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Infuse vs Plex

My favorite for all this (and I still use i to this day) is AirVideo HD

It's Plex without the crap, and it's Apple TV app is really simple and slick and just browsers the folders you selected to share on the AirVideo HD server app on your mac or PC.

Downside... development seems to have kind of died, I can barely even find a screenshot of the Apple TV interface online, even though it's great. Oh well.
 
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canopic said:
My favorite for all this (and I still use i to this day) is AirVideo HD

It's Plex without the crap, and it's Apple TV app is really simple and slick and just browsers the folders you selected to share on the AirVideo HD server app on your mac or PC.

Downside... development seems to have kind of died, I can barely even find a screenshot of the Apple TV interface online, even though it's great. Oh well.
Click to expand...
No 4k, HDR or HD audio. Seems like a fail. And it appears it still transcodes.
No transcoding on infuse. Some transcoding possible in plex but usually only audio on the ATV4k.
 
archer75 said:
No 4k, HDR or HD audio. Seems like a fail. And it appears it still transcodes.
No transcoding on infuse. Some transcoding possible in plex but usually only audio on the ATV4k.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is fail, I use a 1080p non-HDR TV so it's fine for now, but I'm eventually going to have to switch and it annoys me that plex and infuse are the only real alternatives.
 
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canopic said:
Yeah it is fail, I use a 1080p non-HDR TV so it's fine for now, but I'm eventually going to have to switch and it annoys me that plex and infuse are the only real alternatives.
Click to expand...
I don't know why it would annoy you. Both are excellent programs. In either you simply open the program and select what you want. Pretty quick.
 
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How is InFuse when it comes to seeking around in video, going forward and backwards, etc.?

I've noticed that Plex often hangs if I try to seek "too much" (hard to describe) and VLC doesn't handle seeking very well at all. I'm also a bit pissed at Plex right now because the latest version of Plex Media Server requires me to upgrade my Linux server to install, which I don't want to do right now.

I'd love to try InFuse but the free version doesn't even let you play videos without subscribing and I definitely don't want a subscription; I like to pay once for software.
 
zorinlynx said:
How is InFuse when it comes to seeking around in video, going forward and backwards, etc.?

I've noticed that Plex often hangs if I try to seek "too much" (hard to describe) and VLC doesn't handle seeking very well at all. I'm also a bit pissed at Plex right now because the latest version of Plex Media Server requires me to upgrade my Linux server to install, which I don't want to do right now.

I'd love to try InFuse but the free version doesn't even let you play videos without subscribing and I definitely don't want a subscription; I like to pay once for software.
Click to expand...
Infuse actually doesn't require a subscription unless you want iCloud sync and Dolby audio and a few "fancy" features.
Also, there is a pay once option which I think is a bit steep but nothing like 120$ for Plex. Although, Plex does much more, it's almost a bloatware now, I really don't want Plex to become the Evernote of media.
 
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I've been using Infuse for the longest time and worked great. Started streaming 4k movies and it would buffer. Absolutely no issues with Plex. Love the new Plex interface as well as the great poster art and ability to sort my movies the way I like. Right now it's Plex FTW.
 
Actually Plex app on AppleTV is only 3.99 or so. The $120 is for Plex pass which is not needed for most things.


iDento said:
Infuse actually doesn't require a subscription unless you want iCloud sync and Dolby audio and a few "fancy" features.
Also, there is a pay once option which I think is a bit steep but nothing like 120$ for Plex. Although, Plex does much more, it's almost a bloatware now, I really don't want Plex to become the Evernote of media.
Click to expand...
 
zorinlynx said:
I'd love to try InFuse but the free version doesn't even let you play videos without subscribing and I definitely don't want a subscription; I like to pay once for software.
Click to expand...
Infuse is one of the few programs worth a subscription. It's $6.49/year. YEAR! You'll pay more for the one time fee. And then when a new major version comes out you have to buy that and it costs you more again. While with the subscription you get all new latest versions.
I hate subscriptions on programs as well but this is one of the few I think is acceptable.
 
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zorinlynx said:
How is InFuse when it comes to seeking around in video, going forward and backwards, etc.?

I've noticed that Plex often hangs if I try to seek "too much" (hard to describe) and VLC doesn't handle seeking very well at all. I'm also a bit pissed at Plex right now because the latest version of Plex Media Server requires me to upgrade my Linux server to install, which I don't want to do right now.

I'd love to try InFuse but the free version doesn't even let you play videos without subscribing and I definitely don't want a subscription; I like to pay once for software.
Click to expand...

Works great. Scrubbing too much in Plex will always make the video hang after 2-3 jumps for me. Infuse feels like a local video. You even get a snapshot preview
 
iDento said:
Incorrect, the 120$ is for a lifetime license while 3.99$ is a monthly subscription.
Click to expand...

Actually, we are both right.

Plex pass life time is, as you say $120 and monthly $3.99. With that the AppleTV app, ios app etc are all included.

However, without the plex pass, the app costs $3.99 (or so). Again, the Plex app and server work fine with the need for the Plex Pass.
 
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skc176 said:
Actually, we are both right.

Plex pass life time is, as you say $120 and monthly $3.99. With that the AppleTV app, ios app etc are all included.

However, without the plex pass, the app costs $3.99 (or so). Again, the Plex app and server work fine with the need for the Plex Pass.
Click to expand...
I'm seeing $4.99/month for plex pass. https://www.plex.tv/plex-pass/
I've used plex for many years and subbed to plex pass a few times. But as you said, it's certainly not needed.
Infuse needs a sub or purchase if you want HD audio support which I most certainly do.
 
I'm resuscitating this thread which I've with great interest as I am trying to figure out a way to organise a home media server centered around a Mac Pro 2,1 (2x2,66 and 16GB, so not the most powerful).

In our house we have an ATV 3, two iPhones and two MacBooks and what I am looking to do is to permit streaming of:

  1. music, which is both bought in iTunes and ripped from CDs (but most is "validated" using iTunes Match a few years ago), and
  2. movies, both bought in iTunes/Apple TV and ripped from DVDs.
All music and movies are currently located in an iTunes library. The music is either m4a or mp3 and the movies are either m4v or ripped using MKV and Handbrake (ATV3 preset) into mp4.

I guess my question could be put this way:

Am I right in believing that since I wish to stream movies and music bought from Apple, neither Plex nor Infuse will work for me if I want to have one single unified solution for media streaming?

If so, home sharing might be my only option. I have found that it works well for movies. But opening a large shared library (ours is 1,6TB of music) takes such a long time on phones and Macs that it becomes quite unusable.

Ideally I'd like a smooth and quick user experience, if at all possible.

Thank you very much in advance for your thoughts on this conundrum.
Philip
 
pullman said:
Am I right in believing that since I wish to stream movies and music bought from Apple, neither Plex nor Infuse will work for me if I want to have one single unified solution for media streaming?
Click to expand...

If DRM is involved, yes. If 4K movies, yes.

pullman said:
If so, home sharing might be my only option.
Click to expand...

There is a another post on this topic

forums.macrumors.com

Better to use media server's iTunes library directly on client Macs OR to open server's shared library?

I wish to use a Mac Pro 1,1 as a home media server, which contains a drive with my iTunes library. We have several other Macs in our house and I wish to set up access, over wifi, to the server's iTunes library. I'm curious to know if there is any difference in how fast and smoothly the client...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

It is unclear to me what happens when multiple users are using home sharing at the same time.

pullman said:
Ideally I'd like a smooth and quick user experience, if at all possible.
Click to expand...

You have to decide whether you want to accept the limitations of the Apple ecosystem.
 
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Thank you for taking the time to reply here as well. I decided to open this thread to avoid unnecessary posts and because it might help others with similar, quite simple setups.



HDFan said:
If DRM is involved, yes. If 4K movies, yes.



There is a another post on this topic

forums.macrumors.com

Better to use media server's iTunes library directly on client Macs OR to open server's shared library?

I wish to use a Mac Pro 1,1 as a home media server, which contains a drive with my iTunes library. We have several other Macs in our house and I wish to set up access, over wifi, to the server's iTunes library. I'm curious to know if there is any difference in how fast and smoothly the client...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

It is unclear to me what happens when multiple users are using home sharing at the same time.



You have to decide whether you want to accept the limitations of the Apple ecosystem.
Click to expand...
 
pullman said:
I'm resuscitating this thread which I've with great interest as I am trying to figure out a way to organise a home media server centered around a Mac Pro 2,1 (2x2,66 and 16GB, so not the most powerful).

In our house we have an ATV 3, two iPhones and two MacBooks and what I am looking to do is to permit streaming of:

  1. music, which is both bought in iTunes and ripped from CDs (but most is "validated" using iTunes Match a few years ago), and
  2. movies, both bought in iTunes/Apple TV and ripped from DVDs.
All music and movies are currently located in an iTunes library. The music is either m4a or mp3 and the movies are either m4v or ripped using MKV and Handbrake (ATV3 preset) into mp4.

I guess my question could be put this way:

Am I right in believing that since I wish to stream movies and music bought from Apple, neither Plex nor Infuse will work for me if I want to have one single unified solution for media streaming?

If so, home sharing might be my only option. I have found that it works well for movies. But opening a large shared library (ours is 1,6TB of music) takes such a long time on phones and Macs that it becomes quite unusable.

Ideally I'd like a smooth and quick user experience, if at all possible.

Thank you very much in advance for your thoughts on this conundrum.
Philip
Click to expand...


I don't recall the aTV3 being able to load apps, so unless you did a jailbreak on it and then pushed an app to it, you're not going to get either Plex or Infuse on it. From what I recall the first two aTVs were the ones that could be freed, but v3 was pretty well locked down, so I doubt you'll be able to use it for what you want.

If you can spend the extra cash and pick up the current generation aTV you'd be well on your way to what you need. You'd be able to load Infuse for your rips, and you'd have the Apple native apps to handle your DRM stuff. About the only issue I've found is that Infuse doesn't handle music, so once again you'd rely on Apple's software for that. And its terrible, unfortunately. Its pretty much the iOS version of Music, which doesn't translate well to a large panel display and Apple Remote. Using the iPhone version of the remote is vastly better but you'd still be stuck with the ugly, poorly optimized interface.

I can't endorse using Plex for anything, including music, due to its overt and covert data gathering. If you wanted to experiment a bit, perhaps look at using Kodi? Thats the basis of Plex, without the spyware. Its a pain to set up and has about 8 thousand different options, most of which you'd never need, but its very much oriented around the local machine and doesn't broadcast your info to a central server.
 
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Thanks very much for your reply, Sill. It seems the ATV3 can't load apps so I'd have to change to v4, though ideally I'd like to stay with the hardware I have because, well, isn't this just supposed to work? (rhetorical q).

I have read both good and bad things about Plex so it's difficult to know what's true. Two negative things stand out for me though, the gathering of info and that it seems difficult to uninstall. I realise people's feedback depends a lot on their individual setup so might not translate to me, but those two things are no-nos for me. A recent thing I saw, too, is that Plex appears to be changing into a streaming service with its media server features taking a step back.

In the meantime I've done some testing with Home Sharing and on my Macbook the shared iTunes folder loads both music and movies quite quickly.

But on my iPhone it takes for-bloody-ever to load the library. Plus – worse and completely incredibly – the library is forgotten each time I leave the Music or TV app.

So Home Sharing to iPhone appears to be a no-go, but could work for our Macs and the ATV.

I'll have a look at Kodi too. I came across it this morning and it does seem quite involved, which sort of puts me off a bit. Another one I saw today is Emby, but it requires Sierra apperently and my server is limited to El Cap. Too bad, because it looked pretty decent.

cheers
Philip


Sill said:
I don't recall the aTV3 being able to load apps, so unless you did a jailbreak on it and then pushed an app to it, you're not going to get either Plex or Infuse on it. From what I recall the first two aTVs were the ones that could be freed, but v3 was pretty well locked down, so I doubt you'll be able to use it for what you want.

If you can spend the extra cash and pick up the current generation aTV you'd be well on your way to what you need. You'd be able to load Infuse for your rips, and you'd have the Apple native apps to handle your DRM stuff. About the only issue I've found is that Infuse doesn't handle music, so once again you'd rely on Apple's software for that. And its terrible, unfortunately. Its pretty much the iOS version of Music, which doesn't translate well to a large panel display and Apple Remote. Using the iPhone version of the remote is vastly better but you'd still be stuck with the ugly, poorly optimized interface.

I can't endorse using Plex for anything, including music, due to its overt and covert data gathering. If you wanted to experiment a bit, perhaps look at using Kodi? Thats the basis of Plex, without the spyware. Its a pain to set up and has about 8 thousand different options, most of which you'd never need, but its very much oriented around the local machine and doesn't broadcast your info to a central server.
Click to expand...
 
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I have a been a Plex user for about 3-4 years, played all my movies quite nicely. Just recently I started getting higher bitrate movies ex. 4K HDR and while playing on my Smart TV I was getting buffering all the time. I tried a lot of different Setup, the only thing i didn’t do was to hardwire everything, however I splitted the network Into 2.4 and 5Ghz and only the server and clients are using 5GHz.

I thought maybe the native Samsung app was the issue so I bought a Roku streaming Stick Plus and still impossible to play these 4K HDR movies, so I gave up!!

I don’t know where the bottleneck is, the movies plays nicely on my IPad, no buffering at all, so I know my WiFi connection is not the issue here, nor my server.

I have decided to buy an Apple TV 4K, however I will wait until a new version comes around, if Plex there still givess me issues I will move to Infuse which I heard play everything you trow at it no problems.

My setup
iMac 2015 i7 4GHz
16GB Ram
512 SSD
Media on external HD connect with USB3.0
Xfinity Xfi 300/25
All Wireless

Tried movies with no Subtitles, all Direct Play, no transcoding..
BTW, I have also tried Emby, same issues as Plex.


I just hope the new Apple TV 4K comes out soon....
 
Thought I'd chime in with my 2c

I've been managing all my media digitally since the Apple TV first came out, and have tried a few different ways of doing it.

Right now, I have all my media stored on my Synology NAS, which runs Plex server. This has been the only way that me and my family access saved media for a while: Movies, TV shows and music, and despite being pretty picky when it comes to "user experience" I have very few complaints. I hear a lot of the hate for Plex, but I just don't see it myself.

It's not perfect, but I haven't found anything that fits my needs better.

I tried infuse a while ago, but (then) it didn't handle tv show seasons particularly well - that might have changed now though.

Ultimately, most of these options are free to try (if not, a couple of bucks) - so just try a few and see what you like/don't like. If you're going to do that, maybe create a small "test" library with some of the types of media you want to use, as indexing your full library takes a while.

The biggest issue was how to deal with video content purchased from apple. If you want to use any third party solution - you are going to have to find a work around. The good news is (with a bit of googling and a few dollars) this is pretty simple to overcome. I'm not going to describe how, as I'm sure thats against the site rules, and that somebody will pop up and tell me that I'm a terrible person for doing so.
 
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pullman said:
I have read both good and bad things about Plex so it's difficult to know what's true. Two negative things stand out for me though, the gathering of info and that it seems difficult to uninstall.
Click to expand...

I used to worry about privacy. After I lost count of the number of times my user data was compromised by data breeches at various providers (medical insurance, brick and mortar stores, cell phone provider, etc.) I decided it wasn't worth sweating it. My data is out there on the web and won't be going away.

I am very careful to use unique 20 character passwords and usernames (for critical sites) and have various dark web monitoring services to catch problems. There are other more important things to worry about right now.

Plex uses a lot internet services (Tidal, Internet Video Archive, Crackle, ...). Paid services used by Plex need usage information to know what to bill Plex. Supported devices such as Alexa, HomePods may require authentication or other information. Plex has a very rich environment. There is a cost for that. Your decision.

I have no problems removing or reinstalling plex. Do it all the time.

www.plex.tv

Privacy Policy | Plex

Revised January 1, 2020 Thank you for using Plex! We here at Plex care deeply about your privacy, and we...
www.plex.tv www.plex.tv

pullman said:
Plex appears to be changing into a streaming service with its media server features taking a step back.
Click to expand...

Plex keeps adding features (DVR, podcasts, news, Crackle) but I haven't seen that it has affected their media server features in any way. Their new player for the Apple TV is excellent, for example, and seems to be on a par with the Infuse player.

alexxk said:
4K HDR and while playing on my Smart TV I was getting buffering all the time.
Click to expand...

Diagnosing buffering problems is a major issue. The IOS Plex Dash app is a great tool to help diagnose the problem.
 
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