My first AppleTV experience STINKS! [Archive]

Wingnut330

Mar 15, 2008, 09:48 PM

cohibadad

Mar 15, 2008, 10:20 PM

if it stops for you, it is your network connection. You would need to let it buffer more. Mine queues up within a minute (I've rented Michael Clayton HD) and plays without any stops. I have my :apple:TVs connected by wireless N. If anything, Apple could make it buffer sufficiently so that it would play without stops but I suspect in your case it would need to be at 25-50%.

Wingnut330

Mar 15, 2008, 10:31 PM

How do I change the buffer?

I'm over 20 stops now!

wvuwhat

Mar 15, 2008, 10:43 PM

How do I change the buffer?

I'm over 20 stops now!

Are you on an "N" network? I had it on a wireless G network and had those problems, but a simple purchase of an AEBS changed all of that. I found out that if you got the message that the movie was ready, if you waited a little while longer I didn't have any stops.

Wingnut330

Mar 15, 2008, 10:54 PM

Cave Man

Mar 15, 2008, 10:59 PM

My ISP only has 1.5 mbps download (really, less than that). I start my HD downloads the night before I want to watch, because they take about 4 to 6 hours do completely download.

AMessy

Mar 15, 2008, 11:22 PM

I have my :apple:tv connected to my wireless g network (airport express) and when I download the HD movies they are ready to watch in approx 30 to 40 seconds. Most of the time I start to watch them as soon as they are ready and have not had one problem with them stopping to buffer. I suspect that your problem lies in your connection speed. You should try one of the online connection speed test to see what your connection speed is at. If it is less than your ISP advertised maybe you can complain to them and see if they can help.

Good luck, I can see how your experience would be less than acceptable with the constant buffering.

veedubdrew

Mar 16, 2008, 01:42 AM

Your connection speed is more important than your wireless type (b/g/n). I'm on a 1.5mbps connection and I have to let it start an hour or so before I start watching for it not to hiccup on me.

I'd suggest calling your ISP and increasing your download speed. That, or rent it then start watching it an hour later so that there's a good buffer going before the movie starts.

As it is now, you're not getting enough data throughput to keep up with how fast the movie is playing.

Music_Producer

Mar 16, 2008, 02:18 AM

lazydesi

Mar 16, 2008, 02:23 AM

. If I take my apple tv to india.. and try it on the 56k network there.. I think it might take a week to simply start the movie!

FYI in India we have a speed up to 8Mbps

take it to arizona or some uncivilized places in USA

shigzeo

Mar 16, 2008, 06:25 AM

This has nothing to do with your apple tv.. I think you should change your thread title to 'My ISP speed stinks'

I have Verizon FIOS and Apple tv works great for me, even with HD movies. If I take my apple tv to india.. and try it on the 56k network there.. I think it might take a week to simply start the movie!

definately the sort of well thought out comment i would expect here. yeah, network is the biggest bottleneck.

hint: when you go to india, it would be nice if you can refrain from explaining how much 'better' your country is - happens all the time here and frightenly maddening. but it is always good for a laugh

Wingnut330

Mar 16, 2008, 08:34 AM

Could be the network, but I pay for roadrunner cable services, so comparing that ti 56K is a bit of a stretch...

watanabe

Mar 16, 2008, 08:47 AM

I'm new to the apple tv myself, but don't recall seeing any buffer settings. I think the way you would do proceed would be to buy the movie, and once it starts playing, hit pause. The download would continue, I'd hope, in effect, building up a buffer.

On a possibly related noted, I had read an article about cable internet service, and how it would give bursts of bandwidth matching the advertised speed, but the throughput over an extended time was terrible.

The buffer will only smooth out hiccups for you, if networks rates have slowed down to a rate slower than what the movie requires, your screwed for the duration until the network recovers, I'd imagine. And a HD movie is going to press the envelope of things, thats for sure.

megfilmworks

Mar 16, 2008, 09:29 AM

I wish posters would think before they post. This is not a Apple TV issue. It could be interference on your wifi network or just slow download speeds. I have rented well over a dozen movies and have had no issues. Ready to play in less than one minute and no hiccups. (And I only rent HD)

aristobrat

Mar 16, 2008, 09:49 AM

Could be the network, but I pay for roadrunner cable services, so comparing that ti 56K is a bit of a stretch...
If Road Runner's cable Internet services are anything like Cox Cable's where I live, then they offer packages with speeds slow enough to cause the buffering issues that you're talking about.

When this happens, the only thing you can do is PAUSE the movie for a few minutes and let it buffer some more.

I suppose that Apple could program the AppleTV to prevent you from continuing to watch the movie when the network speeds aren't pushing the movie fast enough, but I personally prefer the choice of pausing it myself or dealing with the stutters.

This isn't any different than watching a YouTube video/movie trailer on your computer that starts off streaming quickly and then majorly slows down towards the middle.

pjac

Mar 16, 2008, 09:56 AM

mallbritton

Mar 16, 2008, 11:08 AM

Yes - that's what people do :)

Since I get to "keep" the movie for 30 days I rent movies that I will want to watch in advance, then watch them when I have time.

Honestly, I don't expect to be able to watch a Hi Def movie within seconds of renting so I don't even try. By the time I sit down to watch the movie the entire movie is sitting on the hard drive of my :apple:TV and I don't get any pauses for buffering. It causes much less stress.

If folks would plan ahead, just a little bit, they wouldn't have these complaints about movies pausing to buffer.

Regards,
Michael

AMessy

Mar 16, 2008, 04:14 PM

Could be the network, but I pay for roadrunner cable services, so comparing that ti 56K is a bit of a stretch...

Use the www.speedtest.net test and see what your connection speed it. I have the standard Time Warner Road Runner service and usually get between 6 - 7 Mbps. It may be different in your area but you should check what your speed is to see if that is for sure your problem.

chiefpavvy

Mar 16, 2008, 04:29 PM

Bandwidth is key.

It runs like smooth butter at home on my 20Mbit Cable. (Wired)

I also have an AppleTV which I travel with. It doesn't work nearly as well with some of the slower broadband (hotels, for example.)

gnasher729

Mar 16, 2008, 05:15 PM

As I'm typing this I'm trying to watch my first movie via my :apple:TV. I took it out of the box, connected it to the network and rented Michael Clayton in HD. We have been watching the movie for 46 mintues and it (as it is now) has stopped at least 10 times. Very poor user experience IMO. I understand there are network latency issues, but I thought they had this all figured out. If you can't watch a movie at 10PM on a Saturday night without interruptions, what's the point? Make that 11 times it has stopped.

Apparently Apple didn't manage to magically increase the bandwidth that your ISPs supplies to you. Normal movies need 1.5 MBit/sec bandwidth, HDTV needs about 5MBit/sec. If that bandwidth is not there, then there is nothing that Apple can do about that.

jessica.

Mar 16, 2008, 05:41 PM

Could be the network, but I pay for roadrunner cable services, so comparing that ti 56K is a bit of a stretch...
Your first ATV experience was ruined by Roadrunner not Apple. Sorry but as every one else has said it is not the ATV. Like you I too pay for Roadrunner service and I easily compare it to 56K. It is better than dial up, not as great as my Cox cable in South OC was (comparing the basic internet vs basic internet) but not as good as it should be. To circumvent that I have to pay $10 extra every month to get "extreme" speeds which appear to be less than Cox "extreme" but better than what I get using their basic service.

Apparently Apple didn't manage to magically increase the bandwidth that your ISPs supplies to you. Normal movies need 1.5 MBit/sec bandwidth, HDTV needs about 5MBit/sec. If that bandwidth is not there, then there is nothing that Apple can do about that.
Really? Because I thought by getting Apple stickers I didn't get the magical bandwidth increase. I was about to return my ATV. :D

Wingnut330

Mar 17, 2008, 08:11 AM

Wow - some of you folks are sensitive about this and downright nasty. I guess emotion shows passion...some of you are very passionate about your technology.

I posted my comments out of frustration and was curious if anyone else had the same issues. After spending weeks telling my wife how great this product was, we're sitting in a dark room with my new toy- the AppleTV, and waiting for my movie to load. Once it did, I expected it to play because that's what I read from other user experiences

My point is this. I thought the device would only show the movie as ready to play when it knew it was good to go. Regardless if that means 45 seconds of buffering or 45 mins of buffering.

The best advice I've heard is to buy the movie in advance and let it queue up. Not bad advice, but I'm just frustrated because my XBOX doesn't lag when watching movies and when I order a movie directly from my cable provider, it doesn't lag either.

I expected the same result with my Apple TV and didn't get it.

Scarpad

Mar 17, 2008, 08:18 AM

As I'm typing this I'm trying to watch my first movie via my :apple:TV. I took it out of the box, connected it to the network and rented Michael Clayton in HD. We have been watching the movie for 46 mintues and it (as it is now) has stopped at least 10 times. Very poor user experience IMO. I understand there are network latency issues, but I thought they had this all figured out. If you can't watch a movie at 10PM on a Saturday night without interruptions, what's the point? Make that 11 times it has stopped.

Very very disappointed in this product. Is anyone else having this problem?

Hmm I assume you rented it from Itunes. And you must've started while it was Downloading, I have'nt done that yet, I rented the Hi Def version of the movie and watched it several days later, so of course it was all on the ATV's Hard Drive at that point. I could see where downloading and buffering might be a problem, thats why I always DL early.

mchalebk

Mar 17, 2008, 08:34 AM

I have been on an extended business trip for 6 weeks now and have stayed at two different hotels. My company provided me with a laptop that I can take back to my room every night. This has been my first chance to try out the NetFlix online movies. At my first hotel, I used a wired connection. If I watched during the day, it worked fine. If I watched during the evening, it would often start up okay, but as the evening moved on, I would get pauses where it would say "your internet connection has slowed". It would then take a while to buffer and start up again. This would get worse and worse to the point of being unwatchable.

My present hotel has wireless broadband. I've tried a couple of times to watch something on NetFlix. It starts okay, and then I get the "connection has slowed" message and it tells me it's going to take a while.

What does this have to do with AppleTV? It's obvious that there are a lot of things that can affect the download of large files. When you have a cable internet connection, you are sharing bandwidth with your neighbors. It could be that the AppleTV tells you it's okay to start watching, then one of your neighbors starts downloading some large files (NetFlix perhaps) and your connection slows after you get started. Also, if you're using a wireless connection, there could be occasional interference causing some issues.

Wingnut330

Mar 17, 2008, 08:40 AM

Hmm I assume you rented it from Itunes. And you must've started while it was Downloading, I have'nt done that yet, I rented the Hi Def version of the movie and watched it several days later, so of course it was all on the ATV's Hard Drive at that point. I could see where downloading and buffering might be a problem, thats why I always DL early.

That's exactly what I did - I rented the movie and when it told me I was good to go, I pressed play. I guess in the future, I will pre-download it. Actually, I'll probably check movies on demand from the cable provider to see if the movie I want is available there and if not then try the iTunes/AppleTV route.

What does this have to do with AppleTV? It's obvious that there are a lot of things that can affect the download of large files. When you have a cable internet connection, you are sharing bandwidth with your neighbors. It could be that the AppleTV tells you it's okay to start watching, then one of your neighbors starts downloading some large files (NetFlix perhaps) and your connection slows after you get started. Also, if you're using a wireless connection, there could be occasional interference causing some issues.

Fair points, but it's disappointing nonetheless. It's simple really, disapointment comes when your expecations aren't met. Mine weren't - regardless of where the problem lies, mine weren't met. I've come to expect more out of Apple as a switcher from the Windows world. I was disappointed. Nothing personal folks...

mallbritton

Mar 17, 2008, 08:47 AM

The best advice I've heard is to buy the movie in advance and let it queue up. Not bad advice, but I'm just frustrated because my XBOX doesn't lag when watching movies and when I order a movie directly from my cable provider, it doesn't lag either.

I can't speak to the Xbox experience, since I've never used it but I can say comparing downloading and watching a Hi Def movie on :apple:TV and ordering a pay-per-view and watching it from cable isn't quite comparable. When you order that movie from your cable provider your cable box isn't downloading a file to a local hard drive, it is simply decoding a signal so you can watch it. The :apple:TV actually downloads a file to the local hard drive. So of course this will take more time than ordering a movie from cable.

As to the Xbox experience, are the movies you're downloading also Hi Def? If not, Standard Def movies will download and be ready to play must sooner than a Hi Def file and will not require as much buffering.

I suggest if you slightly modify your expectations, and your renting habits you'll be happier with the product.

Regards,
Michael

kbunch

Mar 17, 2008, 09:08 AM

FYI in India we have a speed up to 8Mbps

take it to arizona or some uncivilized places in USA

I am in Tucson Arizona, and we are civilized thank you very much. I have 12 MB Cox cable. I get 12 off peak and about 6-8 during peak. Best internet connection I have had yet. My HD movies take about 15 seconds to buffer enough to watch.

To the OP it is your internet connection that is the problem. Also unless you have internet speeds over 22 MB it does not matter if you go wireless G/N or even wired. Wireless G runs at 54 MB half duplexed. That means you get 22 MB for upload and 22 MB download. So unless your internet is faster then 22 MB your wireless does not matter.

Lets think of it this way. Your internet is your water pipe from the city. It can only carry so much volume. In your house if you have HUGE pipes (think eithernet) to carry the water it would not matter. You would still only get a trickle from the city.

cohibadad

Mar 17, 2008, 11:05 AM

interesting. xbox streams movies better than :apple:TV for you. I've done both and I had to wait longer for the xbox movie to say ready than :apple:TV. I've always rented HD on both. Something seems odd that's why I wonder if it is not your ISP as something to do with your network and the :apple:TV. Also keep in mind that if your :apple:TV is connected wirelessly and you are simultaneously using up your network wireless bandwidth with other devices it can severely effect streaming performance.

mr_matalino

Mar 17, 2008, 11:18 AM

FYI in India we have a speed up to 8Mbps

take it to arizona or some uncivilized places in USA

Excuse me. I live in AZ. I have 9Mbps. And that's not even the fastest connection they offer :D

jessica.

Mar 17, 2008, 11:33 AM

snip
I've come to expect more out of Apple as a switcher from the Windows world. I was disappointed. Nothing personal folks...

Yes but as a switcher you expect Apple to somehow change something that they don't even control. I don't want to sound like a fan-girl here but it is the truth. If you step back for a second you'll realize Apple isn't the be-all-end-all and in the end they cannot control the cable company...yet. :)

dejo

Mar 17, 2008, 12:04 PM

Wingnut330, it would better help those trying to respond if you posted some speed test times for your connection, particularly those taken at times where you would like to be downloading your movie (e.g. Saturday at 10PM). Since you are on a cable connection, you are sharing your bandwidth with your neighbors. If they're using a lot of the bandwidth at the same time, you cannot expect download speeds to be that good. Could you run a speed test (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/) and let us know the results? Thanks.

gnasher729

Mar 17, 2008, 01:25 PM

What does this have to do with AppleTV? It's obvious that there are a lot of things that can affect the download of large files. When you have a cable internet connection, you are sharing bandwidth with your neighbors. It could be that the AppleTV tells you it's okay to start watching, then one of your neighbors starts downloading some large files (NetFlix perhaps) and your connection slows after you get started. Also, if you're using a wireless connection, there could be occasional interference causing some issues.

It may not even be the bandwidth sharing, at home it may happen that your ISP slows down your download speed. Lets say an HD movie is 4 GB. You start downloading, and the Apple TV thinks the download speed is plenty to start viewing immediately. Then after 1 GB and a quarter of the movie, your ISP decides that what you pay them doesn't entitle you to download 4 GB at high speed, so from then on the download goes at half speed. Nothing that Apple can do there.

(I am told that some ISPs in Britain sell for example 8MBit/second access, but after a few hundred megabytes it goes down to 1MBit/second for the rest of the day).

megfilmworks

Mar 17, 2008, 02:15 PM

Wow - some of you folks are sensitive about this and downright nasty. I guess emotion shows passion...some of you are very passionate about your technology.

I think the reactions you are getting have to do with the title of your thread.
Capitalizing stink, blaming ATV and generally not having a clue.
If you were just asking a question or looking for responses you would be better off with a legitimate thread title.

mchalebk

Mar 17, 2008, 04:08 PM

Very very disappointed in this product. It's not just the title, it's the content of the original post. If you started a thread saying "How come I can't watch without pausing" you'd get a much different reaction. People want to help, but they can get testy when they feel blame is being cast where it doesn't belong.

aross99

Mar 17, 2008, 04:34 PM

I have rented 4-5 HD movies now, and each one started about a minute or two after I purchased it. I have a standard 6MB Comcast connection, and 802.11n on the AEBS.

It is pretty clear that you need a consistant connection around this speed before you can reliably watch HD movies right away. Alot of people seem to have slower DSL connections (less than 2MB) and they seem to have to wait.

Wingnut330

Mar 18, 2008, 08:18 AM

MikieMikie

Mar 18, 2008, 12:22 PM

Fair points, but it's disappointing nonetheless. It's simple really, disapointment comes when your expecations aren't met. Mine weren't - regardless of where the problem lies, mine weren't met. I've come to expect more out of Apple as a switcher from the Windows world. I was disappointed. Nothing personal folks...

I completely understand your frustration. With your experience as a teacher, I will continue to rent but will wait until it has completely downloaded before starting to watch.

I am rarely disappointed by Apple's products, and I have happily spent many hard-earned dollars on their products. I'm afraid that, for me, both Leopard and Take 2 have been more trouble than they're worth.

As long as I am careful in managing my expectations, my Apple TV will still continue to serve me well. When I start to believe The Steve's hype, however, I get disappointed -- reality rarely matches his zeal.

saltyzoo

Mar 18, 2008, 12:29 PM

Could be the network, but I pay for roadrunner cable services, so comparing that ti 56K is a bit of a stretch...

Tell your neighbor to stop downloading porn while you are trying to watch a movie.

cable modem users share bandwidth with other local users. During peak times you aren't going to be able to download fast enough to watch a streamed movie.

Buy it and give it 30 min before watching. Pop some popcorn, take a shower. Read a book.

whynot83706

Mar 18, 2008, 02:52 PM

Are you on an "N" network? I had it on a wireless G network and had those problems, but a simple purchase of an AEBS changed all of that. I found out that if you got the message that the movie was ready, if you waited a little while longer I didn't have any stops.

I have a question, is there going to be an significant transfer speed upgrade when going from my Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router to the Time Capsule? and I know it depends on my Net speed...but I am just trying to see if is worth spending money for going from the perfectly working G eouter to the N router....

jim.arrows

Mar 18, 2008, 04:13 PM

I have a question, is there going to be an significant transfer speed upgrade when going from my Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router to the Time Capsule? and I know it depends on my Net speed...but I am just trying to see if is worth spending money for going from the perfectly working G eouter to the N router....

Sync'ing from your iMac to the aTV will be faster, but you probably won't notice a difference downloading from iTS (unless you have Fios or Comcast Blast that can actually saturate your wireless connection speed). So the answer to your question, as always, it depends.

Wingnut330

Mar 18, 2008, 10:03 PM

For those of you asking that I test my connection, here are my results from www.speedtest.net...

Download: 6751 kb/s
Upload: 476 kb/s

saltyzoo

Mar 19, 2008, 04:45 AM

For those of you asking that I test my connection, here are my results from www.speedtest.net...

Download: 6751 kb/s
Upload: 476 kb/s

Doesn't mean much now. You would need to test it when you are having problems. As I said above, you're sharing bandwidth so if people in your neighborhood are idle, you're bandwidth will be higher.

TallManNY

Mar 19, 2008, 08:06 AM

Try five or 10 minutes of buffer. That should be plenty to get you through. Maybe add a five minute intermission in the middle while you get beverages and make a pit stop.

Downloading the whole movie beforehand kind of defeats part of the purpose of AppleTV. Maybe some movies are "must see" to you, but when you are sharing your viewing with your wife, she may have different desires. There is only so much room on the 40GB ATV, so you will have to make some choices. Especially if you put your music and some pictures on there an they use up space.

I've liked my experience so far. I've downloaded ahead of time and done standard movies on a straight stream. But the HDs I always give at least ten minutes of buffer. I just don't trust my internet connection.

My biggest problem is that the selection of movies is more limited than I thought it was going to be. Or at least it isn't growing at quite the pace that I thought it would (or that was Apple's goal). But since I don't subscribe to cable television, this is the best thing I've got to a ready video source on my TV (or should I say, hi-def projector (we are on a geek site, so got to give props to the toys)).