Apple TV sees Music files on my computer but not video files

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Level 1

8 points

Apple TV sees Music files on my computer but not video files

I used to regularly use my Apple TV to watch movies and TV shows that I had downloaded to my MBPro with no problem. I hadn't used it for a few months and tried last night with no luck. On the Computer section I can see all of my Music library, so it is connected, but none of the files on my hard drive or external drive show up at all. I restarted both, updated the software on the Apple TV, I'm running Big Sur 11.1 on my MB, but still no luck.

Apple TV HD, tvOS 12

Posted on Dec 30, 2020 3:05 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TheMissingBite

Level 1

43 points

Dec 30, 2020 10:46 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Recommend disabling home sharing, close iTunes, reopen iTunes, and re-enable home sharing. Also verify both MBP and ATV are on the same WIFI network.

If this does not work, try connect the MBP and ATV with ethernet cable to see if the movies play. If so, it’s not a format issue.

It’s worth noting that sometimes after an iTunes update my personal movie files changed to home movies, which means you have to look in the more next to photos in the media menu on the ATV.

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Answer 2

PAT17RICK Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 31, 2020 4:30 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Thank you. This did not totally resolve the issue but it got me started in the right direction. Apparently in their zeal to update everything Apple has made everything infinitely more complicated. Previously, I could select my Apple TV-Computer and see my entire computer and then select what I wanted to watch. Now I have to first open the TV app, select an item, control click and select Running-Apple TV, then and only then will those items show up on my screen. Absolutely ridiculous!

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Answer 3

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,280 points

Dec 30, 2020 9:53 PM in response to PAT17RICK

Verify that the files are playable in the TV app on the MacBook Pro. If the files are not properly linked in the library, then they won’t be shared.

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

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Answer 4

Rudegar

Level 10

180,408 points

Dec 30, 2020 4:48 PM in response to PAT17RICK

ios devices does not support all the same video formats as macs does

to run on appletv the media has to be in

Video Formats

H.264/HEVC SDR video up to 2160p, 60 fps, Main/Main 10 profile

HEVC Dolby Vision (Profile 5)/HDR10 (Main 10 profile) up to 2160p

H.264 Baseline Profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps, Simple profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Apple TV 4K - Technical Specifications - Apple

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Answer 5

PAT17RICK Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2020 5:34 PM in response to Rudegar

The issue is not the format, the issue is that the Apple TV does not find any files on my MacBook Pro.

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Apple TV sees Music files on my computer but not video files

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