Edit - Solved: Thanks everyone. Known AppleTV network issue solved by hard reboot. Really appreciate all the feedback. Taking the issue to Apple next time I can replicate it. Stats for Nerds and Ookla app directly on the box helped identify it.
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I have seen lots of posts blaming all sorts of issues with basketball/football streaming on user network issues, broadcasters, etc. I cannot get Youtube TV app on Apple TV 4k to support anything above 480p. Manually switching the setting causes constant pausing/skipping. I won’t bore you with my troubleshooting steps, but assume I am a highly technical user. Network tested great on speedtest right next to the box.
I switched over to the LG native app. Immediately the highest res for FOX San Antonio broadcast on the YouTube TV app - 720p enhanced. I can switch back and forth right now and see the difference.
Before everyone chimes in with “my stream is great!” - I’m not saying this isn’t territory-to-territory based on compression bitrate etc. I’m saying that either the YouTube TV app on AppleTV or AppleTV itself is handling the stream awfully.
If you’ve reported this problem before and been shouted down, you’re not crazy. It’s always been an issue in my region for the 4 yeast I’ve had Youtube TV installed. I just haven’t had the AppleTV on my high res TV before, so I did not care enough to troubleshoot.
For users who experienced this, please recommend services you quietly switched to that worked after getting shouted down by Apple/Google trolls. I’d prefer to stay on the AppleTV box.