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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Brightcove, the online video platfrom that has long offered customers several ways to deliver content to the Apple TV, has released the Brightcove Native Player SDK for tvOS that allows customers to develop native applications for, and deliver Video Cloud content to, Apple TV.

With the September announcement of the next gen Apple TV, Brightcove launched the Jump Start for Apple TV program with the goal of helping content publishers create “powerful experiences” on the new Apple TV without spending the developer resources and time to do so.

The initial release of Brightcove’s tvOS SDK provides a foundation for the playback of Video Cloud assets including an integration with the Media and Playback APIs as well as full Video Cloud analytics support.

Content owners can easily leverage their assets and video metadata to create tvOS applications which captivate their audiences and gather comprehensive analytics data.

Built with developers in mind, the SDK caters to those familiar with iOS development and exposes underlying components that allow for changes or additions to be made on a whim.

The developers are planning to to add new functionality to the Native Player SDK, such as support for FairPlay DRM in Video Cloud.

Access to the SDK is included with Brightcove Video Cloud and Brightcove Perform.

Check out our gift guides:

• Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas: Best Accessories for Apple TV Users
• Holiday Gift Guide: Best Accessories for Apple TV 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen.

Most of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are still there: 

• Best deals on TVs for Apple TV
• Best deals on Bluetooth speakers for Apple TV 4
• Best deals on Bluetooth headphones for Apple TV 4
• Best deals on AirPlay speakers for Apple TV (2nd, 3rd and 4th gen.)
• Best deals on skins/stickers for Apple TV (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen.)
• Best deals on Bluetooth keyboards for Apple TV 2 & 3
• TotalMount Pro for Apple TV (2nd, 3rd and 4th gen.) now 33% off

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

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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:

• MAME emulator running on Apple TV 4
• Official Plex app for Apple TV 4 available from day one
• VLC coming to the new Apple TV
• tvOS not coming to Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3
• How Apple is fixing what’s wrong with console gaming today

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

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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 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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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

The post Infuse 2 Review – The best gets even better appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

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.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

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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.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

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Firecore has also shared the news that they plan to have a preview ‘alpha’ version of their video player (with NAS streaming support) available next week.

Here is a preview of the video player in action.

(Firecore: In the demo a full DVD (VIDEO_TS) movie is being streamed from a remote AFP based NAS drive over wifi. Playback is handled entirely on the AppleTV, and requires no server-side transcoding. Full 5.1 sound is also supported.)

You may also want to read:
How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 with Seas0nPass (tethered)
How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2
How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 with greenpois0n rc6

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