Apple TV 4K

[dmiller68]

I run my through the receiver. In a different thread get an Alexa then she can say "Alexa watch TV" and bam she is watching TV and she didn't have to turn anything on. Of coarse this is assuming you have a harmony remote, if you don't think about that too...

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

In the theater it's run through the Processor and controlled via NEEO.

In the living room, it's run directly to the TV and I have the CEC turned on for that channel, so clicking the AppleTV remote will turn on the TV and automatically select the AppleTV input.

 

[GFOviedo]

I run my through the receiver. In a different thread get an Alexa then she can say "Alexa watch TV" and bam she is watching TV and she didn't have to turn anything on. Of coarse this is assuming you have a harmony remote, if you don't think about that too...

I was actually thinking of buying a Harmony Remot Hub since there's someone local selling one for $50, which comes with a remote "companion," but I am not sure if I can add a Harmony Elite remote to it later?

I also just order a 2 channel Onkyo M5010 amplifier to connect it to my Denon HEOS Link for the patio. I'm currently using an old model Denon AVR that doesn't have a remote so it kind of bothers me to walk over the AVR to turn it on, and turn the volume up by hand rather than using my phone or table. At times I'm at the other side of the patio, and I've got to walk half a block to get to it. Got lucky and bought it for $100 bucks shipped.

 

[mechman]

Through the receiver - Pioneer VSX-832.

 

[JBrax]

I finally got mine hooked up. I’m still trying to get all of the settings dialed in just right. Initial impressions are like most of my Apple products the user experience is just a cut above others. Although, you do pay a premium for that but I’m okay with it if it’s better.

 

[mechman]

Review's finally up. Sorry it took me so long!

 

[mechman]

tvOS is now up to 14.02

 

[golfbravo]

I see that there isn't much traffic on this thread, but I'm desperate, so here goes!

I am having constant problems with UHD programs crashing apps. This is a new (replacement from Apple) latest version (Five) of the ATV 4K. It was swapped after I had done the following:

* Pulled a cat6e cable to replace wifi connection (we are on symmetrical 1Gb fiber).
* Replaced receiver and tv (they were planned upgrades, but I waited to ensure that neither was the problem)
* Checked that the HDMI cable is the highest high-speed spec
* Run a speed test on the connection (an additional patch cord into the local switch inside the cabinet). Usually in excess of 600Mbps and even as the app crashes it was in excess of 300Mbps).

Last night we tried to watch Apple's "Invasion" and at six minutes or so, the spinning ball appeared for a minute or so then the player crashed returning us to the menu screen. Reloading and continuing play worked until circa 16 mins when the same happened. Ditto at 19 mins. I have similar problems with other UHD content on Apple. (Ted Lasso and Foundation lately)

Similar problems on Netflix, usually exhibits as "Cannot play title. Please try again later. Code:-12742. I can find nothing on web searches that relate to this error.

On HBO Max we have similar but less often problems.

Prime is the only app where it's possible to watch content, but that has minor hiccups and pauses, but the content continues to play.

I'm at my wit's end - anyone any thoughts or suggestions?

Cheers

 

[mechman]

This sounds more like an internet connection issue than an ATV issue. Have you checked your internet connection? I don’t think I’ve ever had an app crash on me while playing a UHD program and I do that all the time. I would definitely check the throughput at the end of that cat6e cable with a laptop or something else. Or get the speed test app from the apple store.

Who’s your internet provider?

 

[mechman]

Also, make sure the ATV is up to date and running the latest tvOS.

 

[golfbravo]

This sounds more like an internet connection issue than an ATV issue. Have you checked your internet connection? I don’t think I’ve ever had an app crash on me while playing a UHD program and I do that all the time. I would definitely check the throughput at the end of that cat6e cable with a laptop or something else. Or get the speed test app from the apple store.

Who’s your internet provider?

As per the OP, I have tested on a separate but connected to the same switch wire and even in worst case have over 300Mbps.
Is there a speed test for the ATV?

Cheers

 

[golfbravo]

Also, make sure the ATV is up to date and running the latest tvOS.

Yup, all done.

 

[mechman]

As per the OP, I have tested on a separate but connected to the same switch wire and even in worst case have over 300Mbps.
Is there a speed test for the ATV?

Cheers

Can you not use the same wire that you use for your ATV to check the speed? Cause if you’re using a different one and it tests fine, that would point to the wire being the culprit. I’d think it would be odd to have 2 bad ATVs delivered to the same person. Test that wire. Also, I’ve had ports go bad on switches before too. Try a different port.

You can get speed test from the App Store.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I agree, this sounds like the data pipeline to your ATV is getting squeezed and it's causing playback to stall. You might have decent speed, but is the connection consistent? If you have cable line to your home that's been spliced, the connection point could be corroding. Or maybe a line got nicked?

 

[golfbravo]

Can you not use the same wire that you use for your ATV to check the speed? Cause if you’re using a different one and it tests fine, that would point to the wire being the culprit. I’d think it would be odd to have 2 bad ATVs delivered to the same person. Test that wire. Also, I’ve had ports go bad on switches before too. Try a different port.

You can get speed test from the App Store.

Thanks for your feedback, it is appreciated.

I agree wrt 2 faulty units.

We are on AT&T fiber which is symmetrical 1 Gbit.

Here is today's saga.

I installed the speedtest app on ATV (thanks, didn't realize that was available on ATV).

This is timed 11:36:36.

Started Netflix, played Sex Education (restarted from crash point last time), got this at 11:40:15 (less than 4 mins)

Switched to ATV+, played "Invasion" from the last crash point. Played for 10-12 minutes with some very slight stutter at points, but much better than historically.

Loaded the HBO max app and streamed "Dune". At 3:15 (there may be some significance to this time, it appears to happen a lot at roughly this interval) in, the stream stopped:

After about a minute of this the app crashed.

I streamed the GM new Corvette Z06 (30 minutes or so) film on YouTube and it completed fine.

After that a final speed test:

Last night we watched the whole episode of "Lewis" on Prime with no problems - though that was not UHD. Prime does seem more resilient than other apps.

Whatever this is, it seems to be well hidden. I have done all the things I can think of, plus the suggestions from friends and here.

I suspect that my next call should be to AT&T, but expect that they will tell me download and uploads are fine.

I DO see that jitter is between .22ms and .38ms in the tests, I don't know how significant jitter is and if so, what the upper and lower bounds should be.

If you have any other thoughts, I need additional staws to clutch at!!

Cheers

 

[Todd Anderson]

Do you have a VPN or some sort of security software running?

 

[golfbravo]

Do you have a VPN or some sort of security software running?

Good thought, but nope. Nothing that I'm aware of.

 

[mechman]

Your speed, ping and jitter are awesome. I still don’t think it would be the ATV. It may be some silly config problem with the router or whatever AT&T provided you. I’d get on the phone with them and see if there’s something that needs to be changed. I think I read something back several months ago about some IPV6 causing issues with Disney+.

Keep us in the loop!

 

[mechman]

One more thing, can you airplay thru a phone or an ipad onto the ATV? See if that works. That may help with the troubleshooting when you call ATT.

 

[JStewart]

Do you have any other streamers in the home that are working? Can you borrow one for testing if not?
If you’re reaching out to your ISP ask them if there’s a way to monitor and log the connection quality in case something is causing the issue then returning to normal by the time you do another static check.
You also said 2 ATVs so I doubt a factory reset would help, but at this point can’t hurt other than having to reconfigure the ATV after, that is.

 

[golfbravo]

So, todays update! On a whim I got a Roku Ultra from BestBuy ($70, seemed like a low risk option).

I spent an hour or so installing updating and getting the logins setup.

Guess what? Netflix loads and plays the episode which was crashing (and later, I'm dead to you). ATV+ played the rest of episode 1 of Invasion and HBO Max played the start of Dune with no issues.

Now it's early days, these are short tests, and we shall see what this evening brings, but much better that with the ATV so far.

I'm optimistic.

Cheers

 

[golfbravo]

Do you have any other streamers in the home that are working? Can you borrow one for testing if not?
If you’re reaching out to your ISP ask them if there’s a way to monitor and log the connection quality in case something is causing the issue then returning to normal by the time you do another static check.
You also said 2 ATVs so I doubt a factory reset would help, but at this point can’t hurt other than having to reconfigure the ATV after, that is.

I had done a factory reset and a delete and re-install of Netflix.

 

[mechman]

If you were looking for a replacement for the ATV I would have recommended something other than the Roku Ultra. About the only thing positive about the Roku is the remote. Which, coincidentally, is one of the disadvantages of the ATV 4K.

Finding a decent streaming device is my Holy Grail at this moment in my life. I currently own 2 ATVs, 2 Roku Ultras, 2 Roku sticks, a Roku TV and an Nvidia Shield TV. Each has their pluses (the roku it’s the remote, the ATVs work with all content and with pretty much every cable I’ve thrown at them, the Nvidia just works as well) and minuses (roku ultras have never ending HDCP issues, ATV remote is the worst, Nvidia won’t play Dolby Vision). Currently, I’m contemplating dumping the Roku Ultra in my living room for a Google TV 4K. But when I want to watch something in the theater, it is always on my ATV using a Harmony remote.

 

[golfbravo]

If you were looking for a replacement for the ATV I would have recommended something other than the Roku Ultra. About the only thing positive about the Roku is the remote. Which, coincidentally, is one of the disadvantages of the ATV 4K.

Finding a decent streaming device is my Holy Grail at this moment in my life. I currently own 2 ATVs, 2 Roku Ultras, 2 Roku sticks, a Roku TV and an Nvidia Shield TV. Each has their pluses (the roku it’s the remote, the ATVs work with all content and with pretty much every cable I’ve thrown at them, the Nvidia just works as well) and minuses (roku ultras have never ending HDCP issues, ATV remote is the worst, Nvidia won’t play Dolby Vision). Currently, I’m contemplating dumping the Roku Ultra in my living room for a Google TV 4K. But when I want to watch something in the theater, it is always on my ATV using a Harmony remote.

Hi Steve,

You mimic my dilemma!

Ms Jody siad to me "I thought you hated Roku". That was largely based on previous issues when the just replaced TV was new - HDCP issues so bad that I nearly ditched the lot!
I replaced that with a Shield that worked perfectly for 3 years, but has an abysmal UI and doesn't get updated to supported latest content. That lasted until a few months ago, when the original ATV worked well with the old TV - a 4th gen. I upgrade to the latest, 5th gen ATV and it is those that have been problematic. I was surprised to like the ATV as much as I did, and it is (I think) the only streamer to offer Atmos on Netflix, et al. I am happy with the remote - as long as the "touch" option is turned off.

The only reason for trying the Roku was it was a $70 risk (and I have extended return with BB), so it seemed worthwhile. Last night it streamed Netflix for a couple of episodes of Sex Ed with no issues. We are, surprisingly, not huge TV watchers, but this upgrade is my birthday pressy to myself and a fun project.

I appreciate all the help and input in this forum, thanks to each of you.

I'll follow your search for the Holy Grail with interest :-))

Cheers

 

[mechman]

Well I put the Roku Ultra on a shelf and brought the Apple TV 4K back out for the living room. I replaced the remote though with the newer Siri remote. We'll see if that one gets on my nerves.