I agree this is one of the really neat things about PLex. Most of my friends/family have Chromecast and i can access any video source on my home server from my iPhone when visiting and Cast it to their TV using the chrome cast.
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Hands-On With the New Plex App for the Apple TV
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Can you go from the NAS straight to the Apple TV using Plex? I don't want to have to use my computer at all.
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That would be where Kodi would come in - whereas Plex is entirely client/server Kodi is designed connect to a SMB or NFS share and play from there. On the AppleTV it depends on how stripped-down the promised stripped-down AppleTV version of Kodi (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/kodi-coming-to-apple-tv-4.1934631/) turns out to be in terms of what networks it can connect to and what video formats it can play.
The point of Plex is that either:
(a) If you don't need transcoding, run the Plex server on your network disk (a number of NASs support it)
(b) If you do need transcoding, don't use a networked disc with a feeble processor, run a home server with enough power for transcoding (you don't need a super-high-power CPU - just something with a bit more oomph than the cheaper NAS boxes) that also serves as your networked storage/backup. Ideal job for a second-hand Mac Mini or a cheap Linux box. You could build a full-blown media PC and connect that directly to your TV (that's what I've got at the moment) but totally silent, small, air-cooled options that you'd happily display in your lounge are rather expensive...
...also, plex's plugins are installed on the server so you can install what you like, whereas with Kodi you'll always be restricted to what they can get past the App Store regs.
I have both, but I find Air Video Server
1. Chokes completely on h.265 files that Plex handles easily
2. Makes loud noises every minute or so when playing MPEG2 files from Eye TV
and most maddeningly of all,
3. Will not let you turn off subtitles by default. Pretty much everything I have includes subtitles, but are English-language audio, so I have no need for subtitles on 95% of my files. Obviously other people need subtitles on all the time, and it is simple enough to accommodate everyone - Plex does it, Kodi does it.
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You ideal solution will also require ideal file formats, Something I gave up on long time ago. Converting files to the right format is to much a waste of time.
With a Macmini ~$400 used, it just sits there. Goes to sleep after a few mins, turns on automatically when you need it. It is almost invisible.
If you have iPhones or Apple TV's in your system you will never be able to do without one or the other.
My mini automatically downloads all my shows and puts them into their folder, Plex reads them and has it ready for me on deck. All I ever have to do is hit play. No more converting files
Not quite directly - it repackages them into an MP4 format that Apple devices can handle, and if necessary transcodes the audio (which is super quick). The video is left untouched.
Yes, if you run the plex server off your NAS. If you do this, either make sure all your files are in a format that supports direct play on the Apple TV (h.264), or spend a lot of money on a NAS that has a nice fast CPU for transcoding purposes.
I downloaded SimpleX day 1 and have also tried the Plex app. I think SimpleX has a far cleaner interface and was worth my $3. The tvOS version of Plex uses a mixed thumbnail format (wide and tall thumbnails) that feels really choppy instead of the posters only format that SimpleX uses. The only reason I'm keeping the tvOS Plex app is for the rare chance that I want to access the channels section of Plex to use some of the back channel unofficial apps.
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I tried using my NAS Synology DS213+ (512MB), But it couldn’t handle it, I have my Mac mini on mostly so I changed to that, and use my NAS as Storage device, so far so good
This is what I do as well with a DS212j. The mac mini is the perfect server, its power consumption is ridiculously low.
I think the big issue here is you put it on a NAS box. Most NAS boxes, do not have the horse power to do a transcode on the fly without buffering. Once I installed the server on a i5 machine it has been bliss ever since. I was running it originally on a QNAP 412+ and plex was having issues. Lots of buffering and lots of stops with a blu-ray rip.
I have over three hundred movies and have zero issues since I moved it off my NAS box.
The recommendations do not bother me, but I can see where it would annoy folks.
Couldn't agree more. Plex has all the glitz & glamour with the nice artwork, Rotten Tomatoes reviews, & organization but Air Video HD/TV is very minimalistic, much easier to setup, & the tvOS app includes Parental Controls built right in.
Don't get me wrong, I've been pleased with Plex for years, but now it's on a platform where I need it most (tvOS), I need the Parental Control feature for my kids. Keep all media separate & organize it myself.
The same Parental Controls features are in the tvOS app as in any other Plex Home setup. User switching and prompt for user/PIN upon startup are right there in the Settings.
If it's an unwillingness to pay for Plex Pass, well, that's a perfectly valid personal choice, but Plex hasn't suddenly removed access to features from "where [you] need it most".
Bummer, I guess I'll try it out on my NAS. But I dislike that you need to have a constant running server on a device. Most of the time my Mac is booted into Windows or asleep when I'm not working on it. Maybe I'll just look into the best DLNA apps for the Apple TV.
It's a recently known-issue. It'll be fixed soon, but you can make it work now if you want. If you just moved around agents, that isn't enough. It's a bug that only affects non-PlexPass subscribers. You need to click the gear-icon for Freebase within the Movie Agent's settings and uncheck the 'Find Trailers and Extras' option -- it defaults to being checked. The bug was recently discovered by a user. The feature is only available to Pass members, and having it turned on is interfering with IMDB/RT working for free users, it will apparently be fixed soon -- but if you want it now, that's how
I've no clue myself as well. But I'm not making this up. I don't mind it that much, the subtitles does work now. My biggest complain however would be iCloud. It's simply a mess. I need to download all the pictures first in order to browse quickly trough the photo's. If I don't download all the pictures first from one album the I need to wait for each single image to pop up.
And no, it's not about my internet speed, that's 210mbit download.
I can browser quickly once all the pictures have been downloaded. The problem tough, Apple TV doesn't remember the photo's, it doesn't store them internally which means in practice that I need to do the whole thing over and over after each restart.
The quickest way is the old fashion way, using the stored photo's on my iPad and stream them directly to Apple TV, the delay time when passing on to the next photo is almost nothing then.
Don't get me wrong, Apple TV is nice and it has lot's of potential, but it needs a lot of work still; understatement.
Sounds like it's frustrating you more than being a product you find useful -- maybe return it and get a Roku 4 or FireTV2 instead...
Does anyone know if you need to put your media files into iTunes to use PLEX or can I maintain them on my NAS in a standard directory, then simply point the PLEX app on Apple TV to stream them?
The main reason I never went with Apple TV in the past was the need to use the iTunes database...#notinterested
The main reason I never went with Apple TV in the past was the need to use the iTunes database...#notinterested
I did but it does not describe the setup requirements of where the media needs to live...in iTunes or anywhere accessible by the Plex server.
Plex doesn't involve iTunes in any way. At their support site is a chart with different NAS models listed and their capabilities with Plex. Using the Plex client requires running Plex Media Server somewhere, which you can point at a NAS -- but some NAS models aren't as capable. You might try Infuse as well.
Interesting thread.
I have a question. I am about to buy a new smart TV and an ATV4. I already have a TimeCapsule which has a network media drive attached and lots of movie files.
Can I use AT4 Plex app to access my media on the network drive that is plugged into Time Capsule?
I have a question. I am about to buy a new smart TV and an ATV4. I already have a TimeCapsule which has a network media drive attached and lots of movie files.
Can I use AT4 Plex app to access my media on the network drive that is plugged into Time Capsule?