iTunes 7.0 (#2): Problems transferring movies, games on original 5G iPods; AirTunes streaming, store issues? Enable IPv6; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 12:01 a.m. PT

9 min read

[Update 11:30 AM PST]

Making sure your iPod software is up-to-date As noted below in the "Problems transferring movies, games on original fifth-generation iPods (with video) -- fix," some users are unable to play movies and games on their original fifth-generation iPods because their iPod software did not correctly update to version 1.2.

In some cases, you can force the update of software (even if iTunes says your iPod software is already up-to-date) by using the "Check for updates" command, found in the "iTunes menu," then restoring your iPod.

Re-purchase required for higher resolution Note that if you previously purchased iTunes Store videos (prior to iTunes 7.0) and want the new 640x480 resolution, the videos will need to be re-purchased. In other words, you cannot receive the 640x480 version of a video for free if you already purchased the 320x240 edition.

Authorization problems Some users are reporting authorization errors for purchased media, particularly television shows, receiving the error message:

"This computer is not authorized to play '(name of video)'.

The user is then prompted to "Open iTunes" (which is, obviously, already open), after which they receive a message "Waiting for iTunes to authorize this computer to play (name of video) -- a fruitless endeavor that never results in the video being authorized and correctly playing.

Instead, users can click the play button and the timeline will track, but no audio and/or video are displayed.

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

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[Update 10:30 AM PST]

Problems transferring movies, games on original fifth-generation iPods (with video) -- fix Several users are reporting an inability to to transfer both movies and games from the iTunes Store on original fifth-generation iPods (for disambiguation of iPod models, see this article).

The problem appears to be that the original fifth-generation iPods are not properly receiving the iPod Software version 1.2. When attempting to transfer the movies and games, users are receiving a message that their software needs an update. However, the iPod settings state that the iPod software is already up-to-date.

Unfortunately, Apple does not yet offer a standalone version of the iPod 1.2 software updater. Instead, the update is built-in to iTunes 7.0, which is where the update should be automatically applied. Obviously, this is not happening for some users.

Possible solution In some cases, this problem may be soluble by using the "Check for updates" command, found in the "iTunes menu." You may then need to restore your iPod.

MacFixIt reader Keith writes:

"I bought a game and couldn't get it to copy to my iPod because of the software update issue. The solution is to select the 'Check for updates' option in the 'iTunes' menu. This correctly downloaded and applied the 1.2 update to my iPod. However, it wasn't until I restored the iPod that I was able to get the games to play."

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

Apple Knowledge Base articles See today's Knowledge Base updates section for various articles pertinent to the new iPods and iTunes 7.0, including instructions for using a single iPod with multiple Macs, FAQs about movies and games and more.

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[Update 8:30 AM PST]

AirTunes streaming broken? Store issues? Enable IPv6 If you are having problems streaming to an AirPort Express base station using the AirTunes function under iTunes 7.0, or having problems accessing the iTunes store, make sure you have IPv6 turned on. In order to change this setting, open System Preferences and click on your currently used interface (Ethernet, AirPort, etc.). Click on the TCP/IP settings for the interface -- at the bottom, you should see a button which says 'Configure IPv6...' click it and make the setting "On." Press the Apply Now button. As we previously noted, however, having IPv6 turned on may result in varied network slowness. Another possible solution for video playback issues In our early morning update (see the "Video playback issues" section below) we noted that some users are reporting a loss of ability to playback various videos under iTunes 7.0. This includes video podcasts, home-encoded video and more. It now appears that one potential solution to this problem involves removing the following file:

QuickTimeH264.component

from the folder /System/Library/QuickTime, then quitting and re-launching QuickTime.

MacFixIt reader Ben Donnelly is one reader who had success with this workaround:

"I found that by simply dragging the H264 Component to the desktop and allowing the system to re-create another one resolved all of my video issues. I'm now able to view videos successfully. I can only assume that the install of Quicktime 7.1.3 corrupts this plugin somehow."

Album browser confusion The new browse-by-album cover feature in iTunes 7.0 is graphically slick to be sure, but is also easily confused by albums with multiple different artists.

Instead of displaying a dingle album with all tracks listed (by the various artists), iTunes 7.0 considers each artist/album combination to be a separate album. For instance: Artist A, Album A; Arist B, Album A are considered two different albums.

MacFixIt reader Doug Eldred comments on this problem:

"Each gets the same (correct) artwork, but there's only one song per 'album.' I have several of these - several compilations of jazz from various artists, some Christmas collections, etc. I can give specific names if needed. My guess is that if I change the 'artist' to 'Various artists' for all tracks it'll 'work', but I don't want to do that. 'Albums' should be determined solely by the album name, IMHO."

This problem can be solved by selecting all of the songs on the album, then selecting "Get Info" from the File menu or pressing Command-I keyboard combination, then finding the item marked "Compilation," selecting "Yes" and clicking the checkbox.

Screen redraw slowness iTunes 7.0's graphical elements take a heavy toll on some older systems, resulting in slow screen redraws for some elements.

MacFixIt reader Barry Frazier writes:

"I have a Ti G4 500mhz powerbook and iTunes in any other view than List has trouble redrawing the iTunes window."

Apple's requirements for iTunes include a 500 MHz G3 processor or better, but some "additional video requirements" necessitate a 1 GHz G4 processor or better.

In some cases, setting your monitor to a lower resolution in the Displays pane of System Preferences can resolve video redraw issues in iTunes.

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[Update 3:00 AM PST]

Make sure you are using QuickTime 7.1.3 Some problems apparent after the update can be solved by simply updating to QuickTime 7.1.3 (also released yesterday) then restarting.

Audio playback issues A surprisingly high number of users have reported a complete loss of audio playback capabilities -- for MP3s, DRM-protected AAC files, etc. -- after updating to iTunes 7.0. Most users experiencing this problem note that double-clicking a song, or clicking a song then pressing the play button simply result in no action from iTunes; no error message or feedback. In other cases, the timer for playback appears, but remains at 0:00.

Users experiencing this issue can generally preview tracks and other media in the iTunes store, but are unable to playback any local media.

MacFixIt reader Matt Stanford writes:

"I upgraded to iTunes 7.0 this morning, and now am distressed to find it won't play. I let it run through the 'seamless music check' and then dutifully restarted my dual 2GHz G5 with 1.5gb ram and OS 10.4.7; iTunes opened up but won't play any music. I hit play and the counter just sits there on 0:00; I double click, nothing. Connecting to shared music brings the same result, but bizarrely, videos play OK. I updated Quicktime to 7.13 at the same time and have a registered (legit!) Quicktime Pro."

In some cases, the problem may be plug-in related. Look in the following folder:

~/Library/iTunes Plug-ins

for any third-party plug-ins, then remove them. Quit and re-launch iTunes and check for persistence of the behavior. You can then add the plug-ins back one-by-one (quitting and restarting iTunes between each move) to isolate the offending item. Plug-ins that have been identified as potentially problematic include OSS 3D (a tool used for real-time audio enhancement)

If you are still having audio playback issues after removing all third-party plug-ins, you may want to consider reverting to iTunes 6.0.5 as described in the "Downgrading to iTunes 6.0.x" section below.

Video playback issues Some users are reporting a loss of ability to playback various videos under iTunes 7.0. This includes video podcasts, home-encoded video and more.

For some users, video simply refuses to play. For others, the video and audio is accompanied by distortion, usually in the form of green or orange static and scratchy audio.

Unfortunately, it appears that this problem may be caused by a decoding error. Some video formats have trouble playing back properly in iTunes or under QuickTime 7.1.3 (reverting to QuickTime 7.1.2, as described separately in today's coverage, may resolve the issue for some users).

In some cases, you may be able to temporarily achieve correct playback by restarting the afflicted video.

Failing that, your best bet is to use an alternative player like VLC until the codec issue is resolved or another fix is found.

Podcast problems

Playback problems Several users are reporting an inability to play some podcasts -- particularly video podcasts -- on various Macs under iTunes 7.0.

In some cases, users report visual and audible distortion of video podcasts if they do play -- as mentioned above in the "Video playback issues" section.

Chapters missing from some enhanced AAC podcasts Some users are reporting an issue where chapter markings are not displayed for some enhanced AAC podcasts.

MacFixIt reader Tj writes:

"Chapter menu for podcasts are no longer showing up in iTunes 7 (examples include 'Man Of The Hour' and 'My Name Is Mark')."

Crashes when playing podcasts Meanwhile, some users are reporting repeated crashes when attempting to view video podcasts.

MacFixIt reader Chris Bojanower writes:

"I just installed iTunes 7.0, Been trying to watch some video podcasts and having iTunes crash every few minutes. The video (Diggnation) stops playing, iTunes crashes out and then when I relaunch it the podcast is right back to the beginning like it has never played. Has happened 5 times in last 10 minute. Each time at different places in the podcast. On a G5 Dual 2.0 with 3 GB RAM, everything is up to date."

Incompatible plug-ins In addition to the conflicts caused by plug-ins that are mentioned above, some other iTunes plug-ins are incompatible with iTunes 7.0, ceasing to function but not breaking any core iTunes functions.

MacFixIt reader Arno reports an issue with the Volume Logic plug-in (an automatic audio adjustment tool). He writes:

"Just tried iTunes 7 and found out that the Volume Logic plugin doesn't work any more. Obviously Volume Logic needs to update. So I had to downgrade back to iTunes 6 again. Fortunately I archived iTunes 6 just before I pressed Software update."

iTunes store gifting issues MacFixIt reader Bradley Logan reports some issues with the gifting mechanism (purchasing an item in the iTunes Store for another users) when applied to movies.

Bradley writes:

"I purchased a video from the iTunes store today and gifted it to a child. For him to redeem the gift, he must have a .mac account. At $100 per year that is inappropriate. Or you can just register but that requires a credit card. I don't think so. The web site says that you can have an AOL AIM account. He does. But when he enters his username he is told that his country of residence isn't authorized (USA). A call to tech support suggested I could list him as a sub account on my .mac account - but I only use my .mac account for the iTunes store and again $100 per year is inappropriate. As for the AIM problem I was told that today is the first day for the new ITunes and it is still buggy. So my gift languishes in cyberspace."

Album artwork download can be slow Note that the album artwork download function may operate more slowly than expected, but will eventually add most artwork for all iTunes Store-listed tracks, including those not purchased from the iTunes store.

Downgrading to iTunes 6.0.x In order to revert to an earlier version of iTunes (if you cannot solve playback problems, or for other issues), you will need to delete the following files: