“With the release of the fourth-generation model, the Apple TV has opened up to third-party apps. You are no longer limited to getting local media from your iTunes library,” Kirk McElhearn writes for Macworld. “One of the first apps that lets you use other sources is Plex, which ‘organizes your video, music, and photo collections and streams them to all of your screens.'”
“The Apple TV streams content from your iTunes library, or directly from the iTunes Store, for previous purchases or rented movies, as well as streaming from Apple Music,” McElhearn writes. “Plex is a ‘media server’ that you install on a computer: a Mac, a Windows PC, or even a NAS (network attached storage device).”
“Both iTunes Home Sharing and Plex offer interesting and useful features. I’ve decided to stick with iTunes for my music, and for those movies and TV shows that I’ve bought from the iTunes Store. For these videos, there’s no alternative,” McElhearn writes. “But I’ve moved all my other videos from my iTunes library to a Plex folder and I now view them on my Apple TV in Plex.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The only real downside to Plex vs. iTunes Home Sharing is that in order to use Plex Pass features there’s a cost involved: $5/mo. or $40/year or $150 for a lifetime subscription.
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Plex the must-have personal media server for new Apple TV – November 6, 2015