Home Sharing Performance question

[odditie]

Last week I got an Apple TV and set it up so I can use home sharing to watch movies directly off my computer (I have a major project going of converting my DVDs to files via Handbrake). I found that the performance and load times were great despite the laptop being on wifi once I hooked my Apple TV up to my router via ethernet.

The issue is that I also want to stream the videos to my iPad, which I obviously only have wifi as an option. So far it has been hit or miss.

My ultimate goal is to add all the movies onto an external HD hooked up to an old Mac Mini I own and have that wired in. Do you think that will make the difference in performance I am looking for? I often times use the iPad on the opposite end of my apartment and get below average wifi signal there. Last night when I saw the issues the laptop was next to the iPad and both had below average signal while I was testing things.

Someday I'd like to also have a second Apple TV on that end of the apartment, but I worry about performance now for that idea as well.

Will wiring in the computer (even though it will be on an external USB HD) resolve this issue? Will having an Apple TV in that same area work out or should I assume that I'm just asking for trouble?

 

[Gav2k]

Yes it'll make a difference. Home sharing always works better when the server is wired rather than wireless.

 

[odditie]

Yes it'll make a difference. Home sharing always works better when the server is wired rather than wireless.

OK, thanks. I guess I was worried that the benefit I had with using wired would be lost somewhat with having it moved to an external. Or that the wifi signal being weak was my ultimate issue and wired wouldn't save me from that.

 

[Gav2k]

OK, thanks. I guess I was worried that the benefit I had with using wired would be lost somewhat with having it moved to an external. Or that the wifi signal being weak was my ultimate issue and wired wouldn't save me from that.

Your router does play a huge part in the process but most issues are resolved when the server is wired as it cuts the network (wifi side) down massively

 

[GarrettL1979]

Upgrading from an old Linksys router to an Airport Extreme made a HUGE difference for us. We don't have our MBP or ATV3 connected by ethernet, and it works great.

 

[EvilC5]

I guess it also depends on your wifi performance too. I get between 50 and 70 mbps on iDevices, and 150 mbps on my new macbook pro wifi. I have streamed movies to my sons ATV3 with no problems although my mini i stream from is wired, also done airplay mirror from laptop wireless to ATV3. Ideally im sure wired is better, but if your wifi is setup well, you should be able to get good speeds.

im running 2 extremes wired 2 my fios router on 2 different floors in bridged mode.

 

[odditie]

Upgrading from an old Linksys router to an Airport Extreme made a HUGE difference for us. We don't have our MBP or ATV3 connected by ethernet, and it works great.

Good to know, we upgraded to a low end Linksys router 3-4 months ago.

 

[davids8477]

Good to know, we upgraded to a low end Linksys router 3-4 months ago.

Also with the Airport, you can have 2 different frequencies running. You can use one for your server (if needed) and the other for the devices. That way you do not bog down your wireless network as much.

 

[utekineir]

Home sharing server demands are quite low.

Recently I tried setting up iTunes and home share on an old single core 1gb ram wifi (g?) netbook. The kind of netbook that is so painfully slow to use it demonstrates perfectly why the category is dead.

With a 500 movie library, even stored on the router (netgear centria) it worked without a hitch, just a bit of delay in loading the library/starting movies.

I was amazed, even hd encoded played perfectly smooth.




For playing on your iPad plex is pretty awesome. And just $5 for ios app.

 

[Primejimbo]

My home network is all wireless due to the limitations I have here. I have a 3rd generation Time Capsule (connected to the modem) and a 2nd Generation Airport Extreme (connected to the TC wirelessly to reach the other end of the house) set up here. The AE has 2 Apple TV's running off of it, and my wife has an iPad also along with 2 iPod Touches and 2 iPhones and ever had an issue streaming to anything this way.