Problem streaming from iTunes to Apple TV in Mavericks

[SaxPlayer]

Hi. I have a new Mac Pro (lucky me, eh?) so, unsurprisingly it's running OS X Mavericks 10.9.1. When I attempt to stream video from iTunes to an Apple TV 3 it'll run for about 5 minutes (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) and then drop out. Apple TV goes back to the previous menu and iTunes has just stopped playing on my Mac.

iTunes still shows itself connected to the Apple TV via Airplay but it isn't so I have to disconnect it, close the video and open it all up again after which it'll play for another few minutes (once I've forwarded to the right location because it goes back to the start).

I'm using the Airplay button in iTunes and not mirroring in OS X.

Here's why I think it's got something to do with Mavericks and nothing at all to do with my network or the video file or anything else.

First of all, my Apple TV and Mac is networked via ethernet - no crappy wireless signal to worry about.
Secondly, I still have my old Mac Pro 1,1 which is running Lion and when I try to stream the exact same video from iTunes on there it streams fine to my Apple TV with no drop outs.

iTunes on my old Mac is 11.1.3 and on my new Mac is 11.1.4 so there's an outside chance it's iTunes, but I'm guessing it's Mavericks!

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Jambalaya]

Hum, first idea would have been wireless dropouts. I get similar when streaming from Mini/MBP to ATV but always put it down to wireless. The iMac isn't going into power save on the screen/computer is it and cutting off the airplay ? Does it work if you just extend the screen onto the ATV (so mirroring in OS X) then drag iTunes onto the TV and maximise ? If that works with no dropouts then it would suggest a specific iTunes/Mabericks AirPlay issue. I assume it works fine with iPhone/iPad ?

Hope you're not flooded !

 

[SaxPlayer]

Flooding staying way for now, thanks! Hope you're OK too.

Thanks for your suggestions. The energy saving settings are all beyond the timeframe of the drop outs - but it was a good idea and worth checking. Using the TV as a second display and dragging iTunes on to there is also worth trying, but as the TV is in a different room it would take some organising. As Airplay from iTunes works fine under Lion I'll keep that idea on the back burner for the moment.

I had a thought, and tried a couple of different things. First of all, I deactivated Avast! anti-virus as I've known that to do strange things to software at times. That didn't make any difference.

The next thing I tried was turning on Home Sharing in iTunes and then accessing the video via the menus on the Apple TV. I played 15 mins of a video before stopping it myself. I need to do a longer test, but that does seem promising.

Why activating the viewing from the Apple TV rather than using Airplay from iTunes should make such a difference is very odd, but if it works as a solution I'll certainly go with it.

My feelings are still that Mavericks has an Airplay issue, probably something to do with the changes added to allow Airplay to be used to extend your desktop.

Thanks for your help. 🙂

 

[Macman45]

I think if I was suffering this, and it have two ATV units both function perfectly under Mavericks, I'd consider doing a complete hard reset of the ATV itself.

Trying that first, and if I saw no improvement, I'd use a micro USB cable to do a DFU on the unit too.

If both fail to correct the issue, then I'd be suspecting the ATV itself....I really don't think it's a Mavericks issue. Only other maybe is a faulty cable.