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[mrklaw]

alright...... may give plex a look. I've never used any of the transcode stuff... just because I've never been inclined enough to a) rip my content and b) my primary streamers (PS4 and Apple TV 3) couldn't easily work with it..

So here's my question. Can I just
1. rip a blu-ray with handbrake with little to no transcoding, then
2. easily play it on the new plex app?



unlikely. Apple doesn't have siri opened up to anything right now.

If you rip and encode with handbrake to the universal preset I think that encodes with the correct format video/audio am to all Apple devices directly without transcoding.

Don't use handbrake. Use Makemkv. It makes ripping Blu Rays stupidly easy and almost one click and go type deal. You just load it up, pop in the disc, select what you want to rip on the disc, usually just the movie, and if want select which audio and subtitle tracks and hit the button to go and it'll do a straight untouched rip into a mkv container with all the audio and subtitles.

Except those will need transcoding by plex.

RIP with makeMKV and then encode with handbrake was my route. Batched them up so I ripped a bunch, then left handbrake to encode overnight.

 

[borghe]

Don't use handbrake. Use Makemkv. It makes ripping Blu Rays stupidly easy and almost one click and go type deal. You just load it up, pop in the disc, select what you want to rip on the disc, usually just the movie, and if want select which audio and subtitle tracks and hit the button to go and it'll do a straight untouched rip into a mkv container with all the audio and subtitles.

oops. I said handbrake but that was the old windows days.. I use(d) MakeMKV (for the one blu-ray I ripped to test out the drive in my new build)

ok, so I can rip it without transcoding audio or video, and then use Plex to stream it to Apple TV?

I would actually buy more blu-rays (and less iTunes) if that is indeed the case. I mean I have no problem with iTunes purchases at all.. just sucks when you see that blu-ray you want for $8 and iTunes wants $15. I usually just wait for it to (hopefully) then go on sale for $10. This will be nice to have options.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Plex screenshots (not mine, taken from the Plex forums):

 

[infiniteloop]

Plex on Apple TV. Finally.

 

[Guess Who]

Re: MKV files. Unless you need something special like SSA/ASS support for the weebs among you, Subler is a free Mac app that can remux MKVs to M4V with subs, multiple audio tracks, etc. for native playback on iOS devices/Apple TV.

 

[Marty Chinn]

oops. I said handbrake but that was the old windows days.. I use(d) MakeMKV (for the one blu-ray I ripped to test out the drive in my new build)

ok, so I can rip it without transcoding audio or video, and then use Plex to stream it to Apple TV?

I would actually buy more blu-rays (and less iTunes) if that is indeed the case.

Can't speak for how Plex will work with the Apple TV, but in general yes it should if Plex works right and the Apple TV can handle it. I've ripped most of my Blu Ray collection that way to be played in XBMC/Kodi and it's flawless. It really is pleasing to have it ripped and on demand in your network but also retain the quality of a Blu Ray.

On a different note, can you skin Plex on the Apple TV?

 

[Van Owen]

Re: MKV files. Unless you need something special like SSA/ASS support for the weebs among you, Subler is a free Mac app that can remux MKVs to M4V with subs, multiple audio tracks, etc. for native playback on iOS devices/Apple TV.

Well, even if the server is just remuxing or encoding audio only, it doesn't take a beefy server for those two tasks.

 

[giga]

I wouldn't bother transcoding the video rips because they're most likely already in h.264. Plex won't transcode those unless it needs to burn in subs on the fly. It can remux mkv containers on the fly too. The only thing I would transcode is DTS audio to AC3 and AAC.

 

[killertofu]

Thats a pretty Plex interface.

I liek the Apple TV but I can't really justify it when I have a PS4 already... I mean is there any advantages? Besides not having HBO Go cause Comcast sucks dick.

 

[Guess Who]

Well, even if the server is just remuxing or encoding audio only, it doesn't take a beefy server for those two tasks.

Obviously for you folks using Plex it's not as useful; this is more for folks who may want a way of taking their MKV BluRay rips and quickly converting them for native iOS or Apple TV playback without re-encoding or using Plex.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Except those will need transcoding by plex.

RIP with makeMKV and then encode with handbrake was my route. Batched them up so I ripped a bunch, then left handbrake to encode overnight.

I hate Plex and avoid it like the plague so I'm not familiar with how it handles everything in different situations. Are you sure it transcodes instead of just remuxes? Ripping and then encoding to me defeats the purpose of getting a pure Blu Ray rip. If you can't rip with MakeMKV, that's just another reason on the many reasons for me to not like Plex. I hate transcoding.

 

[giga]

I hate Plex and avoid it like the plague so I'm not familiar with how it handles everything in different situations. Are you sure it transcodes instead of just remuxes? Ripping and then encoding to me defeats the purpose of getting a pure Blu Ray rip. If you can't rip with MakeMKV, that's just another reason on the many reasons for me to not like Plex. I hate transcoding.

It doesn't unless you enable subs. See direct stream.

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250387-Streaming-Media-Direct-Play-and-Direct-Stream

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

alright...... may give plex a look. I've never used any of the transcode stuff... just because I've never been inclined enough to a) rip my content and b) my primary streamers (PS4 and Apple TV 3) couldn't easily work with it..

So here's my question. Can I just
1. rip a blu-ray with handbrake with little to no transcoding, then
2. easily play it on the new plex app?



unlikely. Apple doesn't have siri opened up to anything right now.

1. Yes. You can convert it to whichever format/quality you desire for space/quality reasons but note you have to tag it and name it according to the rules
2. Use Plex Media Server to point to the folders with the content, that's basically it. I've been trying to figure out TV Show extras but I just stick them in Season 0.

Before this I only dabbled in Plex now and then

 

[Marty Chinn]

It doesn't unless you enable subs. See direct steam.

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250387-Streaming-Media-Direct-Play-and-Direct-Stream

It mentions compatible subtitles; any idea what that is exactly?

The fact that it can't handle subtitles though is still shitty if the movie has subtitles for foreign language parts of the movie or other reasons subtitles are needed.

 

[Quasar]

I hate Plex and avoid it like the plague so I'm not familiar with how it handles everything in different situations. Are you sure it transcodes instead of just remuxes? Ripping and then encoding to me defeats the purpose of getting a pure Blu Ray rip. If you can't rip with MakeMKV, that's just another reason on the many reasons for me to not like Plex. I hate transcoding.

I love it. In part because of the server side transcoding. Sure I'd prefer everything played without transcoding, but in a choice of not playing on a device or playing transcoded I'd certainly choose the latter.

For the most part (leaving aside subbed content) I find video never gets transcoded, its just audio streams that do (because most of my audio is DTS-HD MA and none of my devices support that format), but thats more a hardware/OS issue than a Plex issue.

 

[Quasar]

It mentions compatible subtitles; any idea what that is exactly?

The fact that it can't handle subtitles though is still shitty if the movie has subtitles for foreign language parts of the movie or other reasons subtitles are needed.

It handles the sub format that is on blurays, its the wonky fansub formats that it cannot handle without transcoding.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I love it. In part because of the server side transcoding. Sure I'd prefer everything played without transcoding, but in a choice of not playing on a device or playing transcoded I'd certainly choose the latter.

For the most part (leaving aside subbed content) I find video never gets transcoded, its just audio streams that do (because most of my audio is DTS-HD MA and none of my devices support that format), but thats more a hardware/OS issue than a Plex issue.

All my devices run XBMC and can play them natively so it's never an issue of not being able to play on a device for me. I don't even have to worry about transcoding audio either. Like I said, it's just one of many reasons I dislike Plex.

 

[Fess]

I just got my Apple TV today including the Steel series nimbus controller. And I'm quite impressed honestly. I've been playing Geometry Wars 3 and it felt like playing on a console, Oceanhorn was neat too. I played on the projector though which makes movement smoother so I'm not sure what the actual framerates were, if they were 60fps then this might become a fine little gaming box.

 

[Quasar]

All my devices run XBMC and can play them natively so it's never an issue of not being able to play on a device for me. I don't even have to worry about transcoding audio either. Like I said, it's just one of many reasons I dislike Plex.

Well as I said that's not a plex issue, its a device issue. Certainly my phones, tablets, and even stb's can't play DTS-HD-MA/Dolby TrueHD/Atmos natively. Would be nice if they did though. Though finally with the OS update at least my AndroidTV device does support 24Hz for video (something AppleTV never will).

Speaking of which...I think I'm that close from returning my ATV4. Niggling issues and the fact that its not offering me a whole lot beyond what my Nexus Player does has me seriously thinking about it.

 

[SourBear]

If I have an existing XBMC library that I'm interested in playing on AppleTV using Plex what should I be looking at in terms of converting the library database, metadata, etc?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

The tv is definitely a 1.0 product, but still good enough to keep imo. There's definite potential,

It's weird to me that people keep saying this. Isn't it just that the software is "launch" or "1.0" software?

Most of the problems sound like things Apple could fix within the next 6 months, or aren't Apple's problem at all...

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Plex sounds cool. I really need to look into ripping my Blu-rays and putting them on my network drive for streaming.

Do I need the premium version of Plex to simply stream media from a NAS to an Apple TV that is on the same network?

 

[infiniteloop]

Twitter on your telly:

https://twitter.com/AirfeedApp

 

[borghe]

It's weird to me that people keep saying this. Isn't it just that the software is "launch" or "1.0" software?

Most of the problems sound like things Apple could fix within the next 6 months, or aren't Apple's problem at all...

a couple of thoughts.

yes it's minor stuff.. and yes they'll fix it. I guess people are like "this is apple and should have zero problems!!!"

at the same time, the people "bailing ship" after 3 days are odd... I mean we went from limited connectivity to Plex in three days. Who knows how far ahead we'll be in three weeks, 3 months, etc. To each their own, but to make your decision on what device you're going with for good based on 2-3 days of using a device that has literally only existed for those 2-3 days.. especially amidst an emerging app ecosystem.. I mean whatever I guess.

I had an old MKV of Snow White that I ripped from BD. That took some trial and error to get going in plex on ATV4 but it's going now. I also had a DVD ripped to m4v that started instantly. I'm ripping Charlie Brown Thanksgiving BD as I type this so we'll see how that fires up. I set transcoding on my Mac to "Make my CPU hurt".. but it's only an i5 4670. CPU seems to hover around 150% in top.

edit - ok, my original issue playing my raw BD rip of Snow White must have been a fluke. As soon as Charlie Brown Thanksgiving finished I dropped it in my Movies directory and my ATV4 could play it immediately.

 

[Quasar]

Plex sounds cool. I really need to look into ripping my Blu-rays and putting them on my network drive for streaming.

Do I need the premium version of Plex to simply stream media from a NAS to an Apple TV that is on the same network?

No.

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

Well as I said that's not a plex issue, its a device issue. Certainly my phones, tablets, and even stb's can't play DTS-HD-MA/Dolby TrueHD/Atmos natively. Would be nice if they did though. Though finally with the OS update at least my AndroidTV device does support 24Hz for video (something AppleTV never will).

Speaking of which...I think I'm that close from returning my ATV4. Niggling issues and the fact that its not offering me a whole lot beyond what my Nexus Player does has me seriously thinking about it.

I also have a Nexus Player that I keep around for Kodi/Sling. Wish it could access Amazon/Vudu, the apk's I've found don't work well if they work at all. The great thing is that it's $49.99 at Best Buy right now. Incredible value. But like any of the streaming boxes there's shortcomings too.

Can't wait to go home and check out Plex!

 

[Quasar]

I also have a Nexus Player that I keep around for Kodi/Sling. Wish it could access Amazon/Vudu, the apk's I've found don't work well if they work at all. The great thing is that it's $49.99 at Best Buy right now. Incredible value. But like any of the streaming boxes there's shortcomings too.

Can't wait to go home and check out Plex!

Yeah. I know. They all have short comings to one degree or another. Which is damn frustrating. Even a HTPC has those. Probably won't ever be one perfect solution it seems.

 

[borghe]

Yeah. I know. They all have short comings to one degree or another. Which is damn frustrating. Even a HTPC has those. Probably won't ever be one perfect solution it seems.

everyone keeps on saying that.. but really.. I am having a hard time seeing what would eventually stop the ATV4 from being the "perfect" solution. Take plex for instance..

They stuck to one of the standard TVML templates, so its interface is pretty familiar to anyone on Apple TV.

They implemented TopShelf.. So if you have it on the top row it gives you quick access to continue playing and recently added.

It works with virtually any codec/container you have on your system.

etc.

Now just take those 3 points and apply them to any potential service. The only wet blanket I can even see are the "holdouts". Amazon. Spotify(?). etc. And even most of those holdouts in the worst case can still be streamed from your device.

I am not saying there aren't beefs with the ATV4 now. I even have a few.. but out of all of the devices out.. aside from an HTPC.. I can't see a brighter future for any of them than the ATV4. And that's just talking about media, not even touching games/apps.

P.S. Again take a look at the bolded part. That's pretty awesome. I wonder if Plex is also setting your library up for Core Spotlight also... if so, in theory as soon as they turn on Spotlight for all devs your entire Plex library should be Siri searchable.

 

[Marty Chinn]

everyone keeps on saying that.. but really.. I am having a hard time seeing what would eventually stop the ATV4 from being the "perfect" solution. Take plex for instance..

They stuck to one of the standard TVML templates, so its interface is pretty familiar to anyone on Apple TV.

They implemented TopShelf.. So if you have it on the top row it gives you quick access to continue playing and recently added.

It works with virtually any codec/container you have on your system.

etc.

Now just take those 3 points and apply them to any potential service. The only wet blanket I can even see are the "holdouts". Amazon. Spotify(?). etc. And even most of those holdouts in the worst case can still be streamed from your device.

I am not saying there aren't beefs with the ATV4 now. I even have a few.. but out of all of the devices out.. aside from an HTPC.. I can't see a brighter future for any of them than the ATV4. And that's just talking about media, not even touching games/apps.

Well right now, I see the Fire TV being a better solution than the Apple TV. It has almost all the major streaming services, it let's me use XBMC, it's the only device that let's me integrate all those services into XBMC, and it let's me sideload any Android app. While no box is perfect, it's well ahead of the Apple TV at this point in time and until Kodi is on there, for a long time. And, I use that over my HTPC because of the HTPC limitations.

 

[infiniteloop]

Top charts are now available in the Apple TV App Store

 

[Miyahon]

Got mine delivered today. Noticed an odd sound issue with the Apple TV.

When playing a video there will no be sound for a few seconds and then I can hear it after those few seconds have passed.

I'm using the audio out on my TV and it goes through an optical cable into a sound bar.

Anyone else have this same issue?

*Edit*

Played around with the audio settings and had Dolby Surround as the default.

Chose Auto instead as it seems any app has 2.0 sound until you play the video which kicks in the Dolby Audio which causes the delay.

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

Top charts are now available in the Apple TV App Store

I was almost going to return my Apple TV in disgust until this

 

[giga]

Well right now, I see the Fire TV being a better solution than the Apple TV. It has almost all the major streaming services, it let's me use XBMC, it's the only device that let's me integrate all those services into XBMC, and it let's me sideload any Android app. While no box is perfect, it's well ahead of the Apple TV at this point in time and until Kodi is on there, for a long time. And, I use that over my HTPC because of the HTPC limitations.

Fire TV doesn't do universal/voice search for Netflix and the HBO Go app is awful. And that's fine that you like XBMC, but I'll continue to prefer Plex because of its media server.

 

[Quasar]

everyone keeps on saying that.. but really.. I am having a hard time seeing what would eventually stop the ATV4 from being the "perfect" solution. Take plex for instance..

They stuck to one of the standard TVML templates, so its interface is pretty familiar to anyone on Apple TV.

Well for me a perfect solution would include 24hz support, support for lossless audio formats, and of course 4k. Not that I hold lack of 4k against Apple given I've decided to wait till the formats have settled before even buying a 4k display.

And then of course you have the siloing of streaming services based on hardware.

And kind of amusingly to me, I really prefer buttons to a trackpad on my remote. I'm finding it much more clumsy to move around the AppleTV interface than I do AndroidTV with a button based remote.

I also kind of feel apples universal search will be more limiting than I'd like. But part of that might be my experience using the search on AndroidTV where I can dig up random shit on Youtube that isn't a movie or a tv show that I'm not sure could be done given Apples search format, even if/when google support it in the app.

 

[borghe]

As long as Plex can decode DTS-MA and send it to uncompressed to the plex client, it could actually do uncompressed audio.

24Hz is largely dead except for BD.. sadly. And even then, the number of TVs out there supporting true 5:5 or 10:10 cadence are shrinking.. as most are just converting to 60Hz first, then either doubling or quadrupling.. it sucks, but it's a fact. I'd love to see this change, but it looks like after a brief glimmer of getting better, it's basically dead. 😔

as for search, look through the docs.. it's actually REALLY comprehensive. I';m actually wondering how apple is going to pull it off, and am not surprised they held it back. Their Core Spotlight API is basically "you can index ANYTHING on the OS", which is just going to be brutal on returning results without some smart logic there..

 

[Quasar]

As long as Plex can decode DTS-MA and send it to uncompressed to the plex client, it could actually do uncompressed audio.

Can the ATV actually handle multichannel PCM like that?

 

[borghe]

Can the ATV actually handle multichannel PCM like that?

Yes. Core Audio supports multi-channel output where you can query the hardware for available channels, which is part of the HDMI handshake. So on my system Core Audio reports 8 channels (7.1) that I can send audio out over. We were discussing that earlier in the thread that ATV4 by default won't passthru any bitstreams but will decode them to LPCM first and send out multi-channel uncompressed output.

 

[Odious Tea]

As long as Plex can decode DTS-MA and send it to uncompressed to the plex client, it could actually do uncompressed audio.

24Hz is largely dead except for BD.. sadly. And even then, the number of TVs out there supporting true 5:5 or 10:10 cadence are shrinking.. as most are just converting to 60Hz first, then either doubling or quadrupling.. it sucks, but it's a fact. I'd love to see this change, but it looks like after a brief glimmer of getting better, it's basically dead. ��

as for search, look through the docs.. it's actually REALLY comprehensive. I';m actually wondering how apple is going to pull it off, and am not surprised they held it back. Their Core Spotlight API is basically "you can index ANYTHING on the OS", which is just going to be brutal on returning results without some smart logic there..

Plex is out and only uses the native AVPlayer stack for playback. Anything else, it transcodes. Curiously though, I'm unable to get DD+ (E-AC3) to output even though that's one of the formats that the Apple TV should be able to decode itself. But AC3 @ 640k is flawless, as expected.

They don't seem too interested in this kind of functionality, unfortunately.

 

[brianmcdoogle]

Is the Plex app free, paid (or IAP to make it actually useful like the iOS version) or does it require their costly subscription pass?

 

[borghe]

What do you mean native AVPlayer stack? All of my blu-rays for instance are DTS. On ATV4 it shows my audio option as DTS5.1 (the description) and channels of the track at 5.1.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Is the Plex app free, paid (or IAP to make it actually useful like the iOS version) or does it require their costly subscription pass?

Free. Their blog post said it's free for everyone.

https://blog.plex.tv/2015/11/02/plex-on-the-new-apple-tv/

 

[Odious Tea]

What do you mean native AVPlayer stack? All of my blu-rays for instance are DTS. On ATV4 it shows my audio option as DTS5.1 (the description) and channels of the track at 5.1.

Check your server. It's transcoding it to AC3 @ 640kbps. Apple TV does not passthrough anything other than Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital Plus 7.1.

Though, I haven't had much luck getting any of my blu rays that I've ripped to Dolby Digital Plus to actually produce any sound.

 

[Meicyn]

Finally got it in the mail today. Siri isn't nearly as useful as I had hoped, but it's clearly a work in progress. I'm more annoyed by the fact that the Remote app isn't updated for the new Apple TV. It was easy to get to the exact album I wanted through the iOS app whereas now, I'm stuck scrolling through a huge list via the actual remote since Siri doesn't support any music navigation right now.

In a way, it feels like a downgrade since I have music playing through my home entertainment setup more than anything else. Here's hoping some updates come soon.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

After reading this thread I gave MakeMKV and Plex a try.

Wow, this stuff is pretty magical.

Ripped the Blade Runner Final Cut Blu-ray and tried it on my Apple TV and iPhone. Worked incredibly well. I've got a spare PC that's just gathering dust right now, so I think I'll use it as my Plex box.

This is going to get me back into buying Blu-rays, I think.

 

[MrMephistoX]

After reading this thread I gave MakeMKV and Plex a try.

Wow, this stuff is pretty magical.

Ripped the Blade Runner Final Cut Blu-ray and tried it on my Apple TV and iPhone. Worked incredibly well. I've got a spare PC that's just gathering dust right now, so I think I'll use it as my Plex box.

This is going to get me back into buying Blu-rays, I think.

That's what I'm doing although I went with an iTunes home server on an old Mac mini that's still tricking...talk about hardware longevity. I'm itching to try plex though since before I was ripping to m4v and a few titles didn't work like beauty and the beast.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Fire TV doesn't do universal/voice search for Netflix and the HBO Go app is awful. And that's fine that you like XBMC, but I'll continue to prefer Plex because of its media server.

The Apple TV doesn't do universal/void search for Amazon Prime Video. Not to mention it doesn't even play the content. So I think I'd rather have Netflix with text search if it means I also get Amazon content too. Plus Netflix content has been in talks about being added to universal search for awhile now so who knows, it may happen which will make that point moot.

So where are you trying to go with this? Apple TV does iTunes, Netflix, Showtime, HBO, and Hulu. Fire TV does Amazon, HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Starz, Encore, Vevo, Crackle, and Popcorn Flix. Fire TV has more services with search results right now and has Amazon included which the Apple TV does not. The Fire TV lets you use XBMC/Kodi which the Apple TV will not. The Fire TV will let you output DTS which the Apple TV will not. There are plenty of advantages that the Fire TV has over the Apple TV at this point in time but like I said before, no single box is perfect, not even a fully stacked HTPC. Also, you know what works with Amazon's universal search that doesn't work on the Apple TV? Music.

I have pretty much the same setup with a central controlled media server that works with XBMC, but none of the limitations that Plex gives me so I don't see Plex's media server being some sort of perk because it nets me almost nothing.

 

[Nick Laslett]

I won't get my hands on the ATV4 until my birthday in a few days time.

I'm a long time user of PS3 Media Server, but once the iPhone arrived I started to convert my video media to h.264 using Handbrake and then use a DNLA client on the iPhone, streaming from PS3MS.

This was good for the home network, but not so great for when out and about.

I use AirServerHD http://inmethod.com/index.html to stream my media in those situations. It does mean I have two media servers running on my PC.

AirServerHD is apparently already on the ATV4 App Store. This was going to be my first solution for streaming media to my ATV4 and finally retiring my PS3. AirServerHD does all the converting on-the-fly on your PC using FFMPEG, very similar to how PS3 Media Server works.

Anyway I long gave in to making all my media Apple iDevice complient with Handbrake. As others have mentioned MakeMKV is about the best Bluray ripping solution out there. The Handbrake Apple preset although great might not be good for everybody, I always pass through the DD5.1 native audio as a 2nd track, so I have it there when it can be used. Also subtitles need to be handled very specifically as blurays like DVDs still have optical subs that either have to be hard coded or OCR into an .srt file for muxing.

 

[element]

I am deep in the FireTV camp (own two, shared DB on my NAS), the next box I get will have to have hardware h.265 decoder built in.

 

[HUELEN10]

Guys...


Reduce motion: on

Bold text: on

Reduce transparency: off

High contrast focus: on

It's now a more modern version of the previous UI.

Now this thing is a joy to use.

 

[mrklaw]

Well for me a perfect solution would include 24hz support, support for lossless audio formats, and of course 4k. Not that I hold lack of 4k against Apple given I've decided to wait till the formats have settled before even buying a 4k display.

And then of course you have the siloing of streaming services based on hardware.

And kind of amusingly to me, I really prefer buttons to a trackpad on my remote. I'm finding it much more clumsy to move around the AppleTV interface than I do AndroidTV with a button based remote.

I also kind of feel apples universal search will be more limiting than I'd like. But part of that might be my experience using the search on AndroidTV where I can dig up random shit on Youtube that isn't a movie or a tv show that I'm not sure could be done given Apples search format, even if/when google support it in the app.

It apparantly works with universal remotes so you can get buttons for navigation (I agree with you, I prefer buttons for blind usage)