Grr. Never realized about downloaded iTunes movies.

[gnasher729]

I would if I thought it was a bug. But I don't. First of all, you need an Apple ID for home sharing. It doesn't suffice with being on the same network and just enter a password in iTunes that you then enter in any device that wants to connect to the iTunes library.

Since an Apple ID is required, they most likely want to verify that the Apple ID is valid themselves instead of letting iTunes do it.

I checked that I can play purchased videos on the Mac that they were downloaded on, without an internet connection. So that Mac knows that it is allowed to play the video. There is no need to check whether the Apple ID and password are valid (through the internet), all that is needed is to check that the Apple ID and password are the same that were used on my Mac.

So what happens is quite likely what the programmer was told to do, but it is still a bug. And if nobody complains, it will never change. That's why you should complain about every little problem on www.apple.com/feedback, so that it has a chance to be fixed.

 

[hafr]

I checked that I can play purchased videos on the Mac that they were downloaded on, without an internet connection. So that Mac knows that it is allowed to play the video. There is no need to check whether the Apple ID and password are valid (through the internet), all that is needed is to check that the Apple ID and password are the same that were used on my Mac.

So what happens is quite likely what the programmer was told to do, but it is still a bug. And if nobody complains, it will never change. That's why you should complain about every little problem on www.apple.com/feedback, so that it has a chance to be fixed.

Yes, that is absolutely true. But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the fact that home sharing doesn't work without an internet connection.

Scenario: you have your laptop, you have your ATV2, you have your Airport Express and you're on vacation. You plug in the ATV2 in the TV, boot up the laptop and connect both of them to the network that the Airport Express creates. Unless you have an internet connection, you won't be able to use home sharing to watch a movie on the TV.

 

[amarcus]

Wait in this situation would't AirPlay be a viable if not superior alternative? Head over to your laptop running iTunes and set the source to the Apple TV and away you go. Hell you could even use the remote app on your iPhone/iPad to do this.

Adam

 

[hafr]

Wait in this situation would't AirPlay be a viable if not superior alternative? Head over to your laptop running iTunes and set the source to the Apple TV and away you go. Hell you could even use the remote app on your iPhone/iPad to do this.

Adam

Maybe it was a bad example, but you're missing the point.

 

[whooleytoo]

It's even worse, it would happen even if you're trying to watch a movie you ripped yourself. So not only iTunes bought stuff...

Yup, I'm mostly streaming legally downloaded music from eMusic, yet I can't play it whenever Home Sharing can't authenticate. Considering how much fuss gamers make about a game DRM 'ringing home', I'm surprised how little fuss there is about the Home Sharing authentication, which IMO is far worse.

One more (previously unknown) reason why I'm reluctant to trade up to ATV2.

To be fair, although I'm critical about a few things relating to the ATV2, I still love the device. Small & neat, nice and quick streaming/scrubbing, nice clean UI, and mostly the iPad remote app. The problem is the negatives: unreliable network connectivity, this Home Sharing authentication, some minor UI annoyances.

 

[sulliweb]

It's even worse, it would happen even if you're trying to watch a movie you ripped yourself. So not only iTunes bought stuff...

Hmm... That wasn't my experience. This happened back in March, so software updates may have made things worse, but when our internet was out for a few days, Home Sharing still seemed to work fine because it was already set up on the ATV2. I could watch anything that wasn't DRM'd, rips, listen to DRM-free music,etc. The only thing blocked for me was the iTunes-purchased content.

Again, that isn't to say what you said didn't happen... It just doesn't seem to be quite consistent across any of this stuff. I may do a little testing tonight to see if I can come up with something...

 

[whooleytoo]

Hmm... That wasn't my experience. This happened back in March, so software updates may have made things worse, but when our internet was out for a few days, Home Sharing still seemed to work fine because it was already set up on the ATV2. I could watch anything that wasn't DRM'd, rips, listen to DRM-free music,etc. The only thing blocked for me was the iTunes-purchased content.

Again, that isn't to say what you said didn't happen... It just doesn't seem to be quite consistent across any of this stuff. I may do a little testing tonight to see if I can come up with something...

I THINK it's the following:

To turn on Home Sharing, you need to be able to access Apple's authentication servers. This is true, even if you'll never stream any iTunes-sourced content. I don't think you need the authentication connection every time you use Home Sharing, but possibly it checks periodically. If you turn off Home Sharing and on again for any reason (several users suggest this solution if you're having problems streaming) you'll need the connection in order to turn it back on.

However, to play iTunes movie content with DRM, you DO need to authenticate (every single time you play an iTunes movie perhaps? Don't have any iTunes movies, so can't confirm).

Does that sound correct?

 

[hafr]

Hmm... That wasn't my experience. This happened back in March, so software updates may have made things worse, but when our internet was out for a few days, Home Sharing still seemed to work fine because it was already set up on the ATV2. I could watch anything that wasn't DRM'd, rips, listen to DRM-free music,etc. The only thing blocked for me was the iTunes-purchased content.

Again, that isn't to say what you said didn't happen... It just doesn't seem to be quite consistent across any of this stuff. I may do a little testing tonight to see if I can come up with something...

If it worked, I guess you never rebooted the ATV2? Because when trying to recreate the problem today, just the loss of internet didn't do anything, but rebooting the ATV2 "killed" home sharing.

----------

I THINK it's the following:

To turn on Home Sharing, you need to be able to access Apple's authentication servers. This is true, even if you'll never stream any iTunes-sourced content. I don't think you need the authentication connection every time you use Home Sharing, but possibly it checks periodically. If you turn off Home Sharing and on again for any reason (several users suggest this solution if you're having problems streaming) you'll need the connection in order to turn it back on.

However, to play iTunes movie content with DRM, you DO need to authenticate (every single time you play an iTunes movie perhaps? Don't have any iTunes movies, so can't confirm).

Does that sound correct?

I think it sounds correct.

 

[sulliweb]

Reboot... Not exactly... The power went out. It was a storm, and it knocked out our Internet as well. The power came back, but the internet didn't. Home sharing still worked for me in that instance. It may have been a fluke for me, but so far, home sharing has been rock solid once it is set up.

Though, what you guys suggest sounds about right also.

 

[gnasher729]

However, to play iTunes movie content with DRM, you DO need to authenticate (every single time you play an iTunes movie perhaps? Don't have any iTunes movies, so can't confirm).

I checked it, and iTunes movies worked fine without internet connection (playing on the Mac where the movie is stored). Now movies with DRM having to authenticate would be unfortunate but at least make sense. For home sharing, there is no logical reason why authentication would be needed _as long as it is verified that both devices use the same Apple ID + password_.

 

[Dobbs2]

Yes, that is absolutely true. But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the fact that home sharing doesn't work without an internet connection.

Scenario: you have your laptop, you have your ATV2, you have your Airport Express and you're on vacation. You plug in the ATV2 in the TV, boot up the laptop and connect both of them to the network that the Airport Express creates. Unless you have an internet connection, you won't be able to use home sharing to watch a movie on the TV.

I dont know what you are doing wrong, but I do that without an Internet connection while on vacation just fine. Bring and airport express and stream all my movies.

 

[hafr]

I dont know what you are doing wrong, but I do that without an Internet connection while on vacation just fine. Bring and airport express and stream all my movies.

You mean that you can setup home sharing on vacation with no internet connection? Not airplay, not XBMC or any other third party solution, but home sharing in iTunes? What version OS X and iOS are you running?

I'm not doing anything wrong. It's working right now, but I can recreate the problem by killing the internet connection and rebooting the ATV2, iPhone 3GS and/or iPad 2. Running Lion (10.7.2), iOS 4.4.4 on the ATV2 and 5.0.1 on the other devices.
----

From Apple's "Troubleshooting Home Sharing":

"4. Check your network connection

Home Sharing requires a home network with an active Internet connection. All the devices you want to use with Home Sharing need to be connected to your home network."
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

 

[chiefpavvy]

I agree - hate the whole 'Home Sharing' requirement with ATV2. I understand the logic and premise behind it but I think it sucks. And I really never have any issues with it, just the principle of the whole thing.

 

[sulliweb]

I agree - hate the whole 'Home Sharing' requirement with ATV2. I understand the logic and premise behind it but I think it sucks. And I really never have any issues with it, just the principle of the whole thing.

Ditto.

 

[kokako]

couldn't remember if you said you bought or rented and this has probably already been answered but if you rent that film on Appletv it starts streaming pretty fast, same with iPad where you can start watching it before it's finished, same on iPhone watch while it's downloading. But yeah this functionality isn't enabled in Apple Computers yet although I thought it had it in Front Row, not sure why you can't rent in HD on macs either just on AppleTV and iPad, our macs display HD?.

Someone mentioned here it was because Apple has so many adapters it wants to sell but nah that stuffs a loss for Apple they make small runs for that stuff and that exists for people that want to keep hanging onto old tech i.e. powerpc macs and 3 year old computers, tech changes fast apple needs to keep up it does by omitting the past I'm all for that, I just wish they'd take away the ugly SD port on iMacs.

Anyone with a serious camera uses compact Flash.

 

[Dobbs2]

You mean that you can setup home sharing on vacation with no internet connection? Not airplay, not XBMC or any other third party solution, but home sharing in iTunes? What version OS X and iOS are you running?

I'm not doing anything wrong. It's working right now, but I can recreate the problem by killing the internet connection and rebooting the ATV2, iPhone 3GS and/or iPad 2. Running Lion (10.7.2), iOS 4.4.4 on the ATV2 and 5.0.1 on the other devices.
----

From Apple's "Troubleshooting Home Sharing":

"4. Check your network connection

Home Sharing requires a home network with an active Internet connection. All the devices you want to use with Home Sharing need to be connected to your home network."
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

I'm on the latest iOS 5 version. I have an airport express that I have setup as its own network. I have the appletv I use at home and I either use my iPad or MacBook on vacation. When I go on vacation or drive in the car I plug in the airport express and it creates a wifi connection without Internet. I can then while in the car open up the MacBook and AirPlay my whole collection in iTunes (purchased or ripped collection) to the appletv. I can use my iPhone and AirPlay what's on it as well and even use the iPad and AirPlay it. I've been doing this since I've had AirPlay capability. Moved in my new house last year didn't have Internet but setup wifi and streamed everything over the network music, movies and all with no Internet.

 

[hafr]

I'm on the latest iOS 5 version. I have an airport express that I have setup as its own network. I have the appletv I use at home and I either use my iPad or MacBook on vacation. When I go on vacation or drive in the car I plug in the airport express and it creates a wifi connection without Internet. I can then while in the car open up the MacBook and AirPlay my whole collection in iTunes (purchased or ripped collection) to the appletv. I can use my iPhone and AirPlay what's on it as well and even use the iPad and AirPlay it. I've been doing this since I've had AirPlay capability. Moved in my new house last year didn't have Internet but setup wifi and streamed everything over the network music, movies and all with no Internet.

Okay, so that's a "no" to my question. Thanks.

 

[Dobbs2]

Okay, so that's a "no" to my question. Thanks.

I guess I misunderstood the question . Sorry.

 

[Bozley0621]

The cable and internet went out tonight, so I went to watch a movie I had downloaded from iTunes streaming from my laptop. However, I couldn't due to the fact that I had no internet. I never realized before that I had to have internet service to watch movies that I've downloaded. Why is this?

I was able to work around using airplay, but I don't think folks should have to do this.

I just reread my original post and realized that I was tired and it left a lot to be inferred, which everyone did correctly. Upon losing my internet connection, I was not able to stream movies purchased through iTunes from my Macbook to my ATV2 through Home Sharing. I found a work around using Air Play.

This strengthens my reasoning for trying to purchase hard copies of movies. Out of 120+ movies, only about 15 are purchased through iTunes.

 

[bri1212]

I just reread my original post and realized that I was tired and it left a lot to be inferred, which everyone did correctly. Upon losing my internet connection, I was not able to stream movies purchased through iTunes from my Macbook to my ATV2 through Home Sharing. I found a work around using Air Play.

This strengthens my reasoning for trying to purchase hard copies of movies. Out of 120+ movies, only about 15 are purchased through iTunes.

So did airplay only work with movies that you had not purchased from iTunes?