Apple TV can see my library but won't play movies

I've been using my Apple TV for a couple of months now with no issues. I just installed a Harmony Link, which is working fine, but now i can't play movies on Apple TV. I'm not sure if the two are related, but i happened as soon as i had it all hooked up. I can see my library and scroll through the movies, but when i select one to play it says that it's not available and to try again later. I have less than 10 devices connected to WIFI through my Airport Express, so i assume it's not that, just not sure what it is.
Anyone come across this?

Here I come with more suggestions you've probably already tried.
1. You've probably already verified that you can still play the movies in iTunes on your computer.
2. You've probably already tried rebooting the AppleTV by pressing and holding both Down and Menu on the original remote until the white LED on the AppleTV starts flashing rapidly. Even once the main menu appears it'll take a little while before the AppleTV starts responding to the remote control (it's still busy booting).
I forgot to ask...are these movies purchased from the iTunes Store? If yes, continue to step 3. If not, there is probably some other reason why they aren't playing and resetting your settings (below) is unlikely to solve the problem.
3. Have you tried logging out of your Apple ID on the AppleTV and logging back in? Shouldn't be necessary but it's worth a try before the next step (which is even more unpleasant):
4. If that didn't work, try resetting the settings on the AppleTV: Settings, General, scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, Reset, Reset all settings. Doing that will require you to re-enter all your accounts and passwords on the AppleTV, including your wireless network password. And after all that trouble, your problem still won't be solved and you'll really hate me (sorry).
Anyone else have any better ideas?

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Apple TV can see iTunes library but can't load content (intermittently)

I have intermittently been experiencing an issue where the Apple TV shows my iTunes library, but when I select it, no artwork appears for any of the categories (Music, Movies, etc.) If I select a category, it says it is loading, but never does. It shows the loading page for an extended period of time.
Connectivity otherwise seems fine. My iPhone/iPad remote apps still find the Apple TV, although they can not select my iMac library separately to play content through the Apple TV the way they should be able to, even though they see the library. My iMac and Apple TV are both connected by ethernet. I use an AirPort Extreme as the router, but the Apple TV has a wired connection through that router. My network/router situation has been pretty solid. I had (different) issues with my 1st gen Apple TV and as part of the troubleshooting for that totally reworked our setup and gave the computer and Apple TV both a wired connection. It didn't help that problem and I don't think it's related here.
I tried closing and re-opening iTunes, turning on and off home sharing including not pressing "done" as people here have suggested for other issues, and rebooting the computer. I tried with a MacBook Pro also, and I have the same isue. When this happens, it affects the iTunes libraries on both computers. Finally I reset the router and rebooted the Apple TV itself. It then started working again. I'm not sure which of those helped since I did them at the same time.
Once when this happened to my husband, he just gave up, and several hours later (presumably after the Apple TV and iMac had both gone to sleep and woken up), it worked again without rebooting or resetting anything.
Message was edited by: medgirl (to add router information)

Hi All,
Same issue here. Just upgraded (?) from the previous version of Apple TV, to the new Apple TV2. Like others here, my main problems seem to be with unreliable streaming from iTunes 10 on my PowerMac (Quad G5, Leopard OSX).
My original AppleTV had no issues w/the wireless network, or synching w/my PowerMac.
The network connection from the ATV2 are fine, and have no issues accessing the Apple Store (for movies, TV shows), or accessing Netflix. The access to the internet from my ATV2 is quite robust.
My problems are with keeping a constant, reliable wireless connection to my PowerMac, via an Airport Extreme wireless router.
I have tried multiple restarts, reboots, reset ATV2 to original settings, tried different wireless channels on the Airport Extreme, verified I have Home Sharing properly enabled in iTunes,etc, but no luck so far.
What I'm seeing is when I access my iTunes on my computer, I can see my library, and then if I start to "shuffle songs" I may get 1 to 3 songs to play fine, but then the music stops, and I can no longer access the music/movies/etc in iTunes any longer. When I then go to my PowerMac, it has lost most bars of signal strength on the wireless network (although all other devices show strong signal strength), and I have to Turn AirPort Off, then Turn AirPort On and I then am reconnected to the wireless network with good signal.
I then go back to the ATV2, connect to my iTunes, start my music, and then 1-2 songs later it again stops playing, and I go through this all over again.
It seems as though there is something on the wireless network between the ATV2 and my PowerMac that causes it to lose connection, and I have to manually start again. The problem is that the connection is not robust, and only lasts a few minutes.
Hope this gets solved soon.
Regards
Tom

Home sharing - can see shared library but won't pull up songs to share?

I am trying to share some music with my daughters older mac... I have done it in the past, but it is not working now. I can share her library on my laptop, but I see my library on her computer, but when I select it no songs come up and it jumps back up to her music library. Any suggestions?

Troubleshooting Home Sharing

Just purchased a new PC. I transferred entire library to cloud, my itunes will open, I can see my library but will not play any music or download it to either my devices

I just purchased a new PC. I transferred my entire LIbrary to the Cloud, when I redownloaded my music onto my new PC, the itunes will not play music.

You need to download the music to your computer from icloud or copy it from your old computer or your backup copy of your old computer.
Download past purchases - Support - Apple
Not sure what you mean by "transferred my entire LIbrary to the Cloud"

Apple TV 2 Can See My Library, But Can't Connect for Home Sharing

I'm really at my last rope, so hoping someone will have mercy and be able to help here.
Symptoms:
- Go to my Apple TV 2
- Under the Home Sharing menu, select "Adam Nash's Library"
Result:
- Spinning cursor
- Cannot connect to "Adam Nash's Library". Please check that your computer is on and on the same network.
Internet access works for all devices, they all can do Netflix and Apple Store. Only one network in the house. No firewall activated on the mac.
I have multiple AppleTV units, and this has intermittently affected all of them. Periodically, I have solved the problem by taking them on / off ethernet.
Things I have tried:
- Restarting iTunes on the computer
- Turning Home Sharing on and off on AppleTV
- Turning Home Sharing on and off on iTunes
- Rebooting the computer
- Resetting the AppleTV units
- Restoring the AppleTV units
- Forcing the AppleTV units to different IP
- Forcing the AppleTV units to Ethernet instead of Airport (by plugging into Airport base stations directly)
- Swapping AppleTV units to different rooms
Nothing works.
One clue. I have three Airport Extreme base stations in the house, and this problem begain when one of them started misbehaving (would connect, but wouldn't pass through packets.) It's an Airport Extreme Base Station (Series 1). The other two are Series 4 & Series 5. I reset the misbehaving box and reconfigured it, and seems to be working fine from a networking standpoint. But once that happened, one of the AppleTVs started showing this problem.
Is there some reason that Home Sharing is hyper sensitive to the network in some way? It *seems* like what's happening is that it's seeing the iTunes Library (which is why it show's the Library name), but when it tries to connect, something is either encrypted differently or permissioned wrong.
Hoping someone can help me. Frustration is at 11.

One clue: I have found a reliable way to solve the problem when it happens.
In my network, I have the main Airport Extreme (Gen 1) which is connected to my router, which distributes IP addresses to my internal subnet. The other two AEs (one Gen 4, one Gen 5) are set to extend the network.
When I get this problem with an AppleTV 2 that can "see" my library, but when I try to open it, it says it couldn't find the library, it seems to have to do with a change in which Airport Extreme it's talking to.
If I restart the main Airport Extreme from the Airport Utility, effectively restarting the entire wireless network, then when the network resumes, every AppleTV 2 is happy again.
Unfortuntely, the problem does seem to recur - but I'm wondering if it's because temporary interference leads an AppleTV 2 to try to connect to a different AE, and somehow that's mucking with the Home Sharing. Remember, internet access (Trailers, Store, Netflix) have no issues. Purely Home Sharing.
Adam

Will see my library but won't load anything? Help.

I just got my new apple tv unit. I can get to the internet and I can see my library but it won't load. Any help is appreciated.

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Check your Firewall and/or your security software is allowing access for iTunes.

2 users on the lan can see my library but it is not shared

2 users on the lan can see my library but it is not shared

Hi, yes I have homeshare switched on on the iPad in the music section. I have switched homeshare off the back on on both devices and it has done the trick I can now play my music! Yay :-) Thanks for the help.

Apple TV2 can see my laptop but it can't access the files in on my laptop. Home sharing is turned on. I'm using Windows7 64bit. ATV2 can access the files on my other laptop and PC. I've updated my iTunes and ATV2. Any suggestions?

Apple TV2 can see my laptop but it can't access the files on the laptop. ATV2 can access the files on my other laptop and PC.
My PC can see the laptop in question but it can't access the files.
I've updated iTunes to and ATV2 to the lastest version. My laptop is running Windows7 64bit.
Any suggestions?

Welcome to the Apple Community.
I assume you taken the step of restarting the laptop.
Have you checked your security software is allowing access for iTunes, which security software are you using.

I can see my library, but can't connect to the iTunes store

I can see my library, but the iTunes store page will not come up completely. I'm running Windows 7 with iTunes 11.0.5.5.

I ended up reinstalling iTunes and now it's fine.

TS2972 my apple tv devices and other apple devices can access my library but using my library, i cant access any of the apple tv devices through airplay

my apple tv devices and other apple devices can access my library but using my library, i cant access any of the apple tv devices through airplay

Home sharing isn't working either
Which is why you can not use the remote app. Did you turn on home sharing on your computer and on ATV?
eve though they have the same Apple ID.
Did you enter the ApplieID in the home sharing login though? Or just in for the iTunes store, or iCloud, or photo sharing, or something else?
Home sharing isn't working either, I can't play or transmit any video from my iPad to the Apple TV because it doesn't recognize it
That would be AirPlay, not homesharing. THey are not related. Did you enable air play on all the devices?
Have you run the network test tools on ATV? Can ATV access the iTunes store, Netflix, etc?

I have several songs that I purchased. They show in my library, but won't play on any of my devices - including my computer. I keep getting the "authorize the computer" prompt. My computer is authorized! I have done all the troubleshoots that are availabl

I have several songs that I purchased. They show in my library, but won't play on any of my devices - including my computer. I keep getting the "authorize the computer" prompt. My computer is authorized! I have done all the troubleshoots that are available. How do I get my computer and other devices to be able to play these songs? Almost all my songs play except for about 8 or 9.

If only some of the songs on an album are giving you the authorisation message, that suggests those song files are damaged.
If your country's iTunes Store allows you to redownload purchased tracks, I'd delete your current copies of the dodgy tracks and try redownloading fresh copies. For instructions, see the following document:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
Otherwise, I'd report the problem to the iTunes Store.
Log in to the Store. Click on "Account" in your Quick Links. When you're in your Account information screen, go down to Purchase History and click "See all".
Find the items that are not playing properly. If you can't see "Report a Problem" next to the items, click the "Report a problem" button. Now click the "Report a Problem" links next to the items.

IMac receives message "Cannot connect to Apple TV" - Apple TV can see iTunes library and can mirror with iPhone.

Hi all.
I have an iMac (mid 2011) running OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 and an apple TV that my little brother just gave me (I believe it's 3rd gen from serial #).
I can successfully mirror my iPhone 4S with AirPlay, and the Apple TV can see the iTunes lib from my iMac, but when I attempt to connect to the Apple TV from the icon in the tool bar it gives me the message "Could not connect to Apple TV."
Spent some time on the phone with a really super tech, he had me go through the paces with restarting the router, the apple TV, my iMac, checked all the network config etc - no dice.
I even reinstalled OS X.... still no dice.
Has anyone experienced this issue?
The second tech who called me back thought it might be hardware related. I brought this iMac in for a new hard drive less than a year ago after it randomly began throwing kernel panics and finally it just wouldn't boot. I don't do very much with my computer so it's kind of odd that it would have these issues unless there is something fundamentally wrong with the way it was put together. It doesn't take any abuse - not like my macbook!
Thanks in advance.

Had my iMac taken in - RAM replaced & video card replaced. Able to mirror in the store. Restored my iMac with time machine backup and restored apple TV. Still getting the same message. Could it be some network setting I'm overlooking? I tried it while the apple TV was connected via ethernet as well - no dice.

My mac can see the network but won't connect to the server

I have an intel Imac. The network connect is working but very squirrelly. I see most objects on the network. I can see the server but it will not let me connect.
I go to another mac and I can connect to the server. So I think its my mac 10.7.5 is the OS

Probably nothign to do with your iMac or OS X, have you attempted resetting your router? Also you haven't stated what messages you are getting or any other information. If this is at your work then I'd suggest contacting your IT support person, the connection to your network may be on their end.

My apple tv2 can see my library on my new Mac but will not connect to it.

I just made the move from PC to Apple Mac. Home sharing worked great on my PC but not on the Mac.
I have been through the recommended checklist.
My library appears beneath the "Computers" tab but when I try to connect I just get the spinning wheel

Yeah. You, me, lots of people.
The error message isn't helpful, as you've discovered. You begin to wonder such things as, "if iTunes 'wasn't running', then how can the AppleTV see its library? If iTunes or OS X wasn't up to date, why wouldn't the Apple TV do a quick version check on it and let me know?" And so on.
I started having this problem a few months ago, sometime around iOS 4.3. It's been a widely-reported bug here for quite a while, with usually a range of obscure things that work for some people and well, no one else.
So with that big caveat in mind, here's what works for me: reboot the Mac.
Here's what hasn't worked for me:
1) Restarting the ATV2
2) Restoring/updating the ATV2
3) Staying current with OS X, iTunes versions etc.
4) Rebooting the router, a 5th-gen AirPort Extreme (wired connection; the ATV2 isn't on WiFi.)
5) Logging out of OS X
6) Restarting iTunes
7) Turning off/re-setting up Home Sharing
Mine has a curious twist however: We normally keep our Mac running with two OS X users logged in and each iTunes running. The Apple TV2 sees them both but only can connect to whichever library was first opened. To "switch" to the other iTunes library in ATV2 we have to reboot the Mac and make sure the relevant user's iTunes gets launched first.
Our original AppleTV has never had this problem.

Ibook is stuck - can see my book but won't launch

I can see my book cover in the iBook library but when I tap on the book to open it to read iPad brings me to a page I've never seen before -- it is asking me to rate the book by stars, option to "tell a friend" or "write a review". It also presents additional books written by the same author. I have tried hard shut down, picking up the latest updates. I can't turn pages. I hope someone knows what's going on and can help.
I have read many chapters in my book before this crazy thing started to happen. I can't see where I have put bookmarks and notes but iBooks won't go to those pages when I tap on the text.
Appreciate any help...
tmah112

Here I come with more suggestions you've probably already tried.
1. You've probably already verified that you can still play the movies in iTunes on your computer.
2. You've probably already tried rebooting the AppleTV by pressing and holding both Down and Menu on the original remote until the white LED on the AppleTV starts flashing rapidly. Even once the main menu appears it'll take a little while before the AppleTV starts responding to the remote control (it's still busy booting).
I forgot to ask...are these movies purchased from the iTunes Store? If yes, continue to step 3. If not, there is probably some other reason why they aren't playing and resetting your settings (below) is unlikely to solve the problem.
3. Have you tried logging out of your Apple ID on the AppleTV and logging back in? Shouldn't be necessary but it's worth a try before the next step (which is even more unpleasant):
4. If that didn't work, try resetting the settings on the AppleTV: Settings, General, scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, Reset, Reset all settings. Doing that will require you to re-enter all your accounts and passwords on the AppleTV, including your wireless network password. And after all that trouble, your problem still won't be solved and you'll really hate me (sorry).
Anyone else have any better ideas?

Apple TV can see my library but won't play movies

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