External HDD --> iMac -->Wireless N -->ATV = Cannot watch movies happily :(

[Kittychan]

I asked this question in another thread but I guess that thread is too big so I need to be a bit specific. I did search the forum and tried all the comments (changing my router to wireless N or G and etc.) but nothing seems to work

Here are my problems..

I have appletv connects wirelessly to my iMac external harddisk (USB 2.0 750GB).. My appletv is hacked with patchstick and got all the ATVfiles and NitoTv.. So far I see that most or all of the people in this topic use thier itunes to play the movies but I didn't know until I read this forum that I can tell iTunes to detect my avi movies using some programmes.

Anyway, at the meantime I use Atvfiles to play my movies with perien installed in my appletv.

When I stream my movies to my Appletv it never goes smoothly, always freeze once in a while, dont know whether it is a router problem or my iMac problem, or Appletv problem....

I have seen some people have the same problems but no solution !!! I will try to change my router to wireless N but I think I have dont that and nothing has changed.

Everything is connected through wireless router my imac and my appletv. Please help me on this problem, I just cannot take it when I watch movie and then it stops for 30 second every 15 or 20 mins !!!

 

[Alan Taylor]

It sounds to me as though your hard drive is going to sleep - perhaps try streaming one directly off your iMac drive and see if that helps.

 

[trentiles]

My set up is similar to yours but with a couple important differences.

First off my ATV use's wireless N to connect. My iMac is wired to the router and my external HD is Firewire, not USB.

I never have any hesitations whatsoever with this setup.

The first thing I think you should try is connect the iMac to the router via cable. See if that helps matters any.

 

[Kittychan]

It sounds to me as though your hard drive is going to sleep - perhaps try streaming one directly off your iMac drive and see if that helps.

My set up is similar to yours but with a couple important differences.

First off my ATV use's wireless N to connect. My iMac is wired to the router and my external HD is Firewire, not USB.

I never have any hesitations whatsoever with this setup.

The first thing I think you should try is connect the iMac to the router via cable. See if that helps matters any.

It would be a bit challenging to move my modem and router to my iMac !!! So far I plug my appletv with my Router and then change the router to wireless N (it used to be N+G) but the performance is not that great.....still freezes once in a while.. I will have to try your method or should I just reset my Appletv

 

[trentiles]

You could try just resetting your ATV before you go and move everything. I don't think it will do anything but it's worth a shot.

If your router is far from your iMac and you don't feel like undoing everything just run out and get a ethernet cable long enough to just run from the iMac to the router. This will at least show you if this is the fix or not, but then you are also out some money

 

[cmcbridejr]

I have an external hard drive connected via USB to my iMac, which connects wirelessly to my Airport router on a mixed g/n network.

My AppleTV is also wireless on the network and I do not have the issues that you have described.

Perhaps, the hacked AppleTV is the root of the problem.

Can you restore the AppleTV to factory settings and try?

 

[Kittychan]

My Appletv is not connected through ethernet and my imac is not so far from the router just the cable is not long enough. I reseted to original setting last night but problem persist. Maybe there is something wrong with the router or my iMac....

I wish I could not hack my AppleTv but all my movies are in Avi and if I convert everything into iTunes it would take me a while

 

[Alan Taylor]

I still think it could be your hard drive sleeping - I have a drive with agressive power management that will do the exact thing you are describing.

Try running one of the files that are on the drive using quicktime on the iMac - if it still stutters you will be closer to knowing what's going on...

 

[Kittychan]

I still think it could be your hard drive sleeping - I have a drive with agressive power management that will do the exact thing you are describing.

Try running one of the files that are on the drive using quicktime on the iMac - if it still stutters you will be closer to knowing what's going on...

I have checked with the hard disk and it does not go sleep because when I play with my iMac everything works smoothly...

But I found one of the solutions that my wireless is bad, so I got Airport express today and tried... No more skipping and lagging... But it only streaming at 200kb/sec...

How weird