Stream iTunes DRM M4V Videos via Roku

Q: Recently, I am very trouble for that I have purchased a big screen HD TV, but I met some obstacles when I imported movies and TV shows purchased from iTunes store. I was denied to access to play iTunes purchases and rentals on my new HD TV. When surfing the Internet, I found that I can only do that via Apple TV. But I have received a Roku media player from my son as the gift of the coming Thanksgiving Day. I don’t want to purchase Apple TV for wasting money, so I wonder whether there is a tutorial for me to watch iTunes movies on TV via Roku, since it have various functions as Apple TV?

The Roku Streaming Player (also known as Roku) is a series of digital media player set-top boxes manufactured by Roku, Inc. A Roku streaming device gets data (the video stream) via a wired or Wi-Fi connection to an Internet router. Then it can be connected to any television set (or other video display device) with appropriate input connections in order to stream content from Amazon Video, BBC iPlayer, Google Play Movies & TV, HBO Go, Hulu, Netflix, and other online media streaming services. But you are not able to make iTunes videos playable on Roku directly. But please don’t worry. By doing a few tricks, you can play iTunes videos on your TV via Roku without Apple TV. In this article, I will introduce the best approach for you to stream iTunes purchases and rentals, including movies and TV shows, music videos, and more to Roku for watching them on TV.

Part 1. Best iTunes Movie to Roku Converter Tool

The reason why Roku doesn't support iTunes videos is because Apple applies DRM technology to protect the media items sold in iTunes Store. Thus only Apple's iOS devices and Apple TV are allowed to play those DRM-protected files. So in order to make iTunes movies compatible with Roku media player, we only need to find out a solution to get rid of the DRM lock from iTunes movies and TV shows. Here we meet iTunes Media Converter for Windows/iTunes MediaConverter for Mac, an all-around iTunes DRM removal tool that can losslessly remove DRM protection from rented and purchased iTunes videos. As Roku only supports playing media files with H.264/AVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV) formats, DRmare M4V Converter will also help you convert the protected iTunes videos from M4V to MP4, MOV, etc.

Part 2. How to Remove DRM from iTunes Movies to Play with Roku

The following is a detailed tutorial about how to remove iTunes FairPlay DRM and convert the purchased or rented iTunes movies/TV series to Roku compatible MP4 format using DRmare M4V Converter for Mac. Please make sure you have downloaded and installed the free version of this smart iTunes video converter on your computer before getting started.

Step 1Add iTunes Movies/TV Shows

After launching DRmare iTunes to Roku Converter, you can either drag the files from iTunes library folder to the program, or add the iTunes videos by clicking 'Add' button within the conversion window.

Step 2Choose Output Format

To stream iTunes movies on Roku, you can simply click the 'Format' bar and choose "Lossless MP4" from the profile list. As the name suggests, it will losslessly retain the original quality of the iTunes movies and TV shows, including the AC3 5.1 surround sound, AAC, CC, AC, etc.

Step 3Convert iTunes M4V to MP4 for Roku

When everything is done, simply click the 'Convert' button to start converting your iTunes videos to Roku supported MP4 format. Once converted, you can click the history panel to locate those well converted DRM-free iTunes videos before streaming them to Roku.

How to Stream and Play Converted iTunes Movies on Roku

1. Stream iTunes Movies to Roku via iOS devices

If you are trying to play the iTunes movies on Roku via iOS devices, you need to download Roku player app from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/roku/id482066631?mt=8 and install it on your iOS devices. Then connect your iOS device to the same network with your Roku player. Last, begin to stream the iTunes movies without DRM directly via Roku player app.

2. Play Converted iTunes Videos on Roku with Plex Media Server/XBMC

In order to stream iTunes videos to Roku, you should to install Plex or XBMC on your Mac. Taken Plex as example, you should install Plex Media Server on your Mac, and then you can choose the all videos on your computer with its detection function. Now, you can install Plex Channel on your Roku account and configure it on Roku. Congratulations! It’s time for you to play iTunes videos on Roku as you like.