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David Irvine Author

Level 1

32 points

This content requires HDCP for playback problem! Apple TV2

Owned Apple TV for two weeks. Two weeks ago, everything was fine for films already in my iTunes library.

This week, when selecting play on a movie, I get the message 'This content requires HDCP for playback problem' inconsistently. Some vids work, some don't. Then they do then they don't! I have tried on a Samsung TV and a Sony Bravia? Same for both!

How do I resolve this. I have tried different HDMI ports, turned Apple TV 2 off and on. Tried different cables (Although my HDMI cable is the one I purchased from Apple).

Any suggestions? Is it something Apple need to fix? This is kinda embarrassing when I tell friends how good Apple TV is, get them round to watch a movie and inconsistently get this.

Many Thanks for any help

Dave.

Apple TV2, Windows Vista

Posted on Nov 21, 2010 2:52 PM

Top-ranking reply

Norcalgrl

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Dec 8, 2010 11:42 AM

Mine worked fine one minute then gave me errors the next. I did these things 1. Unplug the hdmi cables. First tv then apple tv 2. Unplug the TV power and the AppleTV power, let them sit 30-60 seconds, 3. Plug in hdmi cables while power is off 4. plug the tv power in first, then the ATV power. This worked for me! (I was told it's an HDCP Handshake error, and the handshake is forced to be done again by unplugging power, but make sure you unplug both devices and plug them in the order above).

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152 replies

Jan 29, 2011 1:38 PM in response to YMJ

I got the same issue. I pull the power plug on ATV2 and plug back in. everything works fine now.

tmartine

Level 3

995 points

Jan 31, 2011 9:10 AM in response to David Irvine

restart iTunes.. if that doesn't solve it.. restart the appleTV.

kryss911

Level 1

0 points

Feb 3, 2011 9:54 AM in response to tmartine

Yeah, after one week of loving ATV I started getting this error message. First just intermittently, in which case unplugging the power to the ATV would rememdy it, then nonstop the next day. Being iced in for three days this was a fantastic time time to start watching Lost, but having to switch to watching it on the laptop was disappointing.

I have tried every single remedy I've found online; I've spent two days restarting, restoring, powering and unpowering, plugging and unplugging various cables in various orders and I'm ready to return it. Our wii doesn't stream HD but it's not much trouble to move it into the bedroom and at least it plays with no errors. If the powers that be, namely Apple or Sony ((I read somewhere that Sony developed the HDCP protocol) fix this, I'll look at repurchasing ATV.

Feb 3, 2011 6:42 PM in response to David Irvine

Nothing worked for me either, I switched TV's, from a 1080P (six months new) Magnavox, to a 1080i two year old LG, have not had any issue since. Another thing, running wireless, works better than a gigabit wired connection. go figure that one out.

frico

Level 1

0 points

Apr 2, 2011 2:35 PM in response to eltrigo2001

I restarted my mac, restarted apple tv, unplugged/plugged back to TV, and it worked!

4ndyH

Level 1

0 points

Apr 5, 2011 1:42 AM in response to frico

Just got an Apple TV - had the same problem with HDCP playing video content taken from an iPod Touch!

Solution seemed to be:

1. Switch everything off.
2. Disconnect power cable from Apple TV.
3. Connect all your devices via HDMI.
4. Switch on Gefen HDMI switchbox.
5. Power up Apple TV.

The Apple TV then properly handshakes with the Gefen TV box.

Sorted.

Apr 7, 2011 2:43 PM in response to David Irvine

Had the same problem, in about 90% of the cases it seems to be a sync issue between the tv and apple tv and luckily an easy fix. It could be an HDMI cable or something else, *but try this first*, especially if everything was working fine and it just quit:

On the Apple TV2 main menu go to settings, the last item at the bottom is Sleep Now (different location for previous version of Apple TV, but the same principal).
Click Sleep Now. The power light will go off on Apple TV.
Turn your TV off for 30 seconds, then back on.
Now touch the menu button on the remote to turn on Apple TV.
Now try to access your video content.

This could easily happen again, but it's also preventable by making sure your TV is on before Apple TV is on.

Apr 18, 2011 2:22 PM in response to David Irvine

I'm really really mad at Apple! I'm using Apple TV2 now since it came out with no problems. I didn't anything on my setup. But 2 days ago I rented a movie an could not see anything of it because of this pain! The evening was spoiled and I went to bed really upset. Nothing of the suggestions helped. All I got was playing ATV2 by connecting it directly to the tv. But that's not the way I need it to run. I do have a 3000 USD AV receiver where the ATV is connected to and this is connected to a 4000 USD TV. What for do I get Dolby Digital 5.1 for??? Don't get me wrong, this is not about what expencive hardware i have at all but i really demand things to work. I was able to play any trailer from iTunes but not the earlier rented movie. The 48h passed and I didn't see more then 2 sec of the movie. That's the time the HDCP needs to stop showing anything. Great! Thats enough to start the rental period and show nothing. I will ask to get my money back!

This whole HDCP crap is only preventing paying customers from watching what they paid for, while pirates get what they want with no worry. This didn't prevent one movie from being copied, but left 1000 of upset legal customers. What idiots came up with this???

a.rodbas

Level 1

0 points

Apr 27, 2011 9:53 AM in response to David Irvine

Hi,

I had the same problem. My solution was very easy: I turned everything off, then disconnected the HDMI cable and connected it again, but this time inverse. Connected the power and waited for the Apple TV to startup, then turned the TV on and at last the Apple TV. Just reverse the cables, easy!

As far as I understand, there's no HDCP cable, since it is a protocol between devices. My TV is Sony KDL-40Z4100.

Sonyman7

Level 1

0 points

May 18, 2011 7:04 PM in response to David Irvine

Swapped hdmi port. That's it! It works!

May 28, 2011 12:38 PM in response to David Irvine

Just happened to me after pausing something for awhile. I pressed play and … nothing. Again, and then the same.

I clicked Menu, and my program, and it resumed without incident.

TV is Sony Bravia XBR KDL-32XBR9, and my wifi is via Apple's 802.11n Extreme Base Station.

Jun 14, 2011 4:53 PM in response to David Irvine

Read some of the other post and noticed others were having handshake issues with their TVs. I was also getting the same error : This content requires HDCP for playback. HDCP isn't supported by your HDMI connection. This content requires HDCP for playback'.

All I did was turn off my TV and turned it back on and the HDMI finally recognized the ATV again and everything worked. (of course I did this after trying the unplug my ATV 10 times!!!)

Must say, I like the ATV2, but hate to say I have less issues streaming Netflix off of my Wii... witch is not cool..

Jul 25, 2011 2:18 PM in response to PierreGMartin

Sadly this tends to be a fairly well discussed (on the web and in some of my owners manuals) HDCP/HDMI cable problem - the loss of handshaking. So the A-TV might not be to blame. I have the same issue with other HDMI devices (BluRay, HD DVD, etc). Sometimes only power cycling and reconnecting both ends of the HDMI cable get them talking propery.

Aug 26, 2011 9:43 PM in response to David Irvine

Disconnect the HDMI cable on both ends and plug it back into the TV and AppleTV unit. Make sure the cable is fully inserted into the plug and firmly connected. This worked for me

bobmando

Level 1

4 points

Aug 31, 2011 8:25 PM in response to David Irvine

I am also having the same issue. I have owned ATV2 for nearly a year with no problems. We recently moved, we set up ATV2 exactly as it was in our old house and first attempt at Netflix gives me the HDCP message. I am also getting alot of random restarts?? I was loving this for the past year... now i'm confused.

This content requires HDCP for playback problem! Apple TV2