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firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Infuse 3.2 with Google Cast and more is now available!

infuse-32-cast.png


Dust off your Chromecast or Nexus Player - Google Cast streaming has arrived! With Google Cast, you can stream your favorite content from your iPhone or iPad to any TV that has a Cast device attached.

Keep in mind this is a beta feature, and while we work to perfect the Google Cast experience, we wanted to let you join in the fun. Plus, if you have time to share your feedback it will assist us greatly in making Infuse even better! Google Cast (beta) is available to Infuse Pro users, and can be enabled in the Infuse sidebar settings menu.

Plus even more...
  • Stream from FTP/SFTP sources
  • Stream/download from direct web URLs
  • Support for styled SSA/ASS subtitles
  • Better handling of TV shows downloaded from shares
  • Improved stability when browsing SMB shares
  • Fixed cover art while AirPlaying
  • Fixed subtitle timing offsets
  • trakt related improvements
  • Many other minor imrovements and fixes
Download
http://apps.firecore.com/infuse
 
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Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
Infuse 3.2 with Google Cast and more is now available!

Image

Dust off your Chromecast or Nexus Player - Google Cast streaming has arrived! With Google Cast, you can stream your favorite content from your iPhone or iPad to any TV that has a Cast device attached.

Keep in mind this is a beta feature, and while we work to perfect the Google Cast experience, we wanted to let you join in the fun. Plus, if you have time to share your feedback it will assist us greatly in making Infuse even better! Google Cast (beta) is available to Infuse Pro users, and can be enabled in the Infuse sidebar settings menu.

Plus even more...
  • Stream from FTP/SFTP sources
  • Stream/download from direct web URLs
  • Support for styled SSA/ASS subtitles
  • Better handling of TV shows downloaded from shares
  • Improved stability when browsing SMB shares
  • Fixed cover art while AirPlaying
  • Fixed subtitle timing offsets
  • trakt related improvements
  • Many other minor imrovements and fixes
Download
http://apps.firecore.com/infuse


I've been looking for an app that can play MKV (H.264) for quite a while, but the app store is riddled with cheap, buggy and just plainly terrible apps. You seem to be serious though (since you support DTS-HD licensing) and from the looks of it one of the best media playback-apps out there.

How well does an iPhone 6 fare when it plays MKV (H.264)? Does it play 1080p without any hiccups and does the phone get hot after a while? Too hot would probably affect the battery and make it deteriorate faster over time.
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
I've been looking for an app that can play MKV (H.264) for quite a while, but the app store is riddled with cheap, buggy and just plainly terrible apps. You seem to be serious though (since you support DTS-HD licensing) and from the looks of it one of the best media playback-apps out there.

How well does an iPhone 6 fare when it plays MKV (H.264)? Does it play 1080p without any hiccups and does the phone get hot after a while? Too hot would probably affect the battery and make it deteriorate faster over time.

For the most part, the iPhone 6 (and even most older devices) handle 1080p h.264 videos flawlessly. Infuse will use HW decoding whenever possible which provides smoother playback and prevents the CPU from working too hard - which results in much battery battery life.

The free version of Infuse is actually quite capable, so you can test out 1080p playback before upgrading to Pro. A few sample 1080p files can be found at the link below.

https://peach.blender.org/download/
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
For the most part, the iPhone 6 (and even most older devices) handle 1080p h.264 videos flawlessly. Infuse will use HW decoding whenever possible which provides smoother playback and prevents the CPU from working too hard - which results in much battery battery life.

The free version of Infuse is actually quite capable, so you can test out 1080p playback before upgrading to Pro. A few sample 1080p files can be found at the link below.

https://peach.blender.org/download/

So I assume the phone doesn't get too hot during use?

I'll look into it, thanks!

How does it work if I upgrade to Pro within the free version? Will it prompt me to download the Pro version?
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
So I assume the phone doesn't get too hot during use?

I'll look into it, thanks!

How does it work if I upgrade to Pro within the free version? Will it prompt me to download the Pro version?

Right, it should stay pretty cool - just as if you were playing a video through the normal iOS Videos app.

There are 2 ways to get Pro. You can upgrade via In-App purchase, or download the standalone paid app. Each will be the same price, contain the same exact features, and are updated at the same time - so either way works.
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
Right, it should stay pretty cool - just as if you were playing a video through the normal iOS Videos app.

There are 2 ways to get Pro. You can upgrade via In-App purchase, or download the standalone paid app. Each will be the same price, contain the same exact features, and are updated at the same time - so either way works.

So unless this is some company secret of some sort, how does your software decoding work? I know iTunes supports H.264, but there's no official support for it in the videos app (hence we can't drag and drop content in H.264 to watch it). And H.265 is only limited for FaceTime.

I see. Well I'm honestly intrigued and just want a simple way to transfer videos to my phone wirelessly in an easy way. I assume using the browser would be the easiest one?
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
So unless this is some company secret of some sort, how does your software decoding work? I know iTunes supports H.264, but there's no official support for it in the videos app (hence we can't drag and drop content in H.264 to watch it). And H.265 is only limited for FaceTime.

I see. Well I'm honestly intrigued and just want a simple way to transfer videos to my phone wirelessly in an easy way. I assume using the browser would be the easiest one?

h.264 is supported in the normal videos app, but it will be limited to iTunes spec files, meaning everything needs to be an mp4 or m4v and have AAC audio.

I won't get too detailed, but Infuse is able to expand the window of file types that are supported while maintaining the battery efficient decoding that is built into the native iOS Videos app. Plus, Infuse provides flexible options for getting videos onto your device or streaming them from other sources.
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
I won't get too detailed, but Infuse is able to expand the window of file types that are supported while maintaining the battery efficient decoding that is built into the native iOS Videos app. Plus, Infuse provides flexible options for getting videos onto your device or streaming them from other sources.

So would I technically get approximately the same amount of hours watching video through your app as I would get watching an HD movie from iTunes? That's my last question! :p
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland

Does my phone need to stay in the "browser" window in order for the file to upload? Just went back to "add files" and it stopped so I assume that's the case?

Is there any way to remove cache, since I assume Infuse will cache some metadata etc?

Edit: Well I didn't read step 4, where it obviously does. I guess that will delete the transfer.

It does say connection lost even though I'm done. I guess I should just close the tab and ignore that?

What's the fastest way to transfer video clips? Using browser or the "file sharing" which is apparently through iTunes?
 
Last edited:

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Does my phone need to stay in the "browser" window in order for the file to upload? Just went back to "add files" and it stopped so I assume that's the case?

Is there any way to remove cache, since I assume Infuse will cache some metadata etc?

Edit: Well I didn't read step 4, where it obviously does. I guess that will delete the transfer.

It does say connection lost even though I'm done. I guess I should just close the tab and ignore that?

What's the fastest way to transfer video clips? Using browser or the "file sharing" which is apparently through iTunes?

Absolute fastest would be to connect a sync cable and transfer via iTunes. As long as you have a decent Wi-Fi connection browser transfers will be pretty zippy as well.

There is an option to clear fetched metadata in the Infuse sidebar Settings menu.

Wanted to play something but I couldn't since it required me to update. I guess it's using Dolby Audio.

Can't find a way to download the H.264 clips from that link.
Possibly. The Pro feature you're trying to use will be listed at the top of the popup window. E.G. 'Pro Feature: Dolby Audio'

Here's a direct link to a clip you can try.
http://cl.ly/Zkyf
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
Absolute fastest would be to connect a sync cable and transfer via iTunes. As long as you have a decent Wi-Fi connection browser transfers will be pretty zippy as well.

There is an option to clear fetched metadata in the Infuse sidebar Settings menu.


Possibly. The Pro feature you're trying to use will be listed at the top of the popup window. E.G. 'Pro Feature: Dolby Audio'

Here's a direct link to a clip you can try.
http://cl.ly/Zkyf

Thanks!

It's too bad that you can't customize the gesture controls. Would've liked to keep the fast forwarding and fast rewinding but inactive the controls for display brightness.
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Thanks!

It's too bad that you can't customize the gesture controls. Would've liked to keep the fast forwarding and fast rewinding but inactive the controls for display brightness.

No problem.

We may look at adding a way to customize gestures in a future version.
 

Imory

macrumors 6502a
Feb 2, 2013
833
360
Wonderland
No problem.

We may look at adding a way to customize gestures in a future version.

Might be a neat addition. I accidentally managed to edit the display brightness on my 6 instead of rewinding and forwarding, which just messed up the automatic brightness settings I had for my phone (that's an issue with iPhones in general) and it requires a whole ordeal to get it right once you've messed it up.

Other than that, great app! You just earned a new Pro user!

Will Infuse automatically detect an SRT (sub) with the same name as a video file and then act as subtitles? Or will I have to burn in the subtitles in the video file if I want subs?
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Will Infuse automatically detect an SRT (sub) with the same name as a video file and then act as subtitles? Or will I have to burn in the subtitles in the video file if I want subs?

Yes, subtitle files with the same name can be used in Infuse. You can even download subtitles on the fly from OpenSubtitles if needed. A handful of subtitle related options will be available in the playback menu (tap gear icon while a video is playing).
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,721
Boston, MA
If you remember my qualms about paying $10 for the app before... they are completely gone with google cast support. I ALMOST bought a fire tv stick just for xbmc. Now I can just use an app I have already paid for to stream directly to my tv.

I realize it is in beta, but I have a few questions.
1. Some files give me a warning that video might be choppy. I assume this is a certain type of file. I did notice some slight choppiness at one point in a disney movie we put on for my son, but not bad. Is this a permanent thing or might it clear up with future updates. And what type of file does this warning come up for? We also watched an episode of better Call Saul without the warning or any issues. It was HD h.264 encoded.

2. Will the ios device always have to have its screen on while "casting"? Admittedly I don't use the feature much since the only thing I have to use it with is google cast. Would just be nice not to have an illuminated screen on my nightstand while watching something in the bedroom.

As is, it already works very well, SO these aren't really complaints/ More like comments/questions/suggestions. I finally have a reason to use google cast again outside of the odd netflix episode!

----------

Yes, subtitle files with the same name can be used in Infuse. You can even download subtitles on the fly from OpenSubtitles if needed. A handful of subtitle related options will be available in the playback menu (tap gear icon while a video is playing).

Might we get support for other subtitle servers in the future? There are a few others I like to use when opensubtitles doesn't have something I am looking for.
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
If you remember my qualms about paying $10 for the app before... they are completely gone with google cast support. I ALMOST bought a fire tv stick just for xbmc. Now I can just use an app I have already paid for to stream directly to my tv.
Great! So glad to hear you're enjoying it. :)

1. Some files give me a warning that video might be choppy. I assume this is a certain type of file. I did notice some slight choppiness at one point in a disney movie we put on for my son, but not bad. Is this a permanent thing or might it clear up with future updates. And what type of file does this warning come up for? We also watched an episode of better Call Saul without the warning or any issues. It was HD h.264 encoded.
Google Cast will see a number of improvements over the coming weeks/months as we fine tune things based on user feedback. Right now, the playback warning will appear more often than needed as we're hoping to manage expectations (we'd rather see people surprised by good playback, than disappointed by bad playback).

2. Will the ios device always have to have its screen on while "casting"? Admittedly I don't use the feature much since the only thing I have to use it with is google cast. Would just be nice not to have an illuminated screen on my nightstand while watching something in the bedroom.
There are a few improvements we're working on here, but unfortunately true background playback isn't supported with the current Cast SDK. This could potentially change with a future SDK version, but there is no ETA right now.

Might we get support for other subtitle servers in the future? There are a few others I like to use when opensubtitles doesn't have something I am looking for.
We've talked with a few additional partners who have expressed interested in opening up an API for 3rd party apps like Infuse, but we don't have anything to announce or hint at just yet.
 

kendo88

macrumors 6502
Jun 22, 2010
253
122
Coventry
The app looks great, going to try it out.

Is hardware acceleration available for 1080p mkv files?

It was noted a couple of pages back that partial support for the new hardware decoding was added, so when will it and when will it not hardware decode?

Thanks
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
The app looks great, going to try it out.

Is hardware acceleration available for 1080p mkv files?

It was noted a couple of pages back that partial support for the new hardware decoding was added, so when will it and when will it not hardware decode?

Thanks

Yes - HW acceleration for all h.264 videos (including 1080p mkv) is available in the current version.
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Does infuse allow you to lock your phone while using AirPlay or does the app need to be open?

In short, yes.

Infuse will be able to send any h.264 video over native AirPlay (even MKV files). Native AirPlay does allow for background playback, which means other apps can be used or the device can be locked and AirPlay streaming will continue. Some of the other more obscure formats will require mirroring.

An easy way to check if your particular files are eligible for native AirPlay is to play them in the free version and attempt to enable AirPlay. If you get a prompt to upgrade to Infuse Pro, that means they can be sent over native AirPlay. Mirroring is available in the free version, and does not require a Pro upgrade.

Hope this helps.
 

hatersgonnahate

macrumors 6502a
Jul 26, 2010
503
1
In short, yes.

Infuse will be able to send any h.264 video over native AirPlay (even MKV files). Native AirPlay does allow for background playback, which means other apps can be used or the device can be locked and AirPlay streaming will continue. Some of the other more obscure formats will require mirroring.

An easy way to check if your particular files are eligible for native AirPlay is to play them in the free version and attempt to enable AirPlay. If you get a prompt to upgrade to Infuse Pro, that means they can be sent over native AirPlay. Mirroring is available in the free version, and does not require a Pro upgrade.

Hope this helps.

Got it. I tried the free version and mirroring works. For the paid version, Would I be able to use the appletv remote to rewind/fast forward?
 

firecore

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
1,392
1,040
Denver, CO
Got it. I tried the free version and mirroring works. For the paid version, Would I be able to use the appletv remote to rewind/fast forward?

Yes. Any videos streamed over native AirPlay can be controlled with the Apple TV remote, or with the Infuse app.
 
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