Q: iTunes movie purchases will not play on external display - HDCP auth error

How do you even contact someone to get a refund?  This whole process is bizarre.

I want a refund as well.  But I am sure that apple will be too lame to give me one. 

I have a house full of apple products - but I will never rent another movie from itunes - unless I am forced to - by circumstance or bizarre convenience.  Case in point - rented a movie on itunes in HD last night - with my laptop to play on external monitor.  Hit the stupid digital rights issue.  then I rented the SD version - same issue.  Movies cost $3.99 and $2.99 respectively. Neither one worked.  Then - with the entire family waiting for the movie - I realized that I had an Amazon Prime account and I could get the same movies for $1.99 and no hassle.  Watched movie - family happy.  Itunes is done.

thanks for playing apple.

C

Also... quick update - the ghost of the DRM error message came back as an iTunes glitch BUT when I wasn't plugged in to an external display
What a bunch of... It was there in error - it appeared as I opened my laptop and it woke up in the middle of iTunes trying to show me a full screen image of an episode I bought.

The error message didn't prevent me from doing anything... I could still watch it.
It was just so ridiculous to see it there... I started thinking that it might be that I am seeing no error message now when I plug into an eternal display due to some weird iTunes corruption...

I ran into these problems previously and did some research into how best to deal with Mac's tendency to HDCP-encrypt the signal even when showing a PPT or surfing the Net, just because the Mac was connected to an HDCP-compliant display.

Because I have a matrix switcher which my Mac plugs into, and then on the output side there are BOTH HDCP and non-HDCP displays, I couldn't even view my Word documents on the non-HDCP displays because the Mac was encrypting the signal...  

The answer is to get an EDID Manager V4 from Lightware, which has an HDCP Enable/ Disable feature.  It just tells the Mac that it is not HDCP compliant, and the Mac will not encrypt the signal... Simple!  Of course, if I play a Bluray, or Movies from iTunes, they won't play, but I knew that from the beginning.

Do not you worry none my buddy and I are going to open USD1 trillion company that will blow away Microsoft and Apple and will bypass all these laws and rules because we own them and it will be a free service for everyone and have this garbage that people cannot watch their movies cannot do these other things so many restrictions I will glad this watch Microsoft and Apple cry.  Anyway the end is near for both of these greedy moguls and soon it will be free.

David, you sound insane.
...But I like where you're going with this

I just started receiving this error today for the first time. I have never received it before. This is on a mac mini. This is on itunes. I did not make any changes and now I cannot play the same movie I JUST PLAYED YESTERDAY.

WHAT THE F

No one's ever too big to fail look at Boeing they failed.  Airbus is equal to Boeing.  So just a word of wisdom who knows.  I like Apple products I have over 100.  I have been buying and fixing old apple/mac computers for years.  but I hate control and this is control maybe not Apple's fault but do not allow you to see your movie on a big screen and you own the movie is a bunch of BS so that is why he made the comment of the 2 giant moguls maybe not feasible but you know it is true the more money the more power and the more control that may be the way it is but it is not right the same as the laws it may be the law but it does not mean it is right.  Products anyway this problem can never really be fixed because it is a security thing they say.   have a great day or have a better one   

I'm blown away, I had just finished setting up my home network so I can stream from my MacBook to my PS3 when I decided to go all legal and buy GOT season 3 off itunes instead of pirating like I normally do.  I waited for the download to finish and then discover that I cannot stream to my PS3 from itunes.

Oh well, I'll just plug my computer in and browse on my iphone while I watch.  BUT NO.  I can't use my HDTV to watch it because of HDCP. 

If you want to stop piracy you have to provide a better user experience than the pirates.

I can not airplay movies to a Apple TV either. Plain stupid that I have to watch an HD movie on my 15" laptop. I have to say we've really hit a wall. I too am fed up with this situation that "Stuff no longer just works". Plus, I hate microsoft. What am I to do?

Wow, I can't believe this problem continues to exist.

I dealt with this in 2009, four years ago almost to the day. Bought a kosher iTunes copy of Life After People and it wouldn't play. (2009 Mac Mini model 3,1, Snow Leopard) The "solution" back then was to watch the SD version of the show even though I paid for HD and to cancel all future video rentals and purchases from Apple. I also buy my mp3s from Amazon for their lack of DRM.

Cut to May 2013. I downloaded a free copy of the premier of Vikings from the iTunes store just to see how things have changed. Well, there's no SD copy. That's different. Perhaps because it's free? In any case,

I cannot watch it in iTunes.

I cannot watch it with Quicktime. (says I have to "authorize this computer" alternating with mesages that this computer is already authorized.

I cannot view it with VLC.

I CAN view it on my iPod touch. Well, it was free.

I'll continue to use DVDs.

As jacrjames said above, "If you want to stop piracy you have to provide a better user experience than the pirates."

Indeed!

I have a new MBP and just rented a movie from itunes.  It continously stopped playing and finally it reached a point in the movie that it stopped and I couldn't get it to play past that point.  I'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong thread but if anyone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!  Bottom line don't rent movies from itunes. 

What is this BS do Apple not allow HD rentals anymore? I am using a Mac Mini with a 60 inch Panasonic Plasma TV and all I can rent are standard def movies?  Absolute joke!  This has to be fixed right away.  I actually want a refund for these SD films - it is absurd.  Apple, you guys have totally lost the plot.  The new CEO has got to go!!! He has lost control and this is a perfect example of it.  The new iTunes update is a joke - they have made the program worse not better.

I had this issue also, trying to play movies on my TV.  I resolved teh problem by connecting my TV as a second monitor via HDMI cable.

I do have an Apple TV now, but not all of my films are available unless I play the film on the computer and tell it to play on through Apple TV.  The common demoniator seems to be that the films are no longer available in the iTunes store.  Annoying if the Computer is in another room!

I had the same problem connecting to my HD TV. I just confirmed with Apple support that HDCP will not work with VGA...even using the VGA to thunderbolt adapter. You have to connect with HDMI using a HDMI cable and the HDMI to thunderbolt adapter.

I am now able to play all my iTunes content on my big TV.