"HD Movie" metadata tag with value "4k" prevents movies to be shown in iDevices (ATV, iPad, iPhone)

[Rui Cruz]

Encoded 4K movies with the “HD Movie” tag set to value “4k” are shown in the Library of iTunes (aka Apple TV in mac) with the 4K logo in the description, but then, all iDevices (ATVs 4K, iPhones and iPads) stop showing (i.e. list) those movies in the Library.

Setting the “HD Movie” tag to value “No” for those 4K movies allows them to be displayed again in the Library of the iDevice, and so selected for playbacks.

Screenshots attached show that tag with the “4k” value

[Former user]

I have also experienced this, also found this Reddit thread which has documented the same issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/appletv/comments/lop39g/appletv_4k_and_streaming_4k_video_from_a_home_mac/

[Hongyu Shi]

Apple doesn’t allow streaming 4K video through library sharing. They also forbid people to download any 4K content. 4K is only available for streaming in Apple TV app.

The only way to watch them in TV app on iOS devices is to sync them using Finder (note that Dolby Vision is not supported through syncing).

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[Former user]

Apple doesn’t allow streaming 4K video through library sharing.

Are you sure? Because when I add a 4K HEVC HDR movie created on an iPhone 12 into iTunes it can be streamed to my Apple TV just fine, same things with a film taken from a BR disk. From my perspective it is just the metadata tag that somehow makes it not work. Is this documented by Apple somewhere?

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[Damiano Galassi]

Known issue, I remember that there was another open issue about it, can’t remember which.

In fact Subler never set the 4k tag automatically.

[Hongyu Shi]

Are you sure?

I copied these demo files from a local Apple Store, and tested with the latest macOS Monterey (M1 MacBook Air) and iPadOS 15 (iPad Pro 2018). It doesn’t work.

Both of these files are Dolby Vision profile 5 and E-AC-3 Atmos, they were encoded by Apple, so should be the same with what you can get from iTunes.

Here is a link, feel free to have a try!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F7iIUc9wXU-syfsd6y-ueoo54bu0sjAH?usp=sharing

[Former user]

@Hongyu Shi Please note that I am talking about the 4K metadata tag, not the Dolby Vision tag, nor the other tags either. The 4K is what my question was about.

[Hongyu Shi]

Please note that I am talking about the 4K metadata tag

I know, I was just talking about encoding, not tag. There is only “4K“ tag in the demo files. Please have a try by yourself. I want to know whether they work on your device.

(These files are directly from Apple, official release, naturally the best sample to experiment on)

Edit: BTW, these files are actually 1080p, but they have the “4K“ tag on. I have no idea why Apple does this.

[Damiano Galassi]

Try to remove the 4k tag and try again.

[Former user]

Removing the 4K tag from those two files makes them appear in the Apple TV, but they are not playable without it.

[Ken Washburn]

I am having the same problem and found that changing the “HD Movie” tag from “4k” to “No” works. In addition to this you have to delete the file from the TV library and re-import the file for ATV to see the change.

[Ken Washburn]

I did some experimentation with the 4k tag issue and I believe the problem is in the use of the 4k "HD Video" tag in tvOS, not in Subler.  I tested with ATVs capable of 4k (A1842 64GB) and 1080p (A1642 64GB) running tvOS 15.1.1 which is current as of this date. 

tvOS 15.1.1 attempts to display only playable files within the limits of a particular model of ATV. It appears that Apple is using this "HD Video" tag to determine whether a video file is listed as playable on a particular model of ATV rather than examining the actual file information. Because Apple software is a "Black Box" with almost no documentation available to users, most of its functions can only be discovered experimentally by altering variables and interpreting the results. The following were my test cases used to determine what is going on:

1. 1080p ATV (A1642 64GB) & 4K video file. "HD Video" tag “4k”

When the "HD Video" tag is set to "4k" the files do not appear on the ATV as files available to play. This is the correct use of the tag as it is not capable of playing the 4k file. This is a CORRECT behavior.

2. 1080p ATV (A1642 64GB) & 4K video file. "HD Video" tag "No" "720p" or "1080p"

When the "HD Video" tag is set to "No" "720p" or "1080p", the file appears on the ATV as a file available to play. When you try to play it you get an error message stating "The content cannot be played because its format is not compatible with this Apple TV". This INVALID TAG VALUE causes an unplayable 4k file to be listed by tvOS 15.1.1 as playable. This is an INCORRECT behavior.

So for 1080p capable ATVs, the "HD Video" tag value of "HD" on 4k files functions properly as it lists only playable files.

3. 4k ATV (A1842 64GB) & 4K video file. "HD Video" tag “4k”

When the "HD Video" tag is set to "4k" the files do not appear on the ATV as files available to play. tvOS 15.1.1 doesn't seem to recognize that the 4k ATV is capable of playing 4k video when it is determining which files to display as playable. This is the incorrect use of the tag as it is capable of playing 4k Video. This is an INCORRECT behavior.

4. 4k ATV (A1842 64GB) & 4K video file. "HD Video" tag "No" "720p" or "1080p"

When the "HD Video" tag is set to "No" "720p" or "1080p", the file appears on the ATV as available to play. They play properly. So for the 4k ATV the "HD Video" tag functions improperly because you have to tag the file with an INVALID TAG VALUE to make it visible. This is an INCORRECT behavior BUT NECESSARY to display a playable file.

So for 4k capable ATVs, the "HD Video" tag value of “4k” functions improperly as it fails to list playable 4k files.

The bottom line is, if you tag a 4k file with a "HD Video" value of “4k” it will not appear on a 4k ATV.  On a 1080p ATV it will appear but will not be playable.  There is not a "HD Video" tag value for 4k video that will function correctly on both models of ATV.

It would be a simple for Apple to make tvOS list 4k tagged files as playable on 4k capable ATVs. This would alleviate the whole problem.  How do you get a problem to the attention of someone at Apple that has the capability and authority to fix a problem?

In the mean time I am making the choice of mis-tagging the 4k files as "No", or not making an "HD Video" tag at all. This way I can at least see it and play it on my 4k ATV.  On my 1080p ATV I will see the file but it will fail to play. As I put the 4k in the file name I will at least know why it doesn't play.

To make this work for files already in your TV library, you have to delete the file from the TV library, change the tag to "No" "720p" or "1080p" or no tag at all, and then re-import the file for tvOS 15.1.1 to see the change. Apparently Apple does not notice changes to tags when they are made directly to the file and provides no way of altering this tag within the TV app.

I have now tried this with 2 movies and 300 tv episodes and it works as described.  tvOS 15.1.2 came out yesterday and it functions the same as  tvOS 15.1.1.