Data rate of 5th gen fast enough?

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Data rate of 5th gen fast enough?

I have a 3rd gen time capsule (MC343LL). My iMac is ethernetted to the TC. An ATV in a bedroom is ethernetted to the TC. When I stream low res stuff (i.e. old shows on Netflix) the video is fine (or as fine as low res can be). When I stream HD from DISH the picture quality is good but choppy. I am presuming that TC can't handle the data. Will a 5th gen TC (e.g. ME177L) have the streaming capability? Both models are reputed to have gigabit ethernet. I am not sure I am not stuck with a choppy HD picture on the ATV. BTW, quality on iMac is excellent.

Time Capsule Gen 3-OTHER

Posted on Mar 29, 2015 4:13 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 29, 2015 4:51 PM in response to DesertRatR

The internal ethernet LAN rate between the Gen3 and the Gen5 is identical.. gigabit.

If there is wireless anywhere here.. then yes, Gen5 should be faster.. but that is often an illusion as well.

Something is going wrong on your network. Most likely it is internet speed. Changing routers will not fix that.

Test it anyway by playing an HD movie from your iTunes on the computer.. to the ATV.

Netflix remember is streamed from internet.. not your local lan. It is network speed that matters.

To get good HD you need 4-8Mbps with no drops.

And really high HD I cannot stream on my network with 7Mbps adsl.. normal netflix yes.. which says HD but is probably still 720p.

When I stream HD from DISH the picture quality is good but choppy.

What is DISH? What data rate does it require and when you test your internet connection what rate does it have?

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Answer 2

DesertRatR Author

Level 1

133 points

Mar 29, 2015 6:37 PM in response to LaPastenague

My Internet speed is a consistent 25 Mbps. I just checked: 26.7 Mbs down 6.2 Mbps up.

You're in Australia. There isn't DISH satellite down there. Up here (US) DISH and Directv are the two major satellite providers. DISH has both iOS and OS X apps that use my account to stream service over the Internet. That is what I was referring to in the post. Those HD streams are excellent on my iMac, as are iTunes HD movies. I just checked the DISH OS X stream rate: "Good" = 2150 Kbps; Better=8110 Kbps; HD=8300. The rate is user selectable. I tried watching a DISH HD TV show with dialogue but no action. At the highest rate I could start to see some choppiness on the TV, but not on the iMac.

What I was watching earlier was an HD basketball game. That had the choppiness. I think the TV can't handle the rate with a lot of action. It is a low cost HD TV (Best Buy house brand). I suspect a better TV would solve the problem.

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Answer 3

Mar 29, 2015 6:52 PM in response to DesertRatR

Do a test where you plug the TV into the Mac or the Mac into the TV (you might need an adapter cable for hdmi output but they are easy to get and just a few dollars in places like your best buy).

That way you can see if the TV is the cause or the ATV or something in between.. the TV might be cheap but I suspect if you replace it and find you still have the same issue it might be a bit agro. (Agro is Aussie slang for mad as a cut snake!!)

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Answer 4

DesertRatR Author

Level 1

133 points

Mar 29, 2015 7:46 PM in response to LaPastenague

Easy enough to test. I'll let you know. Amazon sells the cable for $18 (US)

Cut snake? LOL. Around here the rattle snakes are assumed to always be angry. I give them a wide berth. And make a lot of noise when out walking. In the warm months see quite a few squashed on the roads. I did run over one on a bike a few years back. Not sure who was more surprised.

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