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Hands-On With the New Plex App for the Apple TV

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Apr 12, 2001
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Earlier this week, Plex released its highly anticipated app for the tvOS App Store, making Plex officially available on the Apple TV for the first time. Given Plex's popularity, we decided to check out the new app and do a quick video overview for those who might be interested in getting a new Apple TV to use with Plex.

Plex is a media server and personal library that's able to organize the media stored on your computer, like videos, TV shows, music, and stream that content to iOS devices, the Apple TV, and other set-top boxes.

When you install Plex and let it organize your content, it'll add artwork to movies, TV shows, and music, along with information like cast members, plot summaries, and Rotten Tomatoes ratings. On the Apple TV, this turns into a nicely organized media library that largely resembles iTunes or Netflix.

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Plex has been available for a long time on set-top devices like the Chromecast and the Fire TV, but it has not previously been available on older versions of the Apple TV in an official capacity. Those who have jailbroken an Apple TV in the past have been able to unofficially install the Plex software.

The Plex app for the Apple TV can be downloaded from the tvOS App Store. The app is free to download, and unlike the iOS version does not require a $4.99 in-app purchase or Plex Pass subscription to unlock functionality. Apple TV and iOS App Store apps are universal, so if you've already downloaded the app for iOS, it can be found in the Purchases section of the tvOS App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Hands-On With the New Plex App for the Apple TV
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/06/plex-app-for-new-apple-tv/
treborn

treborn

macrumors newbie
Mar 20, 2014
20
23
Salem, Oregon
I havent gotten the new ATV yet, but on the old one I just use Home Sharing. All my media is on an old macbook connected. Doesn't the new apple TV do this? And PLEX essentially does the same thing. I thought only ROKU users used Plex since they dont have iTunes or Home Sharing.


hmm.
 
F

fred_garvin

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2003
101
22
treborn said:
I havent gotten the new ATV yet, but on the old one I just use Home Sharing. All my media is on an old macbook connected. Doesn't the new apple TV do this? And PLEX essentially does the same thing. I thought only ROKU users used Plex since they dont have iTunes or Home Sharing.


hmm.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have the new one now and it does the home sharing just like the old one.

Does this plex app let you stream from a NAS instead of a machine running iTunes? Does it support many more media formats?
 
oneMadRssn

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,976
13,988
breather said:
Yeah, you should really go with the Air Video tvOS App of you want something easier and quicker.
Click to expand...

Cool, I haven't heard of this before. Looks neat, but not a lot of info on their website? Does it automatically find artwork and descriptions, like Plex?
 
chinito77

chinito77

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2015
205
270
Japan
Plex just didn't live up to my expectations. I installed it on my NAS and only asked it to share out one folder. It goes and catalogs everything which is mess. I'm not a fan of it's slow buffer speed and recommendations littered about.

I would highly recommend Air Video HD over Plex, even with the $4 cost. It has a very simple interface which allows for quick browsing and playback. It can play more file types than Plex and every type of subtitle, something I was surprised Plex can't do.

Plex sure does look better and has some nice extra features but if you have lots of movies that need subtitles and loads up files in an instant, I would recommend Air Video HD.
 
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chinito77

chinito77

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2015
205
270
Japan
oneMadRssn said:
Cool, I haven't heard of this before. Looks neat, but not a lot of info on their website? Does it automatically find artwork and descriptions, like Plex?
Click to expand...
No, unfortunately, it just grabs a screenshot of the show/movie. This is what makes Plex prettier but at a cost of lag when browsing through folders.
 
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budselectjr

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2009
1,006
1,851
Minnesota
chinito77 said:
Plex just didn't live up to my expectations. I installed it on my NAS and only asked it to share out one folder. It goes and catalogs everything which is mess. I'm not a fan of it's slow buffer speed and recommendations littered about.

I would highly recommend Air Video HD over Plex, even with the $4 cost. It has a very simple interface which allows for quick browsing and playback. It can play more file types than Plex and every type of subtitle, something I was surprised Plex can't do.

Plex sure does look better and has some nice extra features but if you have lots of movies that need subtitles and loads up files in an instant, I would recommend Air Video HD.
Click to expand...

Your problem is running Plex Server on a NAS with a slow processor.
 
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xieem

xieem

macrumors member
Oct 7, 2014
32
2
Brussels
Or you pinch out a few more bucks for a NAS in the upper range (like DS415+ for example). And wire your network (or proper wireless). No problems at all.
 
S

Speedy2

macrumors 65816
Nov 19, 2008
1,163
254
I'm running a Plex server on my Synology 1-bay Gigabit NAS without any problems. Indexing can take a little while if you add a lot of files, but that usually takes place at night, so I'm not bothered.
 
grundoon

grundoon

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2013
92
46
fred_garvin said:
Does this plex app let you stream from a NAS instead of a machine running iTunes? Does it support many more media formats?
Click to expand...

It streams from anything running Plex Media Server. Could be a NAS, or a Mac, or Windows, Linux, FreeBSD. Might be on a system also running iTunes, or not.

As for formats, if FFMPEG can transcode it, it'll (probably) play. Without having to pre-transcode (as importing non-native formats into iTunes requires). I can't think of the last time I had to use HandBrake... just noticed I don't even have it installed on El Capitan (which means it wasn't on Yosemite either).
 
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Analog Kid

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
8,854
11,367
I've never had a complaint about speed with Plex-- so I'm really happy to see it on ATV.

Despite claims of "more formats supported", I can't find a list. I store all my Plex files as MKV to retain quality. The Air Video website has essentially zero information, but it looks to me like AV is for folks who just want to share a folder of videos across the network, and Plex caters more to those who want to maintain a library. Plex also transcodes on the fly depending on the source format and destination capabilities.

AV seems to have built in support for offline viewing-- I think Plex still requires a "membership" for that feature.

I've been a little put off by the move to this Plex Pass stuff-- I'm not a fan of recurring payments... So far it's contained, but I hope they slowly raise the pressure to buy in.
 
jm001

jm001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2011
596
123
fred_garvin said:
Yes, I have the new one now and it does the home sharing just like the old one.

Does this plex app let you stream from a NAS instead of a machine running iTunes? Does it support many more media formats?
Click to expand...

You don't need iTunes for Plex. I use Plex on my ATV 3rd gens and I find it way more easier to use than iTunes and this is a workaround! With Plex now officially supported on the ATV I'm gonna have to go out and get me the new ATVs.
 
fhall1

fhall1

macrumors 68040
Dec 18, 2007
3,823
1,249
(Central) NY State of mind
I can't wait for Infuse for the ATV to become available http://firecore.com/blog ....Plex is a sub-optimal solution in that you need something else running as the Plex "server". With Infuse there's no need for a "server" on any machine - just stream right off your NAS. If the app runs as well on the ATV as it does on the iPad it'll be well worth the money.
 
C

camnchar

macrumors 6502
Jan 26, 2006
434
415
Speedy2 said:
I'm running a Plex server on my Synology 1-bay Gigabit NAS without any problems. Indexing can take a little while if you add a lot of files, but that usually takes place at night, so I'm not bothered.
Click to expand...

Make sure all your files are encoded so that you can direct play them. Do not try to transcode on that NAS.
 
nutmac

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,051
7,306
camnchar said:
Plex is super speedy running on a Mac Mini as the server and the Apple TV 4 as the client (my Synology NAS just acts as storage). Using a NAS as your server is always a bad idea.
Click to expand...
What are the benefits of Plex running on Mac mini over iTunes running on Mac mini?

I currently use iFlicks 2 to transcode/encode DVD and BD library to iTunes running on Mac mini. The setup works great because Siri can search over iTunes library. I don't think Siri works over Plex yet.
 
M

monty77

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2005
594
173
UK, South Coast
Plex is much more than just a home media server .. playing all your media over the internet via pretty much any device with an internet connection is nothing short of incredible. Media sync is great too, although this is a plex pass only feature I believe.
 
grundoon

grundoon

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2013
92
46
Analog Kid said:
I've been a little put off by the move to this Plex Pass stuff-- I'm not a fan of recurring payments... So far it's contained, but I hope they slowly raise the pressure to buy in.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as I suspected I eventually would, I regret not jumping on the $75 lifetime pass deal.
 
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