Fairplay 2 music videos won't sync to iPod classic

Hi there glimmrmoon,

It sounds like there's an issue syncing music videos to your iPod classic with iTunes on your Mac, and you're wondering if it's related to FairPlay. Do you see an alert message in iTunes when the issue occurs? The article below provides an overview of FairPlay digital rights management.

iTunes: Frequently asked questions about viewing and syncing videos - Apple Atbalsts

How does purchased video differ from other video?

Videos purchased from the iTunes Store have FairPlay digital rights management embedded in the files and are in a format that can be readily synced to a video-capable mobile device. Just like with music you purchase from the iTunes Store, you own the videos you purchase. You can authorize up to five computers to play purchased videos, and you can sync the video to as many mobile devices as you like. A single device can contain purchased content from up to five accounts; iTunes will not allow you to add data from a sixth account.

The iPod classic User Guide, which is linked below, will walk you through the process of syncing music videos to your iPod classic.

https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1195/en_US/iPod_classic_160GB_User _Guide.pdf

Syncing music from selected playlists, artists, and genres to iPod classic

You can set iTunes to sync selected playlists, artists, and genres to iPod classic if the music in your iTunes library doesn’t all fit on iPod classic. Only the music in the playlists, artists, and genres you select is synced to iPod classic.

Set iTunes to sync music from selected playlists, artists, and genres to iPod classic:

1. 1 In iTunes, select iPod classic in the device list and click Music.

2. 2 Select “Sync music” and then choose “Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres.”

3. 3 Select the playlists, artists, albums, or genres you want.

4. 4 To include music videos, select “Include music videos.”

5. 5 To set iTunes to automatically fill any remaining space on iPod classic, select “Automatically fill free space with songs.”

6. 6 Click Apply.
   Note: If “Sync only checked songs and videos” is selected in the Summary pane, iTunes syncs

   only items that are checked.

Ciao.

I have the same problem. I only use iTunes with stuff purchased through the itunes store. Never ripped music etc. I just recently purchaed a heap of music videos from itunes store and resynced my ipod. None of them would sync abnd came up with the error that they couldnt be played on my ipod classic. ALL my old music videos i purchased could. Checking the info on my older music videos compared to my new ones, the new ones that wont sync show Fairplay v2, where all the others show no version of Fairplay. So its definitely something there with the drm stopping the ipod classic to sync them... Maybe the old classics are due new software to enable them to play/sync thses music videos.

UGH. Yes, this happened to me, too! Even to music videos I had to re-download and I bought in the past. It makes me sad because I love watching my music videos and I really just want them to work. 😢

PLEASE fix this, Apple. It's really aggravating.

Theres an option you can select if you feel the problem should be fixed free of charge. Wonder if they will allow this problem to be covered by it.

Use the report a problem links in your account purchase history. If there really is a new intentional restriction that excludes purchased video content from being synched to an iPod classic when this was previously possible it ought to be clearly signposted in the iTunes Store when you make your purchase. If it isn't intentional then the information that it is happening needs to be passed back up the chain. My guess would be an unintentional side effect of changes that are meant to prevent Apple Music content being synced to classics, since they don't have any ability to check that the subscription is still active.

tt2

Thank you! I also reported the problems for my music videos that wouldn't sync. Hopefully this solves it. 🙂

Great idea thanks! Will get onto that straight away

Okay, so I got a reply; they recommended to make sure your iPod is updated (check) and to de-authorize, then re-authorize your computer (double check). It still won't sync for me. 😕

"An AppleCare Advisor can tell you about our complimentary and fee-based support options and help you choose the best one."

This ****** me off a little because I don't want to pay a fee for something that I have already bought from your store, and that is really none of our faults.

What do you guys think?

I think they are very scripted and they really need to pass this onto someone who knows about it 🙂 You shouldnt have to pay for something that they have done to their music videos to cause this problem. Who knows, they may choose to waive the fee. I dont think you pay the fee straight away. But im not putting my bets onto it.

I tried calling them today and they told me I would have to pay this $30 fee to talk to someone. If I didn't pay the fee upright, then I couldn't talk to anyone. 😕 I *really* don't want to have to pay, but I think a lot of people are having this problem -- I might have to bite the bullet and just pay them when I get paid on Thursday, lol.

The report a problem links in your purchase history should initiate a form/email based conversation which doesn't cost. Phone support probably isn't the best way to handle it. You need to make it clear that your purchases are not able to be used as you have come to expect them to be, and that there is no guidance to suggest a change in the terms and conditions when purchasing that would explain the new behaviour. Also explain that the issue only affects items downloaded with iTunes 12.2 or 12.2.1, and that your older downloads continue to work normally. Ask if they aware of an ongoing problem, and if not would they please pass the information to those further up the support chain so that it can be investigated properly. A link to this thread and the fact that there are others like it all helps to tell the story. You can also make use of iTunes Feedback.

tt2

Okay, I just talked to someone from Apple Support.

I have some bad news guys; you can't play them on the classic because they aren't meant to be played on them. Only the iPads and iPhones. It's a software issue. I asked if they were going to release an update for it and they said to keep an eye out for one. 😟 And she said there is no way to convert it, either (since they're protected).

I told her that you guys should put it on the iTunes store that this can only be played on iPads and iPhones only. Hopefully they take that into consideration.

I can quite understand why content downloaded via an Apple Music subscription would be excluded from use on an iPod classic, since this cannot check the status of the subscription. This differs from paid content that heretofore has been classified as Purchased as opposed to Protected. Purchased content should play in third party media players that have the appropriate codecs, and on an iPod classic unless it exceeds the complexity specifications, e.g. I don't think the classic can handle HD content. I think iTunes is applying DRM to Purchased content when it should not be, in other words this is a bug. I just managed to reproduce the issue comparing the behaviour for video files I had downloaded prior to 12.2 with a freshly downloaded copy of the same track from my purchase history. The old copy can be added to a non-iOS device, the fresh download cannot.

tt2