Last week we reported that Plex now runs on non-jailbroken Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3 thanks to PlexConnect, a clever little hack that allows a fully-functional Plex client on non-jailbroken ATV2 and ATV3. We also posted a tutorial on how to get it working on your little black box using a Mac. Below is an installation guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

(via PlexConnect wiki)

Note: This guide can also be used with firmwares prior to 5.2 and those with Apple TVs on wireless connections, just use some common sense for changing the DNS on the ATV and leave the subnet mask and router settings as they are (the screens are slightly different for this bit only).

• Ensure that your PlexConnect machine always has the same IP address

In order for PlexConnect to work the Apple TV has to have its DNS server changed to that of the ATV. In order to ensure that the device’s IP does not change you need to need to either set a DHCP reservation or static IP in your router for the device and then make a note of it. Click here for a Lifehacker guide on how to set this up.

• Configuring your ATV

1. On your Apple TV, go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Ethernet (if you are connected via wireless select that instead)

2. Make a note of the current DNS server (you will need to add this into your PlexConnect settings later) and then click on the ‘configure DNS’ button:

3. On the ‘configure DNS’ screen click on the ‘manually’ button:

4. On the ‘configure DNS’ screen change the IP address to that of the local IP of the device that you are running the PlexConnect application on and then click on the ‘done’ button (if you are using a firmware prior to 5.2 and it asks you to configure the IP address of your router and the subnet mask, leave them unchanged):

5. It should return you to the previous network configuration screen, check that the DNS server is set to manual and that the IP address is now that of the machine that you are running PlexConnect on:

• Downloading, installing and configuring PlexConnect

1. Download Python 2.7.x from here and install it (PlexConnect is not designed to work with Python 3.x. so please ensure you install the correct version)
2. If you are running a firewall (Windows or otherwise) ensure that you create a rule for python.exe
3. The developers will be releasing point versions (e.g. v0.1, v0.2 etc) of PlexConnect but until then you can always download the latest zip from Github here (do not expect support on any branches as they are either running test or outdated code)
4. Once you have downloaded the zip file, place it in a directory of your choosing on the machine you wish to run PlexConnect on and unzip it.
5. Double-click the “PlexConnect.py” file to start PlexConnect
6. You should see output in the command window as PlexConnect starts.
7. Open the Trailer application on your Apple TV and you should see the PlexConnect interface appear.
8. Enjoy!

Note: WHS requires some extra steps:

1. Go to IIS Manager, under ‘sites’ make sure there are no sites running on port 80.
2. Go to Windows Firewall and create a new ‘Inbound Rule’ for python.exe to allow it access to the internet.

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Earlier this week we reported that it’s now possible to run Plex on non-jailbroken Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3, as group of devs (Baa, roidy and f00b4r) has released a PlexConnect, a little hack that allows a fully-functional Plex client on non-jailbroken ATV2 and ATV3. You can find more details here.

And here is a tutorial on how to get it all working using a Mac:

(via PlexConnect wiki)

Note: This guide can also be used with firmwares prior to 5.2 and those with Apple TVs on wireless connections, just use some common sense for changing the DNS on the ATV and leave the subnet mask and router settings as they are (the screens are slightly different for this bit only).

• Ensure that your PlexConnect machine always has the same IP address

In order for PlexConnect to work the Apple TV has to have its DNS server changed to that of the ATV. In order to ensure that the device’s IP does not change you need to need to either set a DHCP reservation or static IP in your router for the device and then make a note of it. Click here for a Lifehacker guide on how to set this up.

• Configuring your ATV

1. On your Apple TV, go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Ethernet (if you are connected via wireless select that instead)

2. Make a note of the current DNS server (you will need to add this into your PlexConnect settings later) and then click on the ‘configure DNS’ button:

3. On the ‘configure DNS’ screen click on the ‘manually’ button:

4. On the ‘configure DNS’ screen change the IP address to that of the local IP of the device that you are running the PlexConnect application on and then click on the ‘done’ button (if you are using a firmware prior to 5.2 and it asks you to configure the IP address of your router and the subnet mask leave them as they are):

5. It should return you to the previous network configuration screen, check that the DNS server is set to manual and that the IP address is now that of the machine that you are running PlexConnect on:

• Downloading, installing and configuring PlexConnect

1. Download the latest zip from Github here.
2. Place it in a directory of your choosing on the machine you wish to run PlexConnect on and unzip it.
3. Open the “Settings.py” file using TextEdit
4. OPTIONAL: edit the line “return ’8.8.8.8′ # google public DNS”, replacing the “8.8.8.8″ with your DNS server, the one you noted down from the ATV before you changed it (if this was your gateway you can instead choose to use your ISP’s DNS server).
5. Save the file
6. Open a terminal window and change its directory to that of the PlexConnect folder (either by typing “cd”, without the quotes, hitting space and then dragging the folder to the terminal window and hitting return or by enabling the really useful ‘new terminal at folder’ right click command).
7. Type “sudo ./PlexConnect.py”, without the quotes and hit return.
8. It will then ask to enter your password for your Mac, so enter this and hit return (it will not show anything as you type!).
9. You should see output in the terminal as PlexConnect starts.
10. Open the Trailer application on your Apple TV and you should see the PlexConnect interface appear.
11. Enjoy!

Note: if you have any issues please refer to this before posting.

Specific guides targeting the different firmwares and wireless connections will follow.

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Plex client has been available for Apple TV for a few years now, but it only worked on jailbroken Apple TV 2. What’s more, it wasn’t compatible with the latest Apple TV software versions. Well, that has just changed as a group of devs (Baa, roidy and f00b4r) has released a PlexConnect, a “super clever little hack which allows a rich, fully-functional Plex client on un-jailbroken ATV2 and ATV3 (1080p!) devices.” Here is how it works:

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.

The developers claim it takes only a few minutes to install and get it running.

PlexConnect already uses the new transcoder (which means great support for subtitles), and it is supposed to 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), as well as 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.

You can install the official version from here, or if you’re running v5.2 of the firmware or later, you can try this version, which has a few tweaks featured in the photos below.

Supported devices and firmwares:

• Apple TV 2: firmwares 5.0 – 5.2.1
• Apple TV 3: firmwares 5.0 – 5.2.1

The original, silver Apple TV  will not work with PlexConnect.

The developers warn that these are early days still, so “you’ll need to know your way around a Terminal”, but they expect a “more polished” installer isn’t far off.

Check out PlexConnect wiki for more information.

Note: the current release does not yet run on Synology boxes, which is apparently a limitation of the bundled Python.

Stay tuned – we will have a install guides for Mac and Windows soon.

Here is a tutorial on How to install Plex on non-jailbroken Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3 [Mac tutorial]

Here are a few screenshots:

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We’ve been so busy lately going through all the rumors on the upcoming Apple Television that we forgot to let you know that the Plex client for Apple TV 2 has been updated to version 0.10 (and later on to version 0.10.0.71 – beta 2). The new version brings some significant changes, like DirectPlay support and Full myPlex support, and supports Apple TV 4.3 and 4.4 firmware.

Highlights of the release:

• Full myPlex Support – view your myPlex queue or Friend’s shared server.
• Top Shelf is now configurable – You can choose which Plex Media Server, then the Section, and Recently Added or OnDeck – the posters are added to the shelf for easy selection.
• Badges! Grid and Bookshelf view now sport badges!
• DirectPlay Support – now works on the ATV client. Avoid transcoding! Save the Planet!
• Directories are now loaded asynchronously. That means that you will see a nice spinner while waiting for the directory to load.
• Memory leaks galore fixed – more stable, particularly on media playback.
• Many annoying bug fixes – more useable. The UI is becoming more consistent, reliable and snappy!
• Added settings for subtitle size and audio boost.
• Fixes capability settings on AAC. The ATV only supports 2 channels AAC.
• Fixes where you couldn’t disable DTS and AC3 support under 4.4.4.
• Tons of fixes to the main menu where categories should show up faster and more reliably.
• Correctly order Channel, Search and Queue in the main menu.

Installation

The installation has also been improved. You can now use plex-atv-installer on your Linux or OSX box.

Installing using the installer:

• Download the installer here: https://github.com/P…/zipball/master
• Unzip it
• Open Terminal.app and enter the plex-atv-installer directory
• update: if you have an older version installed, first run

./plex-atv-installer.py remove

• Run

./plex-atv-installer.py -b beta install

Note: if your Apple TV is not named ‘Apple-TV.local’ and if you have changed your login password on the atv you need to check the usage of Plex ATV Installer here: https://github.com/P…aster/README.md

• Done!

Installing manually:

• SSH into your ATV
• Run

wget http://nightlies.plexapp.com/plex-atv-plugin/repo/com.plexapp.repo.beta_1.0_iphoneos-arm.deb

• Run

dpkg -i com.plexapp.repo.beta_1.0_iphoneos-arm.deb

• Run

apt-get update

dpkg -r com.plex.client-plugin

• Run

apt-get install com.plex.client-plugin

• Run

killall AppleTV

• Done!

Known issues:

• Some high profile H264 MKV’s will not play back on ATV. There seem to be something that the transcoder does here that is not working out for the Apple TV.
• Badges in the bookcase doesn’t work correctly.
• The devs have seen, in some cases,  a serious issue with network connectivity disappearing from the atv. But they haven’t been able to say for certain it’s because of plex-atv, it might be the jailbreak for 4.4.4 instead.

Note: the current version is 0.10.0-720fd8d1 and it only works with Plex Media Server 0.9.5.2.

[via Plex forums]

You may also want to read:
IceFilms XBMC add-on for Apple TV is back, now supports RapidShare links
AppleTVHacks Best of 2011
How to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 using Seas0nPass – untethered (tutorial)
How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2

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Fire Core has finally released the first beta version of aTV Flash (black) for the Apple TV 2G. It gives you a web browser with HTML5 support (not all HTML5 sites are supported yet), a Plex client that lets you stream nearly any kind of video from Plex Server running on your Mac, Last.fm access and some info on demand (current weather and news feeds). Fire Core promises to enable additional media formats such as AVI, MP4, MKV, DVD files and to support media streaming from most NAS devices (including Airport Extreme and Time Capsule) in the near future. You don’t need to be worry about the original Apple TV features, they will all remain fully operational.

The new aTV Flash is compatible with the 4.0 Apple TV software only. The new 4.1 software requires a few adjustments and the company plans to have compatible version available soon.

Note: before installing aTV Flash (black) your atv will need to be jailbroken!

Currently the software is for Mac only. Windows compatible version is expected to be available within the next few days.

For the current users aTV Flash is available as a free upgrade.
(Some instructions from the developer: After logging into your account you will have an extra download link for aTV Flash (black). Your normal aTV Flash license and download links will remain unchanged. Additionally any available renewal specials can also be found in your account.)

For the new users the software is available at the discounted price of $19.95 during the beta (pre-order) phase. Once the final version is ready for release the price will return to the normal level of $29.95.

The original aTV Flash is also being reduced to $39.95.

GIVEAWAY

We have 10 licenses of aTV Flash (black) to give away! Follow @appletvhacks, retweet the contest message and join us on Facebook for your chance to win. The winners will be announced on Monday (December 6^th).

Related news
AirVideoEnabler Allows AirPlay Video Streaming from Any App
Apple TV 2G Gets 4.2.1 Software Update
Groovy Brings Grooveshark to Your Apple TV
How to Install Plex on Apple TV 2G

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