likely to cancel now.

jc1118 wrote:

Hi bodosom,

I am the OP so I've been following this issue for a while. You say that by the 6th post the issue is resolved?

jacenK posted a link to a dslreports thread about Netflix issues on Comcast. In the sixth post of that thread the OP said Comcast came out and eventually things were resolved. There was no mention of the ATV. Most of that thread was about various unrelated Comcast vs. Netflix issues.

It's almost a complete certainty at this point that the last update to the ATV Netflix client is responsible for the recent performance problems. We all hope it's fixed in the next release or perhaps a "hotfix". Those of us with alternate devices are using those (I use my TiVo) while some (many, most) others are having sucess using AirPlay which often sources the stream from a different CDN. In my case Limelight rather than Netflix. This can increase the bit-rate to HD or 4300 superHD.

Just to confirm that for me and my girlfriend, who both have Comcast and ATV3, and live in two different cities, ATV3 Netflix app only works in low quality steaming. In my case a quick switch to PS3 Netflix app or AirPlay using my iPhone reverted to HD. At my girlfriend place, who does't have a PS3, we just used AirPlay on her iPhone 4 (I have a 5s) and streaming was HD again. Note that in both cases we tried immediately after ATV3 + Netflix was having issues. That pretty much rules out Comcast. Again the culprit seems to be Netflix on ATV3, which prior to latest update was working fine.

My problems with Netflix HD streaming started the day after Thanksgiving. Before that, I had been getting extremely clear HD fron Netflix on my Apple TV 3, Sony Blu-Ray player, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro.

Except for the MacBook Pro, which has an ethernet connection, all of the devices are getting Netflix over my WiFi network.

My ISP is Comcast, and I'm consistenlty getting download speeds of 55 MPS over WiFi with an AirPort Extreme router.

All other streaming video sources work fine on all my devices. These include Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu Plus, iTunes (video content I have purchased or rented but not downloaded to my computer), Smithsonian Channel, ABC, HBO Go, etc.

When I watch Amazon Video on my Blu-Ray player, it's showing connection speeds of 5 to 10 MPS and HD looks fine. But when I watch Netflix on the same Blu-Ray player, the connection speed drops to 1 MPS or lower, and the stream either freezes up, or it looks worse than standard definition and is unwatchable, or both.

On the ATV 3, I get a decent Netflix HD signal for the first 30 to 90 seconds, then it stops for a second, and the image becomes so blurry that it is not watchable. I'm not being an HD snob, either. It's worse than a really bad VHS tape made from a very old video source.

The problem seems to be a lot worse after 5:00 PM.

At first I assumed it must be my WiFi router or my cable modem, so I re-set both of them, as well as the Apple TV. It still looked terrible. Netflix even looked bad over LTE on my iPhone, which would seem to indicate that neither Comast nor my WiFi network were the cause of the problem.

So I called Netflix. The first guy I spoke with emailed me a link to their webpage with troubleshooting measures. I'd already found that page myself, and I'd tried all of the suggestions, and none of them worked. He told me that since Netflix streams their video differently than other services, it requires a consistent network speed. OK, I get that, but I have a consistent network speed that is a lot higher than Netflix requires.

I called Netflix again, and this time I was a little more persistent. The woman was polite, but her message was clear: "This is not a Netflix problem. It is either your home network or your ISP. Check your WiFi network again, and then call Comcast." I asked her how she could be so sure it wasn't a Netflix problem, and she said if it were, they would know about it from customer complaints. But of course, if they are refusing to believe the reports from customers like me and others who have commented here, they really have no way of knowing.

I called Comcast, and the support person was more helpful. He confirmed that my internet connection was fine.

One theory I have is that a lot of people bought devices that can stream Netflix during the holiday sales, and they signed up for Netflix's free trial, putting a big hit on the Netflix servers. Whatever it is, I'm convinced it's a Netflix problem.

For now, I'm using my iPhone to access Netflix. The signal still looks really bad at first, but if I move the progress bar button back and forth really fast, eventually I can get a decent HD signal. Once I have a good signal, I send it to my ATV using AirPlay.

This is not a satfisfactory fix, but it's OK for the short-term. If Netflix can't fix it fairly soon, I'll have to drop the streaming and just stick with their DVD/Blu-Ray service.

Definitely not a Comcast specific issue, I am on ATT Uverse.

Ive been searching for a answer for this issue like everyone- i could care less if its a ATV, comcast, netflix, isp, etc issue- i just would like a honest fix and answer to why its happening. it seems everyone is just blaming everyone else.

The reason i brought attention to the outside post was for you to read more then a few posts, i started from page 1 and read through page 6. within that there are some answers (i feel) that make the most sense other then spending hours on the phone with people that act like they "have no idea why thats not working". I feel that the issue is through what is described as what Netflix is now using for their superHD singal.

Its not a ATV issue as if you restart netflix 5-9 times the HD singal holds on ATV. this is not a fix but has worked. If you could never get a HD singal- i would agree its a ATV issue. Also, watching on a hardwired internet connection that has nothing to do with ATV still does the same thing and give super super crappy singal- ONLY on netfix, not hulu, vimeo, youtube, amazon, etc

jacenK wrote:

Its not a ATV issue as if you restart netflix 5-9 times the HD singal holds on ATV. this is not a fix but has worked. If you could never get a HD singal- i would agree its a ATV issue.

Okay then.