Q: I rented a movie for Christmas and I could not see it on my Apple TV. Does that mean rented movies are not shareable?

Hi Thomas Smith3,

Welcome to the Support Communities!  If you rented a movie on your Apple TV, you can only watch it on that device.  You can't transfer or share it to another device.  However, you can rent movies on your computer and transferring them to other devices.  Click on the links below for more information.

How to rent a movie from the iTunes Store on Apple TV - Apple Support

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201571

Movies rented on your Apple TV are not transferable to any other device and can only be viewed on your Apple TV.

For information about movie rental expiration and viewing limits and for more information about iTunes Store movie rentals, read the iTunes Store Movie Rentals FAQ.

 

An Internet connection to the iTunes Store is required to authorize playback.

 

Want to rent movies on your computer and watch them on a supported iPod* or iPhone? Read How to rent a movie from the iTunes Store on your computer.

 

To rent movies on your Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation)

1. Select Movies from the main Apple TV menu.
2. Choose one of the following categories to begin finding movies:
   • Top Movies
   • Genius
   • Genres
   • Search
3. Find a movie you would like to rent and select it.
4. Click Rent. (Apple TV 2nd and 3rd generation defaults to HD content when available. You can also request only SD content availability by going to Settings > iTunes Store > Video Resolution and changing the selection from 1080p or 720p to Standard Definition). Note: 1080p content is only available on Apple TV (3rd generation).
5. A confirmation message will appear. Click OK to continue.

A message will appear when the movie is ready watch. At this point, you can press Play to begin watching the movie, or press the Menu button to make other selections.

You can see all the movies you have rented on the top shelf of the main menu when navigating to Movies. Rented Movies will also indicate when they are due to expire. Once expired, they will no longer be available in your Movies shelf.

If your download is interrupted, go to Setting > iTunes Store and select Check for Rentals. Apple TV will connect with the iTunes Store and will resume downloading.

 

 

Happy Holidays!

- Judy

Hi Thomas Smith3,

If you rented the movie on your iPad, that is where you would need to watch it.  In the future, you can rent the movie on your computer and then have the option to move it to your Apple TV or your iPad.  Or, rent the movie on your Apple TV and watch it there.

FAQs about renting movies from the iTunes Store - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201611

Where can I find movies that I rented?

Find your movie on the device you used to rent it. Follow these steps:

Mac or PC: Go to the Rentals tab in the Movies section of the iTunes Library.

iOS device: Go to the Rental tab of the Videos app.

Apple TV:

• 2nd or 3rd generation: Look in the top shelf of the main menu.
• 1st generation: Go to Movies > Rented Movies. 

Where can I watch movies that I rented?

• Mac or PC
• iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (with iOS 3.1.3 or later)
• iPod classic, iPod nano (3rd, 4th, or 5th generation)
• TV using Apple TV

Watch your movie on the device you used to rent it. If you rented the movie on your computer, you can move it to an iOS device or Apple TV (1st generation). To do this, connect the devices and sync using USB. When you move a rented movie from your computer, it will disappear from your computer’s iTunes library. You can move the movie between devices as much as you want, but you can only have it on one device at a time.

If you rented the movie on your iOS device or Apple TV, you can’t move it to any other device.

To watch an HD movie, you need to play it on a supported device: your computer, iPhone 4 or later, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation or later), or TV using Apple TV.

You can’t stream a rented movie from your computer to your Apple TV using AirPlay because it’s DRM (Digital Rights Management) protected content.

 

Cheers,

- Judy