1st Gen AppleTV and 720p downloads

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Level 1

10 points

1st Gen AppleTV and 720p downloads

Hi Everyone

I'm having a real nightmare with two 1st Gen AppleTVs. I also have a 2nd Gen and a 3rd Gen which are performing perfectly. I know the 1st Gens are getting long in the tooth but they still work and want to use them in bedrooms where the TVs can only display 720p so they are perfect.

The problem I have is that the 1st Gen AppleTVs won't play 720p content downloaded from the iTunes store. I have tried everything and it seems to be very hit and miss. I have a 720p movie in my iTunes library that was downloaded before 1080p became available and they WILL play that file but it seems as soon as there is a 1080p file present as well they just just report that the file is not compatible with AppleTV.

The same happens with movies that I have compiled with Handbrake - put a 1080p in the mix and it all stops working with the 1st Gens.

What is really strange is that if I access movies from the iTunes store directly from the AppleTV itself, it will download the movie from the iTunes store andplay it quite happily but if I then download the 720p version in iTunes so that it gets added to my iTunes library (where a 1080p version already exists) then it will not play the movie.

Is there any way around this? Why are they happy to download and play 720p directly from the iTunes store but not stream it from iTunes?

Any ideas cos it's driving me crackers!

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Apple TV, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), iTunes 11

Posted on Aug 24, 2014 3:11 AM

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Answer 1

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Aug 24, 2014 4:01 AM in response to Dean Blaby1

I'm fairly sure iTunes is the problem in that it does not expect there to be 2 HD versions available. I've seen some oddities when I've had all 3 versions (SD, 720p and 1080p) present.

The good thing here is that you suggest you can download a previous purchase direct from iTunes Store to AppleTV 1 - I've not used mine for a while, but as AppleTV 1 is not iCloud aware it's good to here (I hope) that iTunes Store recognises a past purchase and allows AppleTV 1 to download directly to the unit.

This is also good as it suggests it's an issue between ATV1 and iTunes, rather than say a change to Apple's DRM in newer files that ATV1 does not understand.

As AppleTV 1 will see no further updates and hasn't for ages, I think your best option would be to send iTunes feedback, this may be an oversight:

Apple - iTunes - Feedback

I would hope iTunes will retain support for legacy devices as far as possible, whereas I suspect the AppleTV team are working on new features/models.

Apple - Apple TV - Feedback

I'm trying to remember what issue I was having with 3 versions with the newer AppleTVs - maybe I was hoping to be able to compare a 720p vs 1080p store version directly on ATV2 (which can decode 1080p but only output a max of 720p).

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Answer 2

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Aug 24, 2014 4:10 AM in response to Dean Blaby1

Not at home to test, but could you maybe use Get Info to change the metadata associated with the 720p version to denote it as a different movie name with only as 720p version present? You'd perhaps need to remove the 720p/1080p files from iTunes, then add the 720p back, change the name via iTunes Get Info, then add the 1080p back with the correct name. A workaround at best but might work....

Another thought here - if you have a 1080p copy alone - does it appear for 'sharing' on AppleTV 1 - if not, itunes may be correctly identifying 720p files suitable for ATV1 and ATV1 then lists them (but not 1080p incompatible files alone), but when ATV1 requests the file to stream or sync iTunes may have a bug which tries to send the incompatible 1080p version.

You will remember some time ago when downloading HD gave you the SD file automatically too (now downloadable from Purchases in the cloud in iTunes), but now you only get the preferred HD downloaded - I think Apple decided people generally only wanted an SD or HD file to save space, and in the process forgot that some users need both 720p and 1080p HD.

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Answer 3

Dean Blaby1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 24, 2014 8:06 AM in response to Alley_Cat

Hi there

Thanks for replying so quickly!

What you are saying makes perfect sense and I agree, I think it is iTunes that is the problem. I have been playing...

If I have two copies of a movie - a 720p and a 1080p added to iTunes and all the metadata is correct, iTunes files them together in the same folder. The movie is presented once in the iTunes interface and is visible in the ATV1 interface but will not play.

If there is only a 720p version then it shows in iTunes (as one would expect) and it also shows in the ATV1 interface. If there is only a 1080p version, it again shows in the iTunes interface but does NOT show on the ATV1.

I am of course assuming that it is iTunes that is the problem because I am assuming that iTunes serves the file as opposed to the ATV1 getting the file if you know what I mean...

So how do I get it fixed? I have contacted iTunes support but I suspect they will tell me that the ATV1 is no longer supported. Perhaps I should contact iTunes support instead??? I understand that the ATV1 is legacy but as I said previously, they still work and they are ideal for the use that I propose.

Any ideas???

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Answer 4

Rudegar

Level 10

180,696 points

Aug 24, 2014 10:55 AM in response to Dean Blaby1

atv1g only does 720p in 24fps or something the atv2g does 720p in 30fps or something so if the material is 30fps it will likely not work

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Answer 5

Dean Blaby1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 24, 2014 11:07 AM in response to Rudegar

Hi there Rudegar

I appreciate the capabilities of the device but that is not the problem.

Here is an example to try to illustrate...

I bought and DL'd a 1080p version of Captain America The Winter Soldier a few days ago. It did not show on the ATV1 but did show and was playable on my ATV3 in another room. I have DL'd the 720p which iTunes neatly files away and it now shows up on the ATV1. However, when I try to play the movie, I am told that it is incompatible with the ATV.

Here's the rub...

If I access the iTunes store on the ATV1 and choose to purchase Captain America TWS I am told that I have bought it already and I am asked if I want to watch it again. The ATV1 will then promptly start to DL the film and happily starts to play it when sufficient has been buffered.

I have also tried it with home movies and the same thing happens.

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Answer 6

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Aug 24, 2014 11:16 AM in response to Rudegar

Rudegar wrote:

atv1g only does 720p in 24fps or something the atv2g does 720p in 30fps or something so if the material is 30fps it will likely not work

Good point, but tends to reaffirm the fact that many iTunes Movies are encoded at 24 fps or near enough - it's a shame the new models don't have a 24 fps output mode but have to resort to 50/60Hz modes with frame interpolation.

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Answer 7

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Aug 24, 2014 11:19 AM in response to Dean Blaby1

Have you actually tried the suggestion of copying the 720p/1080p versions somewhere as a backup, then delete the movie within iTunes.

Next add the 720p back to iTunes - it should show up on AppleTv 1 AND play provided the 1080p isn't added to iTunes too. I honestly think this is an iTunes bug when both HD versions are present - send feedback to the iTunes link I gave above.

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Answer 8

Dean Blaby1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 24, 2014 11:23 AM in response to Alley_Cat

Hi there Alley Cat

Yes, I have tried... I have duplicated one of the 720p versions, renamed it and added it to the iTunes library as a different movie. It plays just fine. No problems at all which makes it all the more frustrating!!!

I have submitted feedback as you suggested but of course there is no feedback in the reverse direction so leaves me a little stumped until they fix it (or not).

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