Apple TV 2.2: not playing some custom encoded videos

In addition to the content provided by the iTunes store, users can encode and transfer movies to the Apple TV via iTunes. For some users however, after applying the latest version 2.2 software update for the device, user-encoded movies do not appear to be working anymore.

Apple Discussions poster YouGIN writes:

"I have a collection of self-encoded HD 720p movies and all videos played well at 2.1 Firmware. I recently updated my ATV to version 2.2. and I've found that all the videos from my collection can not be played. ATV just hangs and do nothing, the only reaction is the menu sound when clicking the ATV remote."

This problem persists despite users efforts to re-encode the movies in different formats, and make other image-related adjustments to the tracks. Movies encoded with "Handbrake" software package also seem to have difficulty playing with the 2.2 software update installed. In addition, some users have found that regardless of the encoding software used, this only seems to be a problem with foreign language movies that were encoded with region codes set to anything but "1" or "All". This indicates the problem is not with the format at all, but with some metadata information that is not being recognized or allowed by the new Apple TV software.

Hopefully Apple will release an update that properly handles these metadata tags in foreign films, but for now there are several possibilities for affected users.

Workaround: Do a factory restore Reset the Apple TV to the factory defaults, which will downgrade the software version to the original but also allow these movies to be played. To do this, press and hold the Menu and Menu-down buttons on the apple remote until the status light turns orange and blinks. Choose the desired language, and then choose the "Factory Restore" option. Optionally users can then try to upgrade to the latest software update again, and hope the problems were just with the updating process.

Fix: Change the movie tracks to "English" Open the movie in QuickTime player and press command-J to get the movie properties. Select the video track and click the "Other Settings" tab. From the "Language" drop-down menu select "English" and close the properties window. Save the movie file (either as the original format or as a ".mov" quicktime wrapper) and retry it with the Apple TV.

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