Apple TV 4th generation shows movie glitches

Question

Level 1

16 points

Apple TV 4th generation shows movie glitches

Hi,

I do have an issue with the quality of movies on Apple TV (latest HW and SW). First I recognised it only on homemade videos and thought it is an issue of the video source. Now I realised that the glitches appear also on iTunes movies I do see the very same or at least similar problem. Here is what I found out:

- video glitches appear that seem to discard a few milliseconds of content (the content "jumps" a little bit further). The effect is not that bad that you don't watch movies, but it is visible for everyone, if you concentrate. It is disturbing for people that love good picture quality.

- it seems to come with an regular interval but depending on movies (in London has Fallen it was around every 2 seconds)

- it is not visible in all situations, i.e. it depends on the dynamic of the screen in the movie

- it seems to be only visible if the picture changes more, i.e. in situations when the perspective of the filmed scene does not change, i.e. people talking while the rest of the picture is still - no issues are visible. While if in the very same scene the perspective changes (i.e. the camera is moving or zooming in), one can see the effect every 2 sec

- e.g. on comics (Zoomania) I could not see the effect (maybe too little dynamic in the pictures compared to real world movies), while in normal movies it is visible (e.g. London has fallen).

- also interesting: I thought I would be able to observe the effect more clearly at the end of the movie in the credits. However, the dynamic there seems to be too little that the problem occurs - there were no glitches visible at all

As a conclusion: there are glitches, they appear regularly but intervals seem to depend on movies, the problem is reproducible, it is not visible in every situation but depends on the dynamic of the movie

The Apple hotline is not knowing this issue (at least not the agent I talked with) and recommends to go to a store to see whether the issue appears there also.

Has anyone similar or the same issues?

BTW, I do not think it is an network issue as I run:

- fixed IP address

- have 100MBS network connectivity externally and 1GBS LAN internal of my home

- no whatsoever issues related to network appeared so far with the ATV

I also do have a regular cable connectivity to the TV (no golden standard HDMI cable, but also no nonane, length 1m).

BR

Alex

Apple TV

Posted on Aug 10, 2016 6:12 AM

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Answer 1

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Aug 10, 2016 6:25 AM in response to Alex Ku

you have a 100MBS network so the ATV is hard wired or are you broadcasting wi-fi? If wi-fi you are not getting 100MBS and either wi-fi or directly connected you are still subject to the inherent design of a UDP stream of the data.

The glitches can be interrupts in your network or your service providers network. Streaming services generally use UDP transmissions which unlike TCP transmissions do not check data. So when an apparent "error" comes down the pipe their is no way for the stream to intercept and correct for it, you see it. UPD is preferred for this type of broadcast as it's faster than TCP which requires a checksum for all data.

what you can try:

Suspend any other device on your network that may be using bandwidth.

Make sure you ATV is up-to-date with updates

Refer this document and compare your configuration to Apples recommended configuration.

Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points - Apple Support

lastly you can disconnect your router and plug directly into your cable modem or DSL. If the problem is no longer apparent it is possibly your router, if the problem is it could very well be your ISP, in which case they should be able to audit your data and determine what the cause is.

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Answer 2

Alex Ku Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 10, 2016 6:37 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT

Hi,

I am hard wired, no Wifi connectivity used to ATV. The other check you mentioned is very complicated for me as my modem is downstairs...100MBS is the connectivity I get from my network provider. Internally I use 1GBS in my home wherever applicable. As I do have the very same issues with self produced content streamed from my iMac, it cannot be an issue with the network provider, however it could be an issue with the modem as I also use it as internal router.

I do not believe in an network issue tough...lets see...

BR

Alex

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Answer 3

Aug 10, 2016 7:18 AM in response to Alex Ku

Alex,

If your TV can handle it, you might get better results by switching the ATV video output between 50 and 60 Hz depending on the program content. European content is likely 50 Hz, while American content and movies are likely better with 60 Hz. It's a bit of a guessing game, and only those with dual-frequency TVs can play.

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