Choppy AirPlay

[chipchen]

Anyone else experiencing choppy AirPlay? I have an Apple TV 4K along with a couple 2017 MacBook Pro's and iPhone Xs and Xs Max. We used to AirPlay video flawlessly from our devices, but in the last few weeks it's gotten really choppy. It basically is stuttering video every second, making it unwatchable. Extended desktop is also horrible.

Not sure what to make of it... all software seems to be up to date... but I turned off automatic updates on the AppleTV just now because I wonder if a recent update threw it out of whack. Also using Apple AirPort (latest gen).

Have anyone of you also experienced this or similar? I haven't yet restored AppleTV because setting up all the passwords and apps is a pain (any way to back it up and restore like iPhone?). Also haven't wiped and re-done the AirPort yet.

Any direction would be appreciated!

 

[waw74]

turn your software updates back on if you want
don't reset the appletv

it's network related

reboot your router/wifi gear

also if others are streaming a lot of media (like they're stuck in the house or something) that will also eat into the bandwidth available and will make airplay less.

did you add anything new to your network? that might be adding additional traffic to the network?

or any other electrics that could be causing wireless interference?

 

[chipchen]

Nothing has been added in the last few weeks... and this happens when no other devices are streaming anything as well - no netflix, games, or anything else. Maybe I should restore the AirPort router.

Yea, it's crazy, but literally nothing has changed and all of a sudden it's become so choppy. Literally worked great for years!

 

[waw74]

reboot your router/wifi gear

Maybe I should restore the AirPort router.

have you tried rebooting it?

it's also possible it's starting to fail,
electronics do wear out over time.

also, airports aren't the greatest router, there are much better options out there today.
There were better options years ago when the airports were new.

 

[chipchen]

have you tried rebooting it?

it's also possible it's starting to fail,
electronics do wear out over time.

also, airports aren't the greatest router, there are much better options out there today.
There were better options years ago when the airports were new.

Rebooted it a few times, still the same. I know they weren't the greatest.. but they were very decent. And I liked that I could use the AirPort Utility app. Might be time to upgrade... but again... everything worked great til a few weeks ago and nothing has changed except maybe software. Just so weird...

 

[winstars]

Nothing has been added in the last few weeks... and this happens when no other devices are streaming anything as well - no netflix, games, or anything else. Maybe I should restore the AirPort router.

Yea, it's crazy, but literally nothing has changed and all of a sudden it's become so choppy. Literally worked great for years!

I have been having the same problems recently. AirPlaying from a MBP to ATV always was fine and now its always choppy and unwatchable... I replaced my router (Apple Extreme to Amplifi Alien) and its still choppy. Happens when no one else is even online. In another thread, it was was suggested it was a network problem but since my entire network consists of a new 6a ethernet cable from modem to router, not sure what else could be issue network wise...

BTW, after upgrading router my speeds increased and more importantly the signal is sooooo much stronger in rooms other than where the router is. I loved my Apple Extreme and it still worked fine but either the antennas or chipset or whatever on my new router are definitely superior...

 

[Ravetrancer]

I have been having the same problems recently. AirPlaying from a MBP to ATV always was fine and now its always choppy and unwatchable... I replaced my router (Apple Extreme to Amplifi Alien) and its still choppy. Happens when no one else is even online. In another thread, it was was suggested it was a network problem but since my entire network consists of a new 6a ethernet cable from modem to router, not sure what else could be issue network wise...

BTW, after upgrading router my speeds increased and more importantly the signal is sooooo much stronger in rooms other than where the router is. I loved my Apple Extreme and it still worked fine but either the antennas or chipset or whatever on my new router are definitely superior...

Did anyone find a solution for this issue?

I have now tested this with several computers, MacBook PRO 2017, iMac 2017, iMac Pro.
With Apple TV 4K it is always choppy, stuttering, almost impossible to watch it because it gets on your nerves.

However i also have an Apple TV4 (Not 4K) and AirPlay is working flawless.

So i have tested this on 2 different units and i can only come to the conclusion that it is some hardware issue.

Did anyone found a solution?

Best regards R

 

[Ravetrancer]

Hi again

I did investigate by practicing a little more.
As i wrote above the ATV 4K stutters while AirPlaying but not the previous ATV 4. I had always only doing it by expanding the screen.
This time i tried to simply mirror the screen and then the stuttering was no more. But this is of no use because i want to watch a movie and use my MAC at the same time.
I have a Dell TB16 Thunderbolt Dock. So i tried it by using third party Thunderbolt 3 unblocker. I managed to get it to work but only 1080P and not 4K. Also the sound was only present in my MAC.

I then remembered that i have a Nvidia Shield in the bedroom and thought that I could swap the ATV 4K with the Nividia Shield and try that instead.
Further investigation was to cast the picture to the Nvidia Shield from my MAC. It didnt take so long time before i read about an app called AirFlow by BitCave https://airflow.app
I was stunned how great this app works by casting the movie to my tv and i could use my MAC for other work at the same time.
AirFlow is a paid app so i looked around a little bit more and found one free app called Soda Player, https://www.sodaplayer.com
This is an app that also works great, but it doesnt have much settings to tinkle with as the AirFlow.

Both apps work flawlessly without stuttering at all.
Exception is AirFlow older versions like 2.3.7, that one was buffering all the time. But from AirFlow v 2.4.5 theres no stuttering, buffering, lagging or choppyness at all.

I was so happy when i finally had it working that i forgot to try the apps on my Apple TV 4K. So, i will do that soon and maybe it will be as good as casting to the Nvidia shield but i kind of got used to Nvidia Shield now and the ATV will probably remain in the bedroom.
But for all that only have ATV 4K i will test the apps on my ATV 4K and come back with the results.


Cheers

 

[priitv8]

Doesn't iTunes (Media Sharing in contemporary macOS'es) actually do the same, as this AirFlow app?
The only difference I can see is, that AirFlow can ingest more file formats.
But in general, if you have your own video file and you want to stream it to aTV from your MBP, you do it with Home Sharing and the MBP will not break a sweat, as this is not computationally intensive process - you just copy your file over network to the aTV.
If you start to share MBP's screen - then it makes it encode its full screen on the fly - this takes time and produces heat.
PS late macOS versions are more clever - if you share screen but start to play a media file, it will beam it over to aTV without re-encoding and shows you only the familiar AirPlay image inside player window.

 

[Ravetrancer]

So today i did try the AirFlow casted from my iMac to my Apple TV 4K. And it was flawless just as it was to the Nvidia Shield.
Also the free Soda Player worked fine with ATV 4K.

Conclusion:Apple TV 4K is flawed in some way when trying to AirPlay from any MAC computer to it using the Expand Window option. Mirroring was fine though.

I have tried with following MACs AirPllaying to ATV 4K.
iMac Pro 3.0GHz, 64GB ram, Vega 64 16GB.
iMac 2017, i5 3.4GHz, 16GB ram, Radeon 4GB.
MacBook Pro 2017, i7 3.1GHz, 16GB ram, Radeon 4GB.

I would really like to get some answer on what it is that makes the AirPlay expanded screen on ATV 4K, stuttering and choppy, but not the ATV 3?

I hope that someone finds this helpful.

Have a nice day folöks

 

[priitv8]

What is your usecase? Why do you need screen mirroring or screen expansion?

 

[Ravetrancer]

Doesn't iTunes (Media Sharing in contemporary macOS'es) actually do the same, as this AirFlow app?
The only difference I can see is, that AirFlow can ingest more file formats.
But in general, if you have your own video file and you want to stream it to aTV from your MBP, you do it with Home Sharing and the MBP will not break a sweat, as this is not computationally intensive process - you just copy your file over network to the aTV.
If you start to share MBP's screen - then it makes it encode its full screen on the fly - this takes time and produces heat.
PS late macOS versions are more clever - if you share screen but start to play a media file, it will beam it over to aTV without re-encoding and shows you only the familiar AirPlay image inside player window.
View attachment 1811696

I can agree with you theoretically, but practically it doesnt add upp.
It doesnt matter if i use iMac 2017, i5 3.4GHz, 16GB ram, Radeon 4GB or the really high end iMac Pro 3.0GHz, 64GB ram, Vega 64 16GB. Both stutter in the same way, exactly the same amount of stuttering. So, is it then really a computing issue?

But thanks for your tip, i will try it, just to make some fun investigating =)

Cherrs

 

[PeteBurgh]

Rebooted it a few times, still the same. I know they weren't the greatest.. but they were very decent. And I liked that I could use the AirPort Utility app. Might be time to upgrade... but again... everything worked great til a few weeks ago and nothing has changed except maybe software. Just so weird...

Depending on your living situation, one thing that could have changed (out of your control) is your neighbours' equipment. It could well be that the wifi channels you were using are now congested - obviously not if you're in a detached house on a big plot of land(!), but very common in lots of urban settings.

I second the suggestion of replacing the Airport. Even the newest model is old technology (as others have pointed out, it wasn't even cutting edge when it was launched!). Whether you go for a new router or a mesh network, there are loads of affordable options that will be a big upgrade. If possible, hard-wiring the Apple TV (and anything else that can be plugged into ethernet) will help too.

I follow various forums relating to Homekit and other smart home stuff - it's amazing how many reliability problems basically end up being solved by better networking equipment.

 

[GuyDudeman]

So, for me, I want to share my Powerbook's desktop to the Apple TV via Airplay. Sharing the screen works fine, unless I'm playing a video stream in a browser, in which case, it stutters incessantly.

This is a semi-recent development, as in years past, I was able to do this without the stuttering, and if it did develop stuttering, I would just reboot everything and that seemed to solve it.

However, rebooting doesn't seem to solve it anymore. I'm up to date on both the AppleTV OS and MacOS with the latest versions available for these machines.

My WiFi mesh is top-notch, and the stuttering happens even when nobody else is using the wifi.

Neither Soda Player nor Airflow solve this issue of not being able to share a streaming video via Airplay Screen Sharing.

Any ideas?