How to share media files on MacMini with Apple TV

Question

How to share media files on MacMini with Apple TV

I use a MacMini 2012 (OS Catalina) as media center, and record tv broadcasts using EyeTV hardware+software. The recordings are saved as .MPG or .TS files.

I recently bought an Apple TV 4K, and thought it would be easy to access my recordings by turning on Media Sharing on the Mac Mini, and use my login credentials on the Apple TV. They are connected to the same network. But to start with, the Apple TV just kept telling me there were "No libraries" when I accessed "Computers" in the menu. It gave me no options whatsoever.

Then I turned on "Photo Sharing" on the Mac Mini, and now the Apple TV has a "Photo" option when I choose "Computers". When I choose Photo, it returns the error "There are no photos in your library", and still there is absolutely no sign of media files.

So .. what am I doing wrong? How do I share MPG and other media files on my MacMini with my Apple TV? Where should I put the files and what should I turn on? Or is that not possible?

Kind regards,

Erik Jon, Denmark

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 4, 2020 6:37 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,184 points

Dec 4, 2020 6:57 AM in response to Erik Jon Sloth

Media Sharing has an additional checkbox for Home Sharing. Activate that too.

Use Home Sharing to share media from a computer to other devices - Apple Support

What is being shared is not about folders or file locations, but about the library database. For video content, these files have to be added to the TV app library. Unfortunately for you, .mpg and .ts are not supported for Home Sharing to Apple TV. You will have to use format and codecs that are supported by both the Mac TV app and the Apple TV box. That probably means converting to H.264 video with AAC audio in a .mov, .m4v, or .mp4 container. If that sounds unfeasible to you, then you should consider third party sharing options (Kodi, Plex, MrMC, Infuse, VLC, etc.) that may have wider format support.

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Answer 2

Rudegar

Level 10

180,120 points

Dec 7, 2020 7:31 AM in response to Erik Jon Sloth

try converting the file using the free program handbrake rather than just renaming it, while it's just a container then headers of the file could still confuse apps expecting another header

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Answer 3

Dec 7, 2020 7:17 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Thank you very much Urquhart1244 for pointing me in the right direction.

I converted one .mpg file to .mp4 using Handbrake, and added the .mp4-file to the Apple TV app on the MacMini. Now I can see the file on the Apple TV 4K, and stream it. Hoorray!!

Unfortunately, this is a rather cumbersome solution, as I have several terrabyte recordings that I would like to access from the Apple TV 4K. Just converting those would take forever (1 hour of recording take around 1 hour to convert on my hardware), not to mention the storage needed.

Is there another way to share my .mpg and .ts recordings with the Apple TV 4K? You mention Kodi, Plex, MrMC, Infuse, VLC. Is there a way to set one of these up to share files in a way that is accessible from the Apple TV 4K?

If not, I may have to go with the conversion option, and only convert a few essential recordings (essential to my wife, that is ;). Thank you again for solving that part.

Btw. I have tried to just renaming a .mpg file to .mp4, as the MP4 is (as I understand it) just a container, not a format. VLC would happily play back the renamed file, but it did not fool the Apple TV app.

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Answer 4

Dec 9, 2020 1:06 AM in response to Rudegar

I can now view media files from the Mac Mini on the Apple TV 4K, so my question is solved.

However, I need a solution where I do not have to convert all my media files. I think VLC is my best option, but as I cannot get that solution to work either, I have posted a new question.

"How to set up VLC on Apple TV 4K to access files on Mac Mini?"

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252149342

Thank you both very much for your help :)

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How to share media files on MacMini with Apple TV

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