If you’ve read our reviews on previous versions of Infuse, you’d know how much we love this video player. And if you’ve used it before, you’d also know why. Sporting one of the best user interfaces in the game, chewing up all formats one could think of and stuffed up with premium features, it’s been our favourite even from the 1.x times. Then Infuse 2.0 showed up and revolutionized things by dropping it free, giving an iOS 7 based flat design and including the much awaited “streaming” feature.

Going through the comments section of our Infuse 2 review, we found some rather unpleasant comments regarding the streaming feature. Though it supported streaming from network devices, they complained that the user experience and data pulling wasn’t up to mark with that of local videos. Guess who heard that? Firecore is here with the 2.2 update, bridging those pits.

With Infuse 2.2, you can download network files for offline playback and also pull their cover-arts and metadata from the web. In addition, they’ve included some most demanded features like:

• List view option
• Volume boost
• Disabling video meta for home videos

Then there are some bug fixes, better performance and stability addons with special emphasis on improved streaming speed and reliability, improved detection of network devices, clearer in-app purchases and better playback of some formats.

Infuse 2.2 is now available at the App Store for free. The free version includes some basic functionalities and the Pro app can be unlocked for $4.99. For previous owners, this will of course be a free update.

Get Infuse 2.2 from the App Store.

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• Automatic pulling of cover and file details from IMDB.
• Stunning staging of covers and ticket entry to the theater.
• Support of over 14 formats
• Direct search and download of subtitles from OpenSubtitles.org
• Trakt.tv sync
• Social media sharing
• Easy file transfers and AirPlay

When I first heard about the Infuse 2, I was a little confused. How could there be a sequel to a video player app? Is it a tricky way to make old users pay again for a redesigned app? Later, I realized that it is not a new app but just the new name of the revamped app. Yeah, that makes more sense.

Bringing a brand new design and the ability to stream videos from other devices, Infuse 2 takes the experience a step further. Do consider reading the original review for an in-depth look into its huge list of features, as I will be dealing only with the fresh ones here.

The new interface is undoubtedly optimized for iOS 7. It is clean, compact and flat like a pancake. The basic UI frameworks, like the stage appearance and ticket entry are retained but are more plain as the skeomorphism is lacking. Support for iOS 7 gestures and the blurred backgrounds are in place too. Overall, the app seems new at a glance but instantly feels familiar once you start using it.

Regarding the features, Infuse 2 keeps all those lovable qualities which we praised last time. One of the most demanded features of Infuse was the support for video streaming and had been the deal breaker for many. Guess what? Infuse 2, as promised by FireCore, completely supports network streaming from Mac, PC or drives. It even works with AirPlay, subtitles and Trakt.

In short, Infuse 2 is all the goodness of Infuse, plus a lightweight design and some new features. The best part is that the app is now free. New users can try out the basic player for nothing and upgrade to the Pro version for $4.99 if they like what they see. Old users needn’t worry though. They can avail a free upgrade by tapping the restore button.

Get Infuse 2 from the App Store for free and do let us know in the comments section below, your thoughts on the app.

UPDATE: Firecore has released an update to Infuse 2, just in time for Christmas, bringing better options for free users, bug fixes and more. The full list of changes in Infuse 2.1 are:

• Free users can now play more formats!
• Variable speed scrubbing (drag position dot down for finer control)
• Improved accuracy while scrubbing
• Better movie artwork
• SMI subtitles
• Improved Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, and Spanish translations
• Many other fixes and improvements

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FireCore, the maker of aTV Flash (black) and Seas0nPass, has just released Infuse 2, a significantly updated version of its popular video player app for iPhone and iPad. Infuse 2 lets you watch videos in as many as 14 formats on your iOS device and is optimized for iOS 7 and Retina displays, with AirPlay and subtitle support as well as trakt.tv integration baked right in.

Infuse 2 builds upon our vision of being ‘the beautiful way to watch videos’ by featuring a fresh, new, content-first design for iOS 7 that makes enjoying movies and TV shows on an iPhone or iPad better than ever.

We’ve previously reviewed Infuse as the best video player we’ve ever used and now Infuse 2 is set to only increase the greatness of the application.

Other features:

• Automatically download and display cover art and other metadata from TheMovieDB and TheTVDB.
• Connect with trakt to scrobble plays back to your account, submit ratings and post shouts.
• Use a standard web browser to easily transfer videos. No iTunes syncing required.
• Add subtitles in seconds with one-tap downloads from OpenSubtitles.org.
• Easily post what you’re watching to Facebook, Twitter and trakt…all optional of course.
• Localized in 31 different languages with native support for multiple audio tracks and subtitles.

Infuse 2 is available from the App Store as a free app and comes with a new premium in-app purchase called Infuse Pro, which is said to empower you to play additional media formats, stream videos from other devices (such as a Mac, PC or network drive), send a wider variety of video types over AirPlay, and enjoy full Dolby Digital Mobile Surround.

The Infuse Pro in-app purchase is available at an introductory price of $4.99, but it’s a free update for all current Infuse users (note: current Infuse users should tap the ‘Restore’ button instead of ‘Upgrade Now’ on the Infuse Pro upgrade prompt).

Infuse 2 requires iOS 7 or later.

Infuse 2 [iTunes link].

Be sure to also check out a great review of Infuse by our friends at What’s On iPhone.

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I have been a power user of AVPlayer on my iPhone and iPad, since a long time. In fact, I din’t even know that I needed a better player until a couple of days back when I tapped the buy button besides Infuse – The Beautiful Way to Watch Videos.

Infuse amazes us at different levels!

The opening screen invites you to a Stage, that showcases all your videos both within the app and those in the gallery. You can add more content anytime, via iTunes sync, FTP transfer, via Browser or from other apps.

I just loaded my favourite episode of the TV show House, to test the app and that is when I started noticing the difference. Mine was a raw file named ‘house 0416‘ without any other details. In a few seconds Infuse tracked down the video and pulled all available details from the internet into a neat little ‘ticket‘. The thumbnail is on the stage, IMDB rating on top and even a Parental Guideline seal. Details of the crew, resolution of the video, duration and summary of the episode are here in a blink. Mind blown!

Tap on the play button and the ticket side is torn to enter the theatre. Sit back and enjoy all your favourite movies, TV shows, trailers, courses, music videos or just anything, in up to 1080p resolution.

Support for over 14 formats including the popular MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV, 3GP, etc., in addition to the standard MP4, MOV and MOV, means Infuse chews up anything you throw at it. Playing both AC3 and E-AC3 audio makes sure you have the highest level of entertainment’ always (note that DRM-protected content purchased from iTunes are not supported).

But things are far from over.

A little into the video, what if you realise that you cannot follow the conversations, especially if you’re a non native speaker or watching a foreign movie? No worries, just go into settings and look for an alternate audio track. If that doesnt help, tap ‘Subtitles’. Either your can load your own srts or Infuse can automatically find them for you in the vast and popular OpenSubtitles.org database. Change subtitle settings to customize the appearance and set the offset. Tadaa!

In addition to all these uniqueness, the routine brightness, aspect ratio, and scrubbing are available, of course. The videos are divided into chapters so that you can note down your favorite scenes. Sync via a Trakt.tv account to play across multiple devices and share with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

The latest update brings Wi-Fi file transfers (you can get videos into Infuse by dragging and dropping them into the app through any web browser) and the much awaited AirPlay option that lets you play your videos on the big screen and completes the video viewing experience. The new fullscreen TV-out feature (when using HDMI/VGA adapter) is also a good addition.

It is cruel to ask more out of an app that delivers so much. But if you insist, I would wish for a Touch lock and Orientation lock buttons within the app and also a few handy Gesture controls.

In short, Infuse is hands down, the best video player I’ve ever used.

Get Infuse – The beautiful way to watch videos from the App Store for $4.99, as a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

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