Apple TV drops constantly out of iTunes

[lahamus@mac.com]

I have a problem with my ATV. It used to sync from my Extreme to my Express to my Apple TV. A year without any problem. For the last two weeks it syncs for 5 minutes, stops syncing (when I ask it to sync it says it cannot locate ATV) then drops off iTunes. I have done factory resets, reset my Express, dropped my firewall - been on the phone 5 times with Apple. It starts syncing then doesn't get past 500mg. Nothing works. When I try to stream video it says ATV doesn't recognize the format of videos I have watched on ATV for the past year without difficulty. It refuses to connect to iTunes store. I do a reset by unplugging ATV and it identifies iTunes store for 5 minutes, then says it can't find the store again. This is VERY frustrating. Anybody know what to do??

 

[theLimit]

Important part in bold to avoid TLDR

I had the problem with AppleTV dropping from iTunes. It was working fine for a long time on an AirPort Extreme N, then suddenly started disappearing from iTunes. Restarting either iTunes, the AppleTV, or the AirPort Extreme would make things work for a while.

I got sick of it, so I bought a Time Capsule. Same problems, so I started using my old AirPort Extreme G (the UFO shaped one). It worked fine, if taking a bit longer to sync and being unable to fast-forward or rewind for a couple minutes at a time due to the slower G speed.

I then tried setting up my AirPort Extreme N with the same settings as the G. AppleTV still dropped from iTunes at random. I had the idea to downgrade the firmware on the N to the original version, and the AppleTV stayed connected for the entire week I tested it.

From my experience, it's the AirPort firmwares with MobileMe integration that are the problem. If I stay at a firmware below that my AppleTV stays connected.

I have an AirPort Express N that also drops the AppleTV if I set it up as the main base station. I only did that for testing, as I normally just use the Express for AirTunes or for traveling. So I sold both the Time Capsule and the AirPort Extreme N, and am currently running on my old AirPort Extreme G. Apple just upgraded the AirPorts and Time Capsules, so I may give the new ones a try soon.

As for your AppleTV not connecting to the iTunes store, I have no experience with that as I only use mine to stream ripped DVDs from my computer.

 

[sanford]

I lose connection to my 802.11n Airport base sometimes. I often lose connection to the AppleTV streaming iTunes (the video board in the ATV is shot [artifacts all over the place] so I'm really only using it as an Airport Express now). The Air and the ATV both connect via 802.11n, the base is set for 802.11n only, and I have a separate Dlink G base in the house for 802.11g devices. At first I thought it was a problem w/ my Air.

It turns out it's our 5.8GHz multi-handset Uniden cordless phone system. Often when I'm on a call, I drop all network services from the 802.11n Airport base. Channel selection is automatic, and it's only related to the phone, so I suspect it's the Uniden phone system. The G base, operating on a different band, still works, fine so far example our first-gen MacBook and my iPhone 3GS still connect fine via WiFi.

So you might try to eliminate sources of interference in your house. If you're operating your Airport base in mixed or G-only mode (if it has a G-only mode), you might look for interference on bands G uses. I was able to isolate this so easily because there are only a few things around that could be interfering w/ devices in the 5-6GHz band.