Tell me honestly, how many movies per month do you buy or rent in iTunes? And the owners of Apple TV, do you have more costs for licensed content? Even if we bought every film or series that is available on the media player, we would still keep the content in the folders of our computers. Not because it’s a pity 100 rubles for rent, but because most of the series, for example, in Russian dubbing there, and this is a big disadvantage for many. But to Apple TV you can not connect an external disk to view the next series. What to do? Alternatively, you can use the excellent Plex application, available for Mac, iOS and other platforms.
Surely, many of our readers are already familiar with the development and enjoy all its advantages. But there will always be someone who is not yet aware of the events and having an Apple TV connected to the TV, continues to watch video from a DVD or an external HDD. Down with the wires! It’s enough to constantly juggle cables and copy video from one disc to another.
Plex is installed on two devices. In this case it will be your computer running OS X and an iOS device. The server part will be installed on the Mac, and the client part will be installed on the smartphone or tablet. Now we can only add the necessary categories (movies, serials, music …) and folders where media files are stored.
After adding all the necessary folders, Plex will scan their contents, and then download the missing posters and descriptions so that they do not get confused with those who like to store the series in dozens without deleting them after the end of the viewing. All this, of course, is configured in a convenient web-interface under an account (have you already registered?).
All you need to do now is open the iOS application under the same account and select your favorite video or music. Playback starts on the device. I think it’s clear what needs to be done to now watch the video on the big screen of the TV: just turn on AirPlay and start playback on the console.
Unlike the analog, which I used before, AirVideo HD, Plex noticeably faster starts playing files and quite correctly “rewinds” the video. You can install the application on all your iOS devices and play content from any of them. It is enough to log in with your account or add a new one in the server settings. Separate accounting is useful for parents who will be able to view statistics in monitoring, how many, for example, the series was looked at by a child instead of doing homework.
Unfortunately, more fine-tuning of parental access is possible only on the extended PlexPass account ($ 4.99 per month and $ 39.99 per year). But along with this you will have other, equally interesting opportunities. For example, watching videos from your computer on a smartphone or tablet via the Internet at any point, no matter where you are. Installed applications for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on consoles of the new generation will also learn how to play content from your computer with a subscription (you can download Plex officially from the stores of applications consoles). And also some other possibilities.
But, probably, the main advantage of Plex is multiplatform. Plex, it seems, can soon be installed even on a microwave and a refrigerator, not to mention smartphones, tablets and computers running OS X, Windows, Linux, TVs of some models and network storage.
PlexConnect – A plug-in that allows you to more closely integrate Plex into Apple TV without jailbroken by substituting certificates and DNS. On previous versions of iOS for Apple TV used the application “Trailers” as a substitute for it on Plex. But after this “hole” was covered, users began to replace and other installed applications.A decent, but more expensive alternative to AirVideo HD, with additional features, cross-platform and good work quality. And how do you watch movies and TV shows? Share the methods in the comments!
Official site Plex
