apple tv is not showing up in itunes

if you have an Apple TV 2nd generation, it will not show up in iTunes.

if it's a 1st generation, have a look at this support article.

Don't do what Jolly Giant suggested it will be a waste of your time. The documentation at that link regarding the 1st generation Apple TV's not correct. It says to look at the preferences and select the option to look for the Apple TV. That option is NOT available from the preference screen or any other screen in iTunes. The fact is that the Apple TV and iTunes communications interfacing is very very flakey. I've tried everything go get mine to work and have given up ...Nobody at Apple can help you pal. I chuckled today when I got an email of some contest that had a first prize of an Apple TV...I'm thinking to myself that second prize must be two of them.

When connect to iTunes disconnect power plug of APPLE TV. It will start showing APPLE TV in iTUNE.

It does not connect to iTunes. No device list shows up. I powered it down anyway...and symptom persists...no device list. ATV is a flakey device. Always has been apparently always will be. I wish now I hadn't spent the money on it....and certainly won't be buying anything Apple in the near future.

If the device doesn't show up in iTunes, how do you configure which photo libraries or events to share?

I couldn't until I was able to get the ATV to talk to iTunes. I'm good now since I've gotten iTunes to see the ATV.

How did you accomplish this?

Thanks

Hi Yodrak,

The problem I had was that the ATV would not show up in the "Devices" in iTunes. The ATV would connect to my router and I could access the iTune Store ...but it just wouldn't connect to my iTunes on the home computer. The solution to my problem was a simple one. The folder on your hard drive named iTunes (it's located in your My Music folder) MUST be "shared". Once I shared that folder iTunes saw it right away. If that isn't your problem...let me know what your problem is and I'll help in any way I can. It's frustrating working with the ATV.

Thanks MTT. I've found 2 folders named iTunes (not quite where you said one would be, but anyway) and checked them to be shared. Haven't been back to iTunes to look for the ATV yet. Just getting started with this thing and time to play is short and infrequent.

My bigger problem may be convering some video files I've got (.avi and .mkv) to a format that will allow me to put them into my iTunes library, so that they can be sent to the ATV. At least I think that's the process required to show on my TV a video that's located on my iMac.

Hopefully they were the correct folders that the ATV and iTunes are looking for. Get back to me if you continue to have any problems with the connection. I spent a whole lot of time experimenting and testing to get mine going and if I can save you the frustration of the same that would be great.

Regarding video files, I'm not an expert there but boy do I know a guy who is. He has an 8TB library of video that he runs through his ATV and iTunes...he has his whole house wired. I'm sure he would be very happy to help you. If interested I will ask him and maybe the two of you could hook up for that discussion.

Well, I'm not seeing the ATV in iTunes, but I am seeing my iTunes music and movie libraries on the ATV, and I can play them on my TV, and that's what I wanted to accomplish.

The wife and I downloaded Remote to our iPhones and that's working nicely.

Haven't tried viewing my photo library on the TV via ATV yet, but so far so good!

Thanks for your help.

I had this same issue. I assume that you unplugged the Apple TV to reset it. If not try that, unplug your wireless base station if you are using one and plug back in after about 30 seconds. Additionally, if you are using a 3rd party virus program such as Intego then make sure the Apple TV IP address is not being blocked by the program. This turned out to be my problem. In my situation I simply went to the Apple TV under the network setting and copied down the IP address. Then I typed that into the "trusted list" on my Intego software on my MAC. Good luck.

I was able to still stream from MAC to the Apple TV but it stopped showing up in iTunes and I was unable to sync. As I mentioned my Intego was blocking it because it thought my PC was "under attack".

I cannot get itunes to see my apple tv under devices. Anyone have any advice?

I don't see my AppleTV2 in iTunes either. But then, I don't know why iTunes would want or need to see it.

The AppleTV sees my iTunes library, and sends whatever I select to my TV. That's all I need.

Yodrak wrote:

I don't see my AppleTV2 in iTunes either. But then, I don't know why iTunes would want or need to see it.

The AppleTV sees my iTunes library, and sends whatever I select to my TV. That's all I need.

Exactly. Why Apple has decided to vary implimentation of AppleTV and AppleTV2 in iTunes is a mystery to me. Rather than showing up in the devices list, you have to go to the Advanced menu in iTunes to select folders for Photo streaming. Music is automatic. Would have thought including the AppleTV2 under devices would have been much clearer.