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VLC and Plex Apps Coming to New Apple TV
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There are quite a few inaccuracies in this.
Of the top of my head... Kodi can run files from a nas. That is my setup. Kodi did not need a full blown OS. I over from Windows to OpenElec. Another, faster, more like a Roku. Cheaper. My choice was Kodi over Plex. I tried them both years ago. But it is what works best for you.
Because the AppleTV2 and 3 do not support 3rd Party Apps only those curated by Apple.
I was already sold and had a very strong feeling Plex would be coming. The addition of VLC makes it that much better! This is great news! Here is hoping Apple lets them both through!
Yes, that is a classic. I watched it at least 3 times. Just hope the ending of the new version will be as good.
If it's anything like for iPhone then you can synchronise to your AppleTV using WiFi Upload, iTunes, various Cloud services, or direct downloads from the web.
Or run the Plex server software on your Mac or PC- pretty sure the iOS app does that now (which you can then Airplay to the old AppleTV.)
The new AppleTV Plex app should do the same thing, without having to go through intermediate device.
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If all i can do is only streaming from the cloud (maybe also from the mac?), its gonna be useless for me...
A Samsung Smart TV does this very well despite the clunky UI. They're largely criticized around here but I'm not sure there's a box that does this function better.
I think some of your summary is incorrect. Its worth noting that PLEX is a commercialised version of X-box Media Centre or XBMC which is now called KODI. You can do anything PLEX does in KODI. Some of it is easier in PLEX; for example PLEX is designed for steaming your files to mobile devices and this isn't really a main function of KODI. You can absolutely stream over a network to KODI, you do not have to use local files. PLEX is definitely aimed at the more regular user while KODI requires a little bit of tinkering.
The real advantage of PLEX like you point out is the server setup where the software organises a database which devices can connect to and see rich metadata. KODI can also create just as good a database with all the fancy box art etc this is done client side however. PLEX used to also have a great advantage because the PLEX server can transcode on the fly and serve up files to dumb clients where they don't play the file you have natively. The thing is that we now live in a world of cheap powerful devices like the Raspberry Pi which have no issues playing very high quality video from all sorts of sources. The advantage of KODI is the "server" can be a networked hard drive and do nothing more than samba of NFS sharing, it doesn't need server side software and this makes it cheaper. Although PLEX is now available on a few NAS boxes these days as well.
Both are amazing to use and it comes down to what devices you have or want to buy. I personally think the Raspberry Pi running OSMC (a version of KODI just for the Rasp Pi) is unbelievable for its cheap price, video format flexibility, stunning look and ease of use. My newest TV now has a PLEX app so if I hadn't already bought the Raspberry Pi I would have considered PLEX.
As for the Apple TV 4 it depends on what Apple will allow. If they will allow the likes of KODI and VLC to decode any video format they want then for me personally PLEX would be a waste of time. If they restrict the file playback to mp4 then PLEX might be a great workaround. Although if they take this route I suspect the Apple TV 4 will not replace my Raspberry Pi.
The real excitement for me with the Apple Tv is that with the App store everyone will want to get in on the action. Amazon will develop an app, Netflix will be on there, SKY in the UK will want to use it. Most of the other boxes (ROKU, Amazon Fire etc) have apps for this and that but not everything. Hopefully Apple will open it up and quickly surpass the completion on choice.
For a small amount of effort you can repurpose the Trailers app into a Plex client on an Apple TV 3. Works beautifully.
Not a single argument with anything you have just said. And a great expansion (and correction) to my post.
Thank You
And they are probably more affordable too. But they lack the integration with my iPhone and Mac that made the current Apple TV such a joy to use.
Hopefully Plex can tap into the SIRI API. That would be nice. Running Plex Home Theater on a Mac Mini currently just wish there was some HD audio support. Hopefully it will pass through the Apple TV. Using plex connect now for the bedroom and it works great.
Just remember if you have large rips you will have to transcode to the Apple TV. Hopefully you have a beefy server. The A8 processor is the same as the iPhone 6. I doubt you could direct play a Saving Private Ryan Blu Ray rip.
As for the iTunes confusion with Plex it won't play DRM media (Music, TV and Movies). Before Plex I used backup DVDs to MP4 and add it to iTunes. No issues then and no issues playing in Plex now.
Just remember if you have large rips you will have to transcode to the Apple TV. Hopefully you have a beefy server. The A8 processor is the same as the iPhone 6. I doubt you could direct play a Saving Private Ryan Blu Ray rip.
As for the iTunes confusion with Plex it won't play DRM media (Music, TV and Movies). Before Plex I used backup DVDs to MP4 and add it to iTunes. No issues then and no issues playing in Plex now.
The main reason why I find Plex indispensible is the ability to sync all my watched shows between multiple devices. If I start a movie or watch half a season on my TV and later pick up my iphone, the iphone will know exactly where I left off from each. Another reason is I am able to have one server and my parents are able to connect to it at their houses and watch the content (under their own logins so plex knows where they left off of their movies and seasons). Lastly and quite importantly, with plexpass, I can download content to my phone or ipad for when I am on an airplane. All I need to do is fire up the plex ap on my phone and click the movie(s) that I will want to watch on an airplane or some place else without internet and hit sync and it will download the movie in the backgroud and be ready for when I want to watch it.
There are many things that I like better about Kodi, but Plex definitely has a few "killer" features that Kodi doesn't match.
What I don't really understand is why we can't have an ATV to which external hard drives can be attached and that is compatible with all the main music and video formats (especially with mkv)? Surely this is not something difficult to achieve?
I have the WDTV which is compatible however is so damn slow and freezes so often that it gets annoying.
I have the WDTV which is compatible however is so damn slow and freezes so often that it gets annoying.