“Several discussion threads on Apple’s support forums related to issues with HD rentals not loading and HDMI connectivity problems have reached hundreds of posts in length as increasing numbers of Apple TV owners report having trouble with the device,” Ong reports.
“Some users report that Apple TV displays HD rental wait times of hundreds of minutes, while other video, such as trailers, HD Netflix movies, and YouTube begin playing after just a few minutes,” Ong reports.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV 2nd-gen owners? Are you seeing either of these issues? We are not seeing either with our 2nd-gen (or our 1st-gen) Apple TVs.
This was a constant problem with our gen 1 Apple TV and was a problem with gen 2 until we finally disabled the Time Capsule. The gen 2 has not had a problem with long rental waits since we took the Time Capsule out of the picture.
Yep! I am having serious issues with Netflix. Half the time I get a timed out error “112” stating cannot connect to Netflix please visit website. When I am able to get it running, Netflix ALWAYS pauses between 13 and 18 seconds into the show for a minute or so. Some of it may be ISP problems (RCN Chicago sucks). Also there have been times where ATV was asleep for a while and didn’t recognize my WAN. Had to re-enter name and password. What a pain! I was hoping the new software update would solve some of these issues..
This is a known issue amongst those that do Apple support. Surprised it took this long to hit “the press”
btw: AppleTV gen 1 is unaffected
Same problem here. 30-45minutes waiting time on a fast bb connection. YouTube is fine.
Had some hdmi problems with Netflix that required unplugging to fix. But they’ve stopped. Also had the “zoomed ui” problem. Haven’t rented.
I have only rented one movie. It took a bit of time, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Confirming the e x t r e m e l y l o n g wait times for downloading HD content on gen 2 ATV running iOS 4.1. Wait times in the high tens to hundreds of minutes before content is available to watch. And then once it starts, it always buffers out at some point in the movie and the “ready to watch in xxx minutes” message pops up. Worst part is content already buffered is not retained when you rewind, nor when you let the box download overnight. It always starts from zero (starts the download fresh) regardless if it had already buffered the content. No issue with any other non-Apple source content from the internet. Maybe Apple is transitioning to North Carolina and we’re seeing the start-up glitches. But that does not explain the faulty buffering problem.
It’s all about bandwidth now
No Problem with my Apple TV v2, it takes 7 to 10 sec to begin a stream of a store purchased Movie or Rental.
Netflix starts in 8 to 12 sec depending on the time of day and the demand Netfix is having, but I have never had a streaming issue.
I also have a 52″ Panosonic Plasma and it has no HDMI problems.
Bought ATV 2 on Black Friday and haven’t seen the setup screen screen yet, the network hasn’t recognized it yet and it hasn’t identified itself to the network yet.
Won’t have the time to fiddle with it till this weekend.
It’s good to see most people aren’t having those problems.
Peace.
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Olmecmystic
I have two new and one first gen ATV’s and have to say for iTunes use I am completely disappointed. I have not been able to successfully watch a movie on the new devices from front to back yet.
I know a lot of people are pointing to ISP’s but I can tell you I have a business class 30mb connection that is completely unblocked and unshaped. I check my speeds when have these issues and my download speeds are right where they should be. With this many people complaining…..not sure how it can’t somehow fall back to the hardware, software, or data distribution center
Would be curious to know if this is related to th Internet Service Provider you use.
One of our 2 apple tvs goes crazy after about 40 minutes of Netflix streaming. But we decided to turn the unit to stand on it’s side, in case it was heat related. So far so good!
I finally call Applecare about this tonight and after trying different things with a first level guy I got put on to a 2nd level person and he basically said that the Apple engineers are saying that with ATV2 the minimum download speeds for decent HD streaming is 6mbps. He also said that this is not yet reflected on the Apple website under the minimum required specs but it might soon be.
Time to upgrade the Internet connection.
I am willing to bet the HDMI problem is with certain TV models. It seems a bit inevitable with DRM infected crap technology invented by MPAA goons.
Yep, ATV2 pretty much stinks. Now to be fair, it’s the first Apple device I have physically wanted to throw against the wall. It’s not my bandwidth which sits around 15 mbps. However, I am aware of two possibilities:
1) Apple’s servers (including Akamai) aren’t able to handle the load in all areas. There are a lot of iOS / Mac devices drawing on their current server pool. Hopefully the NC data center will alleviate this issue.
2) ISPs are throttling the bandwidth to Apple’s servers. If this is caught, there will be Anti-Trust suits galore against the ISPs.
I have read through so many comments in this thread that say it is my bandwidth, ISP, cable provider, etc., but what I don’t get are two distinct items:
1. This was NOT a problem with my ATV2 BEFORE the Airplay update.
2. This is NOT a problem with my ATV1 currently.
So, if I can hook up my ATV1 to the same ethernet cable, HDMI cable, and even the same power outlet in my house and it works fast and fine. Why does the ATV2 not work the same with the same connections?
Wouldn’t I experience the same issues with both if it was my HDMI cable? Or my ISP? Or my Bandwidth? (6.0 mps)
Just because YOU aren’t having this problem at YOUR house, with YOUR ATV2, doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a problem. It is a problem. It is an Apple problem. It started with the last update. It needs to be fixed with the next update.
I have read through so many comments in this thread that say it is my bandwidth, ISP, cable provider, etc., but what I don’t get are two distinct items:
1. This was NOT a problem with my ATV2 BEFORE the Airplay update.
2. This is NOT a problem with my ATV1 currently.
So, if I can hook up my ATV1 to the same ethernet cable, HDMI cable, and even the same power outlet in my house and it works fast and fine. Why does the ATV2 not work the same with the same connections?
Wouldn’t I experience the same issues with both if it was my HDMI cable? Or my ISP? Or my Bandwidth? (6.0 mps)
Just because YOU aren’t having this problem at YOUR house, with YOUR ATV2, doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a problem. It is a problem. It is an Apple problem. It started with the last update. It needs to be fixed with the next update.
I have read through so many comments in this thread that say it is my bandwidth, ISP, cable provider, etc., but what I don’t get are two distinct items:
1. This was NOT a problem with my ATV2 BEFORE the Airplay update.
2. This is NOT a problem with my ATV1 currently.
So, if I can hook up my ATV1 to the same ethernet cable, HDMI cable, and even the same power outlet in my house and it works fast and fine. Why does the ATV2 not work the same with the same connections?
Wouldn’t I experience the same issues with both if it was my HDMI cable? Or my ISP? Or my Bandwidth? (6.0 mps)
Just because YOU aren’t having this problem at YOUR house, with YOUR ATV2, doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a problem. It is a problem. It is an Apple problem. It started with the last update. It needs to be fixed with the next update.
Having problems with HD rentals. Says it could take 29 days to dl!!! No probe on non hd content… Fast cable modem connection.
Also… Anyone with an iPad be sure to check out the remote app… Much better than searching with the remote.
mine’s perfectly fine, guess i’m just lucky ha
No issues here. HD movie rentals begin playing within two minutes after clicking the OK button and play uninterrupted. I have a 10 Mbps Internet connection.
“Some users report that Apple TV displays HD rental wait times of hundreds of minutes”
– sounds just like the dialogue box you get when installing Final Cut Studio – I took a screen capture showing over 365hrs remaining …
Good to see it’s endemic and not just a random occurrence.
1st gen no problem. 2nd gen Problem! Rented, started after a 2 minute wait. Then in the middle of the movie, twice, paused and said “will resume in 2 hours and 43 minutes” and waited and took about 3 minutes, actually. Netflix only paused once for a split second. I have DSL but 6 Mbps download tested/pinged. Subscribe to ATT’s fastest DSL. Have gen 1 in a different house/location with Time Warner and 9 Mbps download tested with rare issues of pause on Vudu or almost none on Netflix. Apple, Netflix, Vudu need to fix this and win the Net Neutrality Battle or this business model will not succeed. They are building server farms and negotiating bandwidth rights but need to spend some of that horde of Cash on politics or they will loose at the FCC.