Apple TV for home movies with home sharing flawed

I'm set up correctly with home sharing on a 27" iMac running the current Ventura OS. I'm utilizing the Apple TV app to load home movies from an external hard drive. Files are .mov and .mp4. All imported videos play perfectly through Apple TV. Categorized into play lists is amazing. Not perfect, but I'm feeling good.


Problem:

When I go to my Apple TV 4K connected to my TV only 1 home video shows up under the "Computers" app utilized for home sharing. That .mp4 video will not play, stating it is not compatible. However, when I try on a 1st generation Apple TV connected to a different TV, that video plays fine. The other .mov files do not show up.


Why do my movies show up and play as expected on the Apple TV app on my computer, but do not show up on my Apple TV 4K connected to a TV?


As a workaround, I tried using my MacBook Air with the current Ventura OS using the Apple TV app. Figuring I'd have to AirPlay my home movies. Oddly, none of the video content I'm sharing from the iMac shows up - I think it should if with home sharing turned on. So I then tried my iPhone and an iPad using the Apple TV app - again no home videos are shown to be shared even though home sharing is on.


I've contacted Apple and they could not determine the problem. Clearly there is some issue with home sharing with Apple TV.


Has anyone found a solution to this problem?

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 16

Posted on Jul 3, 2023 12:19 PM

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3 replies

Jul 3, 2023 03:38 PM in response to jdeetch

Note that the Computers app has a separate tab for Movies and for Home Videos. Where a media file shows up, depends on the Media Kind tag, or absence of it.


The Computers app for Home Sharing on Apple TV has some overlap for compatibility with the TV app on Macs, but there are also some differences. You’ll have to inspect each file that doesn’t play, for codec details that are different. Things like HDR, high frame rate, 4K HEVC, MPEG-4 profiles and levels, 4K tag, could be unsupported in certain or all Home Sharing setups. For older files, MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX, XviD) may not be supported in Home Sharing; not sure if that is the codec itself, or some of the codec properties.


For best general support, convert to H.264 AVC with AAC audio in MP4 container.


If you have multiple Apple TV boxes, then please specify each model.

Identify your Apple TV model - Apple Support

Find your Apple TV model number - Apple Support

They have differences in codec support:

Apple TV 4K (1st generation) technical specifications - Apple Support

Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) technical specifications - Apple Support

Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) technical specifications - Apple Support

Aside from listed Video Formats and Audio Formats, the Computers app may support a subset of that (i.e. a bit less). Unfortunately, the details are not publicly officially documented.

Jul 4, 2023 01:31 PM in response to jdeetch

UPDATE:

I had to save videos through a media encoder (I used Adobe Media Encoder, part of Creative Cloud).

Default format: H.264

Default preset: Match Source - High Bitrate (did not work)

– Tried preset: H.264 Match Source - High Bitrate (did not work)

– Finally tried preset: High Quality 1080p HD and High Quality 2160p 4K (success!)


Although Apple stated that formats .mov, .mp4, and .mv4 were compatible to Apple TV. This was only true for the Apple TV app on my computer, but only .mp4 showed up on the Apple TV 4K for TV. Unfortunately, those .mp4 videos were not playable until I processed them through a media encoder with the below settings.


Adobe Media Encoder Settings

Default format: H.264

Default preset: High Quality 1080p HD and High Quality 2160p 4K


Note: I still cannot see my shared home videos on my other Mac or iPhones / iPads. This makes me wonder if when home videos are added to an Apple TV app on one device they stay local to that device through the Apple TV app. So essentially, the home sharing of home videos only works from a single device through the Apple TV app to be shared with the Apple TV 4K box, not to another device using the Apple TV app. Multiple devices can share their local home videos to the Apple TV 4K box. Each device shows as a different source. I believe if you purchased movies / TV shows through Apple, those would show up on all devices (ex, your wife bought a movie, it would be shared with everyone in the shared network).

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Apple TV for home movies with home sharing flawed

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