Why is iTunes TV show streaming so horrible compared to Netflix (on new Apple TV)?

[CrackBerry Kevin]

I'm at a bit of a loss here.

I have the newest Apple TV. I have a super fast internet connection at my home.

My wife has been binge watching Suits. She watched the first 5 seasons on Netflix. Not all of Season 5 was on Netflix, so we went back to buying the rest of that season on iTunes, and also bought Season 6 on iTunes.

Streaming the first Five Seasons of Suits was flawless. Trying to watch Suits episodes on iTunes though is pretty much the worst experience ever. To get an episode to play you have to re-start the episode anywhere from one to five times. Often it hangs in the middle of the episode, and you have to hit menu, then restart the episode and resume. It's just embarrassing.

Are Apple's servers for streaming that much poorer than what Netflix is using? For what it's worth, I'm located in Canada.

Don't understand how this can be any other issue than on Apple's end, since I'm using the same hardware/internet and can jump back and forth between Netflix and iTunes in seconds. Netflix is rock solid.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Rob Phillips]

Honestly, I don't see a difference between streaming via Netflix and steaming via iTunes. I use both services frequently and they're both pretty dependable in my home.

Are you having the same experience on other devices on your wifi network like iPhones, iPads, and Macs?

 

[CrackBerry Kevin]

Nope.

Like I said. The only variable here is iTunes vs. Netflix. It's the same Apple TV and I'm using the different services literally seconds apart. Streaming Suits on Netflix is lighting fast and dependable. Jump back to iTunes and buy the episodes and it's complete garbage.

Maybe it's because I'm in Canada.... Does Apple give us a crappier stream here?

 

[metllicamilitia]

I'm at a bit of a loss here.

I have the newest Apple TV. I have a super fast internet connection at my home.

My wife has been binge watching Suits. She watched the first 5 seasons on Netflix. Not all of Season 5 was on Netflix, so we went back to buying the rest of that season on iTunes, and also bought Season 6 on iTunes.

Streaming the first Five Seasons of Suits was flawless. Trying to watch Suits episodes on iTunes though is pretty much the worst experience ever. To get an episode to play you have to re-start the episode anywhere from one to five times. Often it hangs in the middle of the episode, and you have to hit menu, then restart the episode and resume. It's just embarrassing.

Are Apple's servers for streaming that much poorer than what Netflix is using? For what it's worth, I'm located in Canada.

Don't understand how this can be any other issue than on Apple's end, since I'm using the same hardware/internet and can jump back and forth between Netflix and iTunes in seconds. Netflix is rock solid.

Thanks for any help!

I stream HBO, Hulu, Netflix, and iTunes on my Apple TV, the new one as well. No issues, even when I only had 100mbps download, now I get around 450-550mbps and it's even more flawless than ever. Granted not as people are lucky enough to have Google Fiber like I do, I've never noticed any streaming issues though, unless I was trying to stream iTunes over hotel wifi that's around 6mbps or slower. Have you tried hardwired your internet? Granted it's capped at 100mbps, it's still consistent.

 

[isteal]

I have the same problem with iTunes vs. Netflix / Hulu / basically any streaming service. I have 150mbps connection thru Comcast and can stream 4K Netflix thru my tv browser flawlessly, use Netflix or Hulu thru the Apple TV with no issues, then try to watch an episode of A tv show purchased thru iTunes and it will fail to load or show me an hours long wait until it's ready to play... I have found if I go into settings and tell the Apple TV to "restart" it frequently resolves the issue. But I have no idea why it's only an issue with iTunes. So I guess I don't really have an answer, but I can confirm the same problem in the US. I'm using a 32gb 4th Gen Apple TV...

 

[isteal]

by the way, I am using a wired connection, vs wireless.

 

[robertk328]

by the way, I am using a wired connection, vs wireless.

How is it on wireless? What speed internet?

 

[Not Quite Right]

How is it with different programming on iTunes, like watching trailers or previews? It might be just that particular series for some reason ... Definitely call iTunes on this and ask for a refund.

 

[njlx2016]

I have had this exact issue in the past with my 3rd gen Apple TV and it showed up again recently on my 4th gen. Rebooting or restoring my Apple TV doesn't fix it.

I have really good 802.11ac router and fast internet connection, although because it's an apartment complex the wifi spectrum is pretty congested - I notice my Mac constantly switching channels.

I might play around with my router settings, maybe enable QoS or put the Apple TV on a separate 5GHz network (right now the 2.4GHz and 5GHz network are on the same SSID) and see if that fixes anything

 

[Team George]

I have the same issue - infuriating. My wife says she hates the Apple TV for that reason. All the other wifi devices in the house work fine. Annoying that all the help pages ask you to check wifi and that's about it - this is a real problem and it is something Apple needs to fix

 

[sleepngbear]

I'm at a bit of a loss here.

I have the newest Apple TV. I have a super fast internet connection at my home.

My wife has been binge watching Suits. She watched the first 5 seasons on Netflix. Not all of Season 5 was on Netflix, so we went back to buying the rest of that season on iTunes, and also bought Season 6 on iTunes.

Streaming the first Five Seasons of Suits was flawless. Trying to watch Suits episodes on iTunes though is pretty much the worst experience ever. To get an episode to play you have to re-start the episode anywhere from one to five times. Often it hangs in the middle of the episode, and you have to hit menu, then restart the episode and resume. It's just embarrassing.

Are Apple's servers for streaming that much poorer than what Netflix is using? For what it's worth, I'm located in Canada.

Don't understand how this can be any other issue than on Apple's end, since I'm using the same hardware/internet and can jump back and forth between Netflix and iTunes in seconds. Netflix is rock solid.

Thanks for any help!

It's your history with BlackBerry. They know. And they don't forget. :rotfl:

 

[njlx2016]

I went into my wireless router settings and noticed that at some point, I set the Channel Width on my 2.4GHz network to 20MHz and manually set it to a specific channel. I changed everything back to Auto and it seems my 4th Gen Apple TV is better at streaming now.

 

[JustinVV]

I have found this when streaming iTunes. I stopped using iTunes and just torrent movies I want that arent on Netflix. If they want me to purchase them, they have to build a system that works. Rebooting everything can fix it for a while. It seems the cache gets corrupt or something. Its just one on the millions of bugs that seem to be creeping into all apple products. And because there is very little in the way of settings, and Apple just wont talk about all the issues they are having, there is little you can do.