Apps Infuse for Apple TV Released

[Rigby]

The data is stored locally, but due to the nature of how tvOS handles storage it will automatically clear things out if/when it thinks your Apple TV is running low on space. The Cloud Backup guide has more info on this.

I know, but this has never happend for me (I don't have any big apps on the device). But I guess it's possible that the TVOS 26 update was unusually large.

 

[kirbalo]

Is anyone else having issues with metadata for certain "series" getting incorrectly set after repeatedly correcting manually. I have multiple AppleTV's in my house, along with iPad and Mac mini. All are on iCloud backup for Infuse. This is very frustrating. Devs...is there a way to Lock the metadata so that it doesn't keep getting changed?

 

[firecore]

Is anyone else having issues with metadata for certain "series" getting incorrectly set after repeatedly correcting manually. I have multiple AppleTV's in my house, along with iPad and Mac mini. All are on iCloud backup for Infuse. This is very frustrating. Devs...is there a way to Lock the metadata so that it doesn't keep getting changed?

Can you share a few more details on what you're seeing and also how the files are named/organized?

 

[kirbalo]

Can you share a few more details on what you're seeing and also how the files are named/organized?

There are a few problematic series that keep getting reset incorrectly. Mostly, they seem to be "British" UK series. I set the metadata to English UK, but that doesn't seem to have any effect. One series is the 5 episode series, "The Diplomat UK" and the other is a relatively new series, "Red Eye". The episodes look like: Red Eye (UK)_S01E01_Episode 1.mp4, etc.

 

[firecore]

There are a few problematic series that keep getting reset incorrectly. Mostly, they seem to be "British" UK series. I set the metadata to English UK, but that doesn't seem to have any effect. One series is the 5 episode series, "The Diplomat UK" and the other is a relatively new series, "Red Eye". The episodes look like: Red Eye (UK)_S01E01_Episode 1.mp4, etc.

It's usually best to use the series title as listed on TMDB.

the diplomat — The Movie Database (TMDB)

The Movie Database (TMDB) is a popular, user editable database for movies and TV shows.

www.themoviedb.org

red eye — The Movie Database (TMDB)

The Movie Database (TMDB) is a popular, user editable database for movies and TV shows.

www.themoviedb.org

You can also add the year to the filename to allow Infuse to get more accurate results.

EG

Red Eye (2024)_S01E01_Episode 1.mp4

This guide has more info on some of the recommended naming styles.

Metadata 101

Overview Infuse will fetch info from The Movie Database (TMDB) for movies, TV shows, anime, concerts, short films, and collections. Below are some naming guidelines which will allow you to get the ...

support.firecore.com

 

[Rigby]

Hm, I use this one several times per week.

I'm going to update my other ATV (which I use almost daily) probably tomorrow and will report back if the same thing happens.

Just to report back on this, I updated another Apple TV and it went without problems this time. This is a 128 GB model whereas the other one was an older 32 GB one, so that may have played a role. Also, I made sure to upload an up-to-date Infuse backup before updating the OS.

On another note, I have a weird metadata problem on the ATV where I had to rescan the library. The fan-made show "Star Trek Continues" (it's great, check it out) does not have a TMDB entry. It was sorted into "Other" after rescanning the library, while on the other ATV that I just updated it is still classified as a TV show. I don't remember how I did that and don't see a way to update the metadata manually. 🤔 Is there a way to do this?

 

[firecore]

The fan-made show "Star Trek Continues" (it's great, check it out) does not have a TMDB entry.

If there isn't an entry for the series on TMDB then it wouldn't automatically appear in the TV shows section.

What you could do is match it to a different series that is on TMDB and then add your own artwork and metadata for the episodes so things display correctly in Infuse.

Some info on doing this can be found in this guide.

Overriding Artwork and Metadata

In some cases it may be useful to add your own metadata and artwork for specific titles. This may be the case when you want to see a specific image, or add details for things like home videos.To ov...

support.firecore.com

 

[Rigby]

If there isn't an entry for the series on TMDB then it wouldn't automatically appear in the TV shows section.

In the old library it has complete metadata, even including episode descriptions and thumbnails. I'm absolutely certain I did not add all that manually (would never spend that much effort on it). There are no extra artwork files or anything on the file server, just the episode video files. Is it possible that it once was on TMDB but has been deleted?

 

[firecore]

Is it possible that it once was on TMDB but has been deleted?

Yes, that is a possibility.

 

[Rigby]

Yes, that is a possibility.

Well, there should be an option to set custom metadata for shows not in TMBD in Infuse without first matching to an unrelated show (e.g. using .nfo files). Renaming the files to something they're not is obviously not a good approach.

Anyway, if I have some time I may try to add it as the (non-existent) 4th season of the original Star Trek and see what happens.

PS: Turns out Star Trek Continues has indeed been removed from TMDB, apparently even twice:

Reported Problem for Star Trek Continues - Talk — The Movie Database (TMDB)

The Movie Database (TMDB) is a popular, user editable database for movies and TV shows.

www.themoviedb.org

They have a rule that fan-made content cannot be added. A shame really, since this is an absolutely professionally produced show. Makes me wonder if it's a good idea for Infuse to fully rely on TMDB.

 

[firecore]

Infuse 8.2.5 is now available! 🚀

Design updates for Liquid Glass plus other optimizations and fixes for the new 26 updates.

Infuse 8.2.5 now available

Infuse 8.2.5 is now available! 🚀 NEW Liquid Glass design (iOS/tvOS) IMPROVED Optimizations for iOS/tvOS/visionOS 26 Improved handling of empty Plex Watchlist FIXED Fixed scrobbling manually marked items to Trakt when setting is disabled Fixed missing letter scrollbar for Plex Fixed...

community.firecore.com

 

[firewire9000]

Please, please! Support for Plex home users!

 

[page3]

I don't personally like Liquid Glass (specifically the floating tool-bar at the bottom) however all credit to you for bringing out a new version so soon, and one so beautifully integrated in to the new UI design. Really shows the Plex team up!

 

[firecore]

Please, please! Support for Plex home users!

This is planned for an upcoming version. 🙂

 

[ProQuiz]

I have Infuse Pro on my Mac and iPhone. If I were to get an Apple TV 4K, can I stream MKV files from my Mac to the Apple TV 4K while being on different Wi-Fi networks? The Mac is in my bedroom and the Apple TV 4K will be in the TV room and both areas have their own Wi-Fi networks. Also, is it correct that I won't need to use "anything in the middle" like Plex to stream MKV files from my Mac to the Apple TV 4K? Can Infuse Pro handle all this by itself?

By the way, will all lossy and lossless audio formats of the MKV files be converted to PCM or LPCM? According to ChatGPT, there will be no loss in quality with this. Is this true? I know lossless Atmos will be converted to LPCM 7.1 so object/Atmos metadata will be lost. But what about lossy Atmos? Lossy Atmos on my Mac with Infuse Pro gets played as Atmos but I read that with the Apple TV 4K it can't do that with MKV files and will be converted to PCM or LPCM.

Is there anything else I need to know about streaming MKV files with Infuse Pro from a Mac to an Apple TV 4K in terms of audio and video capabilities?

 

[firecore]

I have Infuse Pro on my Mac and iPhone. If I were to get an Apple TV 4K, can I stream MKV files from my Mac to the Apple TV 4K while being on different Wi-Fi networks? The Mac is in my bedroom and the Apple TV 4K will be in the TV room and both areas have their own Wi-Fi networks. Also, is it correct that I won't need to use "anything in the middle" like Plex to stream MKV files from my Mac to the Apple TV 4K? Can Infuse Pro handle all this by itself?

Streaming from the Mac to Apple TV would be possible on a local network as long as the device as able to communicate with each other. It's also possible to set up a Mac so it is accessible over the internet which would allow devices on different networks to connect, but this is a bit more involved and a bit slower since the streaming would need to take place over the internet. A guide with more info on setting this up in Infuse can be found here.

Streaming From a Mac, PC, or NAS

Infuse is able to connect to many different devices using SMB, NFS, FTP, SFTP, FTPS, FTPES, UPnP, DLNA, and WebDAV to browse, download (iOS/macOS/visionOS only), and play videos.Enable File Sharing...

support.firecore.com

By the way, will all lossy and lossless audio formats of the MKV files be converted to PCM or LPCM? According to ChatGPT, there will be no loss in quality with this. Is this true? I know lossless Atmos will be converted to LPCM 7.1 so object/Atmos metadata will be lost. But what about lossy Atmos? Lossy Atmos on my Mac with Infuse Pro gets played as Atmos but I read that with the Apple TV 4K it can't do that with MKV files and will be converted to PCM or LPCM.

Yes, LPCM is a lossless format so there is no loss in quality. If you have lossy Atmos files (such as E-AC3 with Atmos) then Infuse can play these directly without having to do any conversion. More info on the available audio options can be found in this guide.

Audio Options & Capabilities

Infuse supports up to 7.1 channels of 24-bit 48KHz audio in a wide variety of audio codec formats.Dolby AtmosInfuse supports Dolby Atmos when using E-AC3 audio tracks. To take full advantage of thi...

support.firecore.com

Is there anything else I need to know about streaming MKV files with Infuse Pro from a Mac to an Apple TV 4K in terms of audio and video capabilities?

In general, Infuse will play all videos in their native format without any conversion of transcoding which allows for the highest possible video quality. MKV files are fully supported.

 

[firecore]

Infuse 8.2.6 with a handful of improvements and fixes is now available. 💪

Infuse 8.2.6 now available

Infuse 8.2.6 is now available! 🚀 FIXED Fixed missing episodes in search results sorted by release date Fixed hangs on search when browsing results (tvOS) Fixed select version popup behavior when landscape lock is ON (iOS) Fixed control overlap of search results in Search/Library (iOS) Fixed...

community.firecore.com

 

[ProQuiz]

Streaming from the Mac to Apple TV would be possible on a local network as long as the device as able to communicate with each other. It's also possible to set up a Mac so it is accessible over the internet which would allow devices on different networks to connect, but this is a bit more involved and a bit slower since the streaming would need to take place over the internet. A guide with more info on setting this up in Infuse can be found here.

Streaming From a Mac, PC, or NAS

Infuse is able to connect to many different devices using SMB, NFS, FTP, SFTP, FTPS, FTPES, UPnP, DLNA, and WebDAV to browse, download (iOS/macOS/visionOS only), and play videos.Enable File Sharing...

support.firecore.com

Yes, LPCM is a lossless format so there is no loss in quality. If you have lossy Atmos files (such as E-AC3 with Atmos) then Infuse can play these directly without having to do any conversion. More info on the available audio options can be found in this guide.

Audio Options & Capabilities

Infuse supports up to 7.1 channels of 24-bit 48KHz audio in a wide variety of audio codec formats.Dolby AtmosInfuse supports Dolby Atmos when using E-AC3 audio tracks. To take full advantage of thi...

support.firecore.com

In general, Infuse will play all videos in their native format without any conversion of transcoding which allows for the highest possible video quality. MKV files are fully supported.

Thanks.

If my Wi-Fi router has a USB port and I can connect a USB hard drive or thumb drive with MKV files on it, can the Apple TV 4K with Infuse stream the files directly from the Wi-Fi? If this is possible, I am correct in assuming there will be no loss of quality as long as I have a good connection/signal to the Wi-Fi?

 

[firecore]

If my Wi-Fi router has a USB port and I can connect a USB hard drive or thumb drive with MKV files on it, can the Apple TV 4K with Infuse stream the files directly from the Wi-Fi? If this is possible, I am correct in assuming there will be no loss of quality as long as I have a good connection/signal to the Wi-Fi?

Most likely yes. Infuse supports streaming via SMB, NFS, FTP, UPnP, DLNA, and WebDAV. As long as your router supports sharing the USB drive over one of these protocols then it should work.

Infuse also has a built in speed test feature so you can check the speeds you are able to get when streaming from the USB drive.

 

[ProQuiz]

Most likely yes. Infuse supports streaming via SMB, NFS, FTP, UPnP, DLNA, and WebDAV. As long as your router supports sharing the USB drive over one of these protocols then it should work.

Infuse also has a built in speed test feature so you can check the speeds you are able to get when streaming from the USB drive.

Thanks.

Since Infuse plays lossy Atmos directly without any conversion, what about lossy DTS 5.1? Will that also play without any conversion or will it be converted to PCM?

 

[firecore]

Thanks.

Since Infuse plays lossy Atmos directly without any conversion, what about lossy DTS 5.1? Will that also play without any conversion or will it be converted to PCM?

At the moment, Apple only allows E-AC3 Atmos content to be passed from the Apple TV. All other audio formats will be sent as PCM.

The Apple TV does have an option to convert all audio to Dolby Digital (AC3) before sending this to your TV/receiver (for compatibility reasons), but this means the Apple TV is converting Infuse's PCM audio to AC3.

 

[ProQuiz]

At the moment, Apple only allows E-AC3 Atmos content to be passed from the Apple TV. All other audio formats will be sent as PCM.

The Apple TV does have an option to convert all audio to Dolby Digital (AC3) before sending this to your TV/receiver (for compatibility reasons), but this means the Apple TV is converting Infuse's PCM audio to AC3.

One last question (hopefully):

What's the difference between PCM and LPCM? And when does Infuse use/convert to either?

 

[Audit13]

PCM and LPCM per Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation

 

[ProQuiz]

Thanks.

So, Infuse converts all lossy and lossless audio (other than lossy Atmos) to LPCM. Infuse uses LPCM for all and not "just" PCM.

 

[Audit13]

Thanks.

So, Infuse converts all lossy and lossless audio (other than lossy Atmos) to LPCM. Infuse uses LPCM for all and not "just" PCM.

As far as I recall, yes, LPCM.

With lossy CODECs used by streaming services, I am not sure my hearing is good enough to hear the difference between LPCM and PCM.