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Plex ATV2 vs ATV3

ClemsonDV

ClemsonDV

macrumors member
Original poster
I know i will likely get h3ll for this, but I am trying to figure out how well Plex works on ATV3. I scoured a few threads, but I just want a few honest opinions. I normally stream MKV files.

I have a jailbroken ATV 2 and the going price on ebay is crazy. I can sell mine and buy two ATV 3's brand new. That's nuts. I literally only use ATV 2 as my media center to stream via Plex. My Mac Mini is set up as my server, and I would plan to use that to stream to both ATV 3s hooked up to Samsungs.

Currently i see some issues with Subtitles in Plex, which is a bummer, but I am looking for a way to fix that. If Plex and PLexConnect seem to be the asnwer, I probably will just sell my ATV2 for two ATV3's which will allow me to use my Mac Mini as an actual computer instead of HTPC on my 46".
 
I am a PLEX user and I did have an ATV2 that I would jailbreak to install PLEX. I one day realized it was much easier to just airplay from iOS devices to an ATV3 taking advantage of the higher resolution and better hardware. Airplay from an iOS device scales properly whereas after some testing I noticed airplay from my mac mini would not scale as well.

Just an alternative to having PLEX directly on the ATV. BTW apple remote can be used while air playing from iOS device...figured this out months after I had started airplaying :S
 
I would rather not waste/drain my battery on iOS device for that (I know I can have it charging). I have my movies on my Mac mini, so I like going straight to the source.
Reviewing the ATV3/PlexConnect stuff, I have to have the terminal window up and go through the hassle of redoing the terminal process every restart and boot up. Not terrible, but still a hassle.
 
Just buy an ATV3 and test it?

I have an ATV3 and do the PlexConnect thing and I'm happy with it. I haven't tried an ATV2 though so can't compare them.
 
Also I am extremely lazy and I don't want to carry my iPad everywhere. Also don't want to have to get up and plug it into the tv.
 
I was in the same situation a few months ago. I had 4 Apple TV 2's around the house that we used quite often. All jailbroken and used quite a bit for Plex. But I started to get annoyed with AirPlay failing at times, not being able to update (and wanting to use newer apps that Apple's added to the ATV) and being limited to 720p.

That and what sounds like an impending Apple TV update and possible app store I figured it was a good time to cash in on those jailbroken apple TVs. Sold all four of them for $900 or so, and replaced them with refurb Apple TV 3's which are $75/85+tax.

Never ended up bothering with PlexConnect, went straight into mixing/encoding for iTunes and started sharing content from iTunes on my mac mini to all these TVs. Been extremely happy with it all so far.
 
I too went the route of getting my media into iTunes and it works great.

I use PlexConnext for the online content and it's been fine.
 
I assume most of you have not upgraded your TV's in a while and have some pretty old technology. I run Plex client directly on my 2 year old network connected Samsung TV, just download it from the Samsung app store directly on the TV.

It connects to my Macmini which runs the plex server. The Macmini also connects HDMI to another TV.
 
ClemsonDV said:
Reviewing the ATV3/PlexConnect stuff, I have to have the terminal window up and go through the hassle of redoing the terminal process every restart and boot up. Not terrible, but still a hassle.
Click to expand...

You don't have to do that any more on OS X. There is a autostart daemon now. Set it up and PlexConnect starts up automatically whenever the computer starts up.

Sell the ATV2 and get the ATV3s. You don't need a jailbroken ATV anymore now that PlexConnect works so well.
 
I currently only really use plex on my atv3. Works great.
Some connection issues sometimes, but I believe this is LAN related and not ATv related at all.
I still have the apps that people use when jail broken anyway and they suck. I would never consider a jb atv2 over my current setup
 
I convert MKV files to MP4 so I still add them to iTunes but haven't watched anything in iTunes since PlexConnect came out. I love PlexConnect and quite frankly, if Apple somehow blocks it from the ATV I will have a Roku the same day. The Plex interface is way better. I love the "on deck" list.
 
charlien said:
I convert MKV files to MP4 so I still add them to iTunes but haven't watched anything in iTunes since PlexConnect came out. I love PlexConnect and quite frankly, if Apple somehow blocks it from the ATV I will have a Roku the same day. The Plex interface is way better. I love the "on deck" list.
Click to expand...

If Handbrake had a bundle feature, I would do that, but it becomes a pain to individually add when I have about 700 different files of mkvs. I only currently use handbrake to add moves/shows to my ipad.
 
ClemsonDV said:
If Handbrake had a bundle feature, I would do that, but it becomes a pain to individually add when I have about 700 different files of mkvs. I only currently use handbrake to add moves/shows to my ipad.
Click to expand...

Take a look at IVI. You can automate the process and most MKVs can be set to pass thru so it only takes a few seconds. Set up IVI to look for files in a certain folder. Dump a bunch at a time in. You can have the finished file moved to a folder and added to iTunes.
 
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