Plex Releases Client for Non-Jailbroken Apple TVs

Wednesday June 5, 2013 9:59 AM PDT by Jordan Golson
Plex, the advanced server-client media player, has released a new client for the Apple TV -- however, unlike the existing ATV client, this one does not require the device to be jailbroken.

Plex allows users to store movie and TV show files on a server and then view those files on a wide variety of client devices including Macs, PCs, a number of smart televisions, the Roku box and the Apple TV. The server also connects to Internet databases to pull IMDB-type metadata on media.

Plexconnect
The client, called PlexConnect, uses a hack to get video from the Plex Media Server onto the Apple TV. A small Python program on the Mac intercepts DNS requests from the Movie Trailers app on the Apple TV and instead returns a custom XML feed that delivers a list of media and movie streams to the device.

From the Plex blog post announcing the program:
Enter PlexConnect. The brainchild of Baa, roidy and f00b4r, it’s a super clever little hack which allows a rich, fully-functional Plex client on un-jailbroken ATV2 and ATV3 (1080p!) devices. Essentially, you run a program on your computer which masquerades as the Trailer app. Next, change one setting on the ATV, and you’re up and running. It took me less than 2 minutes to install and get it running. It already uses the new transcoder (which means great support for subtitles), and I suspect it’ll support myPlex soon as well. In the PlexPass preview release of the media server, it also supports AC3 5.1 (remuxing and transcoding from DTS). Another cool thing: it supports iTunes DRM’ed video files.

Unlike the other Plex client for ATV2, this one uses XML and Javascript, which means it’s super easy to develop for. We can only hope that Apple opens up their App Store to these ATV “widgets” at some point. Another cool thing: it supports iTunes DRM’ed video files.
Currently, PlexConnect runs within a terminal window on the Mac, making it tricky for novice users to set up. The team is working on making it easier to install for future releases.

There is a PlexConnect wiki with installation guides and more information, and the Plex website has more information about the program as a whole.

65 comments


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Wildog27
82 months ago
One of my biggest wishes for WWDC is for iTunes/AppleTV to be able to play MKVs. I doubt that will happen, but I'll probably give this a try.
Rating: 4 Votes
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CrystalPepsi
82 months ago
Unfortunately, this pseudo-exploit will be patched in 3..2...1... Apple get their act together with whipping up some Apis for this thing.
Rating: 3 Votes
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GenesisST
82 months ago

One of my biggest wishes for WWDC is for iTunes/AppleTV to be able to play MKVs. I doubt that will happen, but I'll probably give this a try.


You can easily whip up an MP4 from a MKV using the Subler app. No reencoding necessary when the MKV is H.264 (not sure if MKV supports other codecs). It is a matter of about a few minutes for an hour long TV show on my 3-year old MBP.

Still... annoying to have to do this...
Rating: 2 Votes
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jclardy
82 months ago

Unfortunately, this pseudo-exploit will be patched in 3..2...1... Apple get their act together with whipping up some Apis for this thing.


I don't think they will - setting DNS server is kind of an important feature for many people. And the "exploit" is just rerouting all traffic through your mac which then either gives you the local content or something from the internet.
Rating: 1 Votes
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itcomesinwaves
82 months ago

I am a bit confused here - how is this different than applications such as Beamer, AirParrot etc.?

Thanks :)


Applications like Beamer require you to browse the files while sitting at your computer. This Plex app runs on the computer but lets you navigate your files using the AppleTV interface (ie the remote). It's a lot like going to the green 'Computers' icon on the AppleTV (which lets you browse a computer's iTunes library), but it works with many more file types.
Rating: 1 Votes
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portishead
82 months ago
That's cool, but I don't want to transcode. I do love Plex though, they really should make their own hardware. I'd buy one in a second.
Rating: 1 Votes
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yegon
82 months ago
Eh? I've been using Subler in ML for aaaaaages, works perfectly.
Rating: 1 Votes
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KhrisGarcia
82 months ago
I've been running this for a week now and it's awesome. The simplicity of having everything right on the Apple TV is great. I also prefer the ATV remote over my clumsy Logitech K400 keyboard.

Previously I was using Airplay from the Plex client on iPad. This eats up wifi bandwidth and we have multiple clients in the house. Plus it was clumsy like the k400 keyboard. Too big. Everything should be on the main screen with a simple remote. Meaning no Beamer.
Rating: 1 Votes
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mic j
82 months ago

Much, MUCH easier to use Beamer. They have a free trial that you can check out.

I would say it's much easier not to have a computer sitting on your lap and using the Finder to find the movie you want to watch. IMHO
Rating: 1 Votes
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Narial Taster
82 months ago

You can easily whip up an MP4 from a MKV using the Subler app. No reencoding necessary when the MKV is H.264 (not sure if MKV supports other codecs). It is a matter of about a few minutes for an hour long TV show on my 3-year old MBP.

Still... annoying to have to do this...


Much, MUCH easier to use Beamer. They have a free trial that you can check out.
Rating: 1 Votes
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