Best way to configure ATV?

trock8501 said:

would it be faster if i cabled it to the switch i have int he same room? vs wireless?

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Maybe. Worth trying for sure. I've seen issues like this solved by using Ethernet; don't know if it's certain brand routers or what.

My AVT3's are both wireless and perform flawlessly, but that's using an AirPort router.

You are over thinking this. Regardless of the complexity of your home network, getting ideal connectivity for 1080p video only requires a few things. Assuming you are downloading 1080p video directly from Apple, all you need is

• A fast internet connection (10Mbit/sec or more)
• Awesome wifi in your home (No less than Wireless N)
  OR
• A solid wired network to connect your Apple TV to (Preferrably 1Gb Ethernet but 100Mbit will suffice)
• No one else Bittorenting your connection to death!

Since you are already having trouble getting high quality video via wifi, it is safe to assume that your wifi network is experiencing some sort of difficulty and therefore is not adequate enough to play your videos (without additional troubleshooting).

The easiest, quickest, and CHEAPEST way to improve your video quality is to connect your Apple TV to your home network with an Ethernet Cable. This will eliminate all of the possible sources of wifi interference from your ATV setup. (You wouldn't believe how many things can screw up wifi.)

There are many types of Ethernet cables on the market, but for your purposes, you want to acquire a CAT 5E or CAT 6 cable. If cost is a concern, CAT 5E is significantly cheaper than CAT6 and only marginally slower. Monoprice.com sells quality Ethernet cables at a fraction of the cost of a Retail store.

Try this suggestion and see if that helps. If it does not help, you will need to provide us with more details on your home network. Specifically, we need to know,

- Your network topology (i.e. what hardware does your home network consist of and how is it all connected)
- The advertised speed of your internet connection.
- The number of devices that are connected to your network and what sort of usage they get?
- Is the Access Point in your room really an Access Point, or a Router that is connected to your actual internet line? (Some people get this confused so it is important to be clear about this.)
- How many other wifi signals are in your vicinity? (Do you live in a densely populated apartment complex or dorm room, for example?)

DaPhatty said:

A solid wired network to connect your Apple TV to (Preferrably 1Gb Ethernet but 100Mbit will suffice)

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It suffices quite well; the Apple TV has a 100Mbit Ethernet port.

FreakinEurekan said:

It suffices quite well; the Apple TV has a 100Mbit Ethernet port.

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Indeed it does. In hindsight, I suppose I did a poor job of explaining that portion. What I meant to suggest was having a Gigabit ethernet network is preferable over 100Mbit, mostly to avoid traffic congestion at the switch level. That said, if you are in complete control over your network and can guarantee no additional and significant sources of traffic exist on your network then 100Mbit is more than adequate for 1080p video traffic.

trock8501 said:

I have had an apple TV 3 i think it is for a while now. alot of times the spinning wheel, or buffering takes forever.
it says things like "ready to play in 1 hour and 23 minutes" and if i want it to be faster i should go to my settings and downgrade the settings from the 1080 p i have it set to

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How fast is your connection to the internet? It sounds like that is where your problem lies, not in the network within your house.

If your internet connection is slow, You might want to first download your content into an iTunes library in a computer on your home network, then have the Apple TV play the content from that computer, rather than from Apple's servers across the internet.