Slight freezing/stutter of AppleTV video

[dsaponaro]

Hopefully someone can offer some insight into a recent issue.

l have an Apple TV 4K (Latest Model) connected to a 2022 Samsung Frame TV as well as a Sonos Arc/Sub. All are connected correctly with high bandwidth cables. My Arc is connected to the earc port of the TV while Apple TV to another HDMI port. Also, I do have Input signal plus turned on for all inputs on the TV.

The issue I’ve been having is that when watching video content the picture freezes intermittently for a very brief period. Probably a half a second or so. Maybe even less. It is minor but very noticeable and annoying nonetheless. Audio is fine though and sounds great. Stays in sync and keeps playing as if nothing went wrong. Just the picture freezes ever so briefly and then starts playing correctly again as if nothing happened. Almost like a brief stutter. Happens about 4 times during a 2 hour movie I would estimate.

As for content, It happened while watching Black Mirror on Netflix through the Apple TV as well as the movie Guy Ritchie’s Covenant rented through the iTunes Store on Apple TV. Both are 4K, Dolby Atmos.

The oddity of it is that it seems to have started once I put my new Sonos Arc into the mix recently. Prior to my Sonos I was using a pair of HomePods for audio and I never experienced this issue. In addition, I’ve tested with only the AppleTV connected to my tv with audio going through the tv speakers and no stuttering of the video.

So from this I was thinking it may be a Sonos issue but being as the Arc is only a sound bar it shouldn’t have any bearing on the video From what I understand. Seems to be the general consensus from Sonos support community as well.

Anyone else with similar stutter issues such as this that can offer some insight? Thanks for reading!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

If you take note of exactly when the stutters occur and then run the same video from the same source to those points again, will it always stutter at that same points? If so, detach the Arc and run it again to see if it still stutters at the same points again.

Another test, run the same app on the TV (basically cutting AppleTV out of the equation) and re-watch the same video that has these stutters. Does it stutter at the known points that way with Arc handling the audio? without Arc?

My first guess is broadband variability. Even if you have super fast broadband, it may sometimes "clog up" with demands from everyone else sharing the same "pipe." So you get a little stutter here and there. If you are up for it, change nothing and try watching the same video in the wee hours of the night when neighbors are probably asleep (and thus not eating some of the broadband). See if it stutters when there is less demand for bandwidth. While not a solution for prime time, this might tell you that this is likely the problem.

My second guess is AppleTV. Unplug, wait about 30 seconds, plug it back in and then try the same problematic video again. In my experience, I think tvOS has memory leaks that eventually eat up most of the available buffer memory. The unplug-wait-replug clears all that. If this works for you, make a note to yourself to unplug-wait-replug maybe once a month or so... or when you notice a few more stutters. I sometimes see this kind of thing and this usually "fixes" it for a few weeks.

I doubt the Arc is the cause. Else, there would be MANY posts about Apple people having this problem. But through the above steps, you may very well narrow in on it being the cause with Arc attached, then Arc unattached tests in AppleTV Netflix and then TV Netflix. If so, I would communicate with Sonos and see if they have any remedy.

 

[dsaponaro]

If you take note of exactly when the stutters occur and then run the same video from the same source to those points again, will it always stutter at that same points? If so, detach the Arc and run it again to see if it still stutters at the same points again.

Another test, run the same app on the TV (basically cutting AppleTV out of the equation) and re-watch the same video that has these stutters. Does it stutter at the known points that way with Arc handling the audio? without Arc?

My first guess is broadband variability. Even if you have super fast broadband, it may sometimes "clog up" with demands from everyone else sharing the same "pipe." So you get a little stutter here and there. If you are up for it, change nothing and try watching the same video in the wee hours of the night when neighbors are probably asleep (and thus not eating some of the broadband). See if it stutters when there is less demand for bandwidth. While not a solution for prime time, this might tell you that this is likely the problem.

My second guess is AppleTV. Unplug, wait about 30 seconds, plug it back in and then try the same problematic video again. In my experience, I think tvOS has memory leaks that eventually eat up most of the available buffer memory. The unplug-wait-replug clears all that. If this works for you, make a note to yourself to unplug-wait-replug maybe once a month or so... or when you notice a few more stutters. I sometimes see this kind of thing and this usually "fixes" it for a few weeks.

I doubt the Arc is the cause. Else, there would be MANY posts about Apple people having this problem. But through the above steps, you may very well narrow in on it being the cause with Arc attached, then Arc unattached tests in AppleTV Netflix and then TV Netflix. If so, I would communicate with Sonos and see if they have any remedy.

Thanks so much for your very thorough response. This is a super helpful game plan for troubleshooting.

1. It does not stutter at the same point in any of the content. Stutters, pause or rewind and play again and plays without an issue.

2. I don’t use any of the apps that are built in to the tv. I use the Apple TV for my primary content consumption. I do use an Xbox for gaming and haven’t had the issue there. I will have to give one of the built in apps a go and see how it compares. Good advise.

3. As for broadband variability. I guess anything is possible but I can say that I have excellent service And have for years. I know its possible for the service to get congested depending on others in the local area but honestly never had this issue or any in that regards for years. That is until just this last week when the Sonos was added. Now it seems to happen pretty consistently.

4. Will give the Apple TV memory flush a try but again I’ve been using this Apple TV for awhile now without the Sonos paired with 2 HomePods and there has never been stuttering.

5. I doubt very much it’s the Sonos either but being as this has cropped up just now when that was added does make me suspect. At least as far as their being some form of conflict between different devices. Even if it is another devices fault etc…

I do wonder if there is something happening with the specific 3 devices I have. Especially the Samsung Frame TV being as you mention there would be loads of posts and complaints from AppleTV/Sonos users. Hopefully others may have additional insight and/or experience with these three devices.

Again, thanks so much for your reply. it’s very much appreciated.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

More "fun" things to try...

(Again) rule out the Arc by disconnecting the HDMI and using the TV speakers for some of the same video that stutters. If stutter free, that would more strongly imply Arc.

Hook the ARC back up and use the Netflix app on the TV or Xbox(?) to run the same video with audio to the Arc. Is it flawless? That would imply AppleTV. If THIS, you might then try using the same Xbox HDMI input vs. whichever one you are using for AppleTV now to rule out a potentially faulty HDMI port on your TV.

And, of course, try the easy stuff... like swapping out the HDMI cable to Arc and HDMI cable between AppleTV and TV. Maybe you have a (rare) bad one?

Have a friend with an AppleTV setup? Maybe take your AppleTV to their place and switch the boxes out and watch problematic video basically on their setup? See if anything stutters with all variables other than your AppleTV changed. If so, switch back to friends AppleTV and watch the SAME video again. Does it stutter with their AppleTV?

Before Arc, were you leaning on stereo audio (those HPs)? If so, try watching something OLD that you know is in stereo audio only but using Arc. See if that will (video) stutter vs. something in 5.1 or ATMOS. If no stutter, I'd think through and check my Arc settings to see if I can notice anything odd in there (I don't have a guess here).

Again, if a friend is willing, take the Arc to their place and sub it in for whatever audio they are using with their AppleTV. Watch a video you know will stutter. See if it will stutter on their setup. This would use all of their equipment and cables including their AppleTV. Only the Arc would be different. If it stutters (unexpectedly to them), the Arc is singled out by this experiment.

One more (fairly likely) culprit: are you leaning on wifi from router to AppleTV. If so, it wouldn't matter how good your broadband service may be- you MAY have a wifi bandwidth issue from time to time and/or wifi interference causing stutters. The easy test here is to temporarily link router to AppleTV with ethernet cable and see if problematic video will stutter. If not, your wifi setup may need some attention (but wired would be better if you have any way to KEEP the ethernet connection).

My AppleTV is ethernet connected and I still see stutters like you describe. The unplug-wait-plug thing seems to resolve them for a while, but they always come back again sooner or later. I probably hard reboot at least once each month.

Lastly, I believe the Arc comes with what they call an optical adapter. If so and your Samsung TV has optical out, you might try temporarily switching to that as an Arc test. See if using optical out instead of eARC HDMI resolves the stutters. If so, I more strongly suspect your HDMI cable (used for the eARC connection). Swap it with a new one and try eArc again. This would also make me recheck my audio settings on my Samsung TV for eARC.

 

[iVegas]

Any resolution to this yet? This exact same issue started out of the blue for me about 5-6 days ago. None of my troubleshooting steps have worked so far. I'm going to try the hard reboot tonight. My next steps will be to swap the two Apple TVs (same model) I have in the house to see if freezing still happens and to swap out my wireless router (it's getting up there in years so it could be starting to fail).

If anything I do works I'll report back.

 

[dsaponaro]

Hi I Vegas. Thanks for chiming in!

While it’s still to early to tell and I have to do more testing I may have come across a potential fix. Want to give it a try on your set up to compare?

What is the format you have your Apple TV set to? Is it 4K 60(59.94Hz)? Try changing it to 4K 60(60Hz) and see how it goes. I also have the Apple TV set to “Match Content” for both dynamic range and frame rate as well.

I don’t think it should matter wether it is SDR or HDR because I believe the issue has to do with the refresh rate but mine is set to SDR.

While I haven’t been able to watch a whole lot to test this out I did watch an hour episode of Secret Invasion last not and didn’t notice the issue. Hopefully I’m on to something and you can confirm?

 

[dsaponaro]

Hi I Vegas. Thanks for chiming in!

While it’s still to early to tell and I have to do more testing I may have come across a potential fix. Want to give it a try on your set up to compare?

What is the format you have your Apple TV set to? Is it 4K 60(59.94Hz)? Try changing it to 4K 60(60Hz) and see how it goes. I also have the Apple TV set to “Match Content” for both dynamic range and frame rate as well.

I don’t think it should matter wether it is SDR or HDR because I believe the issue has to do with the refresh rate but mine is set to SDR.

While I haven’t been able to watch a whole lot to test this out I did watch an hour episode of Secret Invasion last not and didn’t notice the issue. Hopefully I’m on to something and you can confirm?

 

[iVegas]

Hi I Vegas. Thanks for chiming in!

While it’s still to early to tell and I have to do more testing I may have come across a potential fix. Want to give it a try on your set up to compare?

What is the format you have your Apple TV set to? Is it 4K 60(59.94Hz)? Try changing it to 4K 60(60Hz) and see how it goes. I also have the Apple TV set to “Match Content” for both dynamic range and frame rate as well.

I don’t think it should matter wether it is SDR or HDR because I believe the issue has to do with the refresh rate but mine is set to SDR.

While I haven’t been able to watch a whole lot to test this out I did watch an hour episode of Secret Invasion last not and didn’t notice the issue. Hopefully I’m on to something and you can confirm?

It was set to the 4K 60 (59.94) with match content on. I switched to the 4K 60 (60). I’ll let you know what happens.

 

[dsaponaro]

It was set to the 4K 60 (59.94) with match content on. I switched to the 4K 60 (60). I’ll let you know what happens.

Also, curious what are the specifics of your set up? Models of Speakers? TV?, Connected devices?

And just to comfirm prior to a few days ago this set up worked perfectly for an extended period of time? How long? Reason I ask is that I am new to Sonos and just got my Arc/Sub into the mix. Prior I didn’t have any issues though.

 

[iVegas]

Also, curious what are the specifics of your set up? Models of Speakers? TV?, Connected devices?

And just to comfirm prior to a few days ago this set up worked perfectly for an extended period of time? How long? Reason I ask is that I am new to Sonos and just got my Arc/Sub into the mix. Prior I didn’t have any issues though.

Apple TV is connected to the HDMI in on my soundbar (M512A-H6). My tv is a 2019 Samsung QLED so it doesn't support eARC at all. I have to have the ATV plugged directly to the soundbar if I want to utilize Atmos. This set up has worked flawlessly for well over 5 years so I'm really not suspecting anything in the set up is causing this. I did try new cables but that had no effect.

I didn't have any issues last night after changing the format but it's too early to say it's fixed.

 

[iVegas]

Had two day of no freezes then it happened again last night. Swapped the two Apple TV boxes I have to see if it still happens.

 

[dsaponaro]

Sadly this issue cropped up again last night while watching an episode of Highjacked on Apple TV+. Back to the drawing board. Anyone else with insight?