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Plex Is Coming To Apple TV
sfcrazy writes: Apple announced that it is turning Apple TV into a platform, opening it up for third party developers. They have already published the beta of tvOS and tvOS SDK, which developers can play with. Which means Plex is now a possibility on Apple TV. The founder of Plex said, "There is no question we will be able to offer Plex on the platform. There are multiple ways to go about it, based on the tvOS SDK we now have access to. We are now evaluating the best path for Plex and will begin work in earnest once we have evaluated the options. The ability to access great and proven iOS frameworks on the device is great for developers like us — we know the stuff is solid and will perform really well. Our goal is to enable people to enjoy Plex on the hardware platforms of their choice, and there is no doubt this will be a top platform for us."
What the heck is Plex again?
I'm enjoying my zombardiocrackle right now and fail to mention what that is just to give you an idea of how I read that....
Does this mean something useful like Kodi will also be able to use the SDK?
Plex is a horrible interface. I have it running on my Amazon Firestick as a cleint and an imac as a server. The two constantly fail to find each other. I always end up restarting it on mac and rebooting the fire stick a couple of time before the content appears on the other. I used it as a way to show DVDs on my firestick. But it stinks. Now I use Emby media browser and it works like a charm every time. Emby is also free besides working better.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
"We have nothing new to offer this time round, so we're turning our existing offering into a... PLATFORM. w00t."
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
You called the article "dumb" because of your lack of knowledge? Interesting concept...
Not plex per se (I'm not a fan of where they took the project since late 2013) but I've always considered lack of support for local media to be a showstopper for Apple TV.
If I knew I could install something like Kodi or an emby client that could supply unrestricted access to my local content, I'd buy an Apple TV tomorrow.
Everyone knows TVs are one of the major enablers of illegally torrented video.
Fixed that for you.
Plex is a media manager. What media you choose to manage is up to you, just like what media you choose to watch is up to you.
And now, since it's Apple, my mom can Plex with only 1 finger! As soon as she learns what Plex is, and probably, maybe, English, she can use it very efficiently! Will that play her VHS tapes?
I wonder if this will be as big of a flop as their current iOS port that crashes after a few minutes of playing content.
Dumbass visiting tech site can't figure out how to use Google or Wikipedia upon encountering story about widely known software that is personally unknown to his dumb self.
Dice-sponsored film at 11.
Plex is a home media server, forked from XBMC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plex_(software)
Wikipedia says the server is "freemium" so I guess it's free but you can buy upgrades. There are apps for iOS and Android; the apps aren't free either. And there is some kind of cloud account you can get, and use for syncing your content across the Internet.
I've never heard of this before, but it seems worth checking out if you don't already have a media center solution.
Plex web site:
https://plex.tv/
Breakdown of what you can get for free vs. what costs:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/202526943-Plex-Free-vs-Paid
Reddit discussion of cost of Plex:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Chromecast/comments/2f9f0k/what_is_the_true_cost_of_plex/
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
This is excellent news for me. I have a Synology and a 10.6.8-based original Intel Mac Mini that just acts as an iTunes and Crashplan server. All my films converted from DVD/blu-ray are stored on the Synology, but I need iTunes running to be able to access it on the Apple TV. With this I should be able to use Plex on the Synology and remove the need for iTunes. Crashplan can also be made to run on a Synology, so I can completely eliminate the need for that Mac Mini.
With a few more apps, like Amazon Instant and BBC iPlayer, this thing could then completely cover what I do. One caveat - just please, please, please give me paid app options and not freebies with adverts in the UI.
When I got a chromecast, I did pay for the 4.99 app so that I could use it to stream to the chromecast. I was using Bubble UPnP + MxPlayer for android playback, but BubbleUPnPs chromecast support was limited. Now BubbleUpnP has it but requires a separate paid transcoding server, so I stuck with Plex across the board.
Paying for plex allows easy setup of across the internet streaming. I never needed that feature since I have a business class connection, static IP and VPN at home. When I am travelling, my devices llook like they are on my LAN anyway, so need to stream some other way out of my network.
The only issue I have had is that randomly (after days) the plex server program will stop responding and need a restart. That is easy enough to do, although I could probably post on their forums and look at the logs to determine why.
Silence is a state of mime.
I think Apple TV is over kill for what most people want in a entertainment device. Many just want a streaming device and not a full blown device that runs apps and other crap. If your into gaming your going to buy a PS4 or Xbox of some kind. Apple is trying to exploit the Apple TV to sell apps and other Apple products but they fail to keep the price inline with other devices. Unless your married to Apple your not going to spend $150 to stream Netflix. Your going to buy a USB stick and/or a Roku like device for less. The whole Siri voice search is gimmicky and has really failed to live up to its hype. Apple unfortunately seems to be stuck in a rut of gimmicky stuff rather then revolutionary products.
And about too fucking late. With A-Fire and Roku being 1/2 the cost and Chromecast being 1/3 the cost of the cheaper v3, and not requiring a secure cert hack and hijack of another app, or jailbreaking of an old model, I've put them on all the other TVs.
Apple needs to bring more to the party. Like a la carte cable channels. That would be "One More Thing..." that would make me drop the cash.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You called the article "dumb" because of your lack of knowledge? Interesting concept...
Not a difficult concept. Articles are supposed to transfer knowledge from people who know it to people who don't, and summary articles, in particular, are supposed to let everybody quickly decide whether they are interested enough to read on. If everybody knew everything we wouldn't need articles. Things that don't do what they are designed to do are dumb.
The "Version 1.25 of Qxwrple launched" pathology is common on Slashdot and really should be something high on editors and article submitters checklist. (At least in this case you only need to read as far as the second paragraph in TFA to get a clue as to what Plex does).
Of course, some judgement is required - this is a tech website after all - but there's a distinction between expecting the audience to know technical terms and expecting them to recognise every tech product name.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
I had never heard of it before getting a Samsung Smart TV and since I didn't actually get the 51" Plasma to watch broadcast television, I had to find a way to stream my media from a server, without actually having a laptop next to the TV. Anyway, I looked up possible technologies and DLNA that the TV supported seemed the best solution. After I painfully found out DLNA in practice is riddled with problems, I went back to google and Plex came up. A free Plex Media Sever was installed on the Mac Pro, an also free client was installed on the Smart TV, et voila, streaming with full support of any format I had, multiple audio & subtitle streams, plus excellent library organization (it recognizes your media, shows covers/meta data, even downloads subtitles automatically with the proper plugin).
I also got a chromecast dongle at some point and I use it to send some browser video streams to the TV, but for two years now Plex has served me very well. If you have a platform, like a Smart TV/Smart Bluray etc where the Plex client is free, definitely give it a try.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
Roku validated the open channel (app) model. Looks like Apple is jealous of Roku's success and decided to copy their model.
Apple has very few original ideas.
After I painfully found out DLNA in practice is riddled with problems, I went back to google and Plex came up.
For people who cannot install Plex and must use DLNA, there is PS3MediaServer, a transcoding DLNA server for major operating systems.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
There are so many of these little HTPC-wannabe computers, but not a single damn one of them is nearly as good. And with every passing year, it just keeps getting easier and cheaper to build the HTPC. (Just what do you think Apple, Roku, etc are doing?) Even just a decade ago, making machines fanless and quiet was a somewhat serious topic that took some research and care. Now you barely have to think about it, because it's so easy. Instead of acquiring technical debt to get yourself dependent on proprietary services (e.g. iTunes) and then also ending up with something that doesn't even work as nicely, just fucking do it.
You don't need Plex. You don't need any DLNA nonsense at all. (My server has two DLNA/UPNP daemons running, but in practice they're just idling and never really used by any client.) Here's the key: NFS. (Or Samba if that's your style, but NFS is actually easier.) Your HTPC uses NFS to get files from the server. You run a file manager (Thunar or whatever) and play with mpv. And then you use the awesome and best and easiest remote control that anyone's ever invented: the wireless scrollwheel mouse. So many people try to top the mouse, and they never do it.
(We could have a huge thread about that alone: the comical failure of a coffee table with 4 IR remotes on it, compared to a mouse.)
Yes, it will initially cost more than the budget stuff like AppleTV or WD Live or Roku (or whatever Google's failure du jour is; I haven't kept up with them), but it won't need to be replaced in two years and it'll be way more capable and never let you down. Your server will never need to transcode, because mpv will Just Fucking Work with whatever you throw at it, and then play back at the very best quality than is possible.
(All that said, if you simply must use one of these budget HTPC replacements, WD Live towers above the rest.)
Stop cutting corners, people. Everything gets easier and better when you don't. And I'm pretty sure that if you stay away from the proprietary services, it eventually gets cheaper too, the couple hundred extra dollars of hardware eventually paying for itself.
I've been running Plex on a Mac Mini for about 5years now. Great software, easy interface and optimized for controlling with an apple remote control (silver 3 button, not white 2 button) or iphone app. I have it connected via HDMI directly to my receiver and GigE to my LAN. All my content I keep on a NAS array in the corner.
I actually bought the mac mini specifically for Plex as at the time windows and linux support was kinda weak. Now they've got plex running in TVs and other devices.
What this announcement shows, is that players like Roku need to be VERY afraid.
Say all you want about the fact that the new Apple TV specs wise is ho hum (and I'd agree with you), but the fact of the matter is that all those people who are familiar with Xcode development and the IOS APIs now can develop for tvOS.
What that means is that in a VERY short amount of time the number of apps will go from zero to crazy in no time at all. Roku has struggled for a LONG time to get a good set of apps for people to use. There are hardly that many games for Roku (the major ones though like Angry Birds are there) and everything else are screensavers, streaming channels or Church apps (for the most part).
Say what you want about how the Apple TV sucks, the fact that millions of Xcode developers for IOS can develop for it means it will pretty much sink companies like Roku.
I left the iTunes Apple TV world for a Synology box running plex and Amazon Fire TVs running the Plex client. I got tired of encoding all my media in a format that iTunes was happy with and I got really tired of having to restart iTunes.
Apple is trying to do what Roku and Amazon Fire TV have been doing for a few years now....big surprise.
I'm not getting all the hate for Plex. Plex is amazing.
It's not just a media server. It's a full-blown server and media management and distribution system akin to running your own Netflix. I paid the one-time lifetime pass and it's been totally worth it. We stream to many Rokus, computers and Android devices amongst my household and immediate family.
Having paid for the PlexPass, all the clients I add to my Plex Home group are free so users don't have to pay for each client. I run it on a 6-disc FreeNAS RAIDZ2 system that has enough CPU horsepower to run Plex Server right on the NAS itself. The system is beautiful and amazingly capable. Just drop any old video file on, and Plex handles everything else: metadata, posters, trailers, organization, and any necessary transcoding to play any type of video file onto any client regardless of its capabilities.
I know Emby is popular because it's open-source, and perhaps some parts of it are better than Plex (I've never used Emby). But the reviews I've seen put them pretty close to each other, with often Plex having a slight edge overall. But probably ultimately depends on what you're doing with it and what features matter to you.
Anyone who flat out hates Plex probably doesn't understand how it's really supposed to be used and what needs it's meant to address. It's easy to hate the perfect screwdriver if you're trying to use it as a hammer.
Pay for access from your I phone. I thought it would be. I set up Zina to serve my Music it is free It just dont work with the latest database so you have to instal an older version For me I rewrote the code to make it work but not well enough for others to use.
Older sql works just fine.
Apple TV? That still a thing? And what ever Plex is. I guess the 13 people, that have an Apple TV will be happy for something new.
Yeah, more like 25 MILLION. And that was BEFORE the new model came out.
Sad that there are that many stupid people still allowed to walk around unattended in public.
Sad that there are that many stupid people still allowed to walk around unattended in public.
I know; but there might still be hope for those like you yet.