Intermittent "HDCP isn't supported by your HDMI connection" message

Yes, I just tried watching a movie and I received the same error as yours However it did not happen for me in the middle of the movie but rather the movie never started. My TV has a DVI input and according to the manual it is a DVI-HDCP input.

byrannewell wrote:
Hmmm... I'm wondering if they've got all the bugs out of this Apple TV yet.

I wonder if they are fixing the bugs as we speak. Just kidding. But I did unplug my aTV and set up HDMI to DVI connections back up and the movie mention in first reply worked just fine. Played it for 10 mintues and everything was fine. Maybe if I'd watched it longer it would have started acting up.

I've been checking here throughout the evening to see if anybody was having this problem, glad to see I am not the only one.

After I updated to 2.0, the signal between my receiver and TV keeps coming and going when connected with HDMI. By that I mean the screen goes blank for 3-5 seconds, comes back for a split second and back to black going through this cycle over and over until I unplug it. Restarting it does no good and I can't see the screen long enough to switch back to version 1.0 to see if that cures it.

If I skip the receiver and jack straight into my TV with the HDMI cable everything seems fine, but of course it means my audio is coming out of the crappy TV speakers instead of my 5.1.

I guess I can send the video straight to the TV and run a digital cable between the TV and receiver, but I realy feel it's strange that I haven't had any issues in the last 3 months and then the day of the update it starts getting cranky.

Maybe I need to exchange it for a different one.

My set up is Olevia 532h LCD and Sony STR-DG810 receiver.

Same problem here. Except I don't get any onscreen message, just a blank screen, with occasional flashes of the AppleTV output. I'm using a Denon AVR-3808ci receiver, which was working absolutely fine yesterday, before the Apple TV 2.0 upgrade. No problem if I connect the AppleTV direct to the TV directly with the same HDMI cable. I'm suspecting that this HDCP problem is something that was added to prevent copying movies, now that the rentals are HD.

For all of you with Denon receivers please read their troubleshooting page for HDCP. They explicitly wrote that in order for HDCP to work reliably you need to:
1. Turn on TV first
2. Turn on Denon receiver next
3. At last turn on source device

Hope this helps...

Thanks atvwiz. Gave it a shot, and tried turning on things in that order. After plugging in the ATV last (because it has no "on" switch!) I could see the Apple logo for a few seconds before the screen goes black, and the "HDMI" light starts flashing on the front of the receiver. Will look for a Denon troubleshooting page on HDCP.

I found this on Denon site:

http://ca.denon.com/2082.asp

Unfortunately, it basically says that it is not the receiver's fault (what a surprise!)

Quote:

"This is not a fault of the receiver. Recently set top box manufacturers have become aware of this issue. It has been found that the U-code information appears to be the problem which is part of Annex A of the repeater conformity specifications of the HDMI protocol. Some set top receiver manufacturers have already implemented firmware changes to their units while others are in the process of updating their units. If a set top receiver being used is having problems passing HDMI video signal through an A/V receiver, contact the manufacturer of the set top receiver to see if an update is available."

So I'm taking this to mean that my receiver is very picky about the HDMI protocol, and the ATV isn't quite conforming to it. Maybe other brands of receivers are passing the signal?

I suspect I probably won't have much choice for now but to either connect the ATV to the Denon using component cables and an optical cable for 5.1, or use HMDI directly to the TV for video and an optical cable for 5.1 audio.

Mine is doing the same thing. I have my ATV going through and HDMI switch box (old TV, only 1 HDMI), so at first I thought plugging it through that was causing issues. Nope, I went directly from the TV to the ATV, same issue. If anyone finds a solution, please let us know.

Same Problem here.. I'm bought a Denon AVR-3808 today and all my devices except for Apple TV 2 work fine.

I'm also getting the Apple Logo during restart of the Apple TV but after that, nothing but black.

If anybody finds a solution, please post it here.

Mine works now!

After spending hours trying various different resolutions, colour outputs etc etc, switching everything off between settings etc, eventually I was starting to give up. Out of boredom I selected the check for updates menu item, and it told me there was an update available. I selected to install it now. Eventually the Apple TV restarted itself. I went into About, and now it says HDMI (before it said HDMI (HDCP off)). I tried to watch the movie - instead of the HDCP error, it said Authorizing, and then started playing.

My advise with HDCP problems - try the software update. Interestingly, the software version still says 2.0.

If anyone is still having problems I can look up the settings, but I suspect they're where I left them at 1080i HD resolution, can't remember what colour output was. Even though my TV only displays 720p, it says the best input option is 1080i.

Message was edited by: bilbo_baggins

Same thing here. I couldn't get it to play because of HCDP bla bla... Grasping at straws I checked software updates again and there was one. I downloaded it and it now works perfectly. Looks great also. I am thrilled.

This really stinks!!! I am a PC (non-Apple) user by trade, as well as by choice. I purchased my first IPod about a year ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt ITunes was a bit restrictive on the copying, but nonetheless accepted it... and in fact bought a Nano for the wife, a shuffle for working out, and recently an AppleTV for entertainment. I can live with the minor restrictions of ITunes on its music, but receiving an error like:

+"HDCP isn't supported by your HDMI connection. Use component video connection to watch this content."+

.. is unacceptable!!! I paid for a movie through AppleTV, and I shouldn't be told I can only play it through an interferer cable... just because they assume I'm a pirate.

Ok, to cut Apple some slack, this is the movie industry doing this... But I will say this; there is no way that I'm buying another HD movie through AppleTV until I see a warning next to the movie saying something like "HDCP required."

Furthermore, if Apple really dose disagree with this, I would really expect to see some apology coming down the line to AppleTV owners, followed shortly by a letter going out to Hollywood from Apple stating their views.

This is just sickening!

-Jessy Houle

I bought Apple TV before update released and everything worked fine. I connect my Directv HD receiver to one HDMI port and the ATV to the other straight to my LCD HDTV. I updated the software, rented a movie, went out for a couple of hours, came back and started watching and right in the middle of it, the picture goes black and everything froze. I got back to the menu, started the movie again and it hesitated and got "HDCP" message (HDCP is supported on my tv), the movie started again but now the intermittant in and out of picture starts. Now the kicker. I stop ATV and switch inputs to the other HDMI port for TV and it's doing the same thing. I unplug the HDMI cable from the back of the TV set, plug it back in and Directv works fine. Same for Apple TV. But everytime I switch inputs between HDMI 1 and HDMI 2, in either direction, I get the same problem with picture dropping in and out on both sources until I unplug/plug in cables and it stops. I figured the Apple TV update just fried my LCD HDTV. I've been planning to buy a larger LCD for awhile now and I did just that yesterday but I'm scared to death to plug Apple TV in to my new 42" LCD for fear of damaging it as well. Very disappointed with Apple. I might hook it up and try updating software again as mentioned and see what happens.

Message was edited by: Mr. Dirt