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Plex Connect for ATV3

98EXL said:
awaiting it to get a little more refined....

Other than that, been running this no problem for a few days, dunno if I like it compared to just using iTunes as my media server
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Most people who are already on itunes wont find themselves migrating until they want to start watching tv wherever whenever and on whatever device they wish. I too used itunes for a while until when traveling I realized I couldnt watch my shows. After messing around with xbmc for years along came plex and I jumped right in, many many years later I couldnt ever go back.
 
Having issues with the Terminal method of the instructions...

From the instructions.. I type "cd" along with bringing the PlexConnect-XML_templates over to the Terminal window.

When I follow through with that method I get no such file or directory..
 
Ludatyk said:
Having issues with the Terminal method of the instructions...

From the instructions.. I type "cd" along with bringing the PlexConnect-XML_templates over to the Terminal window.

When I follow through with that method I get no such file or directory..
Click to expand...

Nix that I saw terminal now.
 
Anyone know if todays update prevents this plex hack from working or does it still work ?
 
Still works

----------

Reportedly, it also works with the ATV iOS developers beta 5.4 as well
 
jmcgeejr said:
Most people who are already on itunes wont find themselves migrating until they want to start watching tv wherever whenever and on whatever device they wish. I too used itunes for a while until when traveling I realized I couldnt watch my shows. After messing around with xbmc for years along came plex and I jumped right in, many many years later I couldnt ever go back.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, interesting point. I'm curious as to what you are cooking up over there...

When you say, "watch my shows," I assume that you are DVRing via TiVo (like me) or WMC or the like, and transferring to a server of sorts, then having that auto add to your Plex library?

For me, us, at least, all we use on the go are a gazillion streaming apps, or for "real" tv, 2 Slingbox ProHDs. We also keep the stash of movies on our iPads that rotate over time....and a Synology DS1512+ is coming soon, so I assume the Video App will stream all of our video.

pavelbure said:
Anyone know if todays update prevents this plex hack from working or does it still work ?
Click to expand...

confirmed at home, HBO GO on all 3, woooo-hoooooo!
 
There is also an AppleScript that can be put in login items. There is a thread in the Plexconnect thread on Plex forums.
 
why cant the atv3 have a real plex app? i have tried to do this , i would show me the librarys but as of yet nothing played on it. i said screwit and plugged in my roku. atv3 is just about useless unless you got to have airplay
 
Sgtarky said:
why cant the atv3 have a real plex app? i have tried to do this , i would show me the librarys but as of yet nothing played on it. i said screwit and plugged in my roku. atv3 is just about useless unless you got to have airplay
Click to expand...

Did you go into the Plex Connect settings on the AppleTV and turn on force transcoding? My guess is that your files aren't native AppleTV supported. I set up Plex connect right after it first became a thing and it works perfectly for me, but my entire library is h.264 encoded mp4's.
 
Sgtarky said:
why cant the atv3 have a real plex app? i have tried to do this , i would show me the librarys but as of yet nothing played on it. i said screwit and plugged in my roku. atv3 is just about useless unless you got to have airplay
Click to expand...

Apple wont let there be a plex app that's why, sorry plexconnect isnt working for you, mine works with various files, mkv rips, avi's, mp4s, all with various forms of audio as well.
 
Is there any benefit to me using this if I already rip my own blu-rays, encode them with Handbrake and stream them from iTunes? I'm trying to figure out the benefit of using Plex over the default playback methods. Maybe I'm missing something here?

Would it be possible to link to a ripped movie's trailer from the Plex library? That would be useful I suppose. Or if it would let me display the Rotten Tomatoes score natively without having to muck up the film's description.

Is there anything like that?
 
In your situation, Plexconnect's main benefit would be the better UI offered, compared to iTunes, for browsing and organizing your media. I also found it gives flexibility in terms of where you store your media, and, of course, allows you to play formats that cannot be handled by the Apple TV. Most of my media is iTunes/ATV compatible but not all. I also use Plex Channels more than I thought I would, this includes video streaming services like Icefilms and LetMeWatchThis.


I suggest you try it out and see what it offers.
 
institute said:
In your situation, Plexconnect's main benefit would be the better UI offered, compared to iTunes, for browsing and organizing your media. I also found it gives flexibility in terms of where you store your media, and, of course, allows you to play formats that cannot be handled by the Apple TV. Most of my media is iTunes/ATV compatible but not all. I also use Plex Channels more than I thought I would, this includes video streaming services like Icefilms and LetMeWatchThis.


I suggest you try it out and see what it offers.
Click to expand...
Doesn't it have to convert non-h.264 formats on the fly to be playable through the aTV? My experience with on the fly conversion is...well, less than ideal. Is Plex better at this than say, AirParrot?
 
I'm really confused here, what does plex actually do?!

Can I not put my dvd-ripped tv shows and movies on the home videos section of itunes and watch on Apple tv? Isn't this all what plex does? :S
 
manutd27 said:
I'm really confused here, what does plex actually do?!

Can I not put my dvd-ripped tv shows and movies on the home videos section of itunes and watch on Apple tv? Isn't this all what plex does? :S
Click to expand...

Better UI, On-the-fly transcoding(not everyone stores in iTunes compatible formats), and automatic metadata scraping.
 
Dalton63841 said:
Better UI, On-the-fly transcoding(not everyone stores in iTunes compatible formats), and automatic metadata scraping.
Click to expand...

Thank you! However, without meaning to sound like a complete doofus, may I ask what second and third terms mean?

I'm basically about to order an Apple TV so I haven't got to grips with everything yet. I was aware that I could rip DVD's to iTunes and watch them on my Apple TV (as long as my itunes was on). Is this effectively what Plex does?

Thank you, apologies for my stupidity!
 
manutd27 said:
Thank you! However, without meaning to sound like a complete doofus, may I ask what second and third terms mean?

I'm basically about to order an Apple TV so I haven't got to grips with everything yet. I was aware that I could rip DVD's to iTunes and watch them on my Apple TV (as long as my itunes was on). Is this effectively what Plex does?

Thank you, apologies for my stupidity!
Click to expand...

No problem... Say for instance you have videos with the extension avi or mkv, iTunes, and therefor AppleTV, can't do anything with them. On-the-fly transcoding lets Plex take the original file and turn it into something the AppleTV can play without having to re-encode all your files first.

As far as automatic metadata scraping, Plex will automatically download the proper episode/movie names, descriptions, and artwork, with no or little intervention from you. On iTunes you have to edit tags manually or you will be missing all of that stuff(which makes playing it on AppleTV a pain), unless all your content came from the iTunes Store.
 
A couple of additional comments on that...

- For transcoding to work well, you will need your central computer up and running (just as you would if you went the iTunes server route you mentioned) and your central server will need to have a fairly decent CPU to handle on-the-fly transcoding of high-bitrate high-definition content (e.g., a full-bitrate rip of a Blu-ray movie). The Plex site probably provides some guidance on this.

- Plex will also allow you to do remote playback of your content outside of your house.
 
Dalton63841 said:
No problem... Say for instance you have videos with the extension avi or mkv, iTunes, and therefor AppleTV, can't do anything with them. On-the-fly transcoding lets Plex take the original file and turn it into something the AppleTV can play without having to re-encode all your files first.

As far as automatic metadata scraping, Plex will automatically download the proper episode/movie names, descriptions, and artwork, with no or little intervention from you. On iTunes you have to edit tags manually or you will be missing all of that stuff(which makes playing it on AppleTV a pain), unless all your content came from the iTunes Store.
Click to expand...

Aha! I know understand and completely appreciate why Plex is much more appealing than iTunes copying. Thank you for your help!
 
To me, the main benefit of Plex is not having to run iTunes on a Mac 24x7. I run Plex & PlexConnect on my Synology NAS. So, I can now take my MacBook outside of my house, while my family at home can still access my Media library via ATV(s).

Not running my MacBook on 24x7 will probably prolong its life as well.
 
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