iOS 10.2's New 'TV' App Doesn't Work With Some Videos Ripped From DVDs

[MacRumors]

In iOS 10.2, released on December 12, Apple introduced the new "TV" app, which serves as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplify the television watching experience and help users discover new TV and movie content.

In the United States, the TV app replaces the standard "Videos" app and serves as a television hub on iOS devices, but it appears the new app doesn't work well with content that's been ripped from DVDs.

According to an ongoing discussion on Apple's Support Communities that dates back to December, some customers who have videos ripped from DVDs are no longer able to view them in the TV app. The same videos previously worked fine in the now-replaced Videos app. A user who is having issues describes the problem:

Prior to iOS 10.2 I was able to view video I had ripped on the Videos app in iOS. The process I used was to rip the video and then import them into iTunes. Then I synced my iPhone with iTunes and my movies were download and viewed using the Videos app.

iOS 10.2 no longer includes the Video app and the new TV app will not allow me to watch these ripped videos. Does someone have a solution or am I simply missing something?

Other iPhone users have been unable to sync home videos and other content to their devices with the current version of iTunes, receiving a message that movies or TV shows can't be synced because the Videos app is not installed.

Some users have been able to get around the problem with already-transferred videos by using the TV widget on their iOS devices, which apparently causes the TV app to display the ripped videos after the widget is activated. Others can get the ripped videos to play by setting the videos to be "Home Videos."

That the widget allows some users to access their videos suggests this is perhaps a bug that will be resolved in a future update, but it is not entirely clear what's going on with the TV app and content acquired outside of the iTunes Stores.

Affected users who want to get non-Apple video content onto their iOS devices will need to use a third-party solution like Infuse or VLC.

Article Link: iOS 10.2's New 'TV' App Doesn't Work With Some Videos Ripped From DVDs

 

[profets]

Ripping DVDs, importing to iTunes, syncing manually to an iOS device. Why not just use Plex already (or another media manager like VLC that allows you to make a local copy wirelessly)?

 

[evil_bunny]

The answer is probably something simple like make sure your quicktime atoms are set correctly to tell iTunes to categorize it as a TV Show. Generally what I do is I stick the file through metaZ to set the TV Show, Series, Season, and Episode information and then import the file into iTunes. Syncs just fine to my iPhone / iPad running (latest 10.2 public release) and the new TV app.

 

[ghostface147]

It also screwed up syncing videos in the desktop Photos app via iTunes. iTunes is looking for the videos app itself. I don't care for iTunes photo library and prefer to manually manage my photo albums.

 

[evil_bunny]

Ok, off topic, your particular preferences regarding iCloud Photo Library aside, are you suggesting that you would expect that videos in your Photos app in macOS should somehow appear in the "TV" app on iOS? And did that work previously? Because that would not be my expectations at all. You may have more luck by adjusting your workflow.

 

[samcraig]

It's a feature!

 

[SBlue1]

Ripping DVDs, importing to iTunes, syncing manually to an iOS device. Why not just use Plex already (or another media manager like VLC that allows you to make a local copy wirelessly)?

How do I watch my movies on a plane with Plex?

 

[OS X Dude]

How do I watch my movies on a plane with Plex?

Plex allows caching.

 

[sykeward]

This has been incredibly frustrating for me, and it doesn't just affect movies ripped from DVDs. I can't view any movies that I didn't record myself using the phone's camera, including ones created in iMovie. I've tried changing the categories of the video files, creating new movie files using iTunes' "Create iPhone version" function, re-encoding them using HandBrake, setting iTunes to manage music/vidoes manually, etc. This has been an issue for me ever since Apple replaced the Videos app with the TV app in iOS 10.2. This past weekend, I performed a restore on my iPhone out of frustration, and now I can't sync movies at all. Like the post states, iTunes complains that there is no Videos app on the iPhone and that it can't transfer any videos until it's restored. Get it together, Apple, please.

 

[panjandrum]

Like we have had to do all too frequently over the past few years; just switch away from Apple's software and use something else (I've had very good luck with Stream to Me and Serve to Me, and no longer use iTunes, Music, etc. etc. for anything at all other than occasionally ripping a CD or manually managing iThing backups and media). That solution also supports playback on various media-players outside the Apple ecosystem (for example, a PS3 will find the Serve to Me server on your network and work properly with it). Unlike Plex, Stream to Me / Serve to Me is extremely simple to setup (it also lacks some of the advanced features, but overall I've certainly been very happy with it). Oh, and VLC will also pick up Stream to Me servers.

I hope that someday those currently running Apple will figure out that the worse their software gets, the more we move away from it. The more we move away from it, the less incentive we have to stay with Apple hardware. The less we stay with Apple hardware, the less we recommend Apple hardware to other and the less visibility Apple hardware has. It's a vicious cycle they can put a stop to by getting their software usability, features, and QA back up to what it used to be...

 

[Andreas56938]

You are ripping it wrong.

 

[MallardDuck]

Ripping DVDs, importing to iTunes, syncing manually to an iOS device. Why not just use Plex already (or another media manager like VLC that allows you to make a local copy wirelessly)?

Because moving 200+ GB of files wirelessly takes forever.
[doublepost=1484704175][/doublepost]The TV app is a complete disaster - massive number of bugs.

• If you have a DTS passthrough track, it won't play the file
• It's unreliable in airplane mode - sometimes doesn't work (as I found out the hard way)
  
• shoves the cloud/streaming stuff into your face, no longer hideable
  
• shows blank seasons and cloud icons even in downloaded section
• search doesn't work offline
• doesn't sync properly with itunes - doesn't add episodes and doesn't delete them
• manual delete is no longer a swipe, it's something related to force touch, but it doesn't work reliably

and on and on. Apple should put the videos app up in the app store.

There's no third party option that plays DRM'd content, so we're stuck.

 

[profets]

How do I watch my movies on a plane with Plex?

With Plex pass you can cache a copy locally within the app (and choose quality while doing so). If you don't want to pay for Plex, you can use VLC to copy files that are visible on media shares.

Because moving 200+ GB of files wirelessly takes forever.
[doublepost=1484704175][/doublepost]The TV app is a complete disaster - massive number of bugs.

• If you have a DTS passthrough track, it won't play the file
• It's unreliable in airplane mode - sometimes doesn't work (as I found out the hard way)
  
• shoves the cloud/streaming stuff into your face, no longer hideable
  
• shows blank seasons and cloud icons even in downloaded section
• search doesn't work offline
• doesn't sync properly with itunes - doesn't add episodes and doesn't delete them
• manual delete is no longer a swipe, it's something related to force touch, but it doesn't work reliably

and on and on. Apple should put the videos app up in the app store.

There's no third party option that plays DRM'd content, so we're stuck.

Well sure. But then I have to ask, is there a need to carry 200GB of ripped DVDs around?

I don't disagree though that there seems to be quite a mess with the new TV app (though I'm outside of the US so I don't even see it).

 

[ThunderSkunk]

From stability to ui design, iOS just keeps getting worse.

 

[Glassed Silver]

Great idea Apple, keep incentivizing people to move away from your vertically integrated products to platform-agnostic alternatives.

And be sure to keep messing with the value to price ratio on ALL your products!

What's the worst that could happen? After all you have so many great new products in the mighty pipeline!

Glassed Silver:win

 

[ghostface147]

Ok, off topic, your particular preferences regarding iCloud Photo Library aside, are you suggesting that you would expect that videos in your Photos app in macOS should somehow appear in the "TV" app on iOS? And did that work previously? Because that would not be my expectations at all. You may have more luck by adjusting your workflow.

No, I expect it to show up in videos section of the photos app on the phone. iTunes gives the error message of it needing the videos app. I've never put it in there. That's the weird part.

 

[Cayden]

I had this issue as well on the beta. Just go download the Videos app from the App Store and hide/delete the TV app and it'll work fine!

 

[seang7]

In iOS 10.2, released on December 12, Apple introduced the new "TV" app, which serves as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplify the television watching experience and help users discover new TV and movie content.

In the United States, the TV app replaces the standard "Videos" app and serves as a television hub on iOS devices, but it appears the new app doesn't work well with content that's been ripped from DVDs.

According to an ongoing discussion on Apple's Support Communities that dates back to December, some customers who have videos ripped from DVDs are no longer able to view them in the TV app. The same videos previously worked fine in the now-replaced Videos app. A user who is having issues describes the problem:Other iPhone users have been unable to sync home videos and other content to their devices with the current version of iTunes, receiving a message that movies or TV shows can't be synced because the Videos app is not installed.

Some users have been able to get around the problem with already-transferred videos by using the TV widget on their iOS devices, which apparently causes the TV app to display the ripped videos after the widget is activated. Others can get the ripped videos to play by setting the videos to be "Home Videos."

That the widget allows some users to access their videos suggests this is perhaps a bug that will be resolved in a future update, but it is not entirely clear what's going on with the TV app and content acquired outside of the iTunes Stores.

Affected users who want to get non-Apple video content onto their iOS devices will need to use a third-party solution like Infuse or VLC.

Article Link: iOS 10.2's New 'TV' App Doesn't Work With Some Videos Ripped From DVDs

Use Beamer app!! You won't have to convert files or even use iTunes. Just beam it directly to your Apple TV! Look it up. You'll be glad you did!!!

 

[joueboy]

It's funny how people here jumps into hey why don't you use Plex or VLC. Obviously there's a problem here that need to be addressed, and Apple made that problem. It's because you used other ways, doesn't mean you force others the way you do things.

 

[Kabeyun]

Apple's ecosystem is deep but sadly narrow. If you don't source, organize, and play your media the way they intend, you're in for an incomplete, fragmented, or kludgy experience. Not all of this can be explained by restrictive studio agreements.

For my part, I mostly play end run. I have a huge media library of ripped opticals and purchased digitals, and I use Apple TV almost entirely to host the Plex app as my front end. Ironically, the only issue I encounter is the DRM on movies I bought from the iTMS, which I strip with a completely clear conscience.

 

[dannyyankou]

This is equivalent to music ripped from CD's not working
[doublepost=1484708002][/doublepost]

I had this issue as well on the beta. Just go download the Videos app from the App Store and hide/delete the TV app and it'll work fine!

They removed it

 

[Rigby]

The TV app is a complete disaster - massive number of bugs.

Agree. It's terrible for watching locally stored content.

• If you have a DTS passthrough track, it won't play the file
• It's unreliable in airplane mode - sometimes doesn't work (as I found out the hard way)
  
• shoves the cloud/streaming stuff into your face, no longer hideable
  
• shows blank seasons and cloud icons even in downloaded section
• search doesn't work offline
• doesn't sync properly with itunes - doesn't add episodes and doesn't delete them
• manual delete is no longer a swipe, it's something related to force touch, but it doesn't work reliably

Deleting can be done with a long-press on devices without force touch (iPads and older ipHones). But usually I have to tap and hold several times before it registers. It sometimes also takes forever (10+ seconds) to simply delete a video for some reason. The TV app also doesn't keep track of the watched status like Videos did (blue dot for unwatched files), which is very annoying when watching TV episodes.

There's no third party option that plays DRM'd content, so we're stuck.

In fact, file managers such as Goodreader can play protected video files using iOS' inbuilt video player. For everything else, I now use Infuse.

 

[M2M]

The TV app is a complete disaster - massive number of bugs.

• If you have a DTS passthrough track, it won't play the file
• It's unreliable in airplane mode - sometimes doesn't work (as I found out the hard way)
  
• shoves the cloud/streaming stuff into your face, no longer hideable
  
• shows blank seasons and cloud icons even in downloaded section
• search doesn't work offline
• doesn't sync properly with itunes - doesn't add episodes and doesn't delete them
• manual delete is no longer a swipe, it's something related to force touch, but it doesn't work reliably

and on and on. Apple should put the videos app up in the app store.

There's no third party option that plays DRM'd content, so we're stuck.

I couldn't agree more!

+ the fact that the app was forced down on most users (in the US)

+ the fact that I got it while having a Hongkong phone with Hongkong SIM in Hongkong and I can't get rid of it. May hit an Apple Store later but I am pretty sure none of those 'geniuses' will now hoe to go back to the old videos app.

 

[Michael Scrip]

DVDs... those plastic discs with low-rez 480p content on them?

Are they still a thing?

jk... I know they're still around. I'm actually amazed that studios still release their billion-dollar Hollywood movies in standard definition.

It's one thing for a child's dance recital or a wedding to be delivered on a DVD. I actually do that myself.

But a big Hollywood movie?

 

[PS8409]

It wasn't working for me for the majority of my ripped movies. But before this update I uploaded them all to iCloud Drive. All I did to fix it was delete them then redownload them from iCloud. Works perfectly now.