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feracuffz61

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 28, 2012
10
0
Hey Everyone,
I have a large collection of movies on my iMac. I use Plex media center to organize them and I love it. I'm going to buy a new TV soon and I want to be able to play these movies on my television without disconnecting my external HD and reconnecting to a TV.
Is there a certain type of Television I should buy for this?
I don't know much about Apple TV, is that what i need?
Would it come with a media center similar to Plex?
Is there a way to stream Plex to a TV?

Basically just want my movies accessible from both my iMac and on a TV, without having to reconnect, with a good looking media manager. Can anyone share their skills? Thanks in advance!

Im running 10.6.8 on my iMac.
Thanks!
 

maturola

macrumors 68040
Oct 29, 2007
3,863
3
Atlanta, GA
1)LG Smart TV have build in Plex Client...

2)You can use Roku Box (from $49 to $99), and there is an Official Plex Channel (Client).

3) You could*** use the Apple TV (*** It need to be Jailbroken, and it is not an official software, so it required some hacking and maintenance)

4) You can get an HTPC and use it as your main hub of media, so it will server your TV, your Mac and any other device on the house.

My personal recommendation... is the LG TV first (since you are shopping for one), and the Roku box second.
 

waw74

macrumors 601
May 27, 2008
4,659
937
3) You could*** use the Apple TV (*** It need to be Jailbroken, and it is not an official software, so it required some hacking and maintenance)

small note on this one, you'd need a jailbroken aTV, and as of now Plex doesn't run on the latest aTV software even if it's jailbroken. and the aTV3 is yet to be jailbroken, so you'd have to find an aTV2 that's already jailbroken and running version 4.4.4.

now that 5.0 has been jailbroken, the devs are working on getting plex functional on it.

--------
you could use an unjailbroken aTV, but your files would all have to be in the correct format. and in the iTunes library.
or if you have an iPad/iPhone, you can use the plex client on those to send the video to any aTV using airplay, but you have to leave the player open on the phone to make it work.

-----
speaking of correct format...

for the plex clients (pretty much all non-computer so aTV, roku, LG) , if the file format you're trying to play isn't supported, the server (your iMac) will convert the files on the fly to something that is supported. which might slow down your iMac if you're trying to do use the computer for something that requires a lot of processor while watching a video that has to be converted.
 

mikepro

macrumors 6502
Sep 3, 2010
453
61
There is also a Plex client you can install on most Samsung TV's, bluray players, etc.

My advice: Adding Plex to any TV is fairly simple and cheap (Roku box or it may already be built in). Don't let it influence your TV decision in any significant way. Get the TV you like best with best picture quality and price, and these is always a way to add Plex.

My recommendations: Get a Panasonic or Samsung Plasma TV for best picture quality.
 
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