Apple TV over powerline

captainm1uk · Nov 13, 2013

Hi

Heres my issue. I have 4 ATV 3's in my house running over zyxel power line adapters. these adapters have a power save mode which puts them to sleep if there is no activity after a set time. If my ATV goes to sleep - when I restart it and try to watch a file it cannot connect to iTunes library. Everything else works fine - ie iTunes store, netflix etc but the movie library wont connect unless I switch off and on my power line. Now I know I can set the ATV to never sleep but I'm stumped as to why this does it. I have a QNAP 412 nas - apple networking is enabled and my drives are mounted on my mac

Please can anyone help

blueroom · Nov 13, 2013

Sounds like an issue with the Zyxel adapters, see if there's a firmware update for them.

captainm1uk · Nov 13, 2013

blueroom said:
Sounds like an issue with the Zyxel adapters, see if there's a firmware update for them.

No firmware update - I dont think its the product as I can access all other network features on the unit - I think its the sleep mode thing and the handshake between the apple tv and itunes get lost somehow

blueroom · Nov 13, 2013

I have two ATV3's, a Synology DS212j and AEBS all on wired Ethernet. I've never had any issues with connecting to iTunes running on a Mac.

If you can temporarily run an Ethernet cable to bypass those Xyzel devices that would tell you where the problem is.

captainm1uk · Nov 13, 2013

blueroom said:
I have two ATV3's, a Synology DS212j and AEBS all on wired Ethernet. I've never had any issues with connecting to iTunes running on a Mac.

If you can temporarily run an Ethernet cable to bypass those Xyzel devices that would tell you where the problem is.

Yes so the hard wire is always on and the powerline goes to sleep. Most of the power lines have this feature. My old ones were Lynksis ones and they worked perfectly as they didnt have this feature

Thanks for the info though

hafr · Nov 13, 2013

captainm1uk said:
Yes so the hard wire is always on and the powerline goes to sleep. Most of the power lines have this feature. My old ones were Lynksis ones and they worked perfectly as they didnt have this feature

Thanks for the info though

I've had the same thing happen, both on wifi, Ethernet and power line adapter connected. As far as I've gathered, it's been when either the computer or the atv changed internal ip for whatever reason. Since I put them all on static ip, I haven't had any more problems...

Don't know if it's a coincidence though, but might be worth looking up.

priitv8 · Nov 14, 2013

I'd bet the problem of losing the iTunes library is related to Bonjour but as I've never used a powerline adapter, can't say what's the actual cause.
PS can you start AirPlaying a movie from iTunes side, after the problem occurs?

paulrbeers · Nov 14, 2013

captainm1uk said:
Hi

Heres my issue. I have 4 ATV 3's in my house running over zyxel power line adapters. these adapters have a power save mode which puts them to sleep if there is no activity after a set time. If my ATV goes to sleep - when I restart it and try to watch a file it cannot connect to iTunes library. Everything else works fine - ie iTunes store, netflix etc but the movie library wont connect unless I switch off and on my power line. Now I know I can set the ATV to never sleep but I'm stumped as to why this does it. I have a QNAP 412 nas - apple networking is enabled and my drives are mounted on my mac

Please can anyone help

Anandtech found that the difference between On and sleep for AppleTV's was something like less than 1W, at that rate why even bother having them go to sleep.... If that fixes your problem then I would go that route.

SpinalTap · Nov 14, 2013

I've been using a mixture of Devolo AV+ 200 and 500 plugs since I first bought my AppleTV. I have not experienced the problem that the OP cites.

captainm1uk · Nov 14, 2013

SpinalTap said:
I've been using a mixture of Devolo AV+ 200 and 500 plugs since I first bought my AppleTV. I have not experienced the problem that the OP cites.

Its the power save mode that causes the issue. If its on all the time then it works fine. If the different between on and standby is about 1w then I can live with that. Wifi wakes it ok

----------

priitv8 said:
I'd bet the problem of losing the iTunes library is related to Bonjour but as I've never used a powerline adapter, can't say what's the actual cause.
PS can you start AirPlaying a movie from iTunes side, after the problem occurs?

I havent tried that but if its airplay then I bet it will work as the wifi wakes it up no problem

Cheers

Mrbobb · Nov 14, 2013

WIFI works but does your WIFI stay awake?

I've been having issues with Apple devices not talking to each other and sleep, issues I did not have with Wintel.

priitv8 · Nov 14, 2013

captainm1uk said:
...zyxel power line adapters. these adapters have a power save mode which puts them to sleep if there is no activity after a set time.

captainm1uk said:
Its the power save mode that causes the issue. If its on all the time then it works fine. If the different between on and standby is about 1w then I can live with that.

Well, most of us have probably lost the track on which device's sleep we are talking about. I understood, that the sleep of your powerline adapters is the problem. For me, the Apple TV's sleep has never caused a loss of connection to iTunes. I run it wired, though.

captainm1uk said:
I havent tried that but if its airplay then I bet it will work as the wifi wakes it up no problem

I mean, if your powerline adapters are awoken from sleep, can you connect from computer's side to aTV? I understand, that's not possible from aTV side towards the computer?

captainm1uk · Nov 14, 2013

priitv8 said:
Well, most of us have probably lost the track on which device's sleep we are talking about. I understood, that the sleep of your powerline adapters is the problem. For me, the Apple TV's sleep has never caused a loss of connection to iTunes. I run it wired, though.
I mean, if your powerline adapters are awoken from sleep, can you connect from computer's side to aTV? I understand, that's not possible from aTV side towards the computer?

Yes its getting confusing this

If my ATV goes to sleep and its woken all functionality works apart from my itunes library, ie netflix, apple store etc. I disconnected my power line and used wifi and thats worked fine for me but I have 4 units and all my movies are blu ray rips so there is a lot of buffering. I cant use a hard cable as the wife wont appreciate me drilling (more) holes in the walls ;-)
I will give it a try what you suggested and post results

Thanks

blueroom · Nov 14, 2013

What brand / model are your power line adapters?

steve-p · Nov 15, 2013

Can you not disable the power saving mode of the adapters? I don't have any issues with my Devolo adapters, and no problem with power saving mode because of my network configuration. At one end the powerline connects to the router, which is always on and therefore won't allow the adapter to sleep. At the other end, in my AV cabinet, the power adapter is connected to an 8 port switch, which also doesn't allow the adapter to sleep. The switch is connected to ATV, TV, AVR, Xbox etc and it all works great. If you have other devices where your ATV is, currently connected using WiFi, then a $25 switch would probably solve your issue and improve throughput on your WiFi for other things too.

captainm1uk · Nov 15, 2013

steve-p said:
Can you not disable the power saving mode of the adapters? I don't have any issues with my Devolo adapters, and no problem with power saving mode because of my network configuration. At one end the powerline connects to the router, which is always on and therefore won't allow the adapter to sleep. At the other end, in my AV cabinet, the power adapter is connected to an 8 port switch, which also doesn't allow the adapter to sleep. The switch is connected to ATV, TV, AVR, Xbox etc and it all works great. If you have other devices where your ATV is, currently connected using WiFi, then a $25 switch would probably solve your issue and improve throughput on your WiFi for other things too.

One one side my my powerline connect to my router, at the other end I have another power line connecting to a switch where my ATV plugs into. The router side is fine as its always on and doesnt let the powerline go to sleep. The other side relies on the connecting devices. I cant run a cable to my router as my fire place is in the way - this would solve my issue. I also have devices upstairs that have the same issue

----------

blueroom said:
What brand / model are your power line adapters?

Hi

Here they are

http://www.zyxel.com/uk/en/products_services/pla4201_v2.shtml?t=p

captainm1uk · Nov 15, 2013

captainm1uk said:
One one side my my powerline connect to my router, at the other end I have another power line connecting to a switch where my ATV plugs into. The router side is fine as its always on and doesnt let the powerline go to sleep. The other side relies on the connecting devices. I cant run a cable to my router as my fire place is in the way - this would solve my issue. I also have devices upstairs that have the same issue

----------

Hi

Here they are

http://www.zyxel.com/uk/en/products_services/pla4201_v2.shtml?t=p

Anyone recommend some powerlines that dont contain a power saving mode ?

alFR · Nov 22, 2013

captainm1uk said:
Anyone recommend some powerlines that dont contain a power saving mode ?

Solwise sell a lot of Homeplug/Powerline stuff, maybe give them a call/drop them an email and see what they recommend? They're pretty helpful.

835153 · Nov 22, 2013

I've got TP link adapters with sleep function. Every 2 minutes they wake to check the line and then go back to sleep (annoying lights at night). I have no problems with my AppleTV in fact they've made it all the more enjoyable to use as its obviously 'snappier' than when using WiFi.

For anyone that has never tried Powerline adapters I HIGHLY recommend them. These are the ones I have (4 of them).

Heres my network if anyone is interested.

skantrow · Sep 15, 2014

no ethernet connection over powerline

I am trying to connect ATV to a Zyxel PLA5215 powerline adapter. The adapter functions well when connected by ethernet cable to my Blu-Ray, but with the ATV cannot find an ethernet connection. The network test checks out okay, but no networks/no netflix coming through. All come through fine when I detach the ethernet cable and the connection reverts to wireless. Any suggestions for making the ethernet connection work? Apple suggests taking the unit in to have the ethernet port checked; AT&T (Uverse is my internet provider) doesn't know how to set a manual IP address and doesn't know if that would fix the problem; Apple says it should work fine with a self-assigned IP.

Any suggestions?

2010mini · Sep 16, 2014

OP,

Is you home currently wired for cable tv (coaxial)

If so you can use Verizon Fios Actiontec routers to extend your wired and/or wireless coverage in your home. Broadband over coaxial is way better than by powerline.

You will need 2 of them for your application (eBay) the physical set up would look like this:

Your main router>Actiontec 1>coaxial line>Actiontec 2>Apple TV (LAN)

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/36-home-v-distribution/1145636-actiontec-mi424wr-cheap-moca-bridge-all.html#/forumsite/3207/topics/1145636

LDec · Sep 16, 2014

I had similar issue with Cisco and the only cure was to leave Apple TV to play radio or anything from iTunes.

Apple TV over powerline

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