AMC plus wont play video?

UPDATE:

1) You can try submitting this issue to Apple, but Apple will re-direct you to AMC+ Support. Even though the issue occurred simultaneously with an automatic update to TV OS 15.5.1—because it seems the issue only affects AMC+ app and not Netflix (for example), it is in their (AMC+) court...

2) So I have submitted a support request to AMC+. They're response:

1. 1. Standard acknowledgment email that they have opened a ticket, and
   2. Boilerplate email with basic troubleshooting info and requesting additional details.

I have responded with all the requested additional details, and a link to this discussion.

FYI for AdvisorMP (above) in my case:

1. Not using it with a Smart TV
2. Connected to TV via HDMI cable
3. Only affects AMC+ (no other channels/apps)
4. Acts like a DRM issue, but before the latest Apple TVOS update, everything worked fine. It's as if some internal DRM switch has been flipped somewhere by accident - triggering that blank video screen - even though the video in fact is NOT playing on AirPlay on any other device.

If you have this issue, please send an email to AMC + <customerservice@amcplus.com> and provide your details.

🤓 BTW: I can use the AMC+ App on my iPad and then AIRPLY it to my Apple TV 4k. Maybe I should just delete the app off the Apple TV and pretend it was never there?

I received this gem of a response from AMC... "disconnect my speakers" Really? Ridiculous. See below

Thanks for reaching out to the AMC+ support team. We're sorry to hear that you're having some trouble with our TV app. Our tech team is aware of an issue involving certain types of connected speakers, mainly HomePod speakers.

The wireless protocol used for these speakers is similar to that for connecting your TV to an iOS device and unfortunately is creating this problem. We are working with Apple to resolve this in our next update. For now, we suggest that you please disconnect your wirelessly connected speaker from the TV.

(If you have no speakers connected, please reply to let us know.)

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. We hope to have this resolved soon. Thanks for being an AMC+ member.

Thanks,

AMC+ Support Team

There’s actually a workaround that I discovered on accident and it allows you to still use your HomePods.

Go to settings on your AppleTv.

Select Video and Audio

Select Audio Output

Select TV Speakers as your Default Audio Output

Scroll Down to Temporary Audio Output

By Default your TV Speakers Are selected.

Select your HomePods (Room - whatever you have this set to mine are “Main Bedroom”)

When you do this TV Speakers gets deselected.

Lastly, select TV speakers again.

Both should now be Checked off.

when you exit back one screen it should now say under Temporary Audio “Main Bedroom + Master” or something along those lines.

Now turn the TV volume all the way down and use the audio from the HomePods.

The Only downside is that you have to control the volume of the HomePods on the App or On the Speakers themselves, but if you don’t mind doing that then this works great.

There’s actually a workaround that I discovered on accident and it allows you to still use your HomePods.

Go to settings on your AppleTv.

Select Video and Audio

Select Audio Output

Select TV Speakers as your Default Audio Output

Scroll Down to Temporary Audio Output

By Default your TV Speakers Are selected.

Select your HomePods (Room - whatever you have this set to. Mine is set to “Main Bedroom”)

When you do this TV Speakers gets deselected.

Lastly, select TV speakers again.

Both should now be Checked off.

when you exit back one screen it should now say under Temporary Audio “Main Bedroom + Master” or something along those lines.

Now turn the TV volume all the way down and use the audio from the HomePods.

The Only downside is that you have to control the volume of the HomePods on the App or On the Speakers themselves, but if you don’t mind doing that then this works great.

It is now August 27th and the AMC+ app is still broken for anybody who uses HomePods as their audio output. I have found a workaround though that does not involve disabling or setting your HomePods as a temporary audio device. The trick is to open the AMC+ content you want to watch through the AppleTV app itself. The beauty of the app is that it’s does the translation to any other video apps you have installed but doesn’t actually use the app itself. So that means that AMC’s bad app coding for AirPlay detection doesn’t factor in. The AppleTV app will happily stream just the audio to your HomePods and everything works beautifully.

I can’t believe AMC hasn’t fixed this issue for 3 months now, or that Apple hasn’t pressured them to fix it since it’s excluding anybody who uses their HomePods as TV audio outputs.

At least this is a way to still enjoy the AMC+ content we are paying for though.

Yes, the "disconnect the speakers" response may be one of the troubleshooting steps. I am currently using an M1 Mac Mini connected with HomePod mini for my audio. I could not get passed the AirPlay message so I updated the software. It disconnected my HomePod on the reset and AMC+ finally worked fine. I realized that my HomePod was not playing audio, reconnected it, and boom, AirPlay message with no video. Here are my suggestions.

-If you are using HomePods for Audio, try disconnecting them to see if this works. Report the problem to both Apple and AMC. When I purchased the HomePod mini, it would not play audio from my M1 Mac. I could see that it was connected and it was receiving audio because the HomePod was lighting up, just no audio. What did I do? Nothing, I just figured there was a bug and waited for them to fix it. A month later, tried it out, and it was working fine. I did nothing different, just waited for them to fix the bug. I had read that some minis were doing this same problem so I did not report it.

-Apple is updating tvOS to include the best audio available for supported tvs. This actually may be a part of a bug because my JBL soundbar has been shifting inputs the past week or so. So, report the issue to Apple. I will be doing so after I troubleshoot my soundbar. It keeps shifting to PCM on its own when it never did this in the past.

I know that this was not a good answer, but maybe it will help some people who are experiencing this issue. My fix was not using my HomePod mini for audio. When I connect it, I get the AirPlay message, with audio and no video.

I agree the App is poor, like many others, but "disconnecting" HomePods is not too much trouble if you're invested for the month. Go to Settings>Video and Audio>Audio Output and switch from HomePods to the TV speakers. That's all I had to do to get mine to work. When you're done with the show switch back. Hopefully these App developers start realizing they *will* lose customers when they don't put proper effort into their products. I won't be renewing until this (at least) is fixed.

Hi all!

This is an issue when using HomePods and they have not fixed it. There is no other way around it unless you have an iPad or iPhone that you can download the AMC+ app and Airplay it to your AppleTV

Airplaying from a mobile device will still let you use your HomePods.

I did a software update and and AMC+ is working now.

Disconnecting home pod mini speakers fixed this issue right away. Thanks so much.

I was able to watch by going threw the AppleTV app.

I’ve found that using the HomePods is the problem. They also suck bandwidth causing the Apple TV to lag. I switched to a sound bar using Bluetooth and it eliminated the lagging.

The workaround that I found is watching it through Apple TV channel AMC+

Go to the link below for the fix:

AMC PLUS HomePod Fix - Apple Community

You have 2 options. First you can do exactly what you suggested (cancel and re-subscribe) or Second you can use the workaround I posted in the thread above (also below).

But that’s assuming you also own an Apple device like an iPad or iPhone that has the Home App installed on it.

The easiest solution is to cancel and re-subscribe especially if you’re paying the same amount ($8.99).

Here’s the workaround that allows you to still use your HomePods.

Go to settings on your AppleTv.

Select Video and Audio

Select Audio Output

Select TV Speakers as your Default Audio Output

Scroll Down to Temporary Audio Output

By Default your TV Speakers Are selected.

Select your HomePods (Room - whatever you have this set to. Mine is set to “Main Bedroom”)

When you do this TV Speakers gets deselected.

Lastly, select TV speakers again.

Both should now be Checked off.

when you exit back one screen it should now say under Temporary Audio “Main Bedroom + Master” or something along those lines.

Now turn the TV volume all the way down and use the audio from the HomePods.

The Only downside is that you have to control the volume of the HomePods on the App or On the Speakers themselves, but if you don’t mind doing that then this works great.