Apple TV HD Movie Streaming Delays Frustrating Owners

Apple's teething pains with the Apple TV look to be persisting; as well as color issues with certain Sony and Philips TVs, users are now complaining of inexplicably long HD video streaming delays. According to one lengthy support forum thread, when asked to begin playing an HD movie bought or rented from iTunes, the Apple TV suggests it will take hundreds or even thousands of minutes before the content is ready to watch.

While the obvious issue would be one of insufficient bandwidth, it appears that's not the case in the majority of situations. Owners report being able to watch movie trailers, Netflix movies in HD and YouTube clips with little to no delay, only experiencing problems – the Apple TV told one owner his clip would be "ready to play in 3,000 minutes" – when it comes to iTunes movie rentals.

The recent iOS 4.2 update failed to address the problem, and many are suggesting the cause of the issue might be on Apple's end rather than a problem with their Apple TV units themselves. The company is preparing to begin service from a new, considerably larger data center before the end of the year, with one of the goals believed to be more support for high-demand video content.

[via AppleInsider]