Apple TV Supported Video Formats – Convert Video to Play on Apple TV Easily

Apple TV allows you to play or stream external videos encoded in supported formats, or you will receive an error message saying, “This video is in a format that cannot be streamed” or “This video format cannot be played.” In this article, you can find what video formats are supported by Apple TV and how to convert video to Apple TV-supported video formats for smooth playing. Please read on.

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Michelle Michelle | Updated on Jul 12, 2023

What Video Formats Are Compatible with Apple TV?

In short, .mp4, .mov, and .m4v are the only container formats supported by Apple TVs. But there are also restrictions on how the video is encoded. To know whether your video can be played on your Apple TV, compare your video with the video specs provided by Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD (4) below.

 

Video Formats

Audio Formats

Apple TV 4K
(1st, 2nd, 3rd generation)

• SDR video with AVC/HEVC (Main/Main 10 profile) up to 4k, 60 fps
• HEVC Dolby Vision (Profile 5)/HDR10 (Main 10 profile)/HLG up to 4k, 60 fps

• H.264 Baseline Profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps, Simple profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

• HE-AAC (V1), AAC (up to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, and WAV; AC-3 (Dolby Digital 5.1), E-AC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound), and Dolby Atmos

Apple TV HD

• HEVC SDR up to 1080p, 30 fps, Main/Main 10 profile
• H.264 video up to 1080p, 60 fps, High or Main Profile level 4.2 or lower

• H.264 Baseline Profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

• HE-AAC (V1), AAC (up to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, and WAV; AC-3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) and E-AC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound)


Note:

1. Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) and Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) support for up to 4k, 60 fps HDR video output and Audio Return Channel (ARC or eARC) only.

2. Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) supports HDR10+ with HEVC (Main 10 Profile) up to 4k, 60 fps.

3. If you want to know older Apple TV video specs, please visit https://support.apple.com/specs/appletv.

Video to Apple TV Converter

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How to Fix Apple TV Video Format Not Supported?

Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K support very limited video formats, as ATV only accepts properly encoded MP4, MOV, and M4V files. Your video file might not be supported by your Apple TV. But fortunately, you can convert the unplayable video to an Apple TV supported video format to fix the unsupported Apple TV movie format at once.

For this, you can use a dedicated video to TV format converter tool called WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro. This software can work as an impressive Apple TV converter to convert your video to Apple TV formats for smooth playback. The workflow is simple. Without further ado, let me show you how to convert video to an Apple TV video format below.

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Step 1. Open WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory on your PC and enter the “Converter” program. Next, click the “Add Files” button to import the unplayable videos into the converter.

Add File

Step 2. On the right side of the converter, hit on the format image to unfold the output format list. Next, go to the Apple device section and choose the "Apple TV" profile directly. Alternatively, you can explore under the “Video” category to select MP4, MOV, or M4V as the output format and then open the “Parameter settings” to modify the settings to fit your Apple TV specs.

Adjust Apple TV Supported Profile

Step 3. Finally, choose an output folder at the bottom of the interface and hit “Run” to start the conversion. After the conversion, you should have no problem playing the video on Apple TV.

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Convert Video to Apple TV

More of HD Video Converter

1. Record computer screen and audio;
2. Download SD/HD/4K/8K videos from YouTube;
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Wrapping Up

Converting video to Apple TV file formats is the most popular way to fix the Apple TV video format not supported issue. However, you can use other methods to play the unsupported video. And one suggested way is to set up a Plex server to stream your video through the Plex app on your Apple TV. You can also upload your videos on YouTube and watch them from the Apple TV app.

Now, that’s pretty much everything I want to share about the Apple TV video formats and how to play unsupported videos on Apple TV. I hope you will find this article helpful. Thanks for reading. Have a nice day!

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