My Apple TV will not play a MP4 video

1st of all ripping DVDs is illegal in the US (where this forum is hosted) so i would suggest you not talk directly about ripping DVDs and speak in just general terms of you files if you don't want to get your post deleted..

there might be few reasons why you get that message

1) there is more to the file than just it's format.. it must also be within certain parameters to be played on appleTV... to facilitate streaming appleTV limits the size of the file and it data rate, frame rate, resolution, codec, codec profiles etc(see below). software usually have an appleTV setting.. it is usually best just to use that setting and not futz around with your own custom settings unless you know what you're doing

*Video formats supported*
*H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store):* Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
*iTunes Store purchased video:* 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

2) that message also appears if you are streaming for some reason you have lost connectivity to your computer.. network interference, computer goes to sleep or turned off, iTunes is closed etc.

3) could be caused by the file becoming corrupted, HDD corruption etc..

I to am having a file problem similar that maybe you can help with.

So from what I understand is itunes will accept files in .mov/MP4 format but have to fall under Video formats supported and will NOT be recognized by the ATV? All of my .mov files are not seen by ATV.

I am having a problem with my streamed HD mp4 video. Synced the movie plays fine. It is a 720p HD movie about 4.08GB in size. My TV is set to 1080i ~50Hz (TV supports 1080). When streaming with airport extream (within 15ft of each other) movie loads fine within 30sec then playback starts to stop, then reloads again. This stops the movie for a sec and reloads. Plays and then happens again.
This is very frustrating and I hope I dont have to SYNC all my movies to get better playback.

First, thanks for the info. It helps make some sense of this stuff. If you have a good tech info source to help understand all these formats and conversions, that would be great.

Second, "1st of all ripping DVDs is illegal in the US" actually its not. I take home videos and put them on dvd all the time. Then I can pull scenes and compile them with out taking tons of hard drive space. The key is its my video. 🙂 Stealing is wrong. sure.

However, the questing works there too as different programs pull dvd scenes in different ways.

Just a thought.
en

sounds like you have a slow wireless network... could be interferance from other networks close by or other wireless devices in your house.

do you have a 802.11b/g, n (b/g compatible), or n only.. you best, fastest, least potential for interferance option if 5GHz, n only, with the setting "use wide channels".. if you need to support g device you could get an airport express for your g network or leave your airport express on n (b/g compatible) and experimenting with different channels to see if it's an interference problem.

what kind of transfer rates do you get... you can test by opening activity monitor in utilities, go to network, set up a particular file to sync, press sync then see what kind of transfer rate you max out at..

hey i'm with you.. if you look at the recent Real decision... seems the judge didn't come right out and say it, but kind of hinted that making copies of your DVD is fine given the fair use provision in DMCA... the problem is that under the same act it is illegal to circumvent encryption and almost all comercial DVDs are encripted. therefor REAL lost there case. so while in theory it's fine to make the copies, realistically, since basically all commercial DVDs are encrypted performing that likely legal act is rendered illegal.

by the way.. i'm in Canada where this is illegal.

in any case it goes against the terms of use of the site so.. if you don't want you posts deleted.. might want to talk around this topic

Message was edited by: tmartine

SLOW? I just bought the airport extream thinking that was the problem. I figure I am on the 802.11n network. Thats the default setting of the airport extream from what I understand. I have a mac pro which doesnt have a airport card for me to check this. I uses my airport extream as a wireless router. I show full connectivity to ATV but uncertian of transfer rate I will let you know when I get home.


So file size, type shouldnt matter with streaming? .mov file should be playing?

i think the default config is going to 802.11n (b/g compatible) 2.4GHz

to get the full benefit of 802.11n you need to use n only, 5GHz, with wide channels turned on.. you'll almost double your transfer rates over 802.11n 2.4GHz and get less chance of interference (less other devices and other people's networks running on that frequency)... it's not just about the device. you have to consider the setup, how noisy your environment is for interference, distance, number and type of walls, position of ducts and big metal things, vertical vs horizontal positioning etc, etc all these things can change the speed of your wireless transfers a lot...

Could you please tell me how I can set my mac pro (with no airport card) to fault on the 802.11n 5GHz? Went through everything and cant figure it out

Nothing really in the way of airport/ATV but a wall and 15ft at the most.

Thanks again

Mac Daddy1 wrote:
Could you please tell me how I can set my mac pro (with no airport card) to fault on the 802.11n 5GHz? Went through everything and cant figure it out

if you dont have an airport card then you dont have wifi on it, so you wouldnt be changing anything on it.

i assume you mac pro is using ethernet?

how is your setup? how is you MacPro attached to the network then.. is it wired to the airportExtreme? if that's the case then that is best, fastest option as far as it is concerned.

I set my network up with my comcast modem connected to my airport extream and my mac pro connected via ethernet to the air port extream.

So how can I make sure my network is connected to the max signal?

If my network is suspected of causeing my ATV to studder what can I do?

you have 2 links in your network

mac pro > airport extreme (via ethernet)
this is already running at optimum and won't be your bottleneck.

appletv > airport extreme (via wifi)
this is the point where there could be issues
interference, noise etc etc

you would change the wifi settings in the airport to N 5GHhz. this could then improve any wifi related issues.

Sorry for the ignorance but..

"you would change the wifi settings in the airport to N 5GHhz. this could then improve any wifi related issues."

My mac pro is hardwired(ethernet) to airport no problems

Apple tv I need to change the wifi settings to N? If so how?

no you've totally missing the point

it is your airport extreme that needs its configuration changed. the airport extreme is your wifi access point.

you change the settings on that, and the appletv will connect to the airport extreme at whatever the airport extreme is set to.

Ok but how and WHAT exactly do I do to change my configuration for my airport extreme.

Went through airport utility and couldn't see option for N network?