Home Sharing Limitations

Are there any plans on lifting the 5 device limitation for Home Sharing?  Even by means of a licence purchase?
Seeing as Apple products "Just Work" - I have come to a cross roads with running iTunes Home Sharing.
Everyone has their own music/video/apps library on the Mac Pro, and I have another shared Library with other music (the albums you may not want with you all the time etc.), some movies and TV shows - most purchased through iTunes.
4 people in the house (2 adults, 2 kids) - 3 iPads, 2 iPhones, 2 iPod Touches and an AppleTV (possibly 3 Apple TV's in the future) - this 5 device limit is causing me to look for other solutions like TVersity, which may not work as well, but do not impose as many limitations.
Even a 5 concurrent user limit would be better.

According to the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions I read the limitations are based on what is termed 'Associated Devices.' The limits are based on 10 Associated Devices, provided no more than 5 are iTunes-authorized computers. Also, Apple TV is not considered an 'Associated Device.'
By my count you have a total of 8 or 9 Associated Devices:
1 Mac Pro and possible another computer
3 iPads
2 iPhones
2 iPod Touchs
1 Apple TV (does not count against your limit.)
Regardless the limitations are believed to be based on licencing restrictions imposed my the media companies. It's possible that if it were up to Apple there would be more liberal restrictions.

Similar Messages

  • How to force iPad to respect Home Sharing limits?

    I recently purchased a new iPad 2 and Apple TV 2 and have found that while other machines (laptops and desktops) respect the limits I've selected for Home Sharing from my main computer (selected from within iTunes > Preferences > Sharing) the iPad and new Apple TV do not: they continue to see everything I have in my iTunes library. This goes for my iPad too, but that's another story. My question for this forum is this: is there something I can do to make these iOS devices respect the selected parameters in iTunes Home Sharing?

    As I read the article it sounds like only those computers or users on the same network will be affected. The Apple TV and iPad connect via wireless and may not respect the settings. Those settings in iTunes are not supposed to affect devices that connect via Home Sharing as I interpreted the article.
    Perhaps someone will come along with a more definitive explanation, but there is a support link you can use to direct the question to an Apple employee or tech person or you could could call AppleCare about it.
    Sorry I can't be more help.

  • HT3819 Why is home sharing limited to 5 machines.

    I can count in my home 2 x mac mini's  2 x mac airs  5 x ipads 3 iphones and countless ipods and ipod nanos.  Would like to really have all my devices on same account

    SkinHead_what wrote:
    I can count in my home 2 x mac mini's  2 x mac airs  5 x ipads 3 iphones and countless ipods and ipod nanos.  Would like to really have all my devices on same account
    The limit of 5 is on computers.  Devices such as iPads and iPhones are not counted.

  • Home Sharing & Airplay limitation ?

    Hi,
    Can someone let me know if this is limitation due to stronger copyright constraints on movies than on music :
    I'm using home sharing between an iMac, 2 MacbookPros and an Apple TV 3rd generation.
    I can perfectly airplay a movie from my iMac iTunes library to the Apple TV.
    But when I try to airplay from my iMac a movie of a "Home Shared" library that I have access to (an iTunes library from one of my MacBook Pros), it's not possible as the Airplay icon is not shown anymore.
    However, when I do the same for Music (airplay from my iMac a song of a "Home Shared" library that I have access to), I'm perfectly able to do it (the Airplay icon is still there).
    So, bug or limitation imposed by Apple due to movie copyright constraints ?
    Waiting for your precious input,
    Regards,
    DDA

    Hello Burl3y,
    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
    It sounds like you're having issues with both Home Sharing and AirPlay between your MacBook Pro and AppleTV.  For troubleshooting the issue with Home Sharing, take a look at the following article:
    Troubleshooting Home Sharing
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972
    For the issue concerning AirPlay from iTunes take a look at this article:
    iTunes: Troubleshooting AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5209
    Take care,
    Alex H.

  • HT3819 what is the role of the internet connection in home sharing. is home sharing using up my limited internet download allowance.n

    What is the role of the internet in using Home Sharing. Does using home sharing use up my limited amount of available internet download ?
    Thanks Mike Anderson

    Home sharing allows you to play music across devices via wifi, so it shouldn't impact your limited amount. Think of it as streaming as opposed to downloading.

  • Home Sharing Browsing Speed?

    I regularly use Home Sharing on many of my Apple devices (Apple TVs, iPhones, iPads, etc.) to browse content stored on my iMac. The iTunes collection on my iMac is very large (terrabytes of movies and TV shows). Whenever I browse to it, via the Videos app for instance on the iPad, it takes quite a while to make the initial load of the collection... several minutes. (Okay, it's a huge collection, so I get that...).
    But if I use the remote app, it loads the content much quicker (even though that app won't let me directly view it, it's just browsing the collection on the iMac). Whenever I browse content from my Apple TV over Home Sharing, it's much faster as well. On the tech side, my iPad is much more advanced than my Apple TV (it's a second generation with an A4 chip versus the A5X in my iPad). So what gives? It seems to be an iOS issue, but I don't think it's a hardware limitation or due to the size of the library since the Apple TV reads it very fast. Has anybody else experienced this?

    Which hub do you have?
    bt do not guarantee your wireless connection as there are to many variables that affect the wifi signal within your home
    have you tried changing the channel in case it is conflicting with a neighbour?
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  • Home sharing to Apple TV with multiple users on same computer

    I have two different users on the same computer.  To facilitate sharing their music and movies to eachother, they are each using Home Sharing with the same Apple ID.  As long as both users remain logged in, this works with no problem.   Except for Apple TV.  The Apple TV can see each library, so they both show up in the list under Computers, but only one is accessible.  It's either the first one that broadcast itself, or the first one that Apple TV connected to, I'm not sure which.  But, once that's established, the second library will remain in the Computers list, but any attempt to connect to the library will fail.  It appears there is a limitation that Apple TV can only connect to a single library per physical computer, even though it can tell there are multiple libraries there.
    Does anyone have any idea how to work around this without consolidating the libraries?  Being able to connect to multiple libraries is the goal, not consoludating them.

    I don't have that set up anymore, but used to. I had no problems sharing from either library. Of course it may have changed since I used it, but wouldn't see why.

  • Home Sharing and Airplay: fall 2011 major trouble in iTunes to APTV, IOS devices - detailed run-through.

    Dear all, and dear Apple - as you know flagged trouble regarding Home Sharing to devices and to APTV has grown exponentially this fall and it is high time Apple calmly regained control over the situation. Get a grip, this is a fundamental "it just works" reputational issue.
    Having read lots of community posts I am struck by how many crosschecks I have done and still cannot get Home Sharing to ´just work´ anymore.
    Symptoms of my troubles include:
    (1) In iTunes the Home Sharing house icon is nowhere to be found on the left hand side even though I have turned it on several times.
    (2) Airplay icon was visible in the lower right corner of iTunes for about two minutes last night but then vanishes.
    (3) My iPhone4S cannot find my shared library (under "More" or anywhere else).
    (4) And APTV will occationally load my Mac library to play a purchased tv episode but is highly unstable. 1 in 4 attempts succesful.
    Ah, you say, "this all sounds like your home network is either faulty or the signal is not strong enough", or "you have not set up Home Sharing right".
    OK, let´s see... 
    The Airport Extreme station is right next to APTV, and is itself connected via ethernet to my router - and besindes my Mac can still find a strong signal via wifi. I access internet on my wifi-only iPad2 easily throughout the house, nice and strong signal. The APTV menu tells me the signal strength is excellent, and, most importantly - it worked a couple of weeks ago with no change in settings. I played my iTunes Library on my iPhone via Home Sharing, and I watched APTV TV episodes streamed from my Mac upstairs.  
    So far I have triple-checked the following settings:
    Home Sharing on my Mac turned on under Advanced? yes. (House icon appears - until I press the "Done" button, then it vanishes).
    Even though the House icon is nowhere to be found, is Home Sharing still "On" under iTunes Advanced setting? yes.
    Under Preferences, Sharing, all ticks are carefully turned on? yes.
    APTV Home Sharing: the same ID details, correctly entered?  yes. And for a little while, or on occation we have access to my library on APTV (but not the other mobile devices). Then it vanishes again (Computer menu on APTV telling me to turn on Home Sharing with ID etc.)
    Mobile devices, under Settings/Music, are the Home Sharing details the same as those on your Mac/iTunes? yes. 
    All software on APTV, iTunes, OIS and Lion up to date? yes, as of 18/12 2011. For iTunes I have 10.5.2 (11)
    I also reset Factory Settings on my APTV, which enabled us to watch a TV episode last night, but this morning it is gone again.
    Within limits of how many devices I can share my library or iTunes with ? yes, 2 computers are authorised on my ID, and 3 devices are authorised on iCloud (iPad2, iPhone 4S and this Mac).
    Have you tried the degrading, not-up-to-Apple-standard way of unplugging APTV/Airport Extreme/Mac power, and restarting your iPad/iPhone4S? Yes. 
    Does Airplay work from devices to e.g. APTV? yes it does.
    Can I access the internet or rent a movie on APTV? yes.
    Is this a strength issue with my Mac? Is my Mac fast/strong enough? Yes; it is a 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, running 8GB/1067 MHz/DDR3. 100GB of available harddrive space.
    Dear community - what have I forgotten to do, please? Any ideas?
    And Apple: please help your repeat customers with these issues - clearly there are some room for improvement here!?
    Regards and best wishes for the Season.

    I seem to have a similar problem.  I have a Macbook and a PC, both running the current version of iTunes.  On the APTV (also running the current software version), only my Macbook library shows up under "computers".  Home Sharing is turned on for both and my Macbook library shows up under "Shared" on the PC, but the PC iTunes library doesn't show up on the Macbook or the APTV.
    My question then is: How is it that my Macbook iTunes library can show up on the PC and on the APTV, but the PC iTunes library doesn't show up on either?  If the PC can see the shared libraries, doesn't that mean it's on the same network?  Along those same lines, "Shared" libraries do NOT show up on the Macbook.  Again I ask, how is it that I can see the Macbook library on the PC, but the Macbook doesn't show any Shared libraries?
    All of this worked just fine before the upgrade to iOS 5 by the way.  I had no issues seeing any library on any devices and the APTV found both computers.
    Please help.  This is really annoying!

  • Merging libraries and home sharing

    What is the most efficient way to consolidate and share a library consisting of music from two Apple IDs?
    Our setup is this: My husband and I each have our own iTunes accounts, plus we have imported our own CDs to our respective libraries. I have a Mac laptop with limited space; he has an HP Touch/Vista with lots more space, plus we have a TimeCapsule that is also our wireless router, and we both have iPhones. We'd like to have all our music in one place at home, not on my laptop, and be able to access all of our music and sync any of it to our iPhones (I am ok with only syncing at home when I am connected to the network, if need be), and to be able to buy new music on any of the computers or iPhones and ultimately have it sync back to the main library. What is the best way to do set this up, and what do we have to do to maintain it?
    Before iTunes 9, I tried third party syncing solutions combined with putting everything on the TimeCapsule and having both iTunes libraries set to TimeCapsule. However, the connection to TimeCapsule is not always available (have to re-login), and rather than giving an error when it's not available, iTunes just reverts to a local library, which defeats the purpose. So, it seems like we need to have a main library resident on the HPTouch (periodically backed up to TimeCapsule) and then do Home Sharing to give me access via laptop (without necessarily copying everything to it, only what I want at the moment) -- but then, how do we handle the two Apple IDs? If we authorize each other's computers to use music from either ID, will I be able to see (via home sharing on my laptop) the whole "main" library all at once when I log in with either ID? Or will I still have to login (via home sharing) with two separate IDs to see the music corresponding to each? Or am I making this too complicated?

    Update: it seems to have worked to do this:
    1. Authorize both computers to use both of our IDs.
    2. On both computers, use one ID (in this case, my husband's) to start home sharing.
    3. On my husband's (desktop) computer, in iTunes, view all music not on that computer, select all and copy to library, so that the whole combined music library is now contained on his computer.
    4. Export my playlists and import to his iTunes (I put his playlists and mine in separate folders for ease of use).
    The latter step makes it possible for my smart playlists to grab everything in the library (which resides on his computer), and that playlist is still accessible on my laptop via home sharing, without my having to have all the music in the playlist reside on my laptop.
    Now I should be able to empty out my library if need be (to save room on my laptop), and only load up the songs for the playlists I want to have mobile access to -- just click on a playlist via home sharing, and tell it to copy all the music from the desktop that I don't have on my laptop.

  • Legality questions about Home Sharing

    I have some legality questions about Apple's Home Sharing technology.
    As I understand it, you can share (that is, copy it from one computer to another) your music, movies, applications and other iTunes-managed files amongst five computers. The only 'trick' is that each computer must have an iTunes Store account and must be logged in in order for it to work.
    My question concerns the copying aspect and the legality of it. For content that was purchased through the iTunes Store I can see how Home Sharing can provide a limitation on content sharing, since all of the machines would need to be connected to Apple's servers in order for the validation process to happen. But what about content that was added to iTunes through other means, e.g., ripping my own CDs or converting my DVDs? These items can still be copied via Home Sharing and as there's no DRM on them there's no way they can be protected against "illegal" or "unauthorized" use.
    It was my understanding that if I gave a copy of a song to someone else, that's illegal. Apple's Home Sharing technology seems to facilitate this action. If I rip a CD or DVD into iTunes and someone copies it out, isn't that making an illegal copy? Can I be held liable for distribution of content?
    And how far does this extend? If I live in a house with four unrelated people, are they legally (?) allowed to copy music and media amongst each another? Is there a perceived or actual difference between using Home Sharing to copy a movie versus, say, using a USB flash drive? And what if one of them moves out? Am I legally obligated to go through that person's hard drive and remove content that they copied from me before they leave the building?
    Does Home Sharing somehow retroactively change the copyright application on a given CD or DVD? Most of my CDs and DVDs contain notices and warnings against distributing copies. Can these warnings now be ignored, or at least amended with "...unless you're using iTunes Home Sharing" at the ends of them?
    I am not trying to stir up a hornet's nest here. I'm only trying to better understand the legal issues surrounding Home Sharing and particularly how they relate to unprotected content. It seems very contradictory that the RIAA and MPAA would be fighting so hard against peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent and Gnutella while apparently allowing peer-to-peer services through iTunes Home Sharing.
    Furthermore, I also understand that the intention of this system was to allow families who are living together to have common access to all of the "household" music, but my issues aren't about this. I envision, for example, a college dorm building where there's several hundred people living together on the same network subnet, and all of them have Home Sharing enabled and everyone is copying thousands and thousands of songs to/from one another. Is this now legal?
    Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks.

    If I rip a CD or DVD into iTunes and someone copies it out, isn't that making an illegal copy?
    RIPping of commercial, encrypted DVDs (most of them) is illegal to begin with. Or rather, breaking the encryption on a DVD is illegal and in order to RIP the DVD, you must break the encryption. SO you have already "broken the law" by having a copy on your computer.
    Most of my CDs and DVDs contain notices and warnings against distributing copies.
    Most of your DVDs have a notice about even simply making a copy, not only distributing copies.
    Much of your post has been cussed and discussed by many, many people (lawyers, corporations, organizations, individuals, etc.) and no one has come (or likely ever will come) to a complete agreement.
    Generally, "sharing" in the same house hold amongst family members seems to be okay. Outside the same household/family is almost always not okay.
    I envision, for example, a college dorm building where there's several hundred people living together on the same network subnet, and all of them have Home Sharing enabled and everyone is copying thousands and thousands of songs to/from one another. Is this now legal?
    No.
    This is exactly what Napster was and why they were sued & shut down.
    I imagine Apple lawyers have done their homework as well as consulted with the labels to discuss these exact issues.
    And it's called "Home Sharing" to indicate that it is not "Dorm Sharing" or "Workplace Sharing", or even simply "Library Sharing"etc. even though it may be possible to use it in other places than the Home.
    Users on other computers need to know your iTunes ID and password to enable it Home Sharing. Likely this is how Apple got the lables to be okay with it.
    Are you gonna give (and get) dozens/hundreds/thousands/any other users your iTunesID & password?
    You can contact Apple Legal here -> http://www.apple.com/legal

  • Can I use home sharing with an external iTunes folder??

    I just set up and am using home sharing for the first time. I have a MacBook Pro and iMac both set up, running iTunes and sharing will not work like I'd like. I use an external hard drive with my iMac and have an iTunes folder there (that sometimes it points to automatically, but sometimes I have to go under advanced and show the iMac to use that iTunes folder because it defaults to the internal iTunes folder on the computer). Should iTunes home sharing work with the external iTunes folder or does it only work with iTunes folders on the computer? I currently have my iTunes folder pointed to the external and can play music from there, but I cannot find a way to access that folder from my MacBook Pro.
    I'm wondering if it's a limitation of home sharing or a result of not having the iTunes folder "properly set up" on the iMac to always point to the external.

    I use an external hard drive with my iMac and have an iTunes folder there (that sometimes it points to automatically, but sometimes I have to go under advanced and show the iMac to use that iTunes folder because it defaults to the internal iTunes folder on the computer).
    Make sure the external drive is powered on and mounted on the desktop before launching iTunes.

  • Can I use home sharing to watch a rented movie on itunes on another computer

    can I use home sharing to watch a rented movie on itunes on another computer (I already have home sharing with other computers set up, but I don't see it.)?

    Please be aware of the movie rental's time limitation that you have 30 days from the time of rental to watch your movie, and once you start watching it, you have 24 hours to finish watching it. You may watch it as many times as you like during those 24 hours. It may be helpful to make sure the download completes successfully before you begin watching the movie.
    Once the download is complete you can watch it without an Internet connection. However, an Internet connection to the iTunes Store is required to authorize playback or activate the 24 hours time-limit of movie rentals. This means, only during the starting of the movie. Once you have started playing the movie rental, internet connection is not required. You can play anywhere without internet connection.
    You may need to validate the rental prior to watching so it starts the rental period timer and for that you will need an internet connection. You can probably do that by starting the rented movie while on the Airport Wifi or right before leaving home. You'll have 24 hours to watch the movie after you start it.
    For more information on movie rentals, you can visit:
    iTunes Store: Movie rental frequently asked questions (FAQ)
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1657
    Note: 24 hours time limit is for United States customer only, while 48 hours for other countries.

  • IOS devices can't see entire iTunes library via Home Sharing

    Using both iPad 2 and iPhone 4s to view iTunes library on my iMac via Home Sharing. Both see very limited amounts of Artists/Albums from iMac library. Also, both see different Artist/Albums. p.s. I used Home Sharing for 3 yrs w/o problems, before this.

    Using both iPad 2 and iPhone 4s to view iTunes library on my iMac via Home Sharing. Both see very limited amounts of Artists/Albums from iMac library. Also, both see different Artist/Albums. p.s. I used Home Sharing for 3 yrs w/o problems, before this.

  • How can I un-share media categories using Home Sharing & Apple TV?

    I just got an Apple TV device, which is working wonderfully so far.
    I would like to only share the category MOVIES with my Apple TV, and disable my music, home movies, podcasts, etc. I am having difficulty seeing how to change this preference.
    I see in the iTunes/Preferences/Sharing there is a way to limit what portions of the library can be shared, but I do not see a similar preference for limiting what is shared in Home Sharing.
    Is what I want to do possible? Thanks in advance. C

    Thank you. I wasn't able to locate the symbol. I have read some other community responses to others and finally figured out how to access it. Hopefully it will solve my problem.nthank you for your assistance...

  • Home Sharing - Can you share between two accounts on the same computer?

    I haven't been able to find any info about this, but does home sharing allow you to share files between to different user accounts on the same computer? I have been struggling with trying to do this for years, and I'm really hoping this solves my problem.

    This is true in a sense; you have to use the same itunes account to activate home sharing. BUT, you don't need to use the same itunes account for general use.
    Example:
    My computer and iPhone has one itunes account.
    My wife's computer and iPhone have a totally separate account.
    I turned on Home Sharing on both machines using one account name and ID - mine.
    Now she can see and copy my music and apps, etc. I can see and copy her music, apps, etc.
    However, when she goes to the iTunes store, she still can buy and so forth *on her own account*. Same with her iPhone. And I can still do the same as well on my own account on my machine and phone.
    The only limitation seems to be updating apps: If you copy apps over to another machine using Home Sharing and install them on another phone running another account, it works great. But you can't seem to update those copied apps, unless you log in on the phone or the computer it syncs up to with the account it came from.
    Aside from that, the apps still work even when the computer it was copied to and the phone it was synced to are active on ANOTHER account.
    The key is the setup - for Home Sharing. That needs to be one account, but otherwise it's business as usual.
    Message was edited by: controller2k

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