Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple TV 4K Ethernet speed?
- Thread starter Jcmwwe
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Wow. So I can get speed around 400 mbps with it then? That is what my internet is. Roku maxes out at 100 mbps with Ethernet connection,
I do live streaming. I just figured if had less chance of having any issues then 100 would.
Netflix/Prime 4K requires 15 Mbps or more.
Most streaming platforms cap off at 30 Mbps maximum.
In comparison, the bandwidth of a UHD Dual-layer Blu-ray is 108 Mbps.
If you experienced problems with the Rokus 100 MbE port, it was either some issue with the Roku itself, your ISP or the streaming service.
Bandwith-wise, you are more than good even with 100 Mbps.
Although the initial buffering could benefit from it, I suspect Apple did not included the Gbit port primarily for online streaming but for:
High-bandwith intranet media or local libraries, faster download of apps/games and updates, HomeKit stuff, …
Most streaming platforms cap off at 30 Mbps maximum.
In comparison, the bandwidth of a UHD Dual-layer Blu-ray is 108 Mbps.
If you experienced problems with the Rokus 100 MbE port, it was either some issue with the Roku itself, your ISP or the streaming service.
Bandwith-wise, you are more than good even with 100 Mbps.
Although the initial buffering could benefit from it, I suspect Apple did not included the Gbit port primarily for online streaming but for:
High-bandwith intranet media or local libraries, faster download of apps/games and updates, HomeKit stuff, …
Last edited:
I can’t speak for the reliability/usability of the Roku, but in terms of bandwidth, yes, it is even more than enough.
Did you encounter any problems in the past? If so, what service/stream provider?
Last edited:
Yes, of course, Gigabit Ethernet is best for streaming. With the faster connection, I can watch a 140-minute movie in only 7 minutes. Faster streaming saves me a lot of time.
Seriously, streaming is the only use of Ethernet where a faster connection speed is of little use. But Apple TVs do more than just stream video. They are used for Homekit hubs, as Thread border routers, and there are apps that run on the ATV.
Last edited:
Do I need that fast to do live tv streaming or is 100 mbps max enough. It would be 100 with roku or over 300 with Apple TV 4K with Ethernet connection.
On a road where you simply cannot drive faster than 20 mph, it does not matter if your car could theoretically drive 100, 300 or 900 mph.
The video quality is limited by the streaming service no matter how fast your connection is.
As @ChrisA mentioned as well, it is other services than video streaming that benefit from the Apple TVs Gbit connection.
The video quality is limited by the streaming service no matter how fast your connection is.
As @ChrisA mentioned as well, it is other services than video streaming that benefit from the Apple TVs Gbit connection.
Last edited:
I have gigabit internet connected directly to my Apple TV and I consistently get 900-1000 Mbps (according to the Speedtest app). I'm never going to be using that speed for anything, but the near zero loading times for content is just peachy.
As @arw stated above, 15-20Mbps is a common recommended minimum connection for streaming 4K video. And that will likely be with a margin of safety (or overhead) built in.
Even if your streaming device's ethernet interface supports much higher speeds (as both 100Mbps and Gigabit ethernet interfaces do), you are not going to receive more than that from the streaming platform provider. A faster ethernet interface will therefore not improve live streaming performance or quality. 100Mbps is enough for that.
Last edited:
The bitrate estimates for streaming services in this thread are a little low, imo. It wouldn't really impact the OP scenario, but anyone else with a similar question that finds this thread might get the wrong impression of the bitrates of the common streaming services.
Netflix for example, uses a variable compression algorithm that raises and lowers the compression depending on what is happening in a particular scene of the content being viewed, and has a maximum of 17.5Mbps stream with their 4K service, but is usually much lower. But, the maximum of 17.5 Mbps is pretty much the lowest you will find for 4K streaming services.
Pretty much every other major streaming service has higher potential bitrate streams, with the Apple TV+ being one of the highest with streams of over 40Mbps, although bitrates also depend on the device being used. I have read that ATV+ on devices other than the ATV4K actually stream at a lower bitrate for the same exact content, and non-ATV HW are capped at 30Mbps for ATV+.
Netflix for example, uses a variable compression algorithm that raises and lowers the compression depending on what is happening in a particular scene of the content being viewed, and has a maximum of 17.5Mbps stream with their 4K service, but is usually much lower. But, the maximum of 17.5 Mbps is pretty much the lowest you will find for 4K streaming services.
Pretty much every other major streaming service has higher potential bitrate streams, with the Apple TV+ being one of the highest with streams of over 40Mbps, although bitrates also depend on the device being used. I have read that ATV+ on devices other than the ATV4K actually stream at a lower bitrate for the same exact content, and non-ATV HW are capped at 30Mbps for ATV+.
Please correct me if the mentioned 15-30 Mbps are outdated and newer stats are available.
As of 10-2022 [*], out of all common streaming services, FlatpanelsHD registered a maximum of 29 Mbps avg for "See" on Apple TV+ 4K Dolby Vision & Atmos. Although it peaked at 41 Mbps, that’s what the buffer is for.
Not in the list below, but YouTube 4K HDR 60fps VP9 demo content I tested was ~26 Mbps.
(The only exception would be Sonys BRAVIA CORE.)
Attachments
Last edited:
UHDBR bitrate tops out at 75Mbps. So if you're streaming a remux file from a NAS to the AppleTV, a 100Mbps connection will max out at one stream. So a 100Mbps connection is fine, but it's getting awfuly close to the limit. Of course, this is only relevant to all 13 of us crazy people that do it.
That's why I mentioned the 108 Mbps of UHD Dual-layer Blu-ray as reference in my first response.
But OP is asking about "live tv streaming", not local remuxes.
Guilty as charged 😅
Last edited:
My 4K MKV of Snatch streams at 110 Mbps via Plex or Infuse due to its 18 audio tracks. 100 Mbps for commercial services should be fine depending on the number of simultaneous users.