"Downloads" not showing up on Samsung TV

[NStocks]

I have a 2019 Samsung smart TV that includes AppleTV built in. On my Mac I can import my own movies which show up and play in the "tv" app, but on the Samsung tv, through ATV app, the downloads are not listed anywhere.

Is there a way around this? Airplay mirroring works quite well, but when my Mac is in a different room, it's not possible to pause the tv with the Samsung remote.

Thanks!

 

[priitv8]

To the best of my understanding, there is only the TV app available in OEM sets to be able to stream iTunes/TV+ content from Apple servers.
And then there is AirPlay 2 receiver functionality to be able to stream from a mac or iPhone to the telly, without having aTV device.
There has been no mentioning of that OEM combo having any other capabilities, esp for consumption of local content.
Apple's own support article : What you can do with the Apple TV app

 

[NStocks]

That's quite disappointing! I would have expected the Apple "TV" app to be identical on Mac and OEM sets. I currently use Airplay 2 which is great, but I don't really want to do that long term between the household.

Thanks for the clarification, maybe there's something else I can use?

 

[priitv8]

I do not understand your aim, to be honest.
Because TV sets do not have internal storage, they can not download movies from iTunes and store them locally.
So your library needs to be in cloud which can only contain iTunes purchases and rentals.
If you hoped to use TV app on telly to browse the downloaded (local) library shared by TV app on Mac, then this is already called Home Sharing and no OEM platform has been given green light to use HomeSharing.
The only devices that can do this are still manufactured by apple.
But even then, you still need a computer that will run as your HomeSharing server.

To overcome this limitation, you can use AirPlay 2 and it does exactly the same thing. You just need to push content from your apple device sharing content and can not pull it from the telly-side like HomeSharing allows.

Unfortunately there are now three different things sharing the similar name : apple TV - the device, the app and the TV+ service. This creates confusion.
TV app on OEM sets was only meant to open the window into iTunes store / your cloud library with purchased content, from non-apple devices.
AirPlay 2 is a nice upgrade to allow image streaming to non-apple devices, the audio capability of original AirPlay has been there for years already.

 

[waw74]

take a look at Plex,

You run a server program on your Mac (or any flavor of computer, or some network hard drives)
it catalogs your library -- pulls titles, descriptions, and personnel from the web ( you can skip this step if you want, and browse by file name)

You do have to follow certain naming rules to have it automatically match stuff, but it's easy to figure out.

you then install the player on your TV (it's available for most smart TVs, as well as - aTV, roku, iOS, android)

if your file isn't compatible with your player, the server will convert automatically


It keeps track of what you've watched. You can also stop playback, and pick up on any other device.
if your network bandwidth can handle it, and your server is running, you can access your media from anywhere. (It can also convert to lower bandwidth on the fly as needed)

In the end, it takes your media and gives you a "Netflix like" experience with it.

 

[NStocks]

PLEX! That's what I'm looking for. Thank you very much.

 

[priitv8]

PLEX! That's what I'm looking for. Thank you very much.

Plex or noplex, you will need a running computer for that.
Can be a NAS, if you do not want to sacrifice your mac's cpu for that.
Somehow I was under the impression, that you do not want to use your computer, only the TV.

 

[Juicy Box]

I have a 2019 Samsung smart TV that includes AppleTV built in.

Apple has really screwed up with the naming and marketing of the Apple TV, the TV app and Apple TV+.

 

[NStocks]

Plex or noplex, you will need a running computer for that.
Can be a NAS, if you do not want to sacrifice your mac's cpu for that.
Somehow I was under the impression, that you do not want to use your computer, only the TV.

It was more about not using a computer because 1) I don't want to keep mirroring/splitting screens and 2) There's no way to pause/control without going back to the Mac.

 

[priitv8]

2) There's no way to pause/control without going back to the Mac.

Understood. The item 2) is what HomeSharing is good for. AirPlay is only pushed (and controlled) from the computer side. HomeSharing is pulling and controlling from the TV side.
As I mentioned, HS is not available to non-Apple platforms.
So you can go with a different server. Can even be just a file server, if your player on Samsung is able to browse network shares. Can be a Plex server. You can also run a DLNA server (I am pretty sure every current smartTV supports DLNA).
Incidentally, Plex server can also serve over DLNA, in addition to its native protocol.