Airplay stutters

Last week on vacation, I took the following setup with me.
ATV 2nd generation
MacBook Pro with USB3
External hard drive with USB3 with MP4 movies
I hooked the ATV2 up to the TV via HDMI cable and to the LAN via wifi. I played movies from the laptop to the TV via airplay. But the movies would regularly freeze up/stutter every few minutes even though it kept playing smoothly on the laptop screen. I finally quit trying to use airplay because it was just too annoying. Anyone else experience such stuttering?

Okay so after a lot of reading on these discussion posts and the Internet, I have resolved my issue.
Like jdam, I have a Time Capsule connected to my Internet Cable Modem. My new home has speakers in every room so I wanted to stream via AirPlay from my iMac, MacBook Air, iPhone or iPad. My Sony receiver will not play to Zone B using a digital signal from the AppleTv HDMI, so I purchased the AirPort Express so I could connect the mini audio port the the receiver.
When I used the AirPort configuration utility, it assumed I wanted to extend my current network on my Time Capsule. This article http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4587?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US states that "due to the overhead required for this configuration, you may expect AirPlay drop-outs such as intermittent loss of audio". Therefore the solution is to configure the AirPort Express to be a client of the Time Machine, not extend the wireless network.
In the same article it states, "AirPort Express used exclusively for AirPlay by setting it up in Client Mode.
Choose this configuration if the computer containing your iTunes library may be out of direct range of the AirPort Express, but is within range of the Wi-Fi network."
In the AirPort Utility select the Wireless tab and change the Network Mode from "Extend a wireless network" to "Join a wirelss network".
After the AirPort Express comes back online, I tested streaming from all of my devices and I no longer had stutter or drop outs when playing music.
I know jdam stated he had "Join a wireless network" selected but I also thought this is what the default setup did.

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Airplay Stuttering Issues - Troubleshooting Help

Hi all,
I've been having some Airplay problems for a while and all of the other forum posts or articles I've found online haven't helped. Here's a complete list of what works and what doesn't as well as my current WLAN settings.
Any ideas would be incredibly appreciated!
Hardware details:
Apple TV is on wifi (setup doesn't really allow for it to be wired)
Retina MacBook Pro (mid 2012)
iPhone 5s
iPad 2
Very responsive internet and wifi in every context except Airplay
Had the exact same setup at my previous residence (suburban house) but am now having these issues in my new apartment (city)
WORKS
Video Airplay from iPad streaming apps (YouTube, Hulu apps)
All Apple TV (3rd gen) direct streaming (iTunes Radio, Netflix, Hulu, etc.)
Airplay from iPad photos app
Airplay mirroring from iPhone 5s
Music.app streaming from iPhone 5s
Video Airplay from iPhone 5s
Ethernet: Airplay mirroring from RMBP (audio & video)
Ethernet: iTunes streaming
Software on all devices is up-to-date
DOESN’T WORK
Video Airplay from iPad local files (videos within GoodReader)
Wifi iTunes Airplay from laptop
Music.app Airplay from iPad (no sound from TV at all)
Spotify Airplay from iPad (stutters)
Airplay mirroring from iPad
Airplay mirroring from rMBP (one frame stays frozen)
Setting MacBook’s audio output to Airplay (stutters)
Spotify streaming from iPhone 5s
WIRELESS SETUP
Linksys E2500 (Documentation)
It seems like I've done everything that Apple suggests in its wifi router suggestions
**This problem existed before I disabled the 2.4GHz channel and I made the decision to disable it throughout this troubleshooting process.

Hello the_Tobman,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
In order to troubleshoot performace issues with AirPlay between your devices, please follow the steps below.
Resolve performance issues with AirPlay or AirPlay Mirroring
If you are experiencing intermittent playback or significant network lag with AirPlay or AirPlay Mirroring, it could be due to a weak Wi-Fi connection, interference, or the distance between the Wi-Fi router and your iOS device, Apple TV or AirPort Express.
Try these suggestions:
Ensure that other devices are not trying to stream to the same Apple TV at the same time.
Ensure that your Wi-Fi router is set up with the recommended settings for the best performance.
Certain external devices, such as microwave ovens and baby monitors, may interfere with a Wi-Fi network. Try moving or disabling these devices.
If possible, try to locate your Wi-Fi router in the same room as your iOS device and Apple TV.
If your wireless and wired networks are the same, try connecting your Apple TV to the router via Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi.
If the Wi-Fi router has an external antenna, check to see that is it connected properly and in good condition.
Use the Wi-Fi network troubleshooting guide to resolve interference and other issues.
If you are using iTunes, please see these troubleshooting guidelines.
Resolve issues with AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring from iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
Take care,
Alex H.

AirPlay stuttering

No stuttering:
Audio playback via iTunes with "Apple TV" selected as output via AirPlay icon at the bottom of the iTunes window.
Stuttering:
Audio playback via iTunes (or anything else) with "Apple TV AirPlay" selected as sound out via Sound control panel.
Audio playback via iTunes (or anything else) with AirPlay Mirroring enabled via AirPlay menu bar item.
System:
Apple TV 3rd generation
Connected to Time Capsule via Ethernet
Connected to Sony TV via HDMI
MacBook Pro Retina
Time Capsule 2009 (A1302 1TB [second generation])
The problem seems to be entirely internal to the Mac since one configuration works -- allowing us to rule out network congestion, or anything having to do with the Apple TV or Time Capsule.
I have Rhapsody, which I can't stream through iTunes since I access it via a web browser. I would like to listen to it over AirPlay. Any ideas?

Hi!
You can stream all audio from your computer by option clicking the audio icon in your top-right corner and choosing your Apple TV.
Hope that helps!

Airplay stuttering on itunes

hi,
recently i bought an airplay speaker.
when i play a song with airplay on the speaker via my iphone 5 it works perfectly however when i play a song on itunes on my windows 7pc it keeps stuttering. I tried streaming music with airfoil but this also stutters.
Both my iphone and the pc are connected to my wifi network on 802.11n 300 Mbit/s wireless router.
i have itunes 11.0.2.26
pc specs: intel core 2 Duo CPU T6400 @2.00GHz
4gb ram
64 -bit windoes 7
Wifi card: Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-card
what could be the problem?

I'have the same problem as well,
Iphone --> airplay device is good
Tabled --> airplay device is good
Windows764bit, latest itunes --> local notebook audio also good
Windows764bit, latest itunes --> airplay device is stuttering (tried both wifi and cable, for notebook and airplay device)

Airplay stuttering from iMac to ATV3

I am having an issue where when I try to airplay content from my iMac it stutters and glitches really badly on my TV. I have the most current Apple TV and iTunes installed. I don't have any issues with Netflix or Hulu on my Apple TV, it is only when I am mirroring content my desktop. I thought at first it was my wifi, so I put an extender in the room right next to the ATV3 and it didn't help at all. Any suggestions?

sevenstar wrote:
I have exactly the same problem after updating to iTunes 10.4.1 on OSX 10.6.8.
...but suddenly after the iTunes upgrade it has stopped working and iTunes cannot connect to the Airport Base Station anymore.
...Both the Airport Utility app and my IP Scanner can find it in the network when it is connected; it is iTunes that cannot connect to it anymore.
There several possible reasons may responsible for that.
Let's find out, which it is on your system.
Are you able to choose the "speaker" represented by the Express in iTunes?
As the Express shows up in Airport Utility, have you checked that in the manual settings of the Express in the music section "Enable Airplay" is checked?
Lupunus

Airplay Stutters and connection loss

After updating Mavericks, and with Yosemite same problem, my appleTV stutters a lot when air-playing a movie or youtube video on my television streaming from my macbook pro or imac.
And every 3-4 days I have to restart the modem otherwhise the computers don't even see the apple tv at all.
It's not a problem of video codecs, also the mouse pointer moving around stutters on my tv.
Any help ?
My wifi is excellent, I tested it with iStumbler, both 2.4 and 5 GHZ (dual band wifi), I can upload with no problem 1MB/s over wifi, and download 4 MB/s
Thanks

I had this problem exactly as described by Robbie75VRI. However, the problem existed before I upgraded to Yosemite, and has not improved at all. It is not a bandwidth problem. I have close to the fastest internet connection available, a new router. Have tried resetting router, reset and restored Apple TV and nothing works. Using 3'rd gen Apple TV and 2013 iMac 27"
I have spoken with Apple Care about this at least twice, and they have not been of much help. They are suggesting that I exchange for a new Apple Tv, but I am fairly confident that this is not a hardware problem.
I have also played with repositioning Apple Tv and router, using different cables of different lengths etc. Nothing works.
The problem only exists when streaming anything from the iMac, not from iphone or ipad. If I am streaming movies through iTunes on my iMac to Apple tv everything is fine. But when trying to watch any movies that are stored directly on my iMac's hard drive or any external hard drive the problem persists. Also, I sometimes use Netflix USA to watch movies, and because I can't do that directly from Apple tv, I stream from my iMac to Apple tv and the problem is really bad. Mouse pointer jumps all over, picture freezes and is skippy and lossy.

AirPlay stuttering while streaming radio from iPad

I have a 1st gen iPad and 2nd gen Apple TV. I can stream videos, YouTube, etc from the iPad to Apple TV with no problems, but if I stream radio stations they will drop out intermittently. Some days are worse than others, but rarely does it stream any radio without stuttering. Again, NO problems streaming video.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Doug

Intermittent problems are often a result of interference. Interference can be caused by other networks in the neighbourhood or from household electrical items.
You can download and install iStumbler (NetStumbler for windows users) to help you see which channels are used by neighbouring networks so that you can avoid them, but iStumbler will not see household items.
Refer to your router manual for instructions on changing your wifi channel or adjusting your multicast rate.
There are other types of problems that can affect networks, but this is by far the most common, hence worth mentioning first. Networks that have inherent issues can be seen to work differently with different versions of the same software. You might also try moving the Apple TV away from other electrical equipment.

AirPort Express and AirPlay mayhem

Ok so I have a 500GB Time Capsule (about three years old) broadcasting a wireless network and connected by ethernet to a DLINK DSL2740B router in my study and an AirPort Express in my room extending the wireless network wirelessly and for AirPlay. I have been using a 1st-generation AirPort Express for years without an issue until the new AE came out and there was a firmware update to mine. Shortly after, it began cutting out intermittently and AirPlay stutters every 20 seconds or so.
Even though I thought it extremely suspicious that after a firmware update and new generation AirPort Express release my old AE starts cutting out, I went and bought a 2nd-generation AirPort Express (hey, they look prettier). It worked like a charm for the first two days, but now it is cutting out and stuttering while trying to use AirPlay from both my MacBook Pro and my iPhone 4S. Not only that, but when I look in AirPort Utility on my Mac, it says that the connection to the new AE is either "poor" or "fair". Seeing as I am sitting about three steps away from the thing, I don't think that's right. Internet speed seems to be largely unaffected.
This is driving me crazy, any help would be appreciated.

A couple of more questions for clarification. Does your Actiontec router also provide Wi-Fi? Is your AirPort Express, which is connected by Ethernet to the Actiontec, configured as a roaming network or to join the Actiontec's wireless network?

Best Network Layout for Unifi Environment

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Take into account the building material on the outside walls of your home as well. If it's just insulation and wood, and you don't have to extend very far, then you should be fine. If you have brick or metal...

I am trying to get some advice on the best layout for a new install of a Unifi home network. - Surfboard SB6183 Modem for 300Mbs Connection- Ubiquiti Networks - ERPOE-5 - EdgeRouter with 5 Ports- Cisco 24 Port Gigabit Switch (don't know model number - All home connections home run here)- 5 Unifi Pro Ap's- 2 Airport Express for Airtunes only (wireless off)- 2 x 8 Port Gigabit Switches ( 1 for media cabinet, 1 for office )I am trying to figure out the best topology for how I connect everything. Would it be best to plug in 4 x Unifi Ap's directly into the Router and one into the 24 port switch, or to plug them all into the switch?I also have had alot of trouble with my current all apple setup with airplay stuttering (all wired), so would it be better to place the airport expresses directly into the Unifi Router?Lastly, are all pro level...
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I'd like to bump this and add to it....We have a 30Mbps broadband connection with Aiport Express providing the wireless. When Apple TV is streaming Netflix, all other devices are virtually useless. I test each device on speedtest.net and they are all now 1-2Mbps and less, often stalling out. HOWEVER, if I stream Netflix on my wirelessly connected Mac Mini, all other devices consistently test at 22Mbps+. What is going on? I'm tempted to toss my Apple TV. Any time someone uses the Apple TV, the internet slows to a crawl, AirPlay stutters and stops, etc. Shut off Apple TV and we can simultaneously stream Netflix, etc. on 5 devices and the internet runs smooth. It makes no sense why Apple TV is doing this but I have tested it and 100% of the time, Apple TV is the culprit.

IPad cuts out and stutters on AirPlay music but iPhone does not?!

Hi folks, hope you can help with this problem, it's a little weird.
I bought an Apple TV a few days ago and have been enjoying streaming music from my apple devices onto the hifi system connected to the TV. It works great except for one particular use-case, which is really frustrating. Basically, I can do everything from the Apple TV, stream HD content, Netflix etc. all good. From my iPhone I can do everything over AirPlay, stream music from iTunes, from Spotify, stream high quality video from YouTube or off the device itself, all works perfectly.
On my iPad 2 however everything works EXCEPT streaming music, it's bizarre. I can stream a high def video from YouTube onto the iPad and AirPlay it over to the ATV and it never misses a beat. I can mirror my screen onto the TV and stream games like Real Racing HD with no issues or lag whatsoever. However when I try to stream music either from iTunes or Spotify from the iPad it stutters (cuts out) every 30 seconds or so, making the music intolerable.
The weirdest thing is that I can queue up the same track on my iPhone 4s and on the iPad 2, play it from the iPhone and it works perfectly, pause that, play from the iPad and it's a complete mess. Similarly, when music is stuttering and cutting out on the iPad, I can switch directly to the YouTube, or BBC iPlayer app and stream high def video over AirPlay with no sound or video problems, then switch back to the music - back come the cut outs. It's driving me mad, I want the iPad to be the device everyone uses to play music from, especially for parties, but at the moment I have to get my phone out every time.
So it's not a bandwidth problem or a wifi signal problem (because video over airplay is fine) and it only affects music and it only affects the iPad.
Any ideas?!?!
I should state that all the iOS devices have the latest apple software and I have already tried resetting the iPad, the ATV, my wifi router etc. etc.

"Sonos" your Airplay
Hi,
This observation elicited a Eureka moment. After months of problems with our airplay I had worked through almost every suggestion on the net to little or no avail.
As a result of this post I reconfigured one of our access points as a dedicated airplay network. Brilliant. We have now had 2 weeks of perfect airplay.
If you are reading this, you are probably fairly tech savvy. You therefore probably have an old router in the garage, shed or attic.
Get it out, dust it off and connect it to your network as an access point (Ethernet cable and a good internet search on your router). Set it up on an empty wireless channel as "*****airplay" or whatever suits you and connect the airplay clients (airport express, Apple TV, airplay speakers etc.) to that. Keep everything else on the original wireless network.
Interestingly, this is how Sonos have approached the wireless music solution.
This has worked brilliantly for us, I hope this helps others in a similar predicament.
Uncle Duck
Ps - This is a good work around, but , come on apple - it shouldn't need a degree in engineering
System
Variety of IOS devices- phones, ipods,iPads, MacBooks et al.
2 access point - main router ((virgin media Superhub (aka Netgear)), separate access point, Netgear WNDR4500
Laptops,desktop, printers etc
2 airport express, 1 apple tv

I have a new Macbook Air 2012, Apple TV 2 and I have tried wired and wireless connections both result in stuttering during video airplay to the ATV2.

I have a new Macbook Air 2012, Apple TV 2 and I have tried wired and wireless connections both still result in stuttering during video airplay to the ATV2.
I have even bought a new Airport Extreme Router just to confirm it is not the router and it still didn't help.
I have brought all items in the same room with wired connections and still same issue.
I was thinking maybe ATV 3 might help since it has 2 wifi antennas and faster processor.
Have tried everything I could think of.
This was one of the main reasons I bought a Macbook Air for this airplay feature. Very frustrated.
Any thoughts; any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Thanks for the suggestion.
I also disabled Norton Firewall and restarted the Air and Now I'm able to use Air Play.
I know that the Apple remedy said that to do that in the support article, but I totally forgot I had that enabled..
It actually works. I can even stream to the Apple TV now through my MacBook Air.
BTW, Go into setting under the ATV, and click on update...you'll see that there was another update avaialble for the last gen of ATV...
It does have to restart twice..I guess once to download and and nother to apply.

Hi, I have a Beolit12, which stutters using airplay with my Imac

Hi Everyone
I hope some can please help
I have a Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12, which plays perfectly using Airplay from Ipad and Iphone 5, but stutters every 30 seconds or so from my Imac
Any ideas please!!!!!!

If you are still getting stuttering when the iMac, Beolit, and the wireless router are in the same room I'm not sure what the issue is. Unfortunately, I don't have a Beolit to test with.
The only other option I can think of is if you can borrow an AirPort Express. Use the Express with a pair of stereo headphones connected to its audio port. Stage the iMac, Express, and wireless router in the same room and find out whether or not you still get the stutters in the headphones when streaming from the iMac. If you do, it may be some configuration on the iMac that is the problem.

Macbook air July 2012 airplay with video stutters and stalls

I have Mountain Lion installed on my base model 13" Macbook air 2012 and airplay is stuttering and stalling when playing video in VLC and mplayerx. I've got a belkin n600db router and the 3rd gen apple TV (latest software). Is anyone else seeing similar issues?

I've got the same problem. Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro mirroring to 2nd generation AppleTV (720p) over AirPort Extreme supporting 802.11n.
I agree with your Apple "hope" and the sooner the better. AirPlay mirroring was the single largest motivator in getting Mountain Lion.

AppleTV, iPad, Music, AirPlay & Wifi: Same Access Point? Stuttering. Different Access Points? Just Fine!

I saw some discussions that seemed somewhat like what I have experienced, but thought I'd post this separately just in case.
I have three AppleTV units. Two are wired, and one uses WiFi. The two wired ones work just fine, but using AirPlay for music was terrible for the WiFi one. It would play about a half second of music, then stop, then another half second, and so on, so it seemed to be stuttering and was unusable for that. It was strange that video and its associated audio worked just fine for me!
I did stumble onto something that helped me, but it might not be applicable to all.
I have a Cisco Dual-Band router. It shows as 2 access points/SSIDs - one on 2.4GHz and one on 5GHz. If the WiFi AppleTV and my iPad are on the SAME access point, I get the audio stuttering. If I switch so one is on the 2.4GHz and one is on the 5GHz, AirPlay music works great. It doesn't matter which is on which, but if both are on the same one, I get music stuttering.
I plan on switching one or the other of the wired units to use WiFi for a test to see if they all exhibit this behavior, but the behavior was reliable on the one AppleTV I use via WiFi.
I was actually going to switch from the 5GHz AP to the 2.4GHz AP for both to see if it worked differently, and happened to test when one was on each, then followed it up with tests for all 4 of the configurations (2.4-2.4, 2.4-5, 5-2.4, 5-5).
If you aren't using a dual-band router, I don't know if there is any way to take advantage of what I see in my configuration, but I thought I'd share the information in case it does provide some options.

Airplay uses ethernet / ip broadcast. This only works on the same ip subnet. A router typically connects different subnets. Hence being in one subnet you won't get the broadcast packets and won't see the advertised "airplay" services of the apple TV. You should make both "sides" (in your diagram) of the router into one subnet. That might involve connecting everyting to an ethernet switch.

Airplay stutters

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