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Apple TV app crashes when trying to play anything

I don't use the Apple TV app much on my MacBook Air, but around the end of 2021, I used it to keep up with new episodes of Amphibia, and it worked just fine. The last time I used the app was early December 2021. Come March 2022; I buy the next season and try to start the next episode, only to find out that I can no longer play anything on the app!


If I try to play an episode or movie that I don't have downloaded, a black window pops up and the app freezes, and if I try to play something I do have downloaded, the app freezes without even the window popping up. This has been happening for a couple of weeks now, and I've tried a couple things like changing the display resolution, restarting my computer, logging in and out of Apple TV, disabling Screen Sharing—nothing has worked. I can watch it just fine on my iPhone, so that's been my makeshift solution, but that's suboptimal.


Today, I received my only hint so far towards what could be causing the issue. I opened up the TV app to try again, and after logging back in and trying to play an episode, I was greeted with an alert saying that my device's display was incompatible with HD copyright protection. This is almost certainly inaccurate, seeing as I could watch stuff just fine last year! After that, the app went back to crashing as normal when I tried to play things.


So, with all of that out of the way, I come to the help forums... what could be causing this, and how might I fix it?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Apr 7, 2022 4:42 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 8, 2022 7:14 AM

Are you trying to watch this on your MacBook Air’s internal screen?

If that MacBook Air has never been opened or repaired, then the HDCP should be fine for the internal screen.

Try disconnecting any external peripherals.


For Mac troubleshooting, try:

  • Test an issue in safe mode on your Mac. This will tell you if startup items/third party softwares interfere.
  • Test an issue in another user account on your Mac. This will tell you if account related settings interfere vs. system-wide.


Else contact an expert from the Apple Support staff for further assistance. Contact Apple for support and service (phone numbers) or start your support request online (chat/​email/​callback).

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3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 8, 2022 7:14 AM in response to ziqwerkelsharda

Are you trying to watch this on your MacBook Air’s internal screen?

If that MacBook Air has never been opened or repaired, then the HDCP should be fine for the internal screen.

Try disconnecting any external peripherals.


For Mac troubleshooting, try:

  • Test an issue in safe mode on your Mac. This will tell you if startup items/third party softwares interfere.
  • Test an issue in another user account on your Mac. This will tell you if account related settings interfere vs. system-wide.


Else contact an expert from the Apple Support staff for further assistance. Contact Apple for support and service (phone numbers) or start your support request online (chat/​email/​callback).

May 11, 2022 12:19 PM in response to Urquhart1244

(Please ignore the "solved" flag—I accidentally pressed the button and can't undo it! I am still very much looking for answers to this!!)


Hi,

The screen has never been opened or repaired, and I have disconnected anything external. I've also tried playing it on another screen (a projector screen) that I've been perfectly able to use before, but the outcome doesn't change. It's not to do with my iCloud account either—I can watch stuff just fine on my phone.


Apple TV app crashes when trying to play anything

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