Why are my older videos pixelated but new ones aren't?

Question

Why are my older videos pixelated but new ones aren't?

I have home movies going back over 10 years, and the ones that are a bit older are all pixelated (is that the right term?) when I play them back on the Apple TV. The odd thing is, if I stream them from my Mac instead of playing them from the Apple TV 'My Computer' menu, they aren't pixelated. And, newer videos are not pixelated, nor are any movies that I have bought directly from iTunes.

All of the videos were converted using the same video settings that I have been using for years (1280x720, 23.976 frame rate, H.264, 4000kbps per second bit rate), so I don't know why the older ones would have playback problems and the newer ones wouldn't.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Posted on Jun 20, 2016 12:44 PM

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Answer 1

Rysz

Level 8

44,455 points

Jun 20, 2016 5:10 PM in response to boogerseyeball

Do you have iCloud Photo Library enabled?

If you set your local Photos Library to be Optimized, the My Computer option in Apple TV is likely accessing reduce-resolution files. Change Photos settings to keep Originals (full-resolution) files on your local drive.

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Answer 2

Jun 21, 2016 4:29 AM in response to boogerseyeball

boogerseyeball wrote:

.....The odd thing is, if I stream them from my Mac instead of playing them from the Apple TV 'My Computer' menu, they aren't pixelated....

I'm not really sure of how you are playing these movies could you please explain in a little more detail.

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Answer 3

Jun 21, 2016 4:31 AM in response to Rysz

Rysz wrote:

Do you have iCloud Photo Library enabled?

If you set your local Photos Library to be Optimized, the My Computer option in Apple TV is likely accessing reduce-resolution files. Change Photos settings to keep Originals (full-resolution) files on your local drive.

So far as I have seen, optimised movies in Photos are nothing more than a poster frame, in which case they just would play at all rather than at a reduced resolution. Movies in shared albums may well be reduced.

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Answer 4

Jun 21, 2016 6:30 AM in response to Rysz

Thank you for the response. I do not have iCloud Photo Library enabled. And the pixelation is with my Home Videos that I am playing from My Computer on the Apple TV Menu. As I said, they don't pixelate when I simply stream them from my Mac to the Apple TV, only when I try through the Apple TV My Computer Menu.

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Answer 5

Jun 21, 2016 6:36 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Thank you for the reply, and yes here is some more detail. On my Mac I have a folder called Home Videos. I use Home Sharing to play these videos on my Apple TV (latest version), using the 'My Computer' menu (the orange one with the computer silhouette and the 'Play' button in the center) on the Apple TV.

For new videos, ones I've converted in say the past couple of years, they play perfectly, as do any movies that I have bought from iTunes and are stored on my Mac. However, for my older videos they all pixelate. If I instead play the videos on my Mac and then just use AirPlay to stream them to the Apple TV, they play fine, even the older ones.

I can't quite figure out why this would be since the video settings are all the same, and I don't know why they would pixelate if I play using the 'My Computer' menu but not when I stream.

If you have any advice, guidance or thoughts on this I would be grateful as it is quite aggravating. Thank you!

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Answer 6

philcool

Level 1

93 points

Jun 21, 2016 6:40 AM in response to boogerseyeball

it's because of your internet connection! imagine if you watch a movie online like youtube and you are using slow internet the resolution and quality will be low! and if you're using a speed internet you'll have more better resolution

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Answer 7

Jun 21, 2016 6:46 AM in response to philcool

Philcool,

Thank you for the reply. I don't think that's it, because the pixelation is only with older videos and the exact same videos play perfectly when I use AirPlay instead of the Apple TV My Computer menu. I also tried on both 5G and 2.4 and the result was the same.

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Answer 8

Jun 21, 2016 7:14 AM in response to boogerseyeball

It's nothing to do with your internet connection.

I find this rather strange. If you use airplay from the menu in the iTunes window, it is (or should be) exactly the same file in use, the original file is sent to the Apple TV where its temporarily downloaded for decoding and playback by the Apple TV, the quality should be identical. AirPlay mirroring may be a little different since your Mac is sending whats on your screen not the original file, but if anything this would likely be a little worse not better.

The only logical explanation that I can see based on what I'm understanding of the situation is that they aren't the same files, could you have created some iPod versions for example. The only other thought is that somehow homesharing isn't performing as well as airplay from the Mac, but all video would presumably behave the same way which you say it doesn't and pausing it and restarting would resolve the problem.

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Answer 9

Jun 21, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Winston Churchill

Thank you for the response. I don't think they are separate files but I'll have a look just to be sure.

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