Apple TV Special Report: Purchased media (iTunes Store movies, songs) not playing -- fixes

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 1:16 a.m. PT

4 min read

One of the more serious and widespread issues with the Apple TV concerns an inability to playback any media that is purchased from the iTunes Store (DRM-protected).

Users experiencing this error generally find an inability to synchronize or stream purchased media, sometimes accompanied by an error stating that the Apple TV could not contact the iTunes store to authorize. The same users can generally synchronize and/or stream all other non-DRM restricted media.

The Apple TV does not count as one of the 5 computers authorized to play your iTunes Store purchases. This precludes the possibility that users experiencing this problem do not have any authorizations left.

Potential fixes

Disable proxy servers It appears that the Apple TV has problems working through some proxy servers. If the network to which your Apple TV is connected goes through a proxy server, it may need to be disabled.

Also, note that your ISP may be using a proxy server to perform caching or "speed boost" functions. In some cases, these features (and hence the proxy servers) can be bypassed. For some satellite services, see these instructions at DSLReports.

Change Apple ID (iTunes account) to an e-mail address It appears that the Apple ID used for an iTunes account may need to use an e-mail address rather than a simple login name in order to operate properly with the Apple TV. In other words, you may need to use username@sample.com rather than simply username for your Apple ID login. You can change your Apple ID using Apple's MyInfo page. After changing your Apple ID, log out then back in to the iTunes store on the host Mac/PC (Go to the "Store" menu in iTunes and select "Sign Out," then "Sign In"), and re-attempt synchronization or streaming to the Apple TV.

MacFixIt reader Brian is one reader who experienced success with changing his Apple ID to an e-mail address:

"I can play all of my non DRM media, but if I try and either play or stream protected media, I get a message saying that it was unable to contact the Apple Store to authorize. If I sync protected media, I get a triangle icon next to the device, which lists 1 error for each protected file. [...] One thing I did notice, by reading the manuals and looking more closely at the setup screens, is that I have an Apple ID that is not an email address, and all the examples show an email address. Could it be that the back-end server only supports an Apple ID that is an email address? This is not a problem for my playing the same media on my Mac, accessing my developer account with Apple, etc. Eureka! I then tried to stream from my wife's laptop, which has an email address for an Apple ID, and bingo - it worked. I don't know whether to laugh or cry!"

Remove spaces from Apple ID It appears that removing any spaces from the Apple ID used with the Macs or PCs streaming/syncing content to Apple TVs can resolve this issue in some cases. Again, this requires that you go to Apple's MyInfo page and modify your Apple ID. Remove not only spaces that are contained within the Apple ID login name, but also check for spaces on either side of the login name -- a trailing space (at the end of the login name) is particularly common.

As aforementioned, after changing your Apple ID, log out then back in to the iTunes store on the host Mac/PC (Go to the "Store" menu in iTunes and select "Sign Out," then "Sign In"), and re-attempt synchronization or streaming to the Apple TV.

Make sure host Mac/PC is logged in to iTunes account If you are receiving the lack of authorization message when streaming content from a host Mac or PC, make sure that the system in question is logged into your iTunes account before attempting to synchronize. You can accomplish this by going to the "Store" menu in iTunes and selecting "Sign In."

Open new iTunes account In some cases, this issue may be account-specific. After exhausting the aforementioned fixes, try creating a new iTunes account by going to the "Store" menu in iTunes and selecting "Create account."

Reader reports:

MacFixIt reader Steve Wilkison writes:

"I am unable to synch or stream any 'purchased' product. Anything I purchased through iTunes will not synch to or stream to the Apple TV. Any content from other sources works and plays as expected. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Apple tech support, two different technicians. They tried everything they could think of and I mean everything. Unplugging, resetting, direct hook up, etc., etc. iTunes says it is unable to synch the material to the Apple TV because it can not contact the iTunes Store for authorization and the Apple TV says it cannot play the material because it is not authorized to play that material."

Daniel Wollin adds: