You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Cannot play Apple TV rented video on my new iMac due to HDCP?

Hi,


I recently got a new iMac 24". Wonderful machine. I even got a subscription to Apple TV for free, thanks! Having enjoyed the high video quality in TV series, I wanted to rent a movie - but only after I rented it and wanted to play it, I got the message that : "The selected movie won’t play on your display. This movie can be played only on displays that support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)."



First, how is this possible on the most up to date machine you sell? Second: can you fix this? And third, if not, please give me a refund. Since I got no warning that I was buying something I would not be able to use, the only safe thing to do would be not to ever rent anything from Apple TV again. I do not think that is the intention, so I am hoping there is a fix somewhere..


thanks for the help,

Marcel

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jul 9, 2021 4:43 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 10, 2021 2:37 AM

Thanks, I did, and although they could not figure it out, I noticed something else. Apple Support had me check the movie that would not play (Monsterland) on my macbook as well, and on my ipad, and while it did not play on the macbook either, it did play on the ipad. They had me check the macbook by resetting the SMC, as well as NVRAM, and even reboot in safe mode, all on the macbook, since that had the same problem, but nothing helped. But after after that call to the helpdesk, I noticed that I had actually downloaded the movie that would not play, both on my macbook and my iMac. So I thought: what if the downloaded file was seen on the iMac as playing it on a separate device that was not allowed? So I deleted it from the macbook, but then the iMac still would not play it. BUT on the macbook, it suddenly played. Then I deleted the download on the iMac as well, and surprise surprise: now it plays on the iMac as well....


So in short: there is something weird going on when downloading movies from Apple TV that needs looking into. To try and recreate the problem, I rented another video. I then downloaded it on the iMac, and tried to download it on the Macbook. It wouldn't - it gave me the message: 'to download Nomadland (the movie) you first need to remove it from your other device'. Which is annoying, but understandable. However - even though I had just gotten Monsterland to play on the macbook, now that I had tried to download Nomadland, Monster Hunter suddenly doesn't want to play either anymore on the macbook. Weirdly, when I try and start Monster Hunter, it gives me the same error message about Nomadland. It's like some signals are getting crossed...


My guess is that Apple TV wants to prevent showing a rented movie on 2 devices, and therefore blocks downloads. An annoying policy, but more annoying is that there is some kind of bug in the code that does not execute that block properly, it interferes with other rentals as well. And my guess is that because I had somehow managed to download Monster Hunter on 2 devices anyway, that caused a second set op problems.


So the solution to this problem is: remove all downloads in your library, then the movies will play again if you stream them.

Similar questions

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 10, 2021 2:37 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Thanks, I did, and although they could not figure it out, I noticed something else. Apple Support had me check the movie that would not play (Monsterland) on my macbook as well, and on my ipad, and while it did not play on the macbook either, it did play on the ipad. They had me check the macbook by resetting the SMC, as well as NVRAM, and even reboot in safe mode, all on the macbook, since that had the same problem, but nothing helped. But after after that call to the helpdesk, I noticed that I had actually downloaded the movie that would not play, both on my macbook and my iMac. So I thought: what if the downloaded file was seen on the iMac as playing it on a separate device that was not allowed? So I deleted it from the macbook, but then the iMac still would not play it. BUT on the macbook, it suddenly played. Then I deleted the download on the iMac as well, and surprise surprise: now it plays on the iMac as well....


So in short: there is something weird going on when downloading movies from Apple TV that needs looking into. To try and recreate the problem, I rented another video. I then downloaded it on the iMac, and tried to download it on the Macbook. It wouldn't - it gave me the message: 'to download Nomadland (the movie) you first need to remove it from your other device'. Which is annoying, but understandable. However - even though I had just gotten Monsterland to play on the macbook, now that I had tried to download Nomadland, Monster Hunter suddenly doesn't want to play either anymore on the macbook. Weirdly, when I try and start Monster Hunter, it gives me the same error message about Nomadland. It's like some signals are getting crossed...


My guess is that Apple TV wants to prevent showing a rented movie on 2 devices, and therefore blocks downloads. An annoying policy, but more annoying is that there is some kind of bug in the code that does not execute that block properly, it interferes with other rentals as well. And my guess is that because I had somehow managed to download Monster Hunter on 2 devices anyway, that caused a second set op problems.


So the solution to this problem is: remove all downloads in your library, then the movies will play again if you stream them.

Jul 9, 2021 7:05 AM in response to Marcel Abraas

HDCP is a mechanism to prevent copying of the video signal. HDCP will be active for all commercially available video content, from streaming services to purchased movies. It should be the same for e.g. Netflix content as for your rented movie. While best known for HDMI connections between set-top boxes and TVs, it also plays a role in computer setups.

- If you have multiple monitors in use on this computer, try playing on the built-in monitor. Adaptors may break HDCP compliancy.

- If you have screen capture software (or similar) active, try disabling that.

- Try without any (USB/Thunderbolt) peripherals attached that might be suspected as recording device.

- If none of the above applies, then the error message itself may be in error. Contact Apple Support about that.

Jul 9, 2021 8:45 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Hi, thank you for the fast reply. I know about HDCP, as I have had to deal with it with a previous computer, where I tried playing Netflix-content using an HDMI cable from my laptop.

But with the iMac, none of that applies: no external devices connected, no screen capture software of any kind, I even withdrew screen sharing rights for Zoom (and rebooted) even though Zoom was not running. I even completely shut down my ipad just in case the sidecar-option had something to do with it (also not active). In short, a clean install on a new iMac does not allp[ HDCP-content to be played; clearly an Apple software error. Everythingelse works fine: Amazon Prime, Netflix - no problems anywhere. I have requested a refund for the movie I had rented and will just have to stick to the free content with the subscription. Hopefully, one day it will get fixed.

Cannot play Apple TV rented video on my new iMac due to HDCP?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.