HT1657 I have rented 2 movies on apple tv. Both of them stop frequently by freezing on the screen for extended periods. My time is running out. I've yet to watch a film right through as a movie experience. Is this something that often happends? Is it fixa

Question

I have rented two movies on appleTV. Neither play all the way through. Both stop frequently and freeze for extended periods. It has been more than 10 hours since I downloaded them. What should I do to watch a movie all the way through? My tv is a year old.

Answer 1

Hello there billytea,
From what you are describing here, it seems as though we may need to look into the network configuration. Here is an article named Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation): Troubleshooting playback performance that I feel has great information about troubleshooting these types of streaming issues and recommendations to optimize it. You can find the article here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3623. First a bit about the minimum requirements for streaming HD and SD content:
Broadband Internet connection
For the best viewing experience when renting or purchasing iTunes content on Apple TV, you need a broadband Internet connection. A sustained 8 Mbit/s or faster Internet connection is recommended for viewing 1080p high-definition movies and TV shows, 6 Mbit/s or faster is recommended for viewing 720p content, and 2.5 Mbit/s or faster for standard-definition content. Internet connection speeds may vary depending on your ISP and other factors.
If you are not sure what your Internet speed is, you can ask your ISP, or use an online bandwidth test from a computer that is located on the same network as your Apple TV.
If your internet meets these requirements I recommend following the troubleshooting in the article.
If streaming performance issues occur even with a high-speed broadband Internet connection, consider these suggestions:
Check your home network
Along with a broadband Internet connection, your Apple TV also relies on a high-speed local network to play media content quickly and reliably.Wireless connectionWired (Ethernet) connection
To connect Apple TV to your network wirelessly, Apple TV requires a wireless router or Base Station that is 802.11 a, g, or n compatible for streaming video.
Your Apple TV should also be within a reasonable range of your base station or router, and in an environment with minimal wireless interference. To verify the strength of your wireless connection on your Apple TV, from the main menu, go to Settings > General > About
If you continue to experience slow playback performance when viewing movies and TV shows, connect your Apple TV to your local network via a wired (Ethernet) connection. If streaming performance improves noticeably, then you should consider updating or troubleshooting your Wi-Fi base station or router.
If you are connecting your Apple TV to your network via Ethernet, you should use a 10/100BASE-T or faster Ethernet network.
If you continue to experience slow playback performance while connected to your local network via a wired (Ethernet) connection, consider contacting your Internet service provider (ISP) to increase the speed of your connection. You can also reduce the video resolution of the iTunes Store content as is described in the next section.
All the very best,
Sterling