Apple TV App on MacOS (Monterey) does not play content

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Level 1

88 points

Apple TV App on MacOS (Monterey) does not play content

Hi,

The Apple TV app on my MacBook ((Intel Pro 16") running the latest OS-version (Monterey) refuses to play content all of a sudden. The app itself does start normally, it shows me the movies/series/... it even knows the "status" (watched episodes) of the series I've (partially) watched, but when I try to actually start streaming content nothing happens! I can't play one single piece of content (movies, episodes of series, stuff from my local library, trailers) all of a sudden (started acting last week.

It looks like something is messed up in my (local or iCloud) account as when I log in as another user on this very same laptop and then start the Apple TV app, I am able to start streaming (only tested it with a trailer as that other account is not attached to an iCloud ID so I can't play any subscription content).

Problem is I don't know what - already cleared the TV app's cache and settings (which is really painful as it also removed your viewing history :( ) but it didn't help.

Don't think it is iCloud related either as I am able to watch content on my iPhone, iPad and Apple TV device. Brings me to the conclusion that something is messed up in the settings in my MacBook account - if I only knew where to look for.

Anybody else in here experienced the same. Any advice?

Rgds,

Jan.

Posted on Aug 1, 2022 6:06 AM

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Answer 1

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JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 3, 2022 7:48 AM in response to MVegas21

I thought I had it working by signing out of my account (from within the Apple TV app), quitting the app and then, after starting again, signing in again.

It then shows me the watched movies/series (so I am indeed signed in as myself, it knows what I have been watching) and initially I can play content. But after restarting the Apple TV app it is back to where it was: Not able to start watching anything apart from stuff which is really in my own library and not bought in the store (so any purchased content doesn't play either).

I notice something strange: When pressing the play-icon it seems like the app wants to open the stream-window and then closes it again (like it is doing some (DRM?) check) and then realises the content can't be played and quits again. Very strange - never had issues before playing content on this Mac.

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Answer 2

JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 3, 2022 9:16 AM in response to JeeHoo

Hi,

I've opened up a terminal and went into the ~/Library/Preferences directory.

In it I noticed that the file "com.apple.TV.plist" had been modified pretty recently (as in, a timestamp of exact the moment I quit the Apple TV app) which made me think that most probably that was a preferences file maintained by the TV app itself.

I decided to give it a try and move this file aside (mv com.apple.TV.plist com.apple.TV.plist.obs) and then restart the TV app.

Guess what: I get a sort of "splash" screen notifying me of the Apple TV+ service and when I OK this window all is working again!

I quit and restart the app --> all still working.

Seems that by having the TV app rebuild that plist file did do something (here's hoping that this really "solved" the problem).

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Answer 3

JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 3, 2022 8:23 AM in response to JovonaP.

Hi JovonaP,

I took the plunge and re-created that other MacOS account and within it logged in into my iCloud and guess what: I can play whatever I want in my Apple TV App.

This makes me conclude that I have something locally in my user-account on my Macbook which is causing my Apple TV app not playing any "paid" (subscription or purchased) content.

Do you have any starting point for me to start debugging this (I do know how to access data from a terminal command line if needed)?

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Answer 4

JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:38 AM in response to J_Johnnyboy

Hi J_Johnyboy,

Thanks for the link - I've had a look at the contents and concluded that I tried/verified all the possible situations and advices given on that page. It didn't solve my problem unfortunately.

What did solve my problem was moving aside the existing "com.apple.TV.plist" file in my own "~/Library/Preferences" sub-directory and then have the TV app recreate a new one from scratch. After I did this I didn't encounter any more issues with the Apple TV app.

I think we may conclude that it is solved (even though I still do not know what exactly was the root cause for the app refusing to playback any paid content - either purchased or Apple TV+ material - which bothers me a bit).

Again, thanks all for your help.

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Answer 5

MVegas21

Community Specialist

Aug 2, 2022 10:19 AM in response to JeeHoo

Hi JeeHoo,

It appears that you've taken some great isolation steps. To isolate further, create another administrator account on your MacBook and test out the Apple ID that you've noticed the issue with. This will help with determining if the issue is specific to one user account. If needed, here are the steps to create another account: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .

If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.

2. Click the Add button below the list of users.

3. Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose Administrator.

4. Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.

5. Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.

6. Click Create User.

Best regards.

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Answer 6

JovonaP.

Community Specialist

Aug 3, 2022 7:35 AM in response to JeeHoo

JeeHoo,

Thanks for following up. We're happy to hear that Apple TV works in the new user account. This could mean that there are settings or login items causing issues with the other account. To see if the login items are the cause, try the steps in the following resource to remove the login items and test the issue again: Remove login items to resolve startup problems on your Mac

Signing in to iCloud with this account shouldn't cause any issues with your content. However, if you're not comfortable using iCloud with this user account you don't have to.

With Apple TV+ you're allowed to have 6 simultaneous streams. Check out the following resource for more information on Apple TV limits: Download and stream shows and movies from Apple TV+ and Apple TV channels - Apple Support

Let us know the results.

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Answer 7

Aug 3, 2022 2:47 PM in response to JeeHoo

JeeHoo,

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

Based on your original post, we recommend the troubleshooting steps via the link below:

If you can't watch or stream movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app

The steps in the article above will show you what to do if you have trouble streaming a movie or TV show over a Wi-Fi connection.

To perform the troubleshooting actions recommended by the article above, please read through and complete the steps in the section titled "If the movie or TV show won't start playing ."

We're recommending these steps because they directly address the issue you initially reached out to the community about, which is not being able to stream content on your Mac.

If the original problem persists after trying our suggested troubleshooting steps, provide us with specifics on what you see for more help, and we will continue from there.

Cheers!

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Answer 8

JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 3, 2022 4:38 AM in response to MVegas21

Hello Vegas21,

Thanks for your reply.

Even though I already had tested that AppleTV did work correctly for my wife (a "standard" user) on this laptop I followed your advice and created a new administator account. Logged in as this new user and tried the Apple TV (not signing in to Apple's services yet): This works, I can play the trailers without any problem (something that doesn't work for my own account.

I am a bit hesitant signing in into my iCloud using that new user account - won't it mess up things (mail, cloud documentation, iMessage, FaceTime, calendar, ....)?

Could it be that I've reached the maximum number of devices on which to stream Apple TV content? What are the limits when having a family subscription for "the lot" (all services which are available over here in the Netherlands)?

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Answer 9

JeeHoo Author

Level 1

88 points

Aug 3, 2022 8:10 AM in response to JovonaP.

Hi JovonaP,

Thanks for the suggestion - it didn't work unfortunately. I removed the one item (Adobe Acrobat background synchronisation) from the "Login Items" list, rebooted, logged in again and directly tried starting content in the TV app: nothing :(

I have the feeling something is messed up on the (iCloud) server side for my account or some (Apple TV app related) settings are getting in the way in my local user account (which I could test by re-creating that new (administrator) account and login into my iCloud in that context: if the problem is still there than it is something on the server side, if it isn't it is something in my local (macOS) account).

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Apple TV App on MacOS (Monterey) does not play content

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