Solution for Apple TV 2, Xfinity router, Ethernet connection and Home Sharing

Question

I have read over the past week the problems people have been having configuring their Apple TV and Home Sharing. I was experiencing the same issues as others....until tonight. I finally got it to work with an Ethernet connection. Previously, I was only able to get it to work via wifi and home sharing would drop after awhile.
1) Xfinity router settings. Like others I was suspicious if the Xfinity router was causing the issues because of the separation between wifi network and Ethernet network. It's not the router problem. I disabled the firewall. Enabled port forwarding. Gave a static IP address to the Apple TV. Added forwarding of ports
   123 TCP
    3689 UDP (all other support says this should be TCP but searched through and found a thread that suggested changing to UDP...this was the key)
    5353 UDP
    80 TCP
    443 TCP
    53 TCP
DMZ is off
Device discovery is disabled
Port triggering is disabled.
The wifi is setup and functional using DHCP. Lease time is 1 week.
RESET ROUTER AFTER ENTERING CONFIGURATION.
2) Mac computer. As of this posting the latest version of iTunes installed. Latest Safari version. All programs updated. Turned on Home Sharing. Turned off firewall. Gave Mac a static IP address. Set Mac for hard drive to never sleep. Set monitor to sleep after 15 minutes. Set date and time to automatically find based upon time zone. ( Apple TV needs to be set to the same time zone as computer and set to manual). Enabled file sharing amongst users on Mac.
3) Apple TV. Ethernet connection. Configured TCP/IP to static IP address  I configured on router for the Apple TV. Turned on AirPlay. Set date and time to manual and set as the same time zone as the computer with iTunes. Turned on Home Sharing. Using latest version of Apple TV.
Once the router was reset ( not restored and not just resetting the wifi. A complete router reset), the Apple TV found my iTunes library. It's been running now for over an hour and no drop in the home sharing. Working beautifully. I will be testing in the next couple days allowing the Apple TV to sleep, turning the firewall on the router to a minimal setting to see if it changes anything.
Just tested the AirPlay from my iPad 2 to the Apple TV while the Apple TV is connected via ethernet connection and it works. At this point it appears that the setup is correct and complete with no errors.
As a side note, the Ethernet connection between my router and Mac is via commercial devices using the power outlets as the wiring.
Hope this helps many of you that were/ are struggling to get this to work like I was.

Answer 1

spma3,
Appreciate your further message. As you say "it's not fixed", but at least your solution appears to be a viable workaround!
My Cisco RVS4000 Router will permit me to forward ports for up to 15 applications. Of these, thirteen already have default entries added, although none of these are presently Enabled. For example, here's just 2 lines...
Application           HTTP        NTP
External Port          80           123
Internal Port           80            123
Protocol                TCP          UDP
IP Address            No entries at both
and the Enabled box for both is unchecked. In fact none of these 13 possibilities is Enabled.
To do what you are advising, I would need to...
1) Enable the above Port 123 entry, changing it from UDP-->TCP.
2) Add new entries for 3689 UDP & 5353 UDP... using the two free slots at the end of the table.
3) Select three of the default entries, and reconfigure them for 80 TCP; 443 TCP; 53 TCP, all as per your guidance. And Enable them.
Now, my present setup here has...
1) My PC is wired straight to Port 2 of the Router, and has a Static IP Address set.
My new ATV2 is hard-wired into the same subnet, albeit thru a series of switches, and again a Static IP is set. My understanding is that hard wiring an ATV automatically disables its WiFi.
3) My wife's iPad2 is set for DHCP, so it can pick up an IP Address when on the move. It connects into the LAN using one of two WAP4410N Wireless Access Points. Ch-1 & Ch-6, with same SSID and security stuff set up on both. The WAPs in turn are wired in, again with Static IPs set. So depending where she is in the property she can connect with excellent signal strength, reaching the ATV2  by WiFi+LAN.
On the Router DMZ is OFF, Port Range Triggering has no entries, nothing is Enabled, so is OFF. No idea about Device Discovery!
Home Sharing is ON for the PC, ATV2 and iPad2, with the same Apple ID/Password set for each. It does work, just not consistently as it should.
So to fully implement your idea, all I need to do is to enter these details. But I am unclear which IP Address I should put in at each new Single Port Forwarding entry field. Certainly not the iPad2, as its DHCP allocated value will change. Is it the ATV2 or the PC? Not sure, please clarify.
BTW, I have no plan to deactivate my AVG Firewall on this PC. It is happy to pass all traffic related to iTunes, so cannot see this as a factor. Time zone same on all equipment.
I tried with just 3689 UDP and 5353 UDP yesterday, and things were definitely better. I used 192.168.20.227, the IP Address for the ATV2.
Look forward to your answer.