iPad New 13.4 bug w mp4 video playback - “there’s a problem loading this content”

[tazdevl]

Never had this issue with prior iOS versions. Updated to 13.4 now ALL MP4 videos loaded on my 2018 11” LTE IPP wont play. it throws up a “There’s a problem loading this content“ error.

I tried nPlayer and Infuse players. Same error. So this bug was just introduced in 13.4.

Others are encountering it based on a thread in the Apple Discussion support forum.

The odd thing is all my iTunes purchased content plays just fine. Things that make you go hmmmmm. How many millions of $ does @Apple rake in while people are stuck at home and cant play the content they own? Over a billion+ Apple devices out there. Quite the coinkydink.

 

[tazdevl]

Tried DFU, set up as new. Same problem.

 

[rcepek]

Thanks goodness, I'm not the only one that gets this error. I can tell you that if the video was encoded via Handbrake there is no issue. I have also found that if you use VLC to play these on the ipad you can get around this error. I first thought it was the ldaf codec but I cannot confirm that for fact.

 

[mdorais]

Same exact error here. This is one of the main purposes my iPad serves so I'm looking at selling it off for an Android device if this isn't fixed. Not even kidding. I'm not waiting months or even weeks for a fix.

 

[tazdevl]

I haven’t loaded any videos on my iPhone 11 Pro. Wonder if all or certain devices affected by this stupid fortuitous for Apple bug they profit from.

 

[TheRock88]

Thanks goodness, I'm not the only one that gets this error. I can tell you that if the video was encoded via Handbrake there is no issue. I have also found that if you use VLC to play these on the ipad you can get around this error. I first thought it was the ldaf codec but I cannot confirm that for fact.

Different for me, all my videos on my iPad Pro are encoded using Handbrake and it seems like half of them still play like normal and the ones that I've encoded over the past year or so get this error message. Very weird. Hopefully they fix it in the next patch.

 

[tazdevl]

Still broken wIth iOS 13.4.1. Timing with everybody stuck at home, iTunes content works, and fact Apple is dragging its feet fixing this makes me think this is a shady strategy by Apple to drive revenue. Never had an issue like this before. Still problems with iOS tv app, infuse, nPlayer.

 

[mdorais]

Yeah I can confirm 13.4.1 hasn't fixed it. I'm stuck with my iPad for now since if I sell it off online it would require me to go to a post office to mail it. So frustrating.

 

[tazdevl]

I’m wondering if this is device specific i.e. IPP 11, IPP 12.9, iPad Air, iPad Mini, etc

What iPad do ppl have that are experiencing this?

I’ve got a 2018 IPP 11 LTE. Checked mp4s on my kiddos 9.7 iPad they played fine.

 

[rrive562]

I am having this annoying issue with my iPhone XS Max. Upon updating to 13.4.1 most of my movies won’t play anymore. Oddly enough they work if I mirror my screen to my Apple TV the movie air plays.

 

[Populus]

I guess I won’t update my iPad (on iOS 13.3.1) until this is fixed, as I watch movies in MP4 from an external hard drive.

 

[mateytate]

Exactly the same problem here with a 2020 IPP 11. For me, it seems to be a soundtrack issue. If the movie has AAC surround track, it will not play.

If I convert to AC3 it will work OK, AAC 2-channel also work fine.

Is that what everyone else is finding?

 

[Populus]

I’m staying at 13.3.1, but if you can, report the issue. Let’s see if anyone on the 13.4.5 beta is having this issue...

Thank you everyone.

 

[mateytate]

I reported it. Hopefully it’ll get sorted in 13.4.5. At least I’m not travelling right now so can stream everything from my Plex server while I’m stuck at home!

 

[mateytate]

Still broken with 13.4.5 ?

 

[sparksd]

Not seeing this on a 10.5 Pro or 2018 12.9 Pro, both on 13.4.1. Can play locally-stored mp4's and streamed from NAS or PCs via SMB connections. Largest size I play is 8GB.

 

[tazdevl]

What app did you encode with? MP4 or m4v? Encoded with surround sound?

I mentioned earlier may be specific to certain devices. I know for certain it started as soon as I installed iOS 13.4 on my 2018 11” iPad Pro. Worked flawlessly with every version of iOS back to the beginning.

 

[Populus]

I can’t conceive having files unable to be played on a Mac. They all work, with one app or another. And with the iPad, some files won’t work... regardless of the app you use.

I haven’t tried with mine, and I’d like to update my iPad, but I don’t want to risk it.

 

[virbing]

I'm probably the one you see putting up the biggest stink on the Apple Support Boards. Content plays back fine in the TV app on my 2018 MBA. Plays fine in AVPlayerHD on the iPad Pro. Played fine in 13.3, but I had problems in 13.4 beta, so I went back to 13.3 and they played fine. Then when 13.4.1 (& now 13.4.5) came out, I went with the upgrade and now 13.3 isn't being signed so I can't downgrade. I am encoding on a Windows machine with VideoRedo (the source is HDHomeRun Connect and Prime boxes outputting raw mpeg2 streams) at times using the Intel QuickSync encoder on an older MacMini running Bootcamp and at times NVidiaGPU encoder on a PC with an i3-7100 (KabyLake) that runs the HDHomeRun software but considering it plays on all devices except the iPad (and even in the previous version and in another app on the iPad), I find it hard to believe that it is an encoding problem on my end.

There may be an issue with the audio channels. Going to 64bit has complicated things on the Mac side (the 64bit only core eliminated the ability to run QT7), but again, the content plays fine on the MBA. In the thread on the Apple boards, there is some anecdotal observations that 2ch content will playback and I have a 2ch clip that works on my iPad as well.

It really seems to be a bug in 13.4. I certainly hope this isn't some attempt by Apple to regulate video that can be transferred to the iPad. For now, I am transferring content to AVPlayerHD over the file transfer feature, but it is getting tiresome to not simply be able to use the iPad syncing capability.

I am trying some re-encodes in the latest version of Handbrake, with 2ch and 6ch AAC versions to see if either of those will work.

 

[tazdevl]

This bug was 100% introduced in iOS 13.4 and NOT FIXED in 13.4.1. I’ve had every iPad, upgraded to every version of iOS and every mp4 video played fine before the update.

Immediately after the update I got the error.

Did a dfu new device install to see if it was a bad install. Nope. Bug.

Apple would be stupid to the nth degree if they’re limiting content other than their own considering they’re being investigated for anticompetitive practices in multiple countries.

 

[sparksd]

This bug was 100% introduced in iOS 13.4 and NOT FIXED in 13.4.1. I’ve had every iPad, upgraded to every version of iOS and every mp4 video played fine before the update.

Immediately after the update I got the error.

Did a dfu new device install to see if it was a bad install. Nope. Bug.

Apple would be stupid to the nth degree if they’re limiting content other than their own considering they’re being investigated for anticompetitive practices in multiple countries.

I have a couple of thousand mp4 files I created myself - not Apple content - that work fine on 3 different devices on 13.4.1. If Apple is trying to limit content to their own, they are doing a poor job of it.

 

[tazdevl]

Not disagreeing but Apples reluctance/dragging their feet fixing this on a device intended for media consumption is pretty odd. Who knows how many people are affected by this. Ive got over 100 mp4s on my 11” iPad Pro and every one is impacted by this. They worked fine before 13.4 and keep in mind this bug messes up nPlayer and Infuse too.

Let’s be honest, people are stuck at home, are likely desperate for some entertainment and Apple is the only party who benefits from this “bug”.

 

[nebulabox]

I met this bug too.
The m4v file contains AAC 5.1 surround audio. All my other mp4s with AAC 2 channel audio can play well.
I attached a smaller video file and it can reproduce this issue.
Hope apple knew this issue and fixed asap.

 

[nebulabox]

My iPhone met this issue. However, iPad can play the same file well.

 

[MacCready]

I just bought a 2020 IPP 12.9 to replace my 2017 10.5 IPP. One of the main reasons I bought it was for mp4 play. I have a large collection of home movies almost all in mp4. Only one of the video players I normally use (It’s Playing) will even open a mp4 on my IPP. And even with It’s Playing the sound crackles loudly making all my videos unwatchable. I’ve been extremely happy with all my previous iPads having owned everything from the 2 on up. I never thought I would say this but I’m seriously considering returning my IPP to Apple because of this issue. Not fixing this major flaw through at least two updates is unacceptable for a premium product. I’d considered the LG Gram instead of the IPP. The Gram has no problem playing multiple video formats - mp4, avi, mkv, mov, etc.