drew.mun
Level 1 (4 points)
Apple TV

Q: Apple TV 802.11ac (Streaming) Question

I have four Apple Tv (4th gens) in all rooms of the house. I stream lots of movies/tv shows. My router is a Technicolor TC8715D Cable Modem 'Wireless N' router provided by Time Warner Cable. The maximum speeds I am able to get is about 325mbps if I'm hard wired. My wireless speeds are about 100mbps. If I purchase a wireless AC router, will see a significant speed increase?
I get some hiccups and freezes using the N router.

 

I use the VLC app to (wirelessly) stream my movies and tv shows. Hard wiring won't work because most of the files are MKV's.
(Apple doesn't support that)

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), null

Posted on Jul 29, 2016 9:37 AM

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drew.mun

Q: Apple TV 802.11ac (Streaming) Question

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  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jul 29, 2016 12:32 PM in response to drew.mun
    Level 10 (85,433 points)
    iPod
    Jul 29, 2016 12:32 PM in response to drew.mun

    I don't know the answer to your question, but there is a VLC app for Apple TV 4 which might help.

     

    tt2

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Jul 30, 2016 7:48 AM in response to drew.mun
    Level 10 (103,421 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 30, 2016 7:48 AM in response to drew.mun

    There is no reason that an n network shouldn,'t be sufficient or work with your Apple TV, if it isn't there is something wrong on the network, you should fix it instead of looking for another protocol that might actually have the same problems.

  • by drew.mun,

    drew.mun drew.mun Jul 30, 2016 1:03 PM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 30, 2016 1:03 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    My N Router works fine but when I'm streaming lots of video/media, Apple TV sometimes freezes up.

    I thought by purchasing an AC router and connecting to the Apple TV's would be easier to stream the content since the Apple TV's 4th gen have also 802.11ac

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Jul 30, 2016 2:46 PM in response to drew.mun
    Level 10 (103,421 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 30, 2016 2:46 PM in response to drew.mun

    I have seven Apple TV's at home, I have an n network at 2.4 GHz, I have a 16 mbps service from my ISP and I don't have any issues. I don't believe that you should have any issues with your specifications as you describe them, if you do it is (IMO) because it's not working properly and not because an n network is inadequate.

     

    Furthermore an n network can work at 2.4 and 5 GHz, an ac network will only operate at 5 GHz. 5 GHz is often chosen because it avoids the bandwidth used by cordless (not mobile) phones, baby monitors, bluetooth and the like. This sounds like, and indeed is in many cases a good thing, since many people would otherwise suffer interference from these other sources, however it comes at a price.

     

    5 GHz is less capable of penetrating than 2.4 GHz, this applies to air and as such means that in ideal conditions with no obstructions it's range is significantly less than 2.4 GHz, it also applies to other matter too and as such has great difficulty penetrating solid walls.

     

    802.11ac has a theoretical maximum which is 3 times that of the theoretical maximum of 802.11n, but for various reasons it wouldn't surprise me if your real life improvement was little more than 1 ½ times.

     

    Finally, if your router is provided by your provider, if things go wrong you can call them, have them troubleshoot it and if necessary replace it, they will not do this if you replace it with your own.

     

    By all means get yourself a new router if you wish to, I think it would be rather unlikely to be a step backwards, but at the same time it may not actually resolve your problem.