An Apple TV bug is muting some purchased and rented movies

Some folks who buy or rent movies on Apple TV are running into a major issue when they watch films through the app. Occasionally, flicks are playing without audio, according to 9to5 Mac. The bug is reportedly affecting various systems that support the TV app, including smart TVs, the Apple TV device and other streaming devices, such as Roku sticks and Chromecast with Google TV. The issue seems to have been occurring for at least the last month.

The cause of the issue is unclear. 9to5 Mac speculates the TV app may not be decoding the audio track correctly due to a problem with digital rights management (DRM). According to the report, users have been having mixed success when requesting refunds due to the issue — Apple seemingly hasn't fulfilled all such requests from customers, though it's not clear why. Engadget has contacted Apple for comment.

Whatever the cause of the problem, it's undoubtedly frustrating to spend money to rent or buy a film only to find you're missing out on a significant proportion of the experience. If you do encounter this problem, it might be worth connecting your Apple account to Movies Anywhere and see if the movies you bought on the iTunes Store play correctly there.