Edgar Hansen
Level 1 (9 points)
Apple TV

Q: Home sharing

I am running iTunes 12.4.0.119 on a Windows 10 PC. I have an Apple TV 2 gen attached to my television and the 2 are connected via a wifi router. I have authorized the PC running iTunes and both are signed in to the same Apple account.

 

On both the PC and Apple TV box I can access my purchased content at the Apple Store and play it. If I play a home video in iTunes on the PC I can select AirPlay to AppleTV and it will play on the AppleTV box without a problem, playback is smooth and trouble free. However, I have activated Home Sharing on both the PC and AppleTV box and still have no access to my iTunes library from the AppleTV box.

 

When I check my account information it doesn't show the AppleTV in my device list even though it is definitely connected to my iTunes account. When I select Computer from the Apple TV menu all I get is the "Turn on Home Sharing in iTunes" message. The email address it asks me to sign in with is the same one I signed in with using the computer. When I check Preferences->Sharing it says "Status On, no users connected."

Posted on May 25, 2016 11:06 PM

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Edgar Hansen

Q: Home sharing

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill May 26, 2016 1:54 AM in response to Edgar Hansen
    Level 10 (103,385 points)
    Apple TV
    May 26, 2016 1:54 AM in response to Edgar Hansen

    The following article(s) may help you.

     

    Troubleshooting Home Sharing

    Security Software Issues

    Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections

    Recommended Wi-Fi settings

    Wifi Diagnostic Software (for Mac users)

     

    You may also find some help on this page, where I’ve collected some of the more unusual solutions to network issues.

     

    When making adjustments to your network for better optimisation, you may find some of the points mentioned on this page helpful.

  • by Edgar Hansen,

    Edgar Hansen Edgar Hansen May 26, 2016 2:20 PM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Apple TV
    May 26, 2016 2:20 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    Thanks for your reply. I will be trying the suggestions on the weekend. For now I have borrowed an LG SP500 with Plex (DLNA) and they will have to do until I can figure out the problem with AppleTV. It was unfortunate that after a long time in it's original packaging, the one week that I actually needed it it failed to do what it was originally purchased for. The sad thing is that the LG, though it can't work natively with iTunes which is a deal breaker, was plug and play for streaming our videos and presentations, hopefully I can get AppleTV to work as seamlessly.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall May 26, 2016 4:32 PM in response to Edgar Hansen
    Level 4 (2,967 points)
    Apple TV
    May 26, 2016 4:32 PM in response to Edgar Hansen

    Your problem definitely sounds like it's a firewall issue on your PC. See About iTunes background processes and server host connections - Apple Support which is linked from one pf Winston's references above. For ATV to "see" iTunes on your computer it must be able to connect to it, especially on port 5353 and the othe Bonjour ports. This is no different from Windows file sharing, which requires that the SMB ports be open.

  • by Edgar Hansen,

    Edgar Hansen Edgar Hansen May 26, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Apple TV
    May 26, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    All Apple processes are allowed through the firewall. iTunes sets the firewall permissions during install and those were not changed. It would be poorly written software that did not check the firewall condition of it's background processes, I have been working under the assumption that Apple wouldn't release such sloppy work. The fact that Plex seems to work fine is an indication that no Windows process is impeding the communication. AirPlay works through iTunes bidirectionally (i.e. it detects when the AppleTV stops or pauses a video) so I have my doubts about it being a firewall issue.

     

    At any rate the solution for us is to port the presentations over to Plex (a job that is much simpler than originally thought) and buy LG or Android units, we can't afford an inscrutable problem popping up for no apparent reason at the wrong time. The advantages of being able to use any video or audio format and reliable software outweigh the current investment in Apple hardware.

     

    Thank you both for your help.