Reddit user solves their Apple TV 4K's stutter issue with a PC fan and heatsink
Summary
This DIY fan-and-heatsink setup fixed the Apple TV 4K's stutter during long Plex 4K playback sessions.
The fan cut temperatures to roughly 80°F (27°C) and eliminated dropped frames.
Plex's tvOS player reportedly ignores hardware decoding, driving CPU load and thermal throttling (Infuse avoids this).
I'm not in the habit of covering random Reddit projects, but this one is just too good to ignore. Reddit user AllTextAllTheWay encountered stutter with their Apple TV 4K (2022) while watching 4K movies through Plex. Instead of buying a newer version of Apple's streamer with a more powerful chip or switching to another streaming device, they took matters into their own hands. Using a 3D-printed rack-mounted setup, they attached a small PC fan and a heatsink to the Apple TV 4K to cool it during prolonged, heavy use. To confirm that the homemade cooling system worked, AllTexstAllTheWay used an ESP32 DS18B20 temperature sensor connected to Home Assistant, and taped it to the top of the Apple TV. The issue only occurs after roughly 1.5 hours of 4K playback through Plex, making it difficult to "troubleshoot and confirm" the solution was actually working, but AllTextAllTheWay was still able to make it happen. To do this, they enabled the debug video player overlay in Plex to monitor the app's dropped frame count during playback.
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Temperatures leveled out at 80°F
Credit: AllTextAllTheWay
Without a cooling solution, the temperature hit 113°F (45°C) and peaked at nearly 122°F (50°C). With only the heatsink, the Apple TV 4K still dropped frames, but when the fan was added, the thermal problems completely disappeared, with the temperature sitting consistently at roughly 80°F (27°C). In a lengthy blog post, AllTextsAllTheWay explained why they think their Apple TV 4K is suffering from stutter:
This is most often a problem for me playing 4K Blu-Ray disks I’ve ripped and then play through Plex. This is reportedly due to Plex’s tvOS player not properly using the hardware decoder, causing it to use significant and sustained CPU usage. Many folks have moved to alternate players such as Infuse, which properly utilize the Apple TV’s hardware, thus avoiding the thermal throttling.
While Apple TV 4K lag caused by overheating isn't a common issue, I've run into it as well after using my Apple TV 4K (2022) for a prolonged period. I've always assumed the problem was due to the streaming device's poor thermals, so it's interesting to read that AllTexstAllTheWay's project seems to confirm this.
For more on this cool Apple TV 4K cooling project, check out AllTextAllTheWay's detailed blog post on GitHub.
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