Prime Video app Dropping Frames and Stuttering

[stocklen]

So, today I got a brand new TV.
I decided to settle in and watch the latest episode of Lord of the Rings on Prime.

I was of course paying close attention to the picture quality and was really surprised to see when there was a sweeping shot or motion that it was really choppy and terrible. Almost unwatchable.

My first concern was the new TV was no good.

However, I then switched to my Firestick and it was fine thankfully.

I then returned to the AppleTV and tried another app with 4K content and that was also fine.

I then noticed that Prime required an update and did that but it didnt fix things.

I cant really comment on whether this is a new TV problem (though pretty sure it isnt) or a Prime app problem (though it didnt resolve with the Friday update) or a TVOS 18 problem specifically pertaining to the Prime app.

Anyone else seen this stutter/frame drop issue on Prime in the last few days?

 

[waw74]

turn on match frame rate.

sounds like you're seeing something called judder, its when the video signal frame rate doesn't match the frame rate of the source video. if the video is 24 frames per second, and the aTV is sending at 60 FpS, it has to duplicate some frames to fill in. 2 times 24 is 48, which still leaves 12 frames to fill, so every other frame is shows 3 times instead of 2. The slow wide sweeping shots are where this is most obvious.

it's possible your old TV had a frame rate that was mathematically compatible with what you're watching, or also possible the setting got turned off when you swapped TVs,

it's also why some TVs can do very high frame rates, like 120, even though there aren't many videos at that rate. 24, 30, and 60 all go into 120 evenly.

you should also turn on match dynamic range while you're there. this will prevent the aTV from creating simulated HDR which can cause the colors to be blown out.

enabling either of these settings may cause your TV to blank out for a moment or 2 when you first start playing a video, but it will give you the best picture quality for the video you're watching.

also as a small note most TVs seem to have a per port setting to enable HDR, usually called HDMI deep color, from what I've seen that setting is usually disabled by default,

 

[stocklen]

turn on match frame rate.

sounds like you're seeing something called judder, its when the video signal frame rate doesn't match the frame rate of the source video. if the video is 24 frames per second, and the aTV is sending at 60 FpS, it has to duplicate some frames to fill in. 2 times 24 is 48, which still leaves 12 frames to fill, so every other frame is shows 3 times instead of 2. The slow wide sweeping shots are where this is most obvious.

it's possible your old TV had a frame rate that was mathematically compatible with what you're watching, or also possible the setting got turned off when you swapped TVs,

it's also why some TVs can do very high frame rates, like 120, even though there aren't many videos at that rate. 24, 30, and 60 all go into 120 evenly.

you should also turn on match dynamic range while you're there. this will prevent the aTV from creating simulated HDR which can cause the colors to be blown out.

enabling either of these settings may cause your TV to blank out for a moment or 2 when you first start playing a video, but it will give you the best picture quality for the video you're watching.

also as a small note most TVs seem to have a per port setting to enable HDR, usually called HDMI deep color, from what I've seen that setting is usually disabled by default,

Thanks for the tips.

You are right in that sometimes when changing the TV, the AppleTV will change its own settings.

For example the AppleTV changed itself to HDR10+ from Dolby Vision when I plugged in into the new TV and my preference is Dolby Vision so I changed that back.

I have tried match frame rate in the past and found it too jarring blanking out the screen every time it played something.

The weird thing here is that its only the Amazon Prime app that seems to have this problem whereas before it didnt.

Timing is annoying because since I last watched something on Prime i.e. the previous episode of Lord of the Rings... I have a new TV, new TVOS18, and the Prime app has also been updated. This chain of events makes it hard to point the finger in any one direction.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Fast Internet connection?

If you are leaning on a wifi for AppleTV, get yourself the appropriate length ethernet cord and temporarily connect that way to test wifi vs. wired. Then try the same scenes in LOTR again. If you find that wired works fine, you'll narrow in on the culprit- which may be neither TV nor AppleTV but router/wifi, which may be resolved in ways as simple as just repositioning hardware.

You may have fast broadband and seemingly good wifi but remember: there's only so much wifi "pie" to go around at any given time. If others live with you and are having good-sized bites of that pie at the same time, you may be trying to demand more bandwidth than available. Streaming video needs LOTS of bandwidth. 2 or 3 others watching other things at the same time may set up a more demand then supply situation against which someone in the group will suffer. If applicable, one remedy: wire (instead of wifi) whatever you can. Things wired aren't leaning on the same pie and will bypass that problem.

If you own the AppleTV without an ethernet port, reposition wifi router or satt if mesh. Try to get it closer to the AppleTV.

If there are multiple people in household with you, try running the problematic scene when everyone is OUT/asleep so that only your AppleTV is using your wifi bandwidth.

If you may have shared access to your wifi with a physically-nearby neighbor or two (or 10) some of them may still be using your wifi and not necessarily even know they are doing so. Change your wifi password and reboot your router. That will kick any "freeloaders" off your wifi so that the pie is again yours and only yours. This happens OFTEN- especially in apartment/condo situations. Many very readily let a neighbor "on" and forget they did so. If the neighbor is still in range of your wifi from their place, their devices may connect to yours instead of their own. Or knowing neighbors just drop their own broadband and lean on the "free" they get through yours. In this scenario, you can perceive "I live alone so all of the pie is mine" when- in fact- up to many others may be feasting on your wifi.

Lastly: identify the specific model of AppleTV you have and the specific moments (share time index) in LOTR where you can see the stutter and maybe others will check the the same points in that show on the same AppleTV to share that they too have the problem (much more strongly implying a problem with the Prime app among other possibilities) or that they are not... which then points more strongly at the unique variables for you (wifi, router, cable, etc).

 

[HDFan]

I got a brand new TV.

Model?

 

[stocklen]

Model?

The Philips Ambilight

75PML9009​

 

[ian6969]

So, today I got a brand new TV.
I decided to settle in and watch the latest episode of Lord of the Rings on Prime.

I was of course paying close attention to the picture quality and was really surprised to see when there was a sweeping shot or motion that it was really choppy and terrible. Almost unwatchable.

My first concern was the new TV was no good.

However, I then switched to my Firestick and it was fine thankfully.

I then returned to the AppleTV and tried another app with 4K content and that was also fine.

I then noticed that Prime required an update and did that but it didnt fix things.

I cant really comment on whether this is a new TV problem (though pretty sure it isnt) or a Prime app problem (though it didnt resolve with the Friday update) or a TVOS 18 problem specifically pertaining to the Prime app.

Anyone else seen this stutter/frame drop issue on Prime in the last few days?

I’ve had exactly the same issue - I’m certain it’s something to do with the Amazon app, as all my other video sources are fine. My Apple TV goes through a Marantz AV amp via HDMI, then to a Panasonic TV. I recently went through the settings on all three devices to ensure I was getting the most “pure” image (as for example all three devices are capable of upscaling, but I leave that just to the Apple TV as it does a great job). I noticed my TV has a 4K Pure Direct setting which was off - turning this on seems to have done the job, as now the Amazon content is perfectly smooth. Still no idea why only the Amazon app was the only source doing this!