Apple TV (4th Gen) won't play iTunes content from library

Another workaround to the issue using a tvOS app is Air Video HD. It doesn't have the bells/whistles of PLEX, but it's very easy to set up (download the tvOS app, download the OS X app...and you're done) and if the main goal is to just get some of the non-compatible files streaming to the ATV 4, it works really well. All of my MPEG-4 rips that were being rejected as incompatible by the 1st party software are totally fine with this app. I still expect that the issue will be resolved by Apple eventually, but for $5 this is a relatively cheap way to avoid spending a lot of time on conversions or not being able to watch the movies on ATV 4.

One thing to note: when Air Video HD is running on tvOS, you won't have access to the 1st party movie/music/photos streaming functions. Just quit the app to get access to those again.

I read every post in this thread hoping for resolution that didn't involve going to 3rd party apps to "fix it ourselves."

With no comparability to the remote app on iOS and no backwards compatibility to file formats that Apple previously endorsed, this sounds more like a Microsoft product than one made by Apple.

May the ghost of Steve Jobs haunt the Apple TV team until this is fixed!!

Apple only guarantees to support video content they sell or rent to you or which has been captured by their apps on their devices. For everything else there are no guarantees, so your best recourse is to either use another product for viewing the video or to use a third party utility (such as HandBrake or iSkysoft iMedia Converter) to convert your video content to an Apple-optimized format.

I read every post in this thread hoping for resolution that didn't involve going to 3rd party apps to "fix it ourselves."

With no comparability to the remote app on iOS and no backwards compatibility to file formats that Apple previously endorsed, this sounds more like a Microsoft product than one made by Apple.

May the ghost of Steve Jobs haunt the Apple TV team until this is fixed!!

While this problem may be new to you, it's old hat to long time Mac users. For reasons both good and bad, Apple does not natively support all available video formats, nor do they necessarily support the same range of formats across all of their products and services.

Given their long history of sticking to the above point of view, your choices are limited to the following:

1) Consume only video content procured from Apple and its partners

2) Select a more suitable and versatile third party product (video players and tv streaming devices) to view your chosen video content

3) Convert all your video content to an Apple-optimized format using a third party utility.

Apple natively supports MPEG-4 as a file format, and the MPEG-4 spec listed for the 4th gen Apple TV is no different than that of the 2nd or 3rd gen models. tvOS is the only current Apple OS that has issues with MPEG-4 files. OS X and iOS have no problems with MPEG-4, and the older OS that was used on the 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TV have no problems with MPEG-4 files. This isn't really an "Apple" issue, it's a "tvOS" issue.

As I noted in my previous comment, third party utilities are available to convert any video to a format that is fully compatible with a given Apple product. In my case, I have a library of over 200 movie files which I converted using iMedia Converter and none of them have presented problems on any of my Apple devices including the Apple TV 4.

You don't know what the issue is until you identify what differentiates the files that work on your Apple TV from those that don't.

"MPEG-4" is not sufficient information. A video file is comprised of a video track and one or more audio tracks, each of which is encoded with a particular codec, resolution, bitrate, etc., and then the whole thing is enclosed in a particular type of wrapper. TVOS may have an issue with any number of those details in the files with which you are having issues.

This explanation illustrates why it makes no sense for Apple to attempt to support more video file types: the effort would be a monumental waste of resources with limited benefit, especially in the case of inferior and outdated codecs (e.g., WMV, FLV, DIVX, AC3, etc.)

The problem with 3rd party apps to convert old files that already ran through a 3rd party app once before, at least in my experience, is that it doesn't give an option to pull over any subtitle tracks. For me that is a big issue.

Also, I agree that this is a tvOS issue. Beyond just the fact it won't play them, it won't even let you AirPlay these files from another Apple device (desktop/phone/tablet) that is showing it perfectly well right in front of you!

The problem with 3rd party apps to convert old files that already ran through a 3rd party app once before, at least in my experience, is that it doesn't give an option to pull over any subtitle tracks. For me that is a big issue.

For soft subtitles, I use a utility called iSubtitle. There are other options available as well I'm sure.

Also, I agree that this is a tvOS issue. Beyond just the fact it won't play them, it won't even let you AirPlay these files from another Apple device (desktop/phone/tablet) that is showing it perfectly well right in front of you!

Once again, all you know is that tvOS appears to have issues with some files that play OK on other Apple devices. I already pointed out how different Apple devices and apps may support different types of video files - some are more finicky about file formats than others. Without figuring out what is different about the non-supported files you cannot address the issue except by using converter utility.

I take your point, and to be honest I don't have much to say about tvOS itself.

But I do know Apple touts a seamless experience across their devices, especially with iCloud. AirPlay is a key component of that ecosystem. And for it not to work ONLY for these files... no, they need to fix that. I don't need to fix it with a 3rd party app.

But I do know Apple touts a seamless experience across their devices, especially with iCloud. AirPlay is a key component of that ecosystem. And for it not to work ONLY for these files... no, they need to fix that.

Assuming you're trying to AirPlay a video file from an iPhone to your Apple TV. Which app are you using and where did the file come from?

I do know what differentiates the files in regards to "working" and "non-working": the 1st party app used for Home Sharing within tvOS.

Nothing else that I've used has had problems with the exact same MPEG-4 files. I can run them in Quicktime, MPEG-Streamclip, and iTunes in OS X. I can stream them from iTunes to iOS. I can run them directly within the Videos app on iOS. I can stream them to tvOS using the Air Video HD app. And they all stream through Home Sharing to my 2nd gen Apple TV without any problems. In other words, there's nothing unusual at all about the files as far as the MPEG-4 standard goes.

You keep looking at the problem from the wrong angle. You are reporting the symptom rather than investigating the cause. You seem to be convinced that tvOS has an issue with some video files that play fine on other Apple devices. Great. Now what? Apple's not going to do anything about it unless they sold or rented you the video files in question.

If you're going to blame tvOS, then your only recourse is to not use it. On the other hand, if you want the files to play on tvOS then you have to get to the root of what makes the files different from the others besides the fact that tvOS can't play them. One option is to examine the files with some video utility and compare the specs with those of the fully compatible files. This might help you learn what makes them different and what it is about them that tvOS doesn't like. However the easier fix would be to run them through an appropriate converter.

I am using the Video app that comes on the iPhone/iPad out of the box. The file is from my iTunes library on my iMac, and is accessed either by loading the file onto the mobile device, or by HomeSharing the library and accessing it that way.

I have also tried AirPlay directly from my iMac to the Apple TV by starting the file directly in iTunes. Also no success.

I could see your point if Apple had struggled to support MPEG-4 in previous models of Apple TV, or if the latest versions of OS X and iOS were not supporting those files through 1st party applications anymore...but that's not the case.