Media Player – Apple TV Hacks

Infuse 4 for Apple TV gets its first major update

tomek — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:32:33 +0000

Infuse, the powerful video player for the Apple TV 4, has just received its first major update. Infuse 4.1 for tvOS adds dark mode, HD audio, watched icons, background fetching, and much, much more.

Dark mode

The all-new dark mode is inspired by the iOS version of Infuse.

HD Audio

Infuse 4.1 lets you enjoy up to 7.1 channels of 24-bit lossless HD audio (DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD). The app will send HD audio to an AV receiver as uncompressed, multi-channel LPCM.

Watched status icons

Both new and in-progress videos will have a colorful orange banner overlayed on top of the poster, with a small icon to indicate the status. Watched status icons are also visible on the video details page.

Background fetching

Infuse will now automatically scan your favorites for new files, and work to pull down metadata and artwork for you in the background.

Here’s a complete list of new features:

Watched indicators
Dark Mode
Added HD audio support (up to 7.1ch & 24-bit) via LPCM
Automatic deep folder scanning
Improved playback controls
New popup menu (longpress a video to open)
Mark videos as watched/unwatched
Delete videos from remote SMB and FTP/SFTP shares
Updated Siri remote playback controls to tvOS 9.2 style (details)
Added age rating to video details
Added support for .divx files
Added visual hints for chapters
Smoother poster scrolling
Improved metadata fetching accuracy
Improved SMB streaming reliability
Resolved issues with transparent Favorite artwork
Resolved issues with some FTP encoding types
Resolved rare issues with subtitle download menu
Resolved rare performance issue present when using subtitles
Resolved issues with WoL (Wake-on-LAN)
Many, many, many small player improvements
Other minor improvements and fixes

Learn more about Infuse 4 for Apple TV and check out the video showing the setup process and explaining how Infuse actually works on Apple TV 4.

There are 2 ways to download Infuse.

1. Search for Infuse in the App Store app on Apple TV.
2. Download Infuse or Infuse Pro on a computer or iOS device, then locate Infuse under the Purchased tab in the App Store app on Apple TV.

Note: The same features are available whether you upgrade to Pro via In-App Purchase, or purchase the standalone Infuse Pro app.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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VLC now available for Apple TV 4

tomek — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:02:58 +0000

VLC, one of the popular media players, has just arrived on the new Apple TV. The app is a full port of VLC player “combined with platform specific features.”

Like the iOS version, VLC for Apple TV 4 supports virtually all file formats under the sun. It integrates with a plethora of devices and services on your local network and includes a custom way of casting ﬁles directly to the TV from your other computers using a web browser.

How to access content

VLC on the Apple TV automatically discovers storage and shares on your local network (using the SMB, UPnP media server, FTP and PLEX protocols). You can browse them with the clicker or the Siri Remote, select the content you want and it will play.

During playback, you’ll be able to add subtitles from OpenSubtitles.org. Login credentials can be securely stored on your Apple TV and will be synchronized to your iPad or iPhone (and the other way around) to ease access.

Remote playback

When it comes to network streams and files you don’t have stored on your server, here’s how it works in the new app:

VLC shows an address (and an IP) on your Apple TV. Open it using your web browser. Drop a file to play it on the big screen, drop multiple files to queue them. Until storage hits its limits on the Apple TV, the files will remain available locally on device.

For playback of a network stream URL on your TV, just paste it to the field and push return. Once playback concludes, you will find it in the Network Stream view for future use. Like for files, you can send multiple URLs rows in a row and they will be attached to the playback queue.

The web interface can be used for play/pause and seeking.

URLs recently played on iPad or iPhone will appear along with the ones played on the big screen automatically.

Playback

VLC for the Apple TV supports the basic play, pause and seek. Additionally, you can navigate by chapter and titles or pick from multiple audio and subtitles tracks.

The app supports any kind of text (srt, SSA, WebVTT, …) or bitmap subtitles including full support for right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew, complex text layout for Malayalam as well as further Asian languages.

VLC also uses the community service hatchet.is to show artist imagery and biographies.

Cloud services

The developers said that support for Dropbox, OneDrive and Box is currently in beta testing using the TestFlight platform and it will appear “soon”.

You can get VLC by searching for it on the Apple TV App Store.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

Images source: MacStories, VLC

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Plex on Apple TV 4 explained (video)

AskUncleDave — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 16:49:04 +0000

Running Plex on an Apple TV prior to tvOS isn’t something new – people have been running custom Apple TV apps like Plex for years by using custom markup languages and JavaScript combined with simple DNS trick.

Now, that Apple offers customers an Apple TV App Store and Xcode to developers, Plex has released official Plex app.

To run Plex (Player) on Apple TV 4 you need to have the latest Plex Media Server running on a Mac, PC, Linux, FreeBSD or a NAS that can transcode. More info can be found on Plex Support.

Here is my video showing the new Apple TV app with Plex Server running on a NAS.

Also check out: Infuse 4 for Apple TV 4: first look (video)

You can find more videos on my YouTube channel AskUncleDave.

Note that DRM-protected content (such as video from the iTunes store), ISO disc images, and VIDEO_TS folders are not supported in Plex for Apple TV.

Plex app is free in the Apple TV App Store.

Also available in the Apple TV App Store is Simple X – a third party client for Plex Media Server. It can browse and play videos from Plex servers both on the local network and remotely. However, it does not currently support Mucis or Photo sections in Plex.

Also read:

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Infuse 4 for Apple TV 4: first look (video)

tomek — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 22:10:21 +0000

Infuse, one of the most popular media players for iOS, is coming soon to the new Apple (it should be availabe on the Apple TV App Store by the end of the year). The first beta has been sent out to beta testers on Wednesday and some of them have already managed to record and share the videos showing the app in action on the Apple TV 4.

YouTube user AskUncleDave has posted a video showing off the setup process and some details on how Infuse 4 will actually work on the 4th generation Apple’s set-top box.

Infuse 4 will be a universal app (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) and will come as a free update for all current Infuse 3 Pro users.

You can read the review of Infuse 3 for iOS on our sister site What’s On iPhone.

Also read:

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Infuse 4 for the new Apple TV coming soon as a free update

tomek — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:13:01 +0000

Firecore shared some new details on its upcoming Infuse app for Apple TV 4. The developers are “starting to see a beautiful bright light at the end of the tunnel”, meaning the new version of Infuse is coming soon to tvOS.

Infuse 4 will be a universal app (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) and will come as a free update for all current Infuse 3 Pro users.

Firecore confirmed that the tvOS version will include streaming from remote share (SFTP, WEBDAV, etc.), a feature that is available in the iOS version of Infuse.

You can read the review of Infuse 3 on our sister site What’s On iPhone.

Also read:

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Infuse coming to Apple TV 4, just not quite yet

tomek — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 23:54:21 +0000

Back in September FireCore announced that they were working on a tvOS version of their popular iOS app – Infuse. As the new Appe TV went on sale yesterday, the company confirmed that Infuse will most likely be availabe on the Apple TV App Store by the end of the year.

We were fortunate enough to receive one of the first pre-release units, and have been putting in long hours every day since. To date, we’ve made some great progress, but still have some work to do and are hoping to have this great new version of Infuse available on the App Store later this year.

FireCore is planning to open up a small beta group once thay get a bit closer to release, and if you are interested in being a part of this, you can sign up here.

You can read the review of Infuse 3 on our sister site What’s On iPhone.

Giveaway: Win a brand new Apple TV 4!

More on Apple TV 4:

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Official Plex app for Apple TV 4 available from day one

tomek — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 13:28:20 +0000

Back in September Plex confirmed that the official Plex app for the new Apple TV was in the works. However, they didn’t say a word on when they were going to relese it. Now, it looks that we will be able to enjoy the app from day one.

@reneritchie Count us in on the Apple TV launch

— Plex (@plex) October 21, 2015

But if you are a developer who was lucky enough to get the Apple TV Developer Kit, you can already check out a POC standalone Plex Client for tvOS written by Plex Forums user Eric Yanush (it is basically PlexConnect written in javascript, which generates TVML).

Also check out: How to get Plex working on Apple TV 3

The new Apple TV is coming next week – orders start on Monday, Oct. 26, with the device shipping later that week.

Giveaway: Win a brand new Apple TV 4!

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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PopCast lets you stream any video file from Windows PC to Apple TV

tomek — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 14:26:53 +0000

Until now, streaming media files from a Windows PC to an Apple TV was only possible with iTunes (for supported file types only) or AirParrot (using its media streaming or specific app mirroring features). Recently released PopCast is a new player to the market. It lets you stream all of your videos to your Apple TV or Chromecast, no matter what file format.

PopCast does live video conversion, which means you can instantly begin to watch your video content. It supports all the popular file formats, including AVI and MKV.

It also lets you queue up your favorite videos and create playlists.

Here’s how it works:

You can get PopCast from here. A $15 license allows unlimited usage and 1 year of upgrades. Free trial is also available.

We heard from the developers that the Mac version is in development and almost ready for release. To be notified once it is complete, sign up for their notification list.

If you’re looking for a Mac app that offers similar functionality, check out Beamer.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Infuse 2.3 is one of its biggest update yet

Roshan — Fri, 02 May 2014 05:12:30 +0000

Packing support for a ton of video formats, a flat interface, network streaming and cool subtitle solutions, Infuse app is often considered to be the most complete and user-friendly video player for iPhone and iPad. The developers at FireCore are pushing the bar still higher with more features in the latest 2.3 update.

My favorite one is the new set of gesture controls for playback, which are more intuitive and easier to learn.

UPNP/DLNA streaming is another major one, which will let you connect with any DLNA enabled app or media server at your home, including “XBMC, Plex, WMC, PS3 Media Server and others”. You will be able to browse, stream or even download your favorite movies or TV Shows, right on your iOS device.

Infuse 2.3 also brings in the ‘continuous playback‘ feature which is really useful, especially if you’re like me and like to watch all episodes of a TV Show in a row.

The update brings a lot of other minor improvements and tweaks as noted below:

Refreshed styling in many areas

Single movie folders are now displayed with cover art

Visual indicators for downloaded files

Smarter calculation of when videos are marked as ‘watched’

Better subtitle performance for some languages

Ability to add artwork manually (use title.jpg and title_backdrop.jpg)

Improved streaming for certain NAS devices

Localization improvements

Many UI related improvements

Other performance and stability improvements

Here, I have only discussed the latest changes and new features on Infuse 2.3 but if you need a deeper look, you might want to go through our full review of Infuse and Infuse 2.0

Infuse 2.3 is available right now at the App Store for free and the premium features can be unlocked for an one-time price of $6.99.

Get Infuse from the App Store now.

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Infuse brings some of the most wanted features in 2.2.2 update

Roshan — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:55:30 +0000

Infuse never fails to amaze us. If you’ve gone through my first review of this awesome video player, you might remember that we concluded it as one of the finest in its class. Supporting almost all known formats on Earth, smooth streaming from network devices, a plain flat iOS 7 based design and an elegant solution to the subtitle problem, we thought Infuse had reached as far as a media player could. But with the latest update Infuse 2.2.2, FireCore raises that bar still higher.

Here are some of the major highlights:

New gestures for easy control of videoplay: similar to Android phones, you can now scroll vertically on left side to change the brightness and on right side to control the volume. Two finger tap to play/pause and swipe horizontally for fast forward / rewind 30 seconds.
Orientation lock for those movie-on-the-bed times.
Import subtitles from other apps. I generally use Subtitles.org to search them directly within the app. But importing them from Skydrive or other apps will be useful if you’re a cloud person or are using other srt sources. Infuse 2.2.2 also lets you choose from a list of subtitles, instead of automatically pulling the one with the same name. Now THAT, I like!

In addition, they’re bringing a handful of other improvements and bug fixes too.

Added retina artwork for browser upload screen

Improved handling of Metadata Fetching setting for remote TV Shows

Improved performance for Dolby Audio (AC3) when passthrough is disabled

Improved AirPlay stability

Resolved issues with lock screen images for videos with embedded thumbnails

Resolved issues with resume position after connecting or disconnecting HDMI adapter

Resolved issue where device wouldn’t enter sleep mode while a movie was opening

Resolved floating crash when disconnecting HDMI cable

Added option to clear all metadata

AirPlay in background now works correctly for local files after pausing or resuming playback

Higher resolution for posters on iPad in landscape

Numerous localization improvements

Other performance and stability improvements

Infuse 2.2.2 is available as a free download from the App Store, but the premium pack needs a worthy $4.99 in-app purchase. As usual, for previous owners, this will of course be a free update.

Read our review of Infuse 2.

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