Is it me or my Apple TV?

September 24, 2011 9:52 AM

Apple TV first gen. (updated to current software) problem: Suddenly last night the menu for TV shows was empty, showing nothing but My TV Shows. No Search, Favorites, Top Shows, etc. WTF?

All other options appear fine, can watch movie trailers, etc. Here's what I've tried: Unplugging, resetting, rebooting and re-updating. What's left? So before I spend $30 asking Apple for help, I turn to you… Anything else I could try? Is the iTunes store having troubles?

posted by dpcoffin to computers & internet (6 answers total)

Tv rentals have been discontinued.

http://www.macworld.com/article/161983/2011/08/apple_axes_tv_show_rentals_for_itunes_apple_tv.html
posted by cosmac at 11:39 AM on September 24, 2011

I don't think the discontinuing of TV rentals is the issue. You can still purchase TV shows.

My AppleTV (Gen 2) shows the following under the TV menu: Purchased, Top TV Shows, Genres, TV Networks, and Search. Software version is "4.3 (2557)."

I know that doesn't address the problem, but just FYI.
posted by The Deej at 2:04 PM on September 24, 2011

That's very similar to what we had, too, until last night, Deej. And, yes, rentals aren't the issue; it's that I now have NO options to search, Favorite or buy using the Apple TV interface.

So, I went ahead with the $30 single issue thing and proceeded to stump 3 levels of support expertise, who finally concluded that it must be broken hardware, as no other explanations made sense and no one had ever heard a similar report. As a result they didn't charge me after all. And it turns out I can still buy episodes from iTunes and send them to the unit, so all's not lost. Good thing, since I don't think I can use a gen-2 unit as my lovely big-old analog TV has no HDMI port and I haven't seen adapters that provide separate audio outs. Will check out the optical option…

Anyway, thanks to you both for responding!
posted by dpcoffin at 10:14 PM on September 24, 2011

Thanks for the update. I did some searching and found others with the same problem but no consistent solution. Glad you didn't get charged though!
posted by The Deej at 7:54 AM on September 25, 2011

Well, I guess there is an adapter for matching the gen-2 AppleTV to an analog TV. Good to know if mine deteriorates further, which is inevitable I suppose.
posted by dpcoffin at 5:22 PM on September 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

The adaptor is good news! If you decide to get a Gen 2, Apple usually has refurb units on thier website for $85 with free shipping.

Also, because of iCloud, any content purchased from iTunes is available without having to stream it from your iTunes library on a computer. This feature already works.
posted by The Deej at 8:24 AM on September 26, 2011