ITunes card the machine knows that the card comes from Switzerland and
then only gives you French or German language options !!
I have not as yet got the system to accept a UK puchased ITunes card.
Grateful for any thoughts. Robert Best
I wonder if anyone out there has experience in using Apple TV. I have bought the set top box only to find that the main default language for virtually all the films is German. I understand that if you buy credit with an
Hi Robert,
I had one a little while ago, great little thing if you know how to break the strict boundaries set by Apple... I myself don't support buying something you can't hold in your hand, so I don't use iTunes, but I have a feeling that you need to change the default language of the iTunes account, or perhaps the location, and not on the Apple TV itself.
In terms of what I used it for: get the Vimeo app. Vimeo is a great online community, it's like YouTube but most of the stuff is really professional and in HD, so streaming from it (which is free) is perfect for your Apple TV. This will give you thousands of "films"/documentaries etc to watch, you won't get bored!
I installed the XBMC system on mine, which involves a little bit of "hacking", but once set up it was great! I then had a computer running as a server, which streamed the films, music and TV shows I have on the harddrive, straight to the Apple TV. It was great.
A little demo on XBMC, if you're interested:
To my knowledge, the iTunes card is only valid for the iTunes account in the same country. For instance, if you have UK iTunes account (with your UK address and all the info Apple wants), you need a UK iTunes card (or usually a credit card issued by a UK-based bank).
Myself I do not use Apple TV for purchasing movies via iTunes but I have no problems with the device showing content from the iTunes store of my home country-based account. (I am using Apple TV primarily to stream content from the computer.)
And yes, as far as I remember, when I set up the Apple TV first time it somehow recognized the geolocation and showed Swiss iTunes store.
We had the same problem you did at first. What worked for us was to change the region to the US (for you, I would assume it would be the UK). But to make this actually work, we had to have a US credit card with a US billing address, which we still do. Once that was sorted out, we now have the entire iTunes library to choose from, except for Netflix or Hulu. The box knows we are in CH, so those are not accessible.
I am in the exact same situation as Jennifer; I have two accounts, one in the US (using a US credit card) which allows me to browse and buy the US store content, and one in CH, for apps/content not available in the US (in my case it was the NFL GamePass, available outside US only). The Netflix and Hulu issues can be solved through a VPN with a US IP address.
To the OP, as long as you have a UK credit card, it should be possible to setup a new acount, specify when registering that you want to access iTunes in UK, and it should work.
Hi,
as other people said you need to a US or UK itunes account which is easy to set up. Payment can be itunes bought in the US or the UK or a uk or us credit card. You change the country to the US. For itunes you don't even need a vpn with a US or UK ip address in order to play films from the US or UK. For Hulu plus and Netflix you will also need a UK or US ip address i.e. VPN. If you set up a uk or us itunes account you will either need to be physically in the country or have a vpn which means the system thinks you are in one of those countries.
It works really well for watching films or tv. Never had any problem using iTunes US movie library, Netflix or Hulu plus.
Have fun
Martin
Can confirm the info given here.
When I first bought Apple TV last year, it was all in German and I couldn't buy what I wanted. Then I switched my iTunes account (using my UK credit card) and it turned into a UK-centric service, in English.
Maybe there are royalties/rights issues. A bit annoying though, as it means that everything I buy from iTunes and the Apple App Store now goes onto my UK credit card account which isn't my preference.
I have two apple id acccounts. One for Switzerland and the other for Australia. My Australian credit card is linked to Australian apple id to access the Australian I tunes store.
Just a bit of a diversion. Tried to update my Apple TV but the update always fails. Problem is with apple software it appears.
does it work with apple TV 3?
Recommend changing the region to US so you get films before they are released in Switzerland. Loads of links online on how to do this without a credit card. Buy the codes from the US and they will email them to you for a small charge. I use http://www.buyfrompowerseller.com/
Procedure to open a US account without credit card
Will an I Tunes gift card that I buy here work with the US I Tunes Store?
No.
What I don't like about Apple TV is that its apps are all this American crap
No, unfortunately there is no "jail break" for the latest Apple TV. As a result, the older ones can be sold for 2-2.5x their original price, since they can be jail broken! It was rumored that there would be a jailbreak for the latest version "soon" but it still hasn't happened.
Dan
I have been waiting for the new jail break for quite sometime now... there is none available so far
On the Apple TV 3 the update always fails.Any ideas?
Sorry no. You could try just doing a full reset of it and then try the update again. Since nothing is stored locally on it, it doesn't take much time.
Dan
Did that reset but no success-seems to be a problem with the Apple update.