Why is Netflix so poor on ATV?

[Geckotek]

Here's the skinny: the ATV is a product that is VERY dependent on many factors to perform well. A short and not-complete list of these factors are: your ISP, your internal home wiring, your internet speed plan, your connections, your wireless connections, your neighbor's wireless connections (due to interference), the placement of the device, the router's quality, the router's other connected devices, the movie you're watching, network congestion, server congestion, and lofty expectations of a $99 product.

Every thing I listed above is different for every-single-user.

Problem with your argument, while it may be different for "every-single-user", it is identical from my ATV3 to my Xbox 360. Identical ISP, internal home wiring, internet speed plan, connections, wireless connections, neighbor's wireless connections, placement of the device, router quality, router's connected device, movie I'm watching, network congestion, server congestion, and expectations. So.....try again. Thank you.

I have many Apple devices at this point and I'm far from an Apple hater. But I'm having issues with my ATV3 playing back Netflix. I don't appreciate someone coming into this forum and dismissing the fact that I have an issue and telling me that I should just return it and not purchase an Apple product. If you have something of value to add, please share it. That is why I came to this thread, to look for a solution. Otherwise, why are you involved in this discussion in the first place?

 

[crisg]

Problem with your argument, while it may be different for "every-single-user", it is identical from my ATV3 to my Xbox 360. Identical ISP, internal home wiring, internet speed plan, connections, wireless connections, neighbor's wireless connections, placement of the device, router quality, router's connected device, movie I'm watching, network congestion, server congestion, and expectations. So.....try again. Thank you.

I have many Apple devices at this point and I'm far from an Apple hater. But I'm having issues with my ATV3 playing back Netflix. I don't appreciate someone coming into this forum and dismissing the fact that I have an issue and telling me that I should just return it and not purchase an Apple product. If you have something of value to add, please share it. That is why I came to this thread, to look for a solution. Otherwise, why are you involved in this discussion in the first place?

There is no problem with my argument; no need to "try again, thank you" as you so politely put it. The reason you have different results between your ATV3 and your Xbox is because your Xbox is not an ATV3. They have different internals, technology, wireless / wired cards, and they should -- as one is an inexpensive mediabox and the other is a dedicated gaming console.

If you had two ATV3's next to each other and they performed differently, THEN come here and ask what the problem with one of them is. Until then, you are introducing variables into your problem and asking why the two are different. Two different products don't perform the same. If you don't like the ATV3's performance, make your life easier by sticking with your Xbox and returning your ATV3. That isn't to say you shouldn't buy any more Apple products -- it just means you didn't like this one, it isn't to your standards, and you can save yourself the grief by moving on and sticking with what you're happy.

 

[diffengr]

Browsing...

I was browsing through XKCD, and I came upon a comic that I thought was very relevant to this discussion:

I would think it obvious that even if a problem afflicts a small percentage of users:

1) it would not invalidate them or their problems
2) there nevertheless can be a problem with the product itself, just one that most people never uncovered

This is consumer electronics 101, frankly.

And sure, a topic about troubles with any product will disproportionately attract other having-troubles. Makes sense. Maybe they can help each other. What doesn't make sense is that those with no-troubles would feel such entitlement to own that topic, and to tell the having-troubles how screwed-up, ignorant, and illogical they are. Put another way, why are you still here?

 

[diffengr]

The point of my listing wasn't that the having-troubles outnumber/outvote no-troubles. It was to juxtapose the "(practically) nobody's having these problems" statements, with the actual, significant number of people who are declaring -- in the same topic & often uncategorically -- that they're having these problems.

Among the interesting implications is perhaps that there is some deeper reason why the having-troubles are so hard for some to see, accept, and validate?

 

[diffengr]

To sit here and see all the variables that affect ATV3 performance and to continue to declare Apple to be the problem is... beyond the realm of logic. If you truly believe Apple is the problem, return your item and don't purchase Apple products anymore; the community is better off without you.

Just... wow. That kind of sums it all up right there. Stop criticizing Apple or get out.

So, logic.

1) Criticising ATV as a product does not equal declaring Apple is the problem. I like Apple a lot. So far, ATV not so much.

2) To sit here and see all the variables that affect ATV3 performance and to continue to declare that ATV3 is not the problem, that is what defies logic to me. Because collectively, there are quite a number of us who have seen that same "a lot that can go wrong" successfully navigated by ROKU, PS3, XBox, my way-old MBP running Silverlight through the browser.

3) I have two cords. With these, I plug in ITEM-A, and can watch HD Netflix flawlessly. I unplug ITEM-A, plug-in ITEM-B, Netflix is problematic. What does logic -- and by logic, I mean Occam's Razor -- tell you that you should blame first for this change?

 

[Geckotek]

There is no problem with my argument; no need to "try again, thank you" as you so politely put it. The reason you have different results between your ATV3 and your Xbox is because your Xbox is not an ATV3. They have different internals, technology, wireless / wired cards, and they should -- as one is an inexpensive mediabox and the other is a dedicated gaming console.

Congrats, I think you just made the other guy's point. But you're still wrong.

Either way, there is something wrong w/ my ATV3...or with all ATV3s. It's not like Apple to advertise a product that streams Netflix in 1080p when it actually can't. I'd like to figure out what's wrong instead of argue with you, so please exit this conversation unless you have something constructive to add.

 

[Rideherhard]

I don't know about the AppleTV3 but the AppleTV2 sucked with Netflix, always buffering and the video is pretty poor, I switch over to XBox or PS3 and it streams perfect and the video looks HD.

 

[whooleytoo]

Congrats, I think you just made the other guy's point. But you're still wrong.

Either way, there is something wrong w/ my ATV3...or with all ATV3s. It's not like Apple to advertise a product that streams Netflix in 1080p when it actually can't. I'd like to figure out what's wrong instead of argue with you, so please exit this conversation unless you have something constructive to add.

I don't have an ATV3, but I've had lots of Netflix problems with my ATV2. It went from initially fine, to several weeks of stalling/buffering with serious image degradation, then back to perfect. That's extremely unlikely to be a hardware issue; far more likely an infrastructural issue. I signed up for Netflix almost straight away when it launched here, and a couple of weeks later experienced problems. It may be they didn't anticipate the capacity they'd require?

Obviously the ATV3 features different hardware and uses a different stream, but the same could be true with the ATV3 problems. (Sorry for not reading back through the whole thread, but..) do you have problems with other HD streaming videos, or just Netflix? Have you tried playing a 1080p video from Home Sharing for comparison?

 

[Geckotek]

I don't have an ATV3, but I've had lots of Netflix problems with my ATV2. It went from initially fine, to several weeks of stalling/buffering with serious image degradation, then back to perfect. That's extremely unlikely to be a hardware issue; far more likely an infrastructural issue. I signed up for Netflix almost straight away when it launched here, and a couple of weeks later experienced problems. It may be they didn't anticipate the capacity they'd require?

Obviously the ATV3 features different hardware and uses a different stream, but the same could be true with the ATV3 problems. (Sorry for not reading back through the whole thread, but..) do you have problems with other HD streaming videos, or just Netflix? Have you tried playing a 1080p video from Home Sharing for comparison?

I haven't since I don't have many movies on my PC, but I'll give it a try.

That said, I don't think it's a processor issue or we'd have problems all the time. I tend to think it's either a NIC issue or the ATV just doesn't buffer enough to handle the occasional network congestion. I have a an older BluRay player and even it seems to do better.

I have been watching more on the ATV3 today. It's ok, but every few minutes the picture goes soft and text gets blocky. I don't have this issue with other devices.

 

[whooleytoo]

I haven't since I don't have many movies on my PC, but I'll give it a try.

That said, I don't think it's a processor issue or we'd have problems all the time. I tend to think it's either a NIC issue or the ATV just doesn't buffer enough to handle the occasional network congestion. I have a an older BluRay player and even it seems to do better.

I have been watching more on the ATV3 today. It's ok, but every few minutes the picture goes soft and text gets blocky. I don't have this issue with other devices.

Yeah, that sounds similar to what I was seeing with my ATV2.

I'd select the video, would wait 10-20 seconds for it to start playing, then it would start in perfect HD. About 15-20 seconds in, it would pause and buffer a bit, then become lower-resolution. Once or twice during the video, it would pause again, and/or drop to even lower quality.

Whereas if the video started playing within 5 seconds, then I knew straight away it'd play through to completion without any issues.

It would be good to try with non-Netflix HD streaming for comparison. In my case, the problem disappeared without me doing anything, so it's unlikely to be a network hardware problem, but it's entirely possible there is more than one problem here; hence the confusion.

 

[ivnj]

I cancelled netflix because of the price hike. But before I did, streaming even on my wii or PC was always choppy. Even MAC was choppy. I think it has to be the internet connection. Got att uverse. Even before uverse comcast and verizon dsl no good. Has to be internet. Or just our house. But def got to be internet not netflix's fault.

 

[Rumple]

Netflix looks HORRIBLE on my atv3, and my Mac. I don't know what Sony does but they make it look awesome. I don't have super fast internet so I understand some quality issues but what Sony does is miraculous with what there given. Same goes for Hulu+ looks amazing. Hulu+ looked good on my iPad though. Netflix wasn't bad on that either but that has a lot to the size of the screen and watching it from a distance, and still not the caliber of Sony.

 

[nooaah]

Netflix looks fantastic on my Roku - definitely more outdated hardware. I was going to get an ATV3 for my living room tv but this thread really makes me hesitant.

 

[CrzyP]

Does anyone know why the PQ decreases significantly at the end of a stream? This bothers me since I like to read credits sometimes.

 

[spice weasel]

Its not my internet, nor is it my network.

Is it really that hard for people on here to acknowledge that there could be some issues with ATV's handling of Netflix content?

It is when the rest of us get great quality Netflix streaming on our ATVs.

 

[striker33]

It is when the rest of us get great quality Netflix streaming on our ATVs.

Nice attempt at trolling...

...well, not really. But its the effort that counts, right?



Anyway, completely forgot this thread was still going. So a quick update.

Apple are being completely useless as expected. All I get now is the same generic email saying their engineering department are still working on a fix. So I took my ATV3 back for a full refund, and bought the WDTV Live again as it was on offer on Amazon.

Long story short, this cheap little box, which barely scrapes 2/4 bars in signal strength over wifi thanks to the cheap a** chip inside it (further diminishing the pathetic wifi vs wired arguments), streams 1080p Netflix flawlessly. It also begins streaming in HD quality, without having to progress from SD first, which is an improvement over the PS3. I also get the added benefit of not having to run a computer and iTunes to stream from my NAS, although this wasn't much of an issue as I was planning on using a MBP for that anyway.

Bottom line: The ATV3 has some major software issues with Netflix streaming. Apple most likely won't ever fix it. And it affects only a minority of users.

 

[steve-p]

Does anyone know why the PQ decreases significantly at the end of a stream? This bothers me since I like to read credits sometimes.

Can't say I've ever noticed that? I look at the credits sometimes if looking for the name of a piece of music.

 

[beeh]

I have a wired WD TV Live, wireless Wii, wireless Roku, wired Roku and wireless Apple TV 3. I stream netflix through all of them, the AppleTV 3 is the only device that ever has issues ( and it has them every time ). I can stream movies from my PC to the AppleTV 3 flawlessly ( which is why I bought it ). Glad the Wii is connected to the same TV as the AppleTV.

Tell me the problem isn't the AppleTV! It could be a network setting the ATV requires that the others don't?

I really didn't expect this from Apple, figured the AppleTV could replace the Wii, or I could replace the other boxes with Apple TVs, but not yet.

-RK

 

[neilmacd]

I have occasionally noticed Netflix running poorly, but I think (in my case) most of the time it is an issue with the service rather than my ISP/router/device.

Question though, how often do Apple/Netflix update the app? I much prefer the way my PS3 handles tv shows, allowing you to either leave it running and it continues to the next episode etc. Whereas on the ATV you have to go back, back, click to the next episode, then click, click before it starts to play.

Not very Apple like if you ask me?

 

[ATC]

Nice attempt at trolling...

...well, not really. But its the effort that counts, right?



Anyway, completely forgot this thread was still going. So a quick update.

Apple are being completely useless as expected. All I get now is the same generic email saying their engineering department are still working on a fix. So I took my ATV3 back for a full refund, and bought the WDTV Live again as it was on offer on Amazon.

Long story short, this cheap little box, which barely scrapes 2/4 bars in signal strength over wifi thanks to the cheap a** chip inside it (further diminishing the pathetic wifi vs wired arguments), streams 1080p Netflix flawlessly. It also begins streaming in HD quality, without having to progress from SD first, which is an improvement over the PS3. I also get the added benefit of not having to run a computer and iTunes to stream from my NAS, although this wasn't much of an issue as I was planning on using a MBP for that anyway.

Bottom line: The ATV3 has some major software issues with Netflix streaming. Apple most likely won't ever fix it. And it affects only a minority of users.

Good info about the WDTV Live. My local Costco sells them (cheap) and in all honesty I never gave them much thought but it sounds like, at least for Netflix, it's a much better device than ATV3.

 

[beeh]

Good info about the WDTV Live. My local Costco sells them (cheap) and in all honesty I never gave them much thought but it sounds like, at least for Netflix, it's a much better device than ATV3.

Roku and Wii have a much better UI for Netflix than the WDTV Live ( unless there's an update I haven't installed ), but the Live does better streaming from Hulu and CBS ( via PlayOn ). Roku has a built in CBS channel, that seems to use the same algorithm the ATV uses to stream Netflix. Maybe others have better luck with CBS and Hulu on Roku, but not for us.

 

[ATC]

Roku and Wii have a much better UI for Netflix than the WDTV Live ( unless there's an update I haven't installed ), but the Live does better streaming from Hulu and CBS ( via PlayOn ). Roku has a built in CBS channel, that seems to use the same algorithm the ATV uses to stream Netflix. Maybe others have better luck with CBS and Hulu on Roku, but not for us.

I have a Wii but just to confirm, I was under the impression that the Wii does not do HD streaming, only SD, correct?

 

[spacepower7]

I'm starting to think that a lot of this has to do with routers. My AppleTV 2 works fine at my house with an airport extreme. When I installed my AppleTV 2 at a friend's house (lending it to him for a few weeks) it works horribly with his dual channel netgear router. YouTube takes 7 minutes to load 50% of a 3 minute video, and still won't start until it is 75% loaded.

I tested his Internet connection and it was above 15 Mbps on 5ghz to his 2012 MBP. AirPlay mirroring on 10.8 just shows a pixelated screen that updates ever 5 minutes, totally unusable. Sending audio or video via iTunes works fine though, though the video loaded slow, but not nearly as bad as YouTube on the AppleTV.
AirPlay audio from an iPad work fine too.

It seems that there might be some incompatibilities between wireless chips causing the problems.

I reset all the hardware many times with no solution.

Any ideas?

 

[trip1ex]

I'm starting to think that a lot of this has to do with routers. My AppleTV 2 works fine at my house with an airport extreme. When I installed my AppleTV 2 at a friend's house (lending it to him for a few weeks) it works horribly with his dual channel netgear router. YouTube takes 7 minutes to load 50% of a 3 minute video, and still won't start until it is 75% loaded.

I tested his Internet connection and it was above 15 Mbps on 5ghz to his 2012 MBP. AirPlay mirroring on 10.8 just shows a pixelated screen that updates ever 5 minutes, totally unusable. Sending audio or video via iTunes works fine though, though the video loaded slow, but not nearly as bad as YouTube on the AppleTV.
AirPlay audio from an iPad work fine too.

It seems that there might be some incompatibilities between wireless chips causing the problems.

I reset all the hardware many times with no solution.

Any ideas?

GEt a different router or dump the ATV.

I do think the ATV doesn't play nice with a small number of router or router setups. Or it could be prone to interference more than other devices or be placed in a location where its signal is interfered with more than another device that seemingly works well. There are a few variables here.

But I do remember that the AEBS had (or has) problems with some devices. So I could see the ATV having problems with some devices.

 

[Hawkeye16]

I have the same issue, and not all of the time, but just at random intervals. Both ATV and PS3 using the same 5G connection. I am thinking it may have something to do with the buffer size, but that is a wild guess based on no other information and enough laziness to not look into it any further... I mean, the PS3 works too and I don't have to get off the couch for that.