Mac Mini Home Theater

MyPlex - awesome!

2011-10-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Check out the latest - myPlex - wow, great stuff!

http://elan.plexapp.com/2011/10/28/introducing-myplex/

Boxee Remote

2011-07-06T13:19:00.002-04:00

Check this out from Engadget, who's going to post a real world review?!

D-Link brings the Boxee Box remote to PC, Mac users

By Richard Lawler posted Jul 6th 2011 12:48PM

Boxee users on PC and Mac should no longer feel ignored, with promises of updated software on the way and now the option to use a Boxee Box remote from D-Link. The two sided QWERTY design is unchanged and the included RF dongle means your HTPC can stay safely out of sight while you enjoy some branded remote control action without selling out for a one-size-fits-all box. The roll your own media player crowd can pick up the remote at a penny under $50 at a variety of online retailers right now, the long awaited software update is still due this fall.

Plex 0.9.2.7 released

2011-04-23T09:04:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to the new features in 0.9.2.7 with the post below.

ow that the latest iOS version has made it into the store (and thank you so much for your feedback on it, you are all very kind!!), we’ve turned our attention to fixing a few issues with Plex. The new releases are available on the Plex home page, and we will enable auto-update shortly.

NEW: We display the warning icon on shows/seasons/episodes and artist/album/tracks so that you can see more clearly which media is missing. Also note that if you dislike this feature, you can always disable it in the Library preferences by enabling “Empty trash automatically”. We enable it by default because we never want to delete any of your data without you knowing about it first.

FIX: We’ve updated the transcoding engine to fix a number of issues, including 3G video playback being audio only (thanks, Chris!), improvements in threading (1080p content should work more smoothly), and according to one tester, DTS-MA now mixes down correctly. Thanks also to mitch969 and others on the forums for all their help testing!
FIX: A few fixes for for the web-based media manager, including a fix for changes to collections not saving, sections not disappearing from clients when deleted via the web manager, and fixes for the “Match using” and un-match functionality.
FIX: When an episode is renamed, make sure we reload metadata if the episode or season number changed.
FIX: If a slideshow screensaver is active, playing content via the iOS or Android remotes turns the screensaver off (thanks to Man for bring this to our attention).
FIX: A fix for Turbo Scanning where if you edited a library section (to add a new directory, or when moving media, for example), you would need to perform a deep scan to pick up the changes.

We’ve also been hard at work at improving the music functionality. Besides support for FLAC, we’ve also added and fixed lots of other things. The really nice part is that the changes were to the scanner and agents, which means that they could be pushed out automatically in micro-increments. I love the thought of our users waking up to new features and bug-fixes without the need to download a whole new version!

NEW: Support for scanning OGG.
NEW: Improved and enhanced poster gathering from tags in all supported file formats.
NEW: Music lacking tags is scanned in as “unknown” artist/album.
FIX: Tons of fixes and improvements around reading tags.
NEW: Parse track numbers out of filename if they’re not in the tags.
FIX: Folders with more than 50 files are scanned.

Barkley is here displaying his affinity for human beds and pillows. Who says dogs don’t have a sense of ergonomics?

And finally a link to my main site, Vesic Photography.

Plex - on the new Apple TV??

2010-11-04T07:30:00.002-04:00

Just saw this from Engadget - wow, if this will work, that's going to be really interesting. Right off the bat, you've just beat Boxee by $150. I've played with the new ATV, and the unit is SO small, so simple - anyway - check out the post directly here, or ready below:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/plex-arrives-on-jailbroken-apple-tvs-video/

Metadata and Plex update

2010-09-20T22:24:00.001-04:00

From the Plex Blog here

Plex » Metadata Update

So what exactly is metadata? Defined on Wikipedia as “data about data”, it turns our collection of media from a drab list of files into an interlinked web of facts and pictures, and imbues each item with a rich set of properties. Your files might have structure, but painting them with metadata converts that simple collection into a multi-dimensional universe of relationships. You can now set about answering complex questions like “Do I have any romantic comedies from the 1990′s that I haven’t watched in at least a year, starring Julia Roberts, and not featuring Whoopi Goldberg?”

Everyone loves metadata, and we didn’t anticipate the extreme load the Plex/Nine release would put on a number of sites when we launched. Tens of thousands of early downloaders, eagerly rescanning their huge personal media collections, contributed to massive amounts of traffic to multiple sites.

As a result, we’ve had to spend quite a bit of time since the release focusing on stabilizing our sources of metadata, optimizing the metadata agents (the bits of code that go out and get your metadata), and adding infrastructure to support all of our new users. Here’s a summary of what we’ve done:

We’ve brought up a massively powerful machine to serve as our TheTVDB proxy cache. All requests to TheTVDB go through this machine, and it serves over 99% of all bytes out of its cache, which means we’ve reduced the data load on the parent site by a factor of 100x. At peak, we were serving over 500 requests/second, and sending out 320Mbps. Darrin, one of our super-talented Plex engineers, worked literally day and night to get this running after the release, and we also appreciate the help and support from the TVDB guys!
For movies, we’ve moved to using data that is accessible with an API or through structured data dumps. Specifically, we’re using metadata from Freebase, Wikipedia, and TheMovieDB (as well as a few others for extra artwork, such as MoviePosterDB). This ensures the best availability and stability of the data.

If you’re not familiar with Freebase, you should check them out. It’s one of the few sites in recent memory that’s totally blown me away. The people who designed it are very, very smart people and the amount of data available is unbelievable. If you check out the page for the movie 300, you’ll see it links to 33 reviews of the movie, 6 other sites (such as Rotten Tomatoes), and then has a veritable cornucopia of data including cast, genres, subjects, filming locations, award lists, and more. All of that data is available via a sophisticated API, or via weekly database dumps.

We’ve processed the most recent Freebase data dump into a form that’s most suitable for our agent to consume. Additionally, we’ve enhanced the Wikipedia agent to support multiple different languages for the summaries. Finally, much more data from TheMovieDB is being pulled in by that agent.

In summary, massive amounts of data, all structured (no more “scraping” sites that can change at a moment’s notice), and all completely up to you as to how you use them. Like TheMovieDB summaries? Drag it to the top of the list of agents. Prefer your summaries in Swedish? Make sure Wikipedia is above TheMovieDB, so its internationalized summaries will take precedence. Have two French movies for your mother-in-law? You can manually set the language preference to French for just those two movies, and she’ll offer to babysit her grandkids while happily reading the summaries in French.

These agent changes have been pushed, and you will have them within the hour, unless you check sooner with Plex Online > More > Check for Updates.

Get your settings exactly how you like them, shift-click the refresh button to get new metadata for all your movies, and then sit back and watch the metadata flow in. (N.B. At this point in time, poster/art selections are “sticky” so once set, it won’t change unless you rescan a section from scratch).

Here’s a summary of what the different movie agents now provide, so as to allow you to prioritize them accordingly, through the settings option shown below:

Freebase: Genres, content ratings, studio, directors, writers, actors, tag-lines.
Wikipedia: Multi-language summaries, directors, writers, actors, studio.
TheMovieDB: Summaries (more plot oriented), content ratings, directors, writers, actors, studio, tag-lines.
MoviePosterDB: Lots of movie posters, at lower resolution than TheMovieDB.

So as an example, if you hate the Wikipedia summaries, and prefer English plot summaries, drag TheMovieDB above Wikipedia. If you leave Wikipedia enabled, summaries that aren’t found from TheMovieDB will be filled in by Wikipedia.

If you want your summaries in Swedish, you’ll need to enable Wikipedia and have it higher in the list than TheMovieDB. Note that currently, in order to change languages, you’ll need to create a new section with the new language setting. Alternatively you can “fix match” on an individual item and manually set the language.

Lots of you have asked: How can we help? Luckily this is quite easy; let’s say you have a movie that’s missing data, or has incorrect data. You can head to one of those sites above and add the missing data, and then everyone in the community will benefit, including users of other apps that access those sites. This really is a case where each one of you has the power to help hundreds of thousands of other people!

The most immediate “turnaround” from this data would be through TheMovieDB, which we access through a well-designed API. We cache requests for 4 hours, so if you add data, you will not see the new data for at most this amount of time. (Note that we are also working to improve TheTVDB refresh times, which are now between 24-48 hours.)

Also, if you’re a developer, please check out our repository for agents. They are easy and fun to write, and we’re really looking forward to seeing the creative things you come up with. Oncleben31 has already written an agent for Allociné for French users, and the ever talented Sander wrote one for MovieMeter, for our Dutch users.

In the near future, we’ll allow you to fully customize any of the data for your media and lock it in place, so that it won’t be overwritten by new data from the Internet. So, for example, you can lock all your titles and summaries, but let the ratings and genres continue to expand and improve over time.

Your media has a bright future inside Plex, and metadata is the key.

WOW - Plex is going to be embedded into 2011 LG TVs!

2010-09-03T08:02:00.001-04:00

I'm at a loss - this is just beyond impressive, and came out of nowhere:

Plex and the Future of Television

September 02nd, 2010 | Category: Status,Wow | Author: elan

3diggsdigg

This week has been a big one for TV-related announcements. Apple annouced their revamped Apple TV, and Boxee was quick to reply with their own thoughts on the matter. It turns out that now is the perfect time for us to explain our vision for the future of Plex and television as well.

Today, Plex requires that you have a Mac connected to your TV. As sexy as they are, a Mac Mini is $699. And let’s face it, you probably have a few televisions, so it becomes an expensive proposition to Plex-ify your house, especially now that you can stream your library all over with Plex/Nine. Of course, on the flip side, a Mac Mini is a powerful computer that can be used for other meaningful tasks like 3D modeling, genome sequencing, or World of Warcraft.

Another approach is something like the Boxee Box. It’s $199, which is much better, but still prohibitive for many, and it’s completely specialized. No way you could send your kid off to college with a Boxee Box, although you have to admit, it would probably help his or her social life. Additionally, releasing a custom piece of hardware is not a trivial endeavor, if we even wanted to attempt such a thing. Embedded systems are hard, and the XBMC codebase from which Plex and Boxee are both derived is a large and complex one. And really, at the end of the day, do you want yet another specialized box sitting by your TV?

Even if you get the design right, you have to be able to price it appropriately. With not outrageously different hardware from Boxee, the new Apple TV is half the price. Apple also has a two-fold advantage over Boxee: They are going to be selling their Apple TV in much higher volume (which means lower cost to produce), and – critically – they can subsidize the cost of the device because they make money every time you put your arm around your date and click “Watch” on a movie. Also, let’s face it, it’s a typical Apple product: it works perfectly as long as you don’t stray outside their ecosystem. Your files have to be in their limited range of supported formats, and you only get access to the online content they sanction. It’s not an open platform in any sense of the word, and trust me, I was the first person hoping to be able to run our Plex iOS app on it.

The optimal solution, of course, would be a box that was free, infinitely small, and required no cables. Well, we’re extremely proud to be able to introduce to you, for the first time, the Plex Box, with exactly those characteristics.

How is this possible? Well, we actually have one more “one more thing” to announce: We’re working with LG Electronics (the second largest TV manufacturer in the world) to integrate the Plex platform into their 2011 lineup of Netcast™ connected TVs and Blu-ray devices. So early next year, when you buy an LG Netcast™ TV or Blu-ray player, you will have Plex functionality built-in. Specifically, it will connect to a cloud version of the Plex platform for online content, and, if you happen to have a Plex Media Server running anywhere in your house (after all, who doesn’t have a computer in their house?), you can access your local and online content, in a rich interface, with full metadata. I’ve seen it, and it looks awesome.

I’ve been talking a lot about the importance of getting the architecture right for our platform, and this is a perfect example. Thin clients (LG TV, iOS devices), a smart media server, and plug-ins that can run in the cloud. A single integrated interface to access online content, local content, and personal content.

I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting this is to us. LG chose our platform in no small part because it is OPEN, and that is what makes it special. We have developers all over the world creating plug-ins, helping us evolve the platform, and using it creatively. We wouldn’t be here without them, and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with them over the years. I also have enormous respect for LG, who have great products, massively talented engineering, and forward-thinking management. I’ve been to Korea twice in the last year, and their engineers are super-smart, highly knowledgable, and a delight to work with. They “get” where TV is going, and I have to make a confession – the first time I saw their Plex interface, talking to a remote Plex Media Server and flawlessly streaming content, I had to pretend I had something in my eye. This is a team completely committed to revolutionizing the way we enjoy content, and clearly willing to take chances in doing so, as evidenced by working with a small team like ours.

This is also a massive win for content providers. Yesterday, writing a Plex plug-in would make their content available on a Mac, or a television powered by a Mac. Yesterday, they could suddenly make their content available on 100 million iOS devices. And tomorrow (early next year, technically), they will be able to get their content onto millions of LG TVs and Blu-ray devices. This, friends, is an unprecedented time in history. The distance between content provider and consumer has never been this close or frictionless, and it’s incredible to be a part of.

So what does this mean to you, our dear users? You’ve been so supportive over the years, and this is great news for you as well. It means, first and foremost, that we’ll be able to focus more resources on the development. This will be a full-time job for me and others on the team, which is – honestly – a dream come true. The Plex Media Server is the heart and lungs of the platform, and we’ll be making it rock solid and adding some really, really cool new features. We’ll be bringing it to more platforms, to make it available everywhere. There will be more content providers investing in writing Plex plug-ins, so your online content choices will grow. And next year, if you’re upgrading your TV, or or buying an LG Blu-ray player, you’ll have the ability to get Plex, built in, at no additional cost. Fully integrated into killer consumer electronics gear, exactly as it should be.

And *that* is cool.

It’s been a long journey this past year. Now you finally know all of the cool stuff we’ve been working on, and it’s so great to be able to share it with you. We’ve re-architected our platform for the future, and thankfully, most of that work is behind us. Now we can focus on making Plex more stable, more usable, and overall more AWESOME.

Plex 9, the 24 hour status report from Plex

2010-09-01T08:06:00.001-04:00

The official word from Plex on how the release is going as well as some minor issues being addressed:

State of the Release

September 01st, 2010 | Category: Status | Author: elan

0diggsdigg

Just over 24 hours since the release, and this has been an extremely exciting time for all of us. We simply can’t tell you how much we appreciate the outpouring of positive feedback on the release. Over Twitter, Facebook, email, and in the forums, the number of positive comments were astounding to us, and definitely made all the hard work worthwhile. We all want to say, collectively: Thank You.

A few salient things about the release:

The demand on our server was completely unprecedented. The OS load went over 30 for long periods of time, and there were HTTP and database issues. Isaac jumped in and quickly and skillfully spread our services out over a few spare slices and was able to return things to normal. Isaac, you rock.
Our mirrors (a big thanks to them!) were hammered badly as tens of thousands of downloaders tried to get the latest release, so in the morning we moved the main download site to S3 to ease of the pressure on the mirrors and get the app into people’s hands faster.
At this point, all services should be performing well, and we’re continuing to monitor and make adjustments as needed.

We are also tracking at this point a number of issues with the release (nobody’s perfect, right?), and we wanted to give you a quick summary of the more common issues, along with workarounds or resolutions whenever possible. Note that these are not the only issues, just the ones at the top of the list at the moment:

CRASHES ON STARTUP: We’re tracking these here. The most common reason (fixed in the next release), is if your computer doesn’t have a name. You can easily workaround this by going to System Preferences > Sharing > Computer Name and put in a clever, well thought out name like “Macadamia”. There’s also a crash we’re seeing on Leopard, which will also be fixed in the next release. Please post your crash reports in that thread.
SCANNERS: First and foremost, we’d like to help you get all your media into the library. There were issues with M4V files stopping a scan, an issue parsing date-base episodes, and an issue with .AppleDouble folder which we weren’t ignoring. We’ve pushed bug-fixes for these issues, and your Plex Media Server should update automatically the scanners within the hour. The good news is that you simply have to do another scan (assuming you don’t already have it set to automatically scan). You might be asleep at this point, and you might wake up with a bunch of missing episodes tucked comfortable into your library, and that, my friends, is magic. MAGIC! (If you’d like to track the progress on the scanners, you can follow our Github repository here.)
TV SHOW METADATA: Slightly less about magic, and more about laws of large numbers, I’m sorry to report that we, um, melted down TheTVDB today. My sincere apologies to them, and my apologies to you all, as we’ll be without metadata from them until we figure out how to reduce the load. We are working with them as we speak, and hopefully will be able to bring that back online shortly. The good news is that the Alexandria library system has been architected for this exact scenario, and you’ll still be able to scan your episodes into the library, and play them, there just won’t be show and season posters or summary data (until the next time you’re sleeping, when we’ll silently push another update and you’ll wake up with lots of posters). We really like magic, have I mentioned that?
LOCAL MEDIA AGENT: This is the one that picks up existing thumbs and fanart and such. There were a few bugs in it, and we think we’ve fixed them, but we need to test more. If you’d like to take the new agent for a spin and know what you’re doing, feel free to check it out here. (Note that you’ll need to remove and add the section to get the new art to “stick”, expect improvements here.)
AFP SHARE ISSUE: There seems to be an issue adding folders which live on a remote NAS. A bit baffling, but we’re looking into it.

There are of course other issues, but these are the ones we’d like to get resolved as soon as possible. So, how can you help? Why, I’m glad you asked. If you’re having trouble getting your media into the library, please post in the forum with your exact directory and file layout (screenshot or ls -lR from the terminal).

A few other tips:

If you’re seeing pausing when playing video in the iOS app, there are a few simple things you can do. Don’t select “auto” quality setting, and make sure you select a quality that’s appropriate to your network speed. Also, make sure you’re not trying to play 720p content (highest quality) to an iPad/iPhone4 if you have a slow server (less than 2.2GHz). Use this as an excuse to upgrade (“Honey, but don’t you want to watch So You Think You Can Dance without a pause ever time she does a pirouette?”). And finally, if you take the wireless router and tape it to your chest while using the iOS app, this improves reception.
If you have a huge library, you might want to let the Media Server take a bit of “alone time” while scanning for the first time. I mean, come on, it’s walking through all your files, computing hashes, extracting thumbnails, generating automatic fanart, analyzing the media, getting it all into the database, talking to the Internet for metadata, downloading that metadata and getting it associated with your media. Multiple agents are working together to contribute data. There are hamsters running around everywhere. So just sit back, work on your golf swing or water the garden or something. Lotus position and staring at the Plex Media Manager works well.
A positive review on the App Store directly contributes to Barkley’s diet. Like every time we get a five star review, I walk into the kitchen, get him a delicious venison jerky treat and feed it to him. Literally. Just remember, only YOU can make Barkley gain 10 pounds.

And now, I really need some sleep.

Plex 9 released!

2010-08-31T07:47:00.001-04:00

Plex 9 and the iOS app are released! Download them by clicking this link here. Thanks to all the great people at Plex who worked on this massive upgrade!

Oh - One More Thing

2010-08-30T07:27:00.002-04:00

Those crazy cats at Plex are really doing it up! One More Thing! Charge up your iOS devices, its sooner than you think. Click the picture:

Plex .9 arrives Sept 1

2010-08-27T07:49:00.004-04:00

Here is the teaser photo from Plex! Sept 1 it is. Coincidentally, or not - the same day as the Apple media event. They've also posted a Q&A which I am re-posting here:

Click here for original link posting.

The Road to Plex/Nine

from Plex by elan

It’s been a long time in development, and we’re finally putting the finishing touches on the first public release. An incredible amount of effort has been spent developing this new version, and I’d like to take a bit of time introducing you to it. I’ll start by answering a few frequently asked questions:

Are you guys being bought by Apple? If you pay attention to how previous acquisitions have gone, you’ll already know the answer to this one. An Apple acquisition is usually followed by immediate disappearance of the service/product in question, sequestered away no doubt to a secret sub-basement in Cupertino. The fact that we’re still here talking and the website is still running is a sure sign that we have not been acquired by Apple. (The date is entirely coincidental, we went “one week out” and ended up there.)

Will my favorite new feature/bug be added/fixed in this release? Probably not. We’ve been uniquely focused (much to the surprise of some, who think we’ve just been playing Angry Birds) on getting the Alexandria library up and running. The only new feature in this release is the official inclusion of Ryan’s hardware-accelerated video decoding.

Can I run the new version alongside the old version? The answer is “mostly”. When you install Plex/Nine it will set aside your old Application Support directories so as not to step on anything. If you hate it and want to go back to Plex/Eight, you can just rename the directories, whack Plex/Nine, and crawl back into that comfortable old pair of Plex/Eight jeans.

Is this new release completely bug free? Um, no. This is the first release of a massive from-scratch rewrite of the library, and it’s safe to say there will be bugs, and even things that used to work that don’t work yet with the new version. However, we hope some of the cool new stuff coming your way will more than make up for it. This release has been through 17 (really!) builds which have gone out to our elite group of super-testers, but there are certainly lots of bugs. Remember what your mom told you: “Hope for the best, expect the worst, and take what comes with a smile.”

Why the @$%#%$ did you guys have to rewrite all that stuff? I’m really glad you asked. Our vision for the future of Plex is a distributed architecture, as opposed to one giant monolithic program. A simple picture might help here:

In order to realize this vision, we had to effectively do two things: (1) rip out massive amounts of code in the client and make it into a “thin client” (essentially just player and skin), and (2) design and build the Alexandria library system into the Plex Media Server.

We consider these major changes to be fundamentally important to the future of Plex. We’re building the foundation for some truly incredible things, and building a strong foundation takes a lot of time and work. Continuing the metaphor, the first release really only shows you the foundation and perhaps a few ground-level floors. However, once you see the speed at which we can add amazing new features, you’ll better understand why we had to take so much time to get this right.

Can you walk me through an example of how this new library is so much better than the old one? One thing I really like is the decoupling of the scanning from the metadata. The scanners are responsible for looking for media, usually on disk, and performing “structural identification” (e.g. Lost, season 3 episode 14″). Media analysis is also performed to get the resolution of the file, pull out a thumbnail, etc. The media is added to Alexandria right at the start of scanning. Note that at no point yet has TVDB or any other Internet site been required. So you can scan new episodes into your library even if the site is down, and see them next to other episodes. What’s more, you can write a custom scanner in a few lines of Python code, which you might want to do if you have a custom filesystem layout for your media. Flexible!

Now the agents, in my opinion, is where things get incredibly cool. They elegantly solve the problem of “how do I bring metadata from the Internet and connect it with my media?”. The agent functionality, along with the other parts of the new plug-in Framework coming in Plex/Nine was designed by James, and I have to be honest, he’s kicked some serious ass.

Plex/Eight used the XBMC scrapers to accomplish that task, and if you’ve ever tried to write one (or even modify an existing one), you’ll know that it’s not an easy task. As Jamie Zawinski once said: “Some people, when confronted with a problem, think ‘I know, I’ll use regular expressions.’ Now they have two problems.” (The only thing worse than regular expressions, mind you, is regular expressions encoded in XML.)

Plex/Nine’s metadata agents use the same (well, an enhanced) version of the Plex Plug-in Framework you’ve come to know and love. This means that powerful XPATH, Unicode, and HTTP functions are available in an easy-to-use manner, and you can write an agent in as little as a few dozen lines of code.

One of the other fundamentally neat things about agents is that multiple agents can contribute to a piece of media. I might want to get my ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and my descriptions from IMDB, for example. The other day Scott said “the movie descriptions on Wikipedia are really good!” and an hour later, this is what my own configuration looked like after I dropped his new agent in:

The “Local Media Assets” agent is the one responsible for finding posters, banners, fanart and such sitting around next to your media. The Wikipedia one is the next highest priority agent, which means that the metadata combiner will prefer its summaries over others.

I think I fell asleep during that last answer. Yeah, I don’t blame you.

How open and extensible is this awesome new library? Well, you tell me. The database is stored in SQLite format, and there is a really nice REST-ish HTTP/XML interface for all areas of the library (which is what the Plex client uses). Want to build a dashboard widget which displays your recently added movies? Easy! Fun! And given that the Alexandria scanners are completely written in Python and support custom-written ones, this new library is much more easily customizable and user-tweakable than the old one. We’re really excited to see what interesting agents and scanners you come up with!

I think I’m out of questions. Good, because I need to get back to Angry Birds.

iTV - We'll find out next month

2010-08-22T16:40:00.003-04:00

I believe this is a very high chance of being released next month, and could possibly change things for TV the way iPhone did for mobile phones and touch screens -
SO many possibilities

Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, has heard from sources within Apple that the company will launch its all-new iTV set top box, powered by the iOS operating system, in September for $99.

Rose posted on his blog that he believes the revamped and renamed Apple TV hardware will "change everything" for a number of reasons, including the addition of TV applications written for the iOS operating system. Like the iPhone and iPad, Apple's new iTV will have access to the App Store where users will be able to download software to run on their device, he said.

With these applications, he said, content providers will be able to provide iTV owners "a la carte" stations that Rose believes will change the way people watch content on their television.

"With Apple's iAds, content producers (eg. ABC/NBC/etc.) can directly monetize and distribute their content," he said. "This will eventually destroy the television side of the cable and satellite industry, as your only requirement to access these on-demand stations will be an internet connection. Say goodbye to your monthly cable bill."

Rose also said he has heard that the $99 device will make it easy for users to share pictures and videos "with the push of a button." He suggested the device could include a feature that would notify users when new family photos or videos are available to be viewed.

The Web entrepreneur also said the new iTV will turn Apple's iPad into a remote control, as the "preferred input device" for the set top box. The iPad will also allow users to edit videos, control games, and "extend the interactive television experience," he said. He gave an example of watching football while viewing other camera angles on the iPad.

Rose also made mention of Google TV, the search giant's already-announced Android-powered set top box set to launch this fall. He said that people should keep an eye on Google's product as well. "This is going to be a hot space in 2011," he said.

Rose has reported numerous Apple rumors in the past with varying degrees of accuracy. In 2008, Rose revealed a leaked photo of the fourth-generation iPod nano in advance.

His iPhone-related leaks have been hit or miss, as he correctly predicted the addition of copy and paste to iOS 3.0, but incorrectly said that the iPhone 3G would do video chat. That feature eventually came two years later with the iPhone 4, in the form of FaceTime.

Late last year, Rose also said the then-unannounced iPad would have an emphasis on e-books, and would prove to be a "Kindle killer," referring to Amazon's e-ink device. Apple's iBooks application was available at launch for the iPad.

New IR iPod/iPhone dongle for remote

2010-07-20T11:11:00.002-04:00

Check this out - take this, add in a used, cheap ipod touch, and it might just be the perfect "one" remote: (link has more photos)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/20/redeye-mini-dongle-now-on-sale-for-49-looking-good-in-early-re/

New Mac Mini Unboxing photos

2010-06-15T13:04:00.008-04:00

Drooling! So clean, and look at the back - and the RAM access - makes me want to replace mine!
Click here for official link

New Mac Mini released - with HDMI!

2010-06-15T08:20:00.001-04:00

from TUAW:

Mac Mini gets a sneaky update: spec bump, unibody enclosure, HDMI

by Chris Rawson (RSS feed) on Jun 15th 2010 at 4:40AM

Amidst all the excitement over iPhone 4 being available for pre-order, Apple also snuck an update to the Mac Mini under the radar -- and it's a pretty big update. The new Mac Mini comes in two flavors:

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
320 GB hard drive
$699

or the "server class" Mac Mini:

2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
Dual 500 GB hard drive
$999

Both models of Mac Mini have been updated with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, the same integrated GPU present in the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

The Mac Mini has received far more than a simple spec bump, however. The enclosure itself has been updated to a unibody aluminum construction similar to the MacBook Pro, and the "server" Mac Mini omits an optical drive entirely in favor of dual hard drives [this was the case for the previous server model –Ed.]. Perhaps more important than that, the Mac Mini is now the first Mac ever to include built-in HDMI. You read that right: the Mac Mini has HDMI. The Mac Mini also has an SD card slot in the back. [Ed: This is one sexy little machine!]

Apple has also addressed the well-known difficulty of upgrading the Mac Mini's RAM. There's now a removable twist-off panel on the Mac Mini's bottom that allows for easy access to the Mini's RAM slots. We're not sure yet if the hard drive will be as easy to upgrade, but at the very least, a RAM upgrade looks like it'll take less than a minute with this new model.

The Mac Mini is available now.

Controllr iPhone App - Best remote for Plex!

2010-06-14T00:19:00.004-04:00

There is an iPhone app called "Controllr" for $2.99 and is the best app (that I've tried) for Plex. Check it out in the app store and give it a try!

Sneak Peak at Plex 9 Alexandria!

2010-05-19T20:28:00.002-04:00

Wow, this just looks amazing. The new media server is going to make things SOO nice.
Click here for the official link, or read the paste below.

I know, it’s been a bit longer than we had hoped (sorry!), but we are super excited to finally be able to share a first look at what we have been building. Our good friend Raindancing (known around here as “Señora Awesome”) was kind enough to put together a great introductory screencast . Yes, there’s a lot more to show (tip of the iceberg!), and yes, you’ll have many questions, but hey, this is a good start, right?

Hope you all are having a great Wednesday (or Thursday)!

Plex/Nine First Peek from Elan Feingold on Vimeo.

ESPN 360 App now available for Plex

2010-05-18T08:19:00.001-04:00

I really wish I had ESPN 360 in this area! Plex just posted this on Facebook:

The World Wide Leader in Sports is now available in Plex! ESPN3 is the online home for live sports. Watch more than 3500 events every year, including College Football, College Basketball, MLB, NBA, Wimbledon, the Masters, International Soccer, Cricket and Rugby. ESPN3 is currently limited to select ISPs, so call your I...SP to request it if it's not available. Special thanks to Dbl_A for working on this!

Wanting to connect your MacBook & Plex to the TV - this is what you need! Henge Dock is awesome!

2010-04-19T19:55:00.001-04:00

Click here for the Engadget review or read below:

Henge Docks: finally, a well designed docking station for Apple's MacBook line

By Darren Murph posted Apr 19th 2010 5:44PM

We'd love to say that many have tried, but really, the bona fide docking station market dried up years ago in every sector save for enterprise, and while a few companies have served up "universal" alternatives, none of them were particularly well-designed. Out of nowhere, Henge Docks has emerged in order to provide a solution to your MacBook docking woes, and we've got to say -- for a first try, the products being offered up here look mighty fine. Designed to work with most modern MacBooks as well as 13/15/17-inch MacBook Pros, these all-white stands hold your machine vertical while providing seamless access to desk-strapped peripherals (a monitor, iPod dock, mouse, heated USB blanket, etc.) It also uses Apple's own MagSafe adapter, and your optical drive is still flipped out if you need to access it. The 13-inch MBP model is available now for $59.95 to $64.95, while every other flavor is available for pre-order; check out a video after the break if you're having issues pulling the trigger.

Plex 9 is almost here!

2010-03-24T22:20:00.001-04:00

All HAIL ALEXANDRIA! Plex 9 is almost here! Read this link to wet your lips on all the goodness that is Plex! Click here for the link or read below!

The Road to Alexandria (part 1): Introduction

March 24th, 2010 | Category: Status | Author: elan

(First of all, a sincere apology for not writing sooner. Communication is important, and I’ve sorely lapsed in my communication with the Plex community. This may have appeared as a lack of progress on Plex, but let me assure you, it’s entirely the opposite. We have some amazing things to share with you this year, and we’re only getting started.)

As most of you know, for the last year we’ve been working hard on best-in-class support for online media. Since we released the first version of the Plex Media Server with support for plug-ins, there have been hundreds of plug-ins written, and more than 1.4 million plug-ins downloaded from our store. We strongly believe that our platform is the easiest way on the planet to get media from a website to your living room TV.

On the other hand, many people who first see Plex are impressed most by how it handles your local media. To see a file on your hard drive spring to life with posters, fan art, and rich metadata is a wondrous thing indeed. Navigating through your library in various ways, seeing what episodes of a TV Show you haven’t watched, browsing through movie summaries and ratings, these things are all magical compared with browsing a lifeless Finder window.

The success of our platform for online media, coupled with our passion for building the best possible product, led us to focus our attention and energy in the last months on local content. Now as you may know, the library in Plex/Eight is based almost entirely on XBMC code. The XBMC library is quite possibly the best in the world, especially compared with other pieces of media center software. So the first question was: enhance or rewrite? At the end, we decided, just like with our plug-in framework, to throw out the existing code and rewrite it from scratch.

The ground up rewrite not only results in an extremely powerful library for personal content, but also sets the stage for providing many benefits beyond just the library itself. The latest major revision of the Plex Media Server, which incorporates the library, provides many other new capabilities under the hood that will allow us and developers to build some seriously cool new things.

This first post will serve as an attempt to explain the high-level features. Of course, the most important thing of all is its name. We decided to name the Plex Library after the Royal Library of Alexandria, the most famous library of the ancient world. (Naysayers may point out that the library was eventually destroyed, but hey, it lasted for hundreds of years!)

Here are some of the features of the new library:

Decentralized: This was very important to us. The XBMC library is coupled to the media center itself. In Alexandria, the Plex Media Server stores all the data, and serves it out via an HTTP/XML interface. In this way, multiple Plex applications can share a library, or multiple libraries. You can do cool things like stop watching a movie on one client and resume on another.
Flexible: As opposed to the XBMC library with its limiting Movies and TV areas, Alexandria allows a library to have unlimited sections. For example, you might have a “Documentaries” section, a “Home Movies” section, an “Anime” section, and a “Foreign Films” section, all configured to suit the media.
Open: As mentioned before, the data from the library is available via an HTTP interface to the Plex Media Server. In addition, a new class of plug-ins called Metadata Agents have been developed, which are responsible for finding and retrieving information about your media from the Internet. Agents already exist for IMDB, TheMovieDB, TheTVDB, and others. Agents can retrieve any sort of data, such as TV theme music, subtitles, and song lyrics. The agents can be combined and arranged so that the resulting information is a customizable amalgam. We’ve also added a new class of entities called Scanners, which are responsible for identifying media on your drives. This means that even if you have a completely different file system structure to your media, you can write a few lines of Python code and integrate it with Alexandria.
Unified: In Alexandria, even if a movie has no entry on IMDB (for example), it still sits alongside those movies that do. There is no more “file mode” and “library mode”. Everything in a library section, regardless of how much metadata it has, is a first class citizen of the library. This also allows content like home movies to live in the library, have their own fan art, posters, summaries, and other metadata.
Robust: One of the problems with the old library is that a change to the IMDB site, for example, could cripple the scraper and prevent new content from being added. Since the metadata agents and scanners live in Plex plug-in bundles, they are auto-updated from our site, so we can quickly push a fix. Additionally, Alexandria is flexible enough such that even if a metadata provider like TheTVDB is down, new episodes are still added (and somewhat magically, may even get full metadata!)
Developer friendly: The old scrapers were an enormous pain to develop, maintain, and even understand. We’ve built the new agents on top of our proven plug-in framework, which relies on modern features like XPath to make it easier than ever to bring metadata to your media.
User friendly: There are a number of features which make Alexandria a pleasure for users. The library management is centered around the Plex Media Manager built into the Plex Media Server, which makes it easy to add library sections. Once added, these sections show up instantly on all Plex clients in the house. The Media Manager makes it easy to maintain your media, correct matches, tweak the metadata, customize the artwork, and more.

This, in summary, is Alexandria. I’m sure the first question will be “When can I have it?” We are quite far along with development, and we have released early builds to a select group of testers, who have been extremely helpful with their feedback and help. I’m using it full-time on my Mini, and used it to watch the latest episode of Lost last night. There are, of course, many things to clean up, fix, and add, but it won’t be too long now before we open up the testing to more people.

Thanks again for your patience. I’ll write more soon, and cover lots more of the details of Alexandria. Until then, I’ll leave you with some quotes from the first group of testers:

“Setting up sources is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier!!”

“NIIIIICEEEEE!!!!”

“This is going to be soooo good!!”

“ho-ly sh*t! I can read and understand this!”

“PC users are going to want a Mac. This is way ahead of XBMC now”

“This is just … WOW!!!”

“That is fantastic! Exactly what we need.”

“This looks amazing…exactly what is missing”

“You guys, this is f**king amazing”

“Whacking sources before used to be such a pain in the ass. Now it’s no big deal.”

“Wow, this is really nice”

Rumored sightings of new Mac Mini's with HDMI!

2010-03-01T11:20:00.002-05:00

The link from Apple Insider is here, or read below:

Apple prepping first Macs with HDMI - sources

By Kasper Jade and Prince McLean

Published: 10:45 AM EST

Apple plans to introduce HDMI connectivity on some of its personal computers this year, embracing an emerging trend that has seen the high-definition audio/video interface crop up on an increasing number of systems from rival PC manufacturers, AppleInsider has learned.

HDMI spotted on Mac mini

More specifically, prototypes of a new Mac mini — Apple's smallest and most affordable system, commonly employed by tech savvy Mac users as an ad-hoc living room media server, has been making the rounds with an HDMI port in place of its legacy DVI connector, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The port sits besides mini DisplayPort connector and marks the first instance of full-featured HDMI connectivity on a Mac. It also represents only the second Apple product to feature the port outside of the company's fledgeling Apple TV streaming media device. Cosmetically, the Mac mini is otherwise said to look identical to existing models, with no other visible changes to its enclosure.

A bit about HDMI and Macs

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a cabling standard intended for home theater uses, built on top of the computer-oriented DVI (Digital Video Interface) specification. It uses a compact flat connector instead of the relatively large one used for DVI. Because it's backwardly compatible with DVI on an electronic signaling level, computers with DVI output can drive an HDMI display such as an HDTV using only a physical adapter dongle.

Apple's recent Macs all supply either a standard DVI port or a Mini DisplayPort connector that is also designed to provide DVI signals in addition to DisplayPort, a newer, incompatible video signaling protocol. This makes it simple to connect either port to an HDMI display for video output using a simple converter dongle.

However, the HDMI specification also provides support for audio, something DVI does not. Since there are no audio signals presented on Mac (or PC) DVI (or, apparently, existing Mac Mini DisplayPort) connectors, there's currently no way to deliver both audio and video from a Mac to an HDMI TV over a simple, single cable.

Apple's existing Mac mini offers users the choice of DVI or mini DisplayPort for video output.

Only Apple TV provides an HDMI connector capable of delivering both audio and video signals to an HDMI display. Including HDMI video connectors on new Mac models would enable users to connect their computer to an HDTV via one cable, rather than needing a separate audio connection or complex cable.

An unannounced version of the Mac mini has been spotted with an HDMI connector instead of a DVI.

Mac mini prototype with Nvidia's MCP89

At least one of the Mac mini prototypes described by those privy to the hardware is said to include Nvidia's MCP89 chipset, which is the successor to the existing MCP79 (or GeForce 9400M) chipset found alongside Intel's Core 2 Duo processors across the majority of Apple's existing Mac product line.

However, Intel's ongoing licensing dispute with Nvidia will prevent Apple (and other PC makers) from using the MCP89 supporting chipset alongside its latest generation of Nehalem-based Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Therefore, this suggests that Apple may continue to rely on existing Core 2 Duo (pre-Nehalem) processors as part of its upcoming Mac mini revision.

Alternatively, the Mac mini prototype in question could have been in development before Intel's disagreement with Nvidia came to a head, meaning successive prototype revisions that forgo the new Nvidia chipset in favor of Intel's may have since emerged, though there's no evidence thus far to support that theory.

HDMI for other Macs

While adding an HDMI port to the Mac mini is fairly trivial with few tradeoffs, the same can't necessarily be said in regards to Apple's notebook lines, which sport a much smaller footprint and limited real estate for additions to its I/O port makeup.

However, another product floating around Apple's labs is a proprietary mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter that the Mac maker had originally developed and intended to ship alongside its most recent iMac revision, according to people with knowledge of the situation. It's said to include technology that would allows Macs shipping with an updated mini DisplayPort spec to channel both video and audio through the mini Display port to the HDMI adapter, rather than just video.

One of the various mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters on the market that doesn't carry audio signals.

Ideally, the adapter was to accompany Apple's move to include Blu-ray drives in the high-end iMac (and offer them as build-to-order options on the rest of the line), allowing the all-in-one desktops to connect to big-screen HDTVs that would leverage their Blu-ray drives and high-def iTunes video content. But a near last-minute decision by Apple to scrap Blu-ray from the iMac line this past fall kept the adapter under wraps. It's therefore possible that it could still emerge as a solution that could accompany a future update to the company's notebook lines.

Blu-ray blues

Apple's move to ax Blu-ray from the iMac line (and several other Macs that were undergoing Q&A testing) was reportedly due to a number of factors. One issue, according to people familiar with the matter, was that Apple management -- including Jobs -- felt Blu-ray licensing fees were too steep for the length of time they believed the technology would remain relevant in the market place. There were also reportedly both software and hardware related issues that would have demanded too much engineer effort to overcome.

A new keyboard for the HTPC

2010-02-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

Reposted from SlashGear

I like my Logitech keyboard, but I have wished more than one time that there were a wireless version of the Illuminated Keyboard when I am fighting with the wire to get the keyboard just where I want it. There are some uses, like for a HTPC, where wires simply won’t work. If you are looking for a nice wireless keyboard that is perfect for use from the couch, the Adesso WKB-4200UB may be perfect.

The keyboard uses 2.4GHz wireless tech with 12 channels that it can change automatically to prevent interference. Wireless range is 30 feet and the keyboard has a small USB receiver. The best feature of the keyboard for the HTPC user is that it has a two-button track pad on the right side rather than a number pad.

That means you can type and control the mouse from one device. Power comes from a pair of AAA batteries and the keyboard has a switch to turn it off when not in use. The WKB-4200UB is available now for $119.99.

New Mouse App for the iPhone - could be good for Plex

2010-02-01T13:43:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of Engadget:

Logitech app turns your iPhone into wireless trackpad or keyboard

By Darren Murph posted Feb 1st 2010 1:36PM

It ain't the first company to do it, but Logitech's new iPhone app is certainly one of the easiest to get into. Oh, and did we mention that it's completely free to download? Available now in the App Store, Touch Mouse transforms your handset into a wireless trackpad or keyboard, and thanks to its reliance on vanilla WiFi signals, you won't need any proprietary equipment to get it up and running. It's fully compatible with both Mac and PC platforms, and it's obviously a pretty fantastic way to control your HTPC without dragging a full-fledged keyboard / mouse into the living room. Hit the source link for more details, and be sure to let us know how it goes in comments once you give it a roll.

[Thanks, Wulf]

Logitech

Bring me the iPad remote!

2010-01-27T23:12:00.001-05:00

Come become a fan of the new Facebook page!

2010-01-22T14:53:00.002-05:00

I've made a Facebook page, so if you're on Facebook, become a fan! I think it'll be a good place to chat about things as well.

Click here to go to the Mac Mini Home Theater Facebook page.

New version of Transmission is out and looks nice.

2010-01-22T11:14:00.003-05:00

I'll be downloading the update and checking it out...

Transmission 1.8 released, now featuring support for magnet links

Transmission, the venerable BitTorrent client for Mac, has just received an overhaul in the form of a "huge listen-to-the-users release." From the release notes the following enhancements are included:

Added support for magnet links
Added support for trackerless torrents
Redesigned tracker inspector tab
Quick Look restored for Snow Leopard users
According to the release notes there are over 100 changes that have been sourced from the users. Transmission is free and open source and can be downloaded here.

Engadget reporting ESPN 360 coming to Xbox

2010-01-18T22:03:00.001-05:00

Wow, that would be a huge move. Read on directly here, or below

ESPN streaming coming to Xbox 360?

By Ross Miller posted Jan 18th 2010 9:51PM

As if you needed another impetus to abandon cable and satellite TV, The New York Times is reporting behind closed door dealings are afoot between Microsoft and Walt Disney Company, with order of business being ESPN streaming via Xbox 360. According to the anonymous source, live streams of sporting events à la the now aptly-titled ESPN360 could come to the console on a per-subscriber fee, along with related interactive games. The thing with secret meetings, of course, is that they can never be confirmed and, should talks fall through, amount to nothing in the future -- just keep that in mind before you get too excited and cancel Comcast a bit prematurely.

Intervew with Plex original creator, Elan Feingold

2010-01-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

CrunchGear just published a great interview with Elan Feingold, the original designer and current lead of the Plex project. Its pretty interesting to read, and there are good indications that Plex .9 is on the way in the near future. Also looks like the library is being rebuilt from the ground up, so good things to come in 2010.

Click here to read the interview.

MacMini out of your budget? Look for the new Boxee Box

2010-01-07T18:36:00.005-05:00

Finally official, the new Boxee Box is pretty cool. I think it is at $199, and is a self contained media player - with remote. Basically, Plex and Boxee are the two main XBMC ports, and while we're obviously partial to Plex on this blog, that doens't mean Boxee is bad. If anything, I'd love to see more on the remote they have - really nice! I wish Harmony would make a remote like that!
So what do you guys and gals think of it? Comment away!

Click here to read all about it.

Click here for more screenshots of the layouts.

UPDATE - Here is a youtube of the beta:

It is definitely cool that you pick the show and Boxee scans all online sources for the show. The first "con" that comes to mind though, is if you rely on that for new shows (like CSI, in the example), often times networks will only keep an episode online for a little bit of time. But, that's just a thought - what do you guys think?

New Apps released for Plex

2010-01-07T09:22:00.001-05:00

Check out these great new apps released today:

Feed Me – Written by Jonny Wray

Create a library of your favorite video and audio podcasts using ‘Feed Me’. This plugin allows you to build and view content from a collection of sources by browsing the integrated podcast directory sites or by entering RSS URLs directly.

Universal Sports – Written by Jonny Wray

Universal Sports is the premier Olympic and lifestyle sports network featuring coverage of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, Grand Prixs and more.

DR – Written by Nikki

DR is a danish public service tv and radio government owned company.

This plugin supports streaming of videos and audio from dr.dk/Podcast and dr.dk/bonanza and live streams of DR1, DR2, DR Update, DR K, and DR Ramasjang tv channels. It also supports TV On Demand.

TV2 – Written by Nikki

Streaming of videos from video.tv2.dk – TV2 is a danish tv channel.

Lens – Written by Elan

Lens is the photography blog of The New York Times, presenting the finest and most interesting visual and multimedia reporting — photographs, videos and slide shows. A showcase for Times photographers, it also seeks to highlight the best work of other newspapers, magazines and news and picture agencies; in print, in books, in galleries, in museums and on the Web.

Live Music Archive – Updated by Billy Joe

This isn’t a new Plug-in, but rather a really awesome update to an existing one. This new version of Live Music Archive supports looking at your iTunes artists and presenting you with concerts for matching artists. This is a really innovative way to find live recordings of your favorite artists.

EyeTV streaming to iPhone over 3G

2009-12-16T13:19:00.001-05:00

Following up on iCam, there are a lot of people who use EyeTV with their mac mini HTPC. If you own an iPhone, well, now you can access all that over the 3G network. It just keeps getting better :)

EyeTV now offers HTTP Live Video streaming over 3G via Safari

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Dec 16th 2009 at 12:40PM
Tired of restrictions about what you can and cannot stream over 3G connections? Elgato, the makers of EyeTV, have introduced a novel solution for their many customers to access live and recorded TV shows using an iPhone and a 3G connection. Their new Live3G web site provides a web app solution for remote video access.

The website uses HTTP live streaming to deliver high quality video to the iPhone's Mobile Safari app. Powered by the EyeTV 3.3 update (free to existing owners of EyeTV software), this technology avoids App Store hassles while providing on-demand video access to your home TV recordings and live programming.

As an added bonus, since Mobile Safari has access to the iPhone's TV Out capability (third-party apps can't use it, but Apple apps can), you can use a component or composite video-out cable to display your streamed video on any convenient TV.

If you're worried about other people gaining access to your library of "Dora The Explorer" episodes, or to personal videos you have digitized using an EyeTV box like the 250 plus, don't. You must authenticate yourself with your My EyeTV credentials before being granted access to any library.

The EyeTV update and web site are live now.

The iCam monitoring system for iPhone / mac

2009-12-11T13:07:00.007-05:00

I know this isn't HTPC related, but reader Kyler just posted a comment question about iCam, and it reminded me maybe I should post this. If you have, or want, a webcam and want to monitor your home or office from the iphone, this app, for $4.99, is the best app I've bought for the iphone. It is really awesome. You get the app, and get the installer for free from their website, and run it on your mini, or macbook or whatever. It will recognize your cam.

Enter in a username and password. Start your iphone app. Enter in the same info, and that's it. The set up was literally about 1 minute and I was watching myself on the iphone.

Great features -
1. You can set up hardlined or wireless cams. I am looking into adding the wireless linksys N from Best Buy or the the G version from Amazon.
2. You get 4 screens on your iPhone to monitor up to 4 cameras.
3. Push notification of motion detection. With testing in house, the notifications are within 1 second on the phone.
4. Recording of all motion events. So when you get your push, you can watch the recording motion of the footage shot - amazing!

It really does rock, so check it out.

Oh, and while we're at it, Dragon Naturally Speaking, the famous speech to text software, has released an iPhone app called Nuance which is also totally awesome. Just talk, , review the text it generates and it auto copies, so you just select text or email, and you paste it in. It works very very well, and the best part - its free - for a limited time, so jump on and get it. This also should be worth at least $15, considering the computer version is several hundred!

Comcast, NBC & Hulu

2009-12-03T11:40:00.002-05:00

Repost from Engadget

As expected, Comcast announced its buyout of NBC this morning, and we have a few details of interest to Engadget readers and fans of rom-coms alike. Essentially, Comcast now owns 51 percent of NBC-Universal to GE's 49 percent and will manage the entity -- leveraging the newly acquired content with their infrastructure. On an investor call (reported by All Things Digital) a short time ago, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts emphasized that the company bought "a bunch of profitable cable channels" and "some theme parks, too" (we think that last part was a joke). Not so funny, of course, is the film studio that's seen better years and the broadcast network that's been described elsewhere as "faltering." When asked about TV Everywhere and Hulu, Comcast COO Steve Burke notes that "NBC has been careful not to put too much cable content on the Internet. We think that's a smart strategy... We think that going forward, you're going to continue to have free broadcast stuff on Hulu, and cable stuff on TV Everywhere." As for rumors of Hulu Premium? "That's certainly not in the cards." Web-based TV fanatics will be pleased to note that Roberts appears to be in your court: "We love Hulu and have no intent to crush it like a bug." That's all well and good, but as we know nothing's final until the government has its say: the FCC, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Justice Department are all sure to have strongly held opinions on the matter. PR after the break.

Handbrake 0.9.4

2009-12-03T07:42:00.002-05:00

For those who use Handbrake, or have thought about it, ver 0.9.4 has recently been released and it is really nice. Check out the review here or head over to the website here.

Spotify comes to Plex - for our European friends :)

2009-11-22T17:40:00.001-05:00

For those in Europe, Spotify now has a an app in Plex ...

OK, so we always try to make sure a plug-in is robust and fully stable before publishing it to the App Store, but we’re going to make an exception in this one case. Why? Because this new plug-in is so cool, we can’t keep it to ourselves any longer! We’ve been testing it internally for a few weeks now, and thanks to some of the bug-fixes and enhancements in Plex 0.8.5 we’re finally able to share it with you.

Do you like music? If so, riddle me this: What’s the premier subscription music service on the planet that everyone’s talking about? That’s right, Spotify. Of course, if you live in the US, you haven’t been able to enjoy it yet, but if you (or your IP address) resides in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France or Spain, you’ve probably checked out this amazing service.

So here’s the good news: If you have a premium subscription to Spotify, you can now enjoy this incredible service from the convenience of your couch for the first time ever, inside Plex. Head to the Plex App Store, install it, open up a nice bottle of wine, and enjoy the millions of tracks that are just a click of an Apple Remote away.

(Many thanks to Don McAllister and Oscar R for their initial testing of the plug-in and great suggestions!)

NOTE: Don’t forget, you need the latest Plex to use this plug-in, as well as a premium Spotify subscription.

Plex 0.8.5 Released

2009-11-19T21:38:00.001-05:00

Plex 0.8.5: Fixes, fixes, fixes

from Plex by elan

5 people liked this

The Plex/Eight series is supposed to be about stability, and with all the changes we introduced in the 0.8.3 there were a few regressions that slipped in as well. We’re very sorry about that, and we’ve worked extremely hard since it was released to fix the issues introduced as well as new ones that came to light. So what happened to 0.8.4? We were on the verge of releasing it and then found a few more bugs, so we “nuked” the release. Those of you who sniffed it out on the server, you may want to upgrade now to the real thing.

Without further ado, the fixes:

FIX: A bug where Plex and the Plex Media Server could get out of sync and display the wrong contents for a directory.
FIX: An issue when stopping music playback, where the GUI “clicks” don’t restore and the playing track is still selected.
FIX: Photo thumbnails were broken for plug-ins (thanks to orr721 for the report!)
FIX: Hitting the menu button during a blank slideshow causes a crash. (thank to Majkel and other for the report!)
FIX: When a track fails to play, Plex jumps into (blank) Now Playing screen anyway.
FIX: Sometimes the photo screensaver started going “crazy fast”.
FIX: The new remote code logged too much.
FIX: The duration didn’t show up in plug-ins.
FIX: You weren’t returned to the main menu correctly from items added to your Favorites, or direct links to plug-ins in the Music section. Existing favorites will need to be removed and re-added. (James)
FIX: The iTunes plug-in now sorts artists by the “sort artist” field in iTunes. This one is for Scott!
FIX: Crashes with WebKit plug-ins that appear in the Music section.
FIX: PlexHelper occasionally stopped responding (or responded incorrectly) to button presses.
FIX: Sometimes Plex didn’t start after the first run. Believe it or not, this was an OS X bug, now worked around.
FIX: Plex hung when using the mouse wheel to scroll through text (thanks to hqrs for the report!)
FIX: Changed the servers in the TVDB scraper to use the load balanced ones. (many thanks to kruisje for the fix!)
FIX: Fixed a crash loading some RAW files.
FIX: DTS-to-AC3 was broken in the last release. Thanks to our audio doctor Ryan who fixed it and improved the AC3 trancoding in the process.
FIX: When you select “previous track” it now does the right thing with streamed content: moving to the start of the track or the previous track depending on how far along the track is (awesome, James!)

OK, so I said there were just fixes, right? I lied! James, as usual, pulled out a great new feature or two out of his hat, and we hope you enjoy them.

NEW: Plug-in preferences show up on the context menu for the plug-in itself.
NEW: Auto-sourcing of remote Plex Media Server iLife plug-ins. Let’s say you have a laptop with iTunes music, or your wife’s iMac has iPhoto on it. No longer do you have to manually add the sources, or wonder if they’ll work when you click on them. With the new version, sources add and remove themselves auto-magically thanks to Bonjour. Make sure you install the new Plex Media Server on the remote machines.

More on Hulu going - or not going? - to paid service and iTunes & TV Networks

2009-11-02T13:01:00.003-05:00

I know this strays a little bit from the mac mini as a HTPC, but it seems that these kind of topics fall in the context of what we're playing with. Hopefully, most readers will find this of interest.

So Hulu may not be going to paid service? Make up your minds!
Click here to read the official link, or look below.

And, Apple is talking with the major networks? Apple TV ver. 3.0 just came out and the ever mounting rumors of the tablet/slate/hand-held-thingy makes this of interest too...
Click here for the official post, or read below.

Report: Hulu will not go pay-only

by Dan Moren, Macworld.com

Sometimes, it seems like you just can’t take anything corporate executives say at face value these days. One day, it’s “we’re thinking about charging for Hulu!” and the next it’s “What? We would never do that! … Probably.”

Entertainment Weekly, of all places, quotes a source who insists that turning the online video-streaming service into a pay site is not in the cards. Well, mostly.

A source close to Hulu, however, tells EW that the site remains steadfastly committed to free content, explaining that any possible subscription or pay-per-view service has no set timeline and would only build upon what Hulu offers, not replace it.

The earlier remarks on Hulu's pay plans came from News Corp.’s Deputy Chairman, the alliteratively named Chase Carey, who said at a conference last month that Hulu might have to turn to a subscription model to start pulling in the dough.

As I speculated at the time, this seemed like another attempt by one of Hulu’s chief stake holders to hoist a flag and see which way the wind was blowing—given the amount of negative press generated by the suggestion, it was easy enough to reel it in again. Plus, Hulu gets to look like the good guy for shaking off its greedy corporate backers in favor of its users, and that kind of thing builds loyalty—loyalty that you can eventually turn into money when you do introduce some sort of pay model.

Look, I think there’s little question that there will be some pay-content on Hulu in the next year or two: were the service to acquire content produced by pay cable networks like HBO, for example, or start offering new release movies that would compete with the likes of the iTunes Store. But as along as the core experience of ad-supported streaming of new television sticks around, users will likely stay put—and some of them might even be willing to hand over money for additional features (that rumored iPhone app, perhaps?) and content.

Apple Pitching iTunes Subscriptions to TV Networks?

Monday November 02, 2009 12:15 PM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

MediaMemo reports that Apple has approached a number of TV networks in recent weeks to pitch its vision of a monthly subscription service that would allow the networks to deliver their content to consumers via iTunes with the idea of replacing consumers' cable packages.

Apple isn't tying the proposed service to a specific piece of hardware, like its underwhelming Apple TV box, or its long-rumored tablet/slate device. Instead, it is presenting the offer as an extension of its iTunes software, which already has a huge installed base: A year ago, Apple said it had 65 million iTunes customer accounts.

A so-called "over the top" service could theoretically rival the ones most consumers already buy from cable TV operators -- if Apple is able to get enough buy-in from broadcast and cable TV programmers.

Apple is reportedly looking to launch the service early next year but faces a number of hurdles, the most significant being that no networks have yet to sign on to the plan. Disney, which holds close ties with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and has been an early-adopter of iTunes distribution offerings, is viewed as the likely leader should the movement hope to gain momentum.

According to the report's sources, TV networks are intrigued by the potential for increased revenue streams that could be afforded by Apple's proposal, but are also leery of harming their existing relationships with the cable companies that carry their programming and advertisers who look to viewership numbers on those systems when targeting their campaigns.

The report notes that other companies, including Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and Google's YouTube have also been moving into the digital delivery arena, indicating that the time may be right for Apple to make its move.

So Apple's proposed subscription service, which the company has floated in the past, is no longer a huge stretch. Says one executive briefed on the company's plans: "I think they might get it right this time."

Wow, fill out the Plex Survey for a chance at a new mac mini!

2009-10-27T07:29:00.002-04:00

http://elan.plexapp.com/2009/10/26/the-survey-prizes/

Already filled out the survey? We sure appreciate it, and here’s how much: We’re going to be giving away some seriously cool prizes to three respondents! Those who have already taken the survey get an special thank you, as entries taken before the time of this post will get entered into the drawing twice.

Haven’t taken the survey yet? You still have time.

The prizes are:

One brand new Mac Mini (specs to be announced).
One Harmony One Advanced universal remote.
One Harmony 700 Advanced universal remote.

Not a bad deal for a few minutes of your time, so please, if you haven’t already, head to the survey and give us a piece of your mind!

Let is Snow...Leopard - Plex 0.8.3 for Snow Leopard released

2009-10-26T17:16:00.003-04:00

I'll let the boys speak for themselves - click here for the official post or read below. I'm off to install and test out :)...

Plex 0.8.3: Let it Snow (Leopard)!

October 26th, 2009 | Category: Release | Author: elan

We realize it’s been a little while since the last release, but hopefully the wait will have been worth it. We’re thrilled to serve you up a fresh new version of Plex (download here) with lots of bug-fixes and a few little enhancements. First up, the fixes:

[French users, be sure to read through oncleben31's blog post on the new scraper included in this release here.]

FIX: On Snow Leopard, 5.1 audio had issues. We’ve cleaned up the code, fixed the problems, and it now runs great on 10.6. Many thanks to Ryan for all his work on this one.
FIX: We fixed an issue with the new caching system that could cause some MKVs and other files to stutter when played over the network.
FIX: Video playlists work again.
FIX: Multi-part videos display thumbnails again.
FIX: Crash reading GPS EXIF data from photos.
FIX: Fix for crash when displaying subtitles (Thanks, Billy J!)
FIX: A few crashes in the Media Server (custom iTunes genre artwork, and playing Netflix movies).
FIX: First WebKit play on a fresh install didn’t work.
FIX: App Store would sometimes not show up on a fresh install.
FIX: GForce visualizer for iTunes causes Plex to crash.
FIX: TVDB image issue (thanks to Poldi!)
FIX: Posters issue in IMDB scraper (thanks, Jay!) and issue with cast lists (thanks to Todd G!)
FIX: DTS downmixing method reverted to use libdts. People who listen on headphone *may* be happier.
FIX: Make keyboard backlight feature optional (James). You can access this setting in the advanced Cocoa preferences area under the Videos tab.

To summarize, Plex should now work pretty well on Snow Leopard, and hopefully most of the annoyances and issues in the last release have been fixed. Moving right along, what other tasty nuggets await in this new release?

NEW: James revamped the Plex shutdown options, adding a beautiful UI that allows quitting, sleeping, or powering off after a specified time. Check out the screencast below to see it in action. Press ’s’ anywhere in Plex to go directly to the Quit menu. On the Quit menu, press ‘c’ on the keyboard or hold the Play button on the Apple Remote to bring up the quit timer. There are also options to Sleep and Shutdown in the Quit submenu. Press ‘c’ or hold Play on the apple remote with Sleep or Shutdown selected brings up the timers for both of those as well.
NEW: One of the longest-running complaints about Plex has been the low volume when listening to downmixed 5.1 audio. We’ve added three levels of dynamic range compression (in Preferences > System > Audio): Normal, Large, and Huge. These settings apply only to AC3 and DTS downmixed audio, and the Large and Huge settings can introduce (usually subliminal) clipping. This one is for you, Aayush!
NEW: Captions for iPhoto photos, and EXIF comment tag also used for captions.
NEW: We’re using Felix’s new Apple Remote code (thanks to Evan for integrating it!). This provides, as Apple would say “improved compatibility”. One note: we recommend using the Candelair driver even on Leopard, because it can help resolve cases in which the Apple Remote loses exclusive access with the Apple driver.
NEW: Toggle full screen option on dock menu (thanks to Billy Joe).

Along this release comes a new improved version of the Plex Media Framework used to write plug-ins, and enhancements to the Plex Media Server itself.

NEW: Support for one-click install of plug-ins. You can now easily install plug-ins off the web without having to copy files all over the place.
NEW: Support for auto-refresh in directories.
NEW: Context menus in plug-ins.
NEW: The ability for the HTTP cache to auto-update itself.
NEW: Rating support for plug-ins, with support for community/system ratings as well as user ratings. This feature was used to great effect by David B in the upcoming update of our Netflix plug-in. Here’s an unrated movie and us rating it via the context menu item.

And here’s the movie with our rating.
NEW: Upgrade Plex WebKit libraries to 4.0.3.
NEW: Allow passing back User Agent (makes Apple Movie Trailers work again).

As has become custom in these parts, Barkley sends his greetings.

Hulu to start charging...its coming in 2010

2009-10-25T10:21:00.001-04:00

Well, we knew it was going to happen based on rumors, but it seems its getting more official based on this report. Click here for original post, or read below...

Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010

October 21, 2009

News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey opened the B&C OnScreen summit to discuss where he sees the business going. “It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online,” he said. Carey said that while everyone cites the infamous Jeff Zucker quip that “We’re exchanging analogue dollars for digital dimes,” the industry continues to do exactly that. The strategy needs to be more than just fighting piracy and Google, he says.

“I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” Carey said. “Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

AdVerse had a quick chat with Carey too and posed the question, when exactly does Hulu start charging then? Carey, who says he’s only been to one Hulu board meeting since arriving at News Corp., suggests there is still no timeline but supposes it’s at least in 2010. Carey says that while throwing up a pay-wall around all content is not the answer, it doesn’t mean there wont be fees for some specially-created content and TV previews. Windows are just around the corner. American Idol audition previews anyone? Mobile Hulu is another potential way of making money.

So what changes if and when Comcast takes the NBCU seat at the Hulu table alongside News Corp. and Disney? Comcast has very different thoughts about how to charge for online content. Carey sees the authentication strategy as a good first move, but describes it as defensive, and told me he doesn’t see how it creates additional revenue.

And then there are the regulatory hurdles facing a Comcast deal for NBCU which could result in a delay of at least a year before Comcast gets to really run the show.

Posted by Claire Atkinson on October 21, 2009 | Comments (101)

Problems with Plex & Snow Leopard? This could help

2009-10-25T07:36:00.002-04:00

I was having a recent issue with my video TS folders (DVD rips) freezing or locking on my after about 5 seconds of playing. I had tried removing the source folder and reinstalling it, but that didn't work. Increasing the cache size didn't work either.

A user on the plex forum did post a solution which, for me, and many others, does work.

If you're having Plex issues, I would definitely try this. Click here to read the whole post (which is now a sticky on the site) or just read here for the simple, but effective, solution. I have no idea how he figured this out, but hey, works for me!

BY DannyV45

Posted 01 September 2009 - 04:25 PM

I was having audio output problems (No audio) with 5.1 AC-3 audio HD media as well as video freezing soon after starting the movie with snow leopard. I believe this to be a buffering problem because I have buffering set for 3 seconds and thats about the time it takes to freeze.

I found a work around that works perfectly. I've now sampled about 40 HD movies and have not had another audio or video lockup problem.

From OSX's application menu go into "utilities/audio midi setup" and in the left pane set the default output to "aggregate device" (If Aggregate device does not exist click the "+" sign to create it) open the drop down menu under aggregate device and highlight "built in output" then set the "Built in output" source located to the right to "digital output" and set "Format" to 48,000 2ch-24bit then exit audio midi setup.

Note: I know your thinking why set it to "48000 2ch-24bit" and not "encoded digital audio". This is because setting it to "encoded digital audio" crashes plex. This setting will still pass the 5.1 digital audio and will also pass films that are 2 channel stereo.

then

Go into plex and in system/audio setup set output device to "aggregate device" then set "Digital output support" To "force digital" then Shut off "normilize film volume". Thats it your done.

Now what happens is the movie will start and there will be no sound for about 3 seconds (could be longer if you are buffering at a higher rate). after the movie buffers then the audio will start to play in 5.1 digital (or 2 channel stereo if encoded that way).

Here are some of my own observations that helped me resolved the problem:

I have a yamaha 7.1 receiver that has status lights for audio mode that show either stereo (2 speaker lamps that light up) or 5.1 (5 speaker lamps that light up). When you have this problem theres no audio and no speaker lamps light up when the movie starts to play and the video plays slowly and studders (Because its buffering) then about 3-5 seconds later the movie will freeze.

When you apply the work around you will then notice when playing a 5.1 audio movie that the receiver status lights will first light up stereo (2 speaker lights lit) then after 3 -5 seconds (of buffering) it will light 5.1 (5 speaker lights lit) and you will here the audio.

I'm pretty sure this problem has something to do with a buffering issue within plex.

Hope this helps.

From the boys over at Plex - Snow Leopard & the Remote

2009-10-23T16:04:00.001-04:00

Snow Leopard thaws to the Apple Remote, thanks to Remote Buddy Author

from Plex by elan

One of our biggest disappointments with Snow Leopard was the fact that third party support for the Apple Remote was changed (or broken), and applications like Plex, EyeTV and VLC were on the receiving end. Apart from one person who posted “Plex works perfectly on Snow Leopard for me!” (who either used the keyboard exclusively, or suffered from extreme overoptimism) our forums and twittersphere filled with complaints about the new behavior, which rendered the Apple Remote practically unusable for Plex.

Our friend Evan Schoenberg looked into the issue, and ended up filing a bug with Apple, who replied “this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering“. We had high hopes for 10.6.1, but unfortunately it didn’t help. There are rumors that 10.6.2 may contain a fix, but also rumors that the change in behavior was intentional.

Over the months, we’ve also gotten to know Felix Schwarz, the author of Remote Buddy, the popular and powerful remote control solution for the Mac. He has been extremely helpful to us, reviewing our remote code, suggesting improvements, and sending us sample code. He is, without a doubt, the foremost expert on the Apple Remote outside of Apple.

After investigating the problem, he decided a few weeks ago to provide a solution himself, in the form of a free alternative driver for the IR receiver which would provide reliable exclusive access to the Apple Remote across Leopard and Snow Leopard. In addition, he’s made available an Objective-C class which makes adding Apple Remote support to an application trivially simple.

The driver itself comes in the form of a preference pane, easy to install from the web site. Once installed, you’ll be able to use Plex perfectly in Snow Leopard with the Apple Remote, with no annoying loss of exclusive access that you may have observed under Leopard.

I can’t emphasis how great this development is, and how grateful we should all be to Felix. Please consider purchasing Remote Buddy, at around $30 it’s a great deal and an extremely powerful solution for those who like to customize the way the Apple Remote works with their Mac.

We are currently testing the integration of Felix’s code into Plex (many thanks to Evan for working on this!), and this is one of the reasons why 0.8.3 is taking a bit longer than expected.

Apple releases new great products - and the mac mini server?

2009-10-20T16:51:00.002-04:00

With today's announcements of the new iMac lineup (official Apple site here), the really, really cool looking magic mouse and other smaller items, they also announced new mac minis, including the new "mightier" mac mini server which comes bundled with OS X Server software for $999.

I think probably the regular mini is just fine for the HTPC, but, since this blog does focus on the mini, I figured it is good to put up the news related to it.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has put up a good article as to why you might be interested in this new mini server which you can read here.

The Plex Survey

2009-10-15T21:40:00.001-04:00

The Plex team has put a survey to get to know the users. It is pretty quick and painless and will definitely help make Plex an even better system. If you have a minute, click here to take the survey.

A new display port to HDMI

2009-10-04T08:45:00.001-04:00

Several sources reported this new connector, and this is a repost from TUAW -

Kanex brings digital audio into a Display Port to HDMI adapter

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Oct 3rd 2009 at 12:30PM

When we published our "Ultimate Mac mini Home Theater" guide in August, I drooled along with everyone else at the idea of supercharging my HDTV with a mini for movie and music playback. Something nagged at me, though, as I looked over the options for going from the mini's video-out ports (the current model sports both DVI and Display Port) to the HDMI standard connector that most TVs expect nowadays... how to get that digital audio signal onto the HDMI link, and avoid a second set of cables to handle sound? It seemed less than graceful.

If you want to skip over a clunky external converter box like this one, current minis and other Macs featuring the Mini Display Port connector now have a new option for HDMI; Kanex's two audio-included connectors can put the sound onto the HDMI link where it belongs.

Kanex is selling two models of the connector (both are on extremely limited availability right now, the company says). The $60 Digital Audio version includes a TOSLINK optical connector for premium quality sound, and the USB Audio version delivers analog audio for $50. Both let you put all your eggs in the HDMI basket and clear your cable clutter, while simplifying your TV remote input dance as you try to get the audio and video sorted.

We're hoping to get our hands on one of these units soon and we'll let you know how it performs.

New Plex Plug in and Snow Leopard version on the way...

2009-09-28T07:07:00.004-04:00

Looks like we can expect a new version of Plex soon. Read below-

September 27th, 2009 | Category: Plug-ins | Author: iordonez

We’re hard at work on both Plex/Nine and the next Plex/Eight release, which contains (among other things) a few fixes for Snow Leopard issues (no solution for the Apple Remote issue yet, unfortunately).

In the meantime, our brilliant group of plug-in developers continues to make available more and more content. Here are the latest four (and many thanks to Jay for the artwork, and to Isaac for being the release manager!).

Written by David Bartle, Funny or Die features funny videos with celebrities (including Will Ferrell), comedians, and you. Be sure to watch “The Landlord”, “Prop 8 the Musical” and “Protect Insurance Companies PSA”.

Next up, and written by Billy Joe is The Live Music Archive plug-in. This site is committed to providing the highest quality live concerts in the highest quality format. The Internet Archive has teamed up with etree.org to preserve and archive as many live concerts as possible for current and future generations to enjoy.

For you Ruby on Rails fans, Railscasts is an very informative plugin written by lethekd. Every week Ryan Bates hosts a new Railscasts episode featuring tips and tricks with Ruby on Rails. These screencasts are short and focus on one technique so you can quickly move on to applying it to your own project. The topics target the intermediate Rails developer, but beginners and experts will get something out of it as well.

Lastly is Tête à Claques.TV by oncleben31. This plugin allows to watch videos from TAC.TV (also known as Tête à Claques.TV in French). You can watch videos in French or in English, grouped by vote or by date. For French videos you can browse them by character family too. This plugin is localized in French and English.

Ce plugin permet de lire les vidéos du site Tête à Claques.TV (connus aussi sous le nom de TAC.TV). Vous pourrez ainsi regarder les vidéos en français ou en anglais, classées par vote ou par date. Pour les vidéos en français il est possible de parcourir les vidéos regroupées par famille de personnage.
Le plugin est actuellement localisé en français et en anglais.

Talk of Hulu going to a subscription fee based format

2009-09-15T16:00:00.001-04:00

Its only a matter of time....

Click here for the official link

Say farewell to the free Wall Street Journal on the iPhone.

According to Paid Content, News Corp's Rupert Murdoch announced that readers of the WSJ on the Blackberry and iPhone will be charged $2 per week for the privilege of reading news through the respective apps. Online and print subscribers of the WSJ will only pay $1 a week. No time limit has been set yet, but Murdoch says it will be within the next few months.

There's bad news for Hulu lovers as well. Murdoch also said News Corp is considering either a pay-per-view or subscription model for Hulu. "No final decision has been made," Murdoch said via Webcast at an investor conference today. The WSJ itself reports that subscription offerings will roll out for media content before the end of the year, though it was made in a different context from the Hulu statement.

New TV Season upon us - Torrents Revisited

2009-09-11T10:01:00.006-04:00

With the new Fall TV season just getting started, I thought it a good time to review and update my downloading system. If you've been following for a while, or been reading the older posts, you know I originally was using Vuze as my torrent client and TVRss.net as the subscription center for the feeds into Vuze. Well, TVRss.net went down earlier this year, and has not yet come back up. That led me to look into other options like TED (Torrent Episode Downloader) and moving over to Transmission as a client (smaller footprint in the system and less resource use the Vuze).

After using it for a couple of months over the summer, and really now much more with new shows popping up, I'm just not happy with TED. For example, last night I opened it up to see what was new and Top Chef had apparently started weeks ago, so there were 4 episodes ready for download. Of the 4 episodes, TED downloaded one, and reported torrent problems with the other 3. Not good.

All this led me back to looking for feeds. I decided to go back and really look at ShowRSS, which is an alternative to TVRss.net - which also offer RSS feeds to most popular shows. That also led me back to using Vuze, because Transmission doesn't natively offer RSS subscriptions (apparently there are work arounds, but it seemed like too much of a hassle), and Vuze had been working fine for me.

I have to say, I LOVE ShowRSS.net. I popped in Top Chef, it brought up all the episodes, and Vuze downloaded all 4 in about an hour and a half. Then I really started looking into it. Here's the thing to do, which you're gonna love.

1. Make a free account with ShowRSS.
2. Select all the shows you want to download from the drop down.
3. Under "FEEDS", leave the options as set to default - this will download the highest quality available (so if there is a 720 version and a SD version, you'll get the 720 - unless you just want to select one specific version)
4. Click "Get my Feed address"

You now have one RSS address for ALL your shows! Just go into Vuze, click the "+" sign next to Subscriptions and paste in the RSS feed you copied and Vuze will populate ALL the shows. Don't forget to check the "auto download" in the top right corner of Vuze.

I think this is so nice. You can then go back to ShowRSS and add or remove shows and not have to update Vuze.

In Vuze, under preferences, set it up so your torrents files go one place (like the downloads folder, for ex.) but all your actual avi files end up in your public shared folder, or wherever you have set up for Plex to find them. This will keep things nice and neat.

I hope this works out well for everyone, and if you have thoughts or suggestions, please post in the comments section.

UPDATE 9/13/09: Several comments have pointed out another really good quality app which you should also check out. Automatic looks like a great, low resource app which can use transmission and get shows. I think between the ShowRSS site/Vuze combo or the Automatic / Transmission combo, getting your shows this season should be a piece of cake.

(Screen shots are current shots as of today, so you can see real time results).

Offical Update on Plex & Snow Leopard

2009-09-10T19:11:00.003-04:00

Here it is, straight from the Plex Developers...

Plex on Snow Leopard: Issues and Workarounds

September 10th, 2009 | Category: Status | Author: elan

Snow Leopard is out, and we just wanted to take a minute and update you all on how Plex runs on this great new OS. Thanks to reports from our users as well as our own testing, we’ve found that Plex seems to have four serious issues on Snow Leopard:

Apple Remote issue: Plex is not able to gain exclusive access to the device, which causes the system to see the button presses as well. Our friend Evan looked into this and reported it to Apple as an apparent bug. Apple replied “…this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering.” One of our clever users (FortyRock) came up with a workaround, which we recommend only if you’re comfortable editing system files. It should be noted that this apparent bug affected lots of other software, such as VLC, EyeTV, Hulu Desktop, etc.
GMA X3100 issue: There are apparently corruption/color issues on systems with this chipset (more details here). There is no known fix or workaround for this issue as of yet.
Digital audio (AC3/DTS) issue: There is an apparent issue with Core Audio that prevents digital audio from playing more than once successfully. We’re investigating the problem, and there is a workaround by user dannyv45 that has helped some people out.
SMB connection issue: Plex appears to have problems connecting to a Snow Leopard SMB server. We’re investigating the issue.

So the bottom line is that if you have a system that you’re using exclusively for Plex, you’re probably better off staying with Leopard, as the new OS doesn’t bring anything in the way of advantages for Plex, and it brings a good handful of serious issues.

The one question we keep getting asked is “When will a Snow Leopard compatible Plex be released?”. Unfortunately – especially given the nature of some of the issues – it’s hard to predict. In the meantime, work continues on Plex/Nine and the next maintenance release of Plex/Eight…

Backing up data

2009-09-03T11:37:00.004-04:00

Hemmel posted a question/comment about what I'm doing for backup, and I figure it is a good time to address that.

I am a photographer by profession and I have a lot of data which I can't afford to lose.

Currently my main machine is an Intel based Mac Pro with 4 internal drives, each of them at 1TB. One of them is strictly the OS with apps and general / personal documents, personal pics, iTunes library,etc.. AND the TV shows for PLEX. Two of them are photography drives , holding only RAW files / JPGs and related client files and the 4th one is for the movies for PLEX.

Backup - I have a 1 TB external drive which I use for Time Machine to backup the OS drive.

I have a 5 bay eSata box which I use SuperDuper to backup all four of the main drives with SuperDuper. I am in the process of changing this, though. For 2 reasons. The first is that this unit is REALLY loud. Its like having a turbine engine running in your room. It is definitely something which I only turn on to back up, and otherwise it is off. This is an issue because I've noticed I lose track of doing backups and I've gone weeks without backing up, which is not good. Second reason I am changing is because I've run into several issues where the drives do not mount even though the unit is on. Actually now, I can't get them to mount at all.

Rather that continuing to mess with it, I jsut gave up and decided to go with the Drobo unit. The version 2 has firewire 800 (finally), is supposed to be nice and relatively quiet (based on reviews and youtube vids) and seems like a good all around choice with overall positive reviews.

The only thing I was hesitant about was the whole RAID thing which means that 4TB worth of drives = 2.x TB worth of drives. Before it was one to one which was nice, but really, my OS drive, even though it is 1TB, is far from full, and so on, so calculations from the Drobo calculator and adding up the current data I have revealed that the current 4TB worth of drives I have for backup will do just fine in the Drobo.

I'll be using SuperDuper to automate the backup process to the Drobo, and intent for it to stay on/go to standby so it can always be backed up.

At the end of the day, the Drobo is not cheap - $350, and neither is filling up a bunch of drives. For me, I end of having my business fund all this and write it off. But really, unless you're running lots of drives, and just have a primary drive on your main computer, or even just on the mini, let's say 1TB, you can get one external drive and use super duper, or time machine, and probably be good to go.

I know I recently had my main OS drive crash. Having come from a windows world, I was so anxious, thinking oh great, my machine is down, work is at a standstill, Time Machine won't work, etc... But that wasn't the case.

I went to Best Buy, picked up a new drive for $100. Pulled out the old one, slid in the new one, put the OS disc in, formatted the drive, then it came up that it sees Time Machine has a copy and would I like to restore. Click Yes. 3 hours later, I came back and the machine looked just like it did the night before. I didn't lose any data, and literally only required me buying a new drive, installing it, putting a disc in, and clicking "yes". This is a far cry from the pain of a friend I have who is currently going through a BSOD on a windows machine. Its been 6 days and he is still down, trying to work it out between himself and a local repair company.

If you have a good backup workflow, please post so others can see as well. Thanks!

Mac Mini Firmware update

2009-08-31T19:25:00.000-04:00

Apple has released the Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 via their Software Update utility and on the Web. According to the company, this update improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers. To complete the firmware update process, users should follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/Mac mini EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the installation is complete. The Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 weighs in at 2.4MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later.

Apple also released the SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0. This update should eliminate the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on your Mac. It works with both the iMac EFI Firmware 1.4 and Mac mini EFI Firmware 1.2 updates. The SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0 weighs in at 18.3MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later.

The Snow Leopard Post

2009-08-28T18:13:00.007-04:00

Well, I'm posting early. FedEx delivered as promised and so I went ahead with the upgrade. I did both the Mac Pro Desktop and the Mini. The upgrade was easy and flawless as promised. I didn't do anything special other than run the software update before the upgrade. The mini needed something and the Pro was good. The mini took 1 hour and 2 minutes to upgrade from disc insert to the welcome movie and the Pro was a little shorter it seemed. The Pro did find and app which required installing the Rosetta code, the mini didn't need it.

I haven't really played around with anything too much yet, but I can report that Plex works just as it did before. I am playing both avi for the TV and Video TS folders for the DVD rips with no problems. Hulu and Netflix as apps both work as does CNN. I didn't check the others, but there is no reason they shouldn't.

The one thing I have noticed, is that the movies load a lot faster. Again, this is the Video TS folders streamed wirelessly through an Apple Airport N router, just as before. With Leopard, it would take about 25 - 30 seconds for the movie to start playing (the main menu screen on the DVD) after clicking the movie. I tested on 3 different movies so far, and they're starting in about 5-10 seconds from clicking the movie. It is a much noticeable difference in load speed for the Video TS folder.

Other than that, I don't have much more to report. I thought I'd get this up so those of you wondering would know. I'll add to this post later in the weekend as I have time to play around with it more.

Friday night UPDATE: Looks like there is an issue with the Plex, Harmony and iTunes. Harmony remote does cause iTunes to start and then the movements of the Harmony causes iTunes to go forward or back with tracks, and plays them. I'll be looking into this and posting back when I have found a solution. Also, check plexapp.com forum, as I"m sure they'll be talking about it too.

Friday Night Update 2: This is from the PlexApp forum. Apparently the team is aware of the bug and I assume will be working it out.
The remote signals that are sent to the Mac are picked up by Front Row and iTunes. This will cause them to interfere with each other. Every time you press the Menu button to return to top level in Plex, Front Row starts. Every time you move up or down through the Plex menu's, the system volume changes. When you press Play, iTunes starts..

Not really workable! You're fine as long as you use the keyboard only.

From what I've red and experienced, this is the only bug still left to kill.

Friday Night Update 3: Some peolpe might find the new "Wake from Sleep" useful for their setups. I haven't played with it, but you can read about it by clicking here.

Saturday Update: The Plex Forum has made a new section solely for Snow Leopard. You can find it by clicking this link

MONDAY UPDATE: A super long work day on Saturday left Sunday as recovery and no time on the mini. But looking at this latest post, I can't wait to get back to the house to test this. Looks like there is a new 720/1080i & p settings feature in the display settings! Could we now have a proper output for HD TVs? I'll report back here once I test out, or leave your results in the comments section. Click here for more information on the setting.

Time Warner testing Internet TV

2009-08-27T12:49:00.003-04:00

From my local Business Journal Magazine here in N.C. - click here for official link.

Also SlashGear Offers more Insight Here

**EDIT: I've replaced the below text with the SlashGear article - its more interesting :)

Looks like good things come in pairs. Today, both Verizon and Time Warner announced that they are going to start issuing trials of Internet TV for subscribers. It’s part of the TV Everywhere initiative, and allows users to watch television shows on the web regardless of whether or not they’re at home. For Time Warner, you must have an existing cable TV service, and FiOS TV for the Big Red. Many of the shows on the provided networks will go online around their original air date, and actually shows that rarely reach sites or online retailers like Hulu or the iTunes Store respectively.

It’s looking like Verizon is planning a quieter approach to their trial, and not surprisingly, are only going to offer two Time Warner-owned channels: TNT and TBS. It’s Time Warner that’s taking the boom-stick approach, and plans on offering their own channels, as well as HBO, IFC, SyFy, and several other high-profile networks. 5,000 subscribers will be included to start, but Time Warner plans on reaching several more areas in the coming months. And as deals come through, both providers will be adding more channels regularly.

This TV Everywhere plan is an almost last-ditch effort from TV providers to get customers to keep their existing TV packages. A lot of people are shying away from standard television now a days, considering you get the same shows via the internet without much hassle anymore. Both Verizon and Time Warner are hoping that by providing Internet TV with their current plans, it will get people to keep their plans and not drop them. Time Warner has been under some heavy opposition for putting on low bandwidth caps in trials, to either discourage the switch from internet-only television watching, or to make up for the lost revenues. Either way, the bigger question is will people keep paying for their television when they can get it for free, if not cheaper on the internet?

Snow Leopard Upgrade Post coming Sunday....

2009-08-26T14:38:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know, I'll be making a post on Sunday afternoon or so about the upgrade. I'd love to hear feedback from others as to how the upgrade went and how it is working out with Plex and the mini. Even if you do it later or what not, it would be great to keep all the comments regarding the upgrade in that post, so its easy to find for people who are planning it in the future.

Also I have found a post on the Plex forum which talks about a minor Plex Issue (click here for that post)

The bulk of that post boils down to this post:

About Snow Leopard:

The remote signals that are sent to the Mac are picked up by Front Row and iTunes. This will cause them to interfere with each other. Every time you press the Menu button to return to top level in Plex, Front Row starts. Every time you move up or down through the Plex menu's, the system volume changes. When you press Play, iTunes starts..

Not really workable! You're fine as long as you use the keyboard only.

From what I've red and experienced, this is the only bug still left to kill.

Anyway, we'll wait to see what happens this weekend!

Thanks!

Snow Leopard is coming early - Aug. 28

2009-08-24T09:34:00.004-04:00

The rumors of an early release have proved correct and the Snow Leopard upgrade is coming out this Friday, Aug. 28. I'll be upgrading the mini with the new OS and will report back on how Plex operates. Based on all the reports and information on SL, I'm really hoping to see some great improvements and also looking forward to see what the developers at Plex come up with. I'm also looking for readers to report back on their experiences with the upgrade.

Here is the post from TUAW:
Click here for the Snow Leopard Upgrade Guide
Click here for a short synopsis of what's new with Snow Leopard
Click here for the official Apple site with all the details

Snow Leopard set for release on August 28th

by Joachim Bean (RSS feed) on Aug 24th 2009 at 9:00AM

Amid the leaks and speculation, the online Apple Store went down this morning, only to return with Snow Leopard release information -- August 28th. It also turns out that the box photo that was leaked last weekend was legit, showing the Snow Leopard on the front.

The pricing remains at $29US for a single user upgrade, or $49 for a Family Pack upgrade. You can only install the upgrade edition if you're using Leopard. If you're not, you'll need to buy the Mac Box Set, available for $169 for a single user or $229 for a Family Pack.

Before you install, check out our upgrade guide. Also, note that If you purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8, 2009, that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can upgrade for $9.95.

Rumors regarding Apple / Apple TV and the living room

2009-08-20T13:25:00.004-04:00

This post is not directly related to the mini and Plex, but it I thought it might be of interest to some readers - and if anything, spur some possible discussion or wishful thinking.

For at least a year, maybe longer, there has always been talk regarding AppleTV. Everything from its just a pet project of Steve Jobs to it is the reason the new mini doesn't have an HDMI port to now, rumors regarding its expansion into the living room.

I think there is no doubt the future of entertainment (be it audio or video) lies in ones and zeros. When was the last time you actually bought a physical CD? I know my friend John (who's mentioned in the blog several times) just sold his DVD player on craigslist, and is now straight up, no physical media. Which is basically where we're at as well on this blog. (Although I do have Blu Ray, John is ripping blu ray and no longer has a desire to buy a stand alone player).

Can Apple do for TVs what it did for phones? And really, to put it in a better frame - can Apple take what Plex or Boxee has made, and what we as users have done with it, and make it into another great product?

Imagine, the mac mini, no cable, integrated HDMI with proper screen output for TVs, a proper remote, official support from Netflix, Hulu, etc. with integration of iTunes and the App Store - which could wirelessly sync shows and audio between your computer, the new "Apple TV", iphone, the rumored tablet, rumored blu ray support in itunes 9, and whatever else they can think of...

What do you think? What would you like to see? Would it take the idea of TV show subscription via iTunes to the masses and really bring 25% of America to cut cable? Would cable companies freak out and cause chaos? What are your thoughts on this?

Apple expected to push for greater living room presence

By Slash Lane

Published: 12:25 PM EST

A new market analysis predicts that an update or overhaul to the Apple TV could arrive soon, perhaps with iTunes TV show subscriptions and DVR capabilities.

Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, said in a note Thursday that he believes a new Apple TV will arrive in the next several months. Beyond that, he believes the company will launch a "connected television" in 2011.

Munster suggests a new Apple TV would bolster iTunes video purchases with a subscription model. He cites the popularity of Hulu and Netflix Watch Instantly as a reason Apple should offer iTunes video subscriptions.

"Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 or $40 per month)," Munster writes. "Such a product would effectively replace a consumer's monthly cable bill (~$85/month) and offer access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels."

Munster goes on to say that he believes the timing could be impacted by the negotiations Apple would need to conduct in order to have the rights to offer a subscription model. However, he predicts that when a deal is finalized, Apple would simultaneously release the offering with a new Apple TV, or updated Apple TV software, within the next year.

He predicts that Apple will become more aggressive in the living room, citing a number of factors, including:

Apple executive Tim Cook said on a recent earnings call that the company would "continue to invest" in the Apple TV.
Patents the Cupertino, Calif., company has filed regarding TV recording.
A five-year, $500 million agreement with LG Electronics for supply of LCD screens.

An upgraded Apple TV with subscription capabilities, the analyst says, could access the device's untapped potential.

As for the "Apple Television," Munster believes that is a long-term goal for the company, within the next two to five years. He suggests such a device would have DVDR and home media center functionality built in to the set. Recorded shows, he predicts, could sync with other Apple devices, like Macs, iPhones and iPods, all wirelessly.

"The device would push apple further into the digital living room with interactive TV, music, movie and gaming features (with the iPhone or iPod touch as a game controller)," Munster states. "Such a device would command a premium among the competitive field of budget TVs."

Munster acknowledges that TV hardware is a "challenging business," but the analyst expects that Apple would "change the rules of the game," as it has done in the phone market.

Piper Jaffray has said before that it expects Apple to offer both a connected television, and Apple TV with DVR. A similar report was issued earlier this year, though Thursday's new analysis provides more recent examples to justify the prediction.

More Plugins!

2009-08-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

A couple more plug-ins for your viewing pleasure:

First up, written by Jonny Wray, Subpop records allows you to listen to music and watch music videos by one of Seattle’s most prolific record labels.

Also written by Jonny Wray, iMovies plugin allow you to stream hundreds of free public domain movies, films and cartoons.

Written by Sander Spies, Zie.nl is een Nederlandse videosharing-site waar je eenvoudig video’s kunt bekijken, uploaden en uitzenden op je eigen persoonlijke kanaal. Met deze plugin kun je de leukste en populairste video’s zien. Je kunt browsen op categorie, kanalen van gebruikers bekijken of zoeken op steekwoorden (tags).

New Apps for Plex

2009-08-16T12:06:00.000-04:00

PBS and SVT Play

August 15th, 2009 | Category: Plug-ins | Author: elan

Thanks to a few new features in Plex v0.8.2, we’ve happy to announce a little bit of plug-in news.

We’ve had thousands of downloads of the SVT Play plug-in, and we just pushed an update. The plug-in, among other things, now has support for full and instant seeking within the videos. Daniel Eriksson, Mattias Norlander, Ivar Åsell, and Andreas (tassitassi) worked hard updating the plug-in.

PBS has been a popular request for quite some time now, and a feature added in the latest Plex finally made this possible. So now you can enjoy all 27 programs offered from the PBS website, browse by topic or by collection, see what the most popular shows are, or search for videos.

Enjoy the updates!

Plex 0.8.2 Released

2009-08-09T22:20:00.002-04:00

Click here for the official post, or read below all the new goodness that is Plex 0.8.2 :)

Click here to download this new version.

Plex 0.8.2: Silky Smooth

August 09th, 2009 | Category: Release | Author: elan

It wasn’t until I was over at a friend’s house playing with Plex v0.8.1 that I realized how much better this new version is. We’ve targeted two major causes of user interface delay (beach balling) in this release (starting streams and browsing through directories) and the results should make your experience much better than it used to be. As always, many thanks to the talented group of plug-in developers who keep expanding the content tree, as well as help us track down bugs!

If you’re just joining us, you can find helpful and friendly support on the forums (welcome 10,000th user!), or follow us via Twitter. Heck, you can even follow Barkley on Twitter. Or buy us a beer via the donate link at the right.

NEW: Allow Plex Media Server photo sources to be used for the slideshow screensaver. It’s kind of nice to have a subfolder of Web Gallery of Art as your screensaver, your date will be impressed.

NEW: This has been a popular request for those of you without surround receivers. We’ve added a new setting that links OS X sound volume with Plex sound volume. This means that you can use your Apple Remote for *all* of your volume changes, including all the WebKit plug-ins. (For those of you with surround receivers, you’ll continue to use your receiver’s remote for all of your volume changes.)

NEW: This is one that’s bothered me for ages. Setting the cache size in Megabytes is really silly, because the amount you want to cache depends on the bandwidth of the content. For example, if you set it high, your Apple Movie Trailers might play without stuttering, but then that low bandwidth FLV would take forever to buffer. With this version, we’re introducing Bandwidth-based Caching®, which dynamically adjusts the size of the cache depending on the needs of the stream. The result: lower bandwidth streams start faster, and higher bandwidth streams play with less stuttering. Also as a consequence, the cache settings now look quite a bit more simple. You simply specify the number of seconds of media that you would like to cache.

NEW: Greatly improved responsiveness when browsing. Things like entering or leaving a big list of items (e.g. iTunes artists list) that could hang the entire interface for 5-15 seconds are now instant.

NEW: Thanks to James, the keyboard backlight turns off during videos playing so you can grope your date more easily.

NEW: Maverick214 on the forums submitted a great patch for displaying the end time for videos. Always nice to know how much longer you’re going to be tortured watching So You Think You Can Dance.

NEW: We’ve added a “Shuffle” context menu item for the photos area.

NEW: Do you like having your cake and eating it too? Do you like the Now Playing screen, but wish you could induce epileptic fits in your pets with the visualizer at the same time? Luckily for you, Scott was stuck on a plane, armed with a laptop and he hacked together this perfect marriage. Not for you? Simply select the “Hide Now Playing in Visualizer” in the Skin settings.

NEW: Improved Snow Leopard support. There are still a few glitches, but Plex now runs quite well on the new kitty.

NEW: James cleaned up the shutdown options for Plex. In the skin settings, you can select which of Quit, Sleep, or Shut Down appears on the main menu. If you want to access the other choices, you simply hit “right” to pick another option. If you have your Harmony remote mapped to something custom, you can use the actions Plex.Quit, Plex.SleepSystem, and Plex.ShutDownSystem.

NEW: We display error messages when an item fails to play (as opposed to silently returning to the menu).

Along with all these additions, we’ve fixed quite a few bugs:

FIX: Manually added PMS sources can be removed via context menu (James).

FIX: The default folder for the slide show was set to “F:/” (#303)

FIX: Fixed an issue when Auto-Subtitles are enabled, we weren’t allowing manual activation of other subtitles if they were automatically disabled.

FIX: Crash in the Media Server in iTunes plug-in.

FIX: James made some minor tweaks to menu/keyboard handling, so that the ‘Move focus to the menu bar’ command (mapped to ^F2) works, and also ⌘W now closes the About window.

FIX: We now scrobble to Last.fm as “Plex”.

FIX: Thumbnails obtained from the Plex Media Server are all stored in their own directory, and given a limited time to live, so that you shouldn’t need to go manually whack icons or fanart any more. In addition, thumbnails created by the Plex Media Server with Quick Look are also only cached for a limited amount of time.

FIX: Removed the System Info window, which really wasn’t doing much good (thanks to James).

FIX: Disable cross-fading by default (also thanks to James).

FIX: Fixed an error in the keymap (thanks to Mickey for reporting, and James for fixing).

FIX: The Plex Media Server quit confirmation dialog didn’t always appear on top (James).

FIX: Improved A/V sync, those with senses tuned to this sort of stuff should find it better behaved.

FIX: iTunes visualizers didn’t show elapsed time (thanks to Daniel for reporting it).

FIX: Resume point for videos is now saved when quitting.

FIX: Years weren’t showing up in IMDB matches.

FIX: On updates or restarts, PlexHelper (and thus Apple Remote) could stop working.

FIX: If you had the Plex Media Server set to “Always running” it would not start on boot.

FIX: A crash starting a zoomed MKV (with software upscaling enabled).

FIX: A crash on startup with audio device changes.

Also, we’ve worked on the interaction between Plex and the Media Server, as well as the Python Framework. James just pushed the official v1.0 to the store, and he’ll be blogging about all the great changes in the final release. Note that all plug-in caches and data will be reset because of changes to the encoding, which means that you will need to re-enter login data into some plug-ins (we apologize for this).

NEW: We now support redirection from HTTP to RTMP, MMS, and WebKit streams.

NEW: Site configurations can live inside plug-ins.

NEW: We check for other Python files changing besides __init__.py inside of Contents/Code.

NEW: Seek bars are allowed to specify small/large percentages to jump.

NEW: Video items can specify bandwidth if they wish to override the automatically computed bandwidth (also useful for some FLV files where it’s not possible to extract it).

NEW: You can pass back cookies from the Media Server to Plex, which is useful for accessing authenticated content.

FIX: The Preferences item refreshes parent, useful for displaying/hiding sub-menus based on logged in status (James)

FIX: Javascript seek bars didn’t reset properly.

FIX: String keys are now allowed for album media items.

FIX: The Plex Media Server would crash if a site configuration moved to an unknown state.

FIX: Showing a message dialog at the top level of a plug-in didn’t work right.

FIX: The Media Server didn’t forward requests to the right plug-in when they shared a common prefix (James)

I know it’s been quite a while since the last release, and really, that only means one thing. You are owed, collectively, lots and lots of Barkley.

New Plex Plugins

2009-08-09T08:45:00.000-04:00

Click here for official link or read below:

New Plug-in Releases

August 08th, 2009 | Category: Plug-ins | Author: iordonez

Holy Cow, Batman, we have such a great group of plug-in developers, it’s hard to keep up with them. Here’s a new batch to keep you entertained. The next release of Plex will be out shortly, especially since my little island is about to be ravaged by a tropical storm. Also, many thanks to Jay for providing the artwork for many of these plug-ins!

First up, and written by Gordon Johnston, Gametrailers lets you watch new video game trailers, and read reviews and previews of upcoming video games from GameTrailers.com.

Written by Jonny Wray, Howcast is the best source for fun, free, and useful how-to videos and guides.

Also written by Jonny Wray, the MPORA plug-in provides pictures and videos of Skateboarding, Surfing, Snowboarding, BMX, MTB, Motocross & Extreme Sports.

Written by Sander Spies, Bekijk live TV streams van TMF of blader door de videoclip database en bekijk clips van diverse artiesten.

Also written by Sander Spies, Gamekings bespreekt en beoordeeld wekelijks diverse videogames. Je vindt hier reviews, previews, interviews en trailers. Kortom, alles op het gebied van games!

Also written by Sander Spies, who never seems to rest, Nrc.tv biedt losse en informele televisiek. In nrc nu bespreken NRC-redacteuren, -correspondenten en -columnisten de actualiteit of een belangrijk evenement. In nrc rocks presenteert 3FM-dj Eric Corton per webcam zijn band, artiest of track van de week. In nrc kamatube registreert NRC-cartoonist en tv- en theatermaker Kamagurka elke week met zijn cameraman de absurditeit van het leven. In nrc kookt maakt kookschrijfster Janneke Vreugendhil elke week een recept voor het weekeinde.

Yet another plug-in written by Sander Spies, Radio Books is a plug-in which provides stories by Dutch and Flemish authors written and read aloud on commission to deBuren. They are new stories which have been specially written to be listened to and not to appear in print. Radio Books last between 20 and 30 minutes. The stories are read aloud by the authors in front of an audience once only. In addition, Radio Books are broadcast on the radio and distributed via the internet, where they can be listened to or downloaded free of charge. Radio Books are a nostalgic product of the present age. A new distribution technique via the World Wide Web is linked to one of our oldest traditions: storytelling.

Radioboeken kun je nergens lezen. Het zijn verhalen door Nederlandse en Vlaamse auteurs speciaal geschreven op verzoek van deBuren. Voor het eerst en voor het laatst lazen de auteurs bij deBuren hun verhaal voor.

Available languages: English, Dutch, French and Spanish

Last, but not least, Ryan McNally wrote a plug-in for the HD Trailers site, which was created for the sole purpose of allowing you to easily download HD (High Definition) movie trailers. Great for you trailer junkies out there.

Sale on refurbished Mac Mini's

2009-08-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

Apple Offers Refurbished 2.26GHz Mac minis
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 12:45 PM EST
Posted by: Glenn

Apple has begun offering refurbished 2009 Mac minis with Intel 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processors in the Apple Store. This includes a model with an Intel 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 120GB hard drive, 8x SuperDrive, 1GB of RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics for $649, and model with an Intel 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard drive, 8x SuperDrive, 2GB of RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics for $799. Both models are covered by Apple's one-year limited warranty and include free shipping. I don't know how long they will last folks, but now you know to keep an eye out for these configurations.

Could Apple's rumored 10" tablet device be a replacement - or the future - of the Mac Mini HTPC?

2009-08-04T18:11:00.003-04:00

Engadget makes some interesting points. And this is not the first time I've heard talk of Apple working into the TV market. With Samsumg and LG already producing TVs with internet connections and net based widgets, its not hard to think about Apple merging the Cinema Display with the Apple TV with the rumored touch pad and everything else out there to bring a real mass media solution. After all, 5 years ago if you said Apple going to make a phone, who wouldn't have laughed....

Click here for the official link or read below:

Switched On: The iPad could succeed Apple TV

by Ross Rubin posted Aug 4th 2009 at 5:35PM

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Much of the speculation around an "iPad" -- a rumored 10" Apple tablet -- has portrayed it as an Amazon Kindle-killer or a large-screen iPod touch, but there's a strong case that such a product could effectively serve as a replacement for – or more a compelling complement to -- Apple's non-platform sleeper Apple TV.

Apple faces a dilemma in moving iPhone apps to a larger screen size or higher resolution. It must either scale them (ugly), ask developers to create a large-screen version (cumbersome), or run them in a window (which would beg some level of multitasking at least beyond what the iPhone OS does today. Not only that, but a 10" device is simply inconvenient for some of the iPhone's apps. Just try focusing on the road with a 10" navigation screen suctioned to your windshield.

The base version of Apple TV is 40 GB, just a bit over the 32 GB that has been offered on the iPod touch and iPhone. By the end of the year, a 64 GB flash product could be well within reach for a flash–based iPad. That would easily store many consumers' photo libraries and a Netflix queue's worth of movies. Rumors about the "Cocktail" music experience notwithstanding, the tablet would make an excellent platform for watching and displaying video and photos. a 10" screen would be a fine fit for 720p video and the small size would mask artifacts that could show up on the 50" television. But the iPad would be even more versatile than Apple TV.
Perhaps the most popular digital tablets that are in the market today are digital picture frames. They've sold well because they've been cheap, but even companies that have had success with them believe the key to greater utilization is in connecting them. TV is becoming a more personal experience, especially for video downloaded from the iTunes store. The iPhone delivers an okay video experience (fine for YouTube) given its screen size, but it's not something most people would ideally like to watch a movie on.

Having full-time access to the screen would allow Apple to, for example, put Dashboard-like widgets on the display when it wasn't being actively used. That's something that Apple TV's walk-on role in the home theater makes more challenging. Like Apple TV, the iPad could serve as an Apple "media center extender."

The iPad would also be a great opportunity for Apple to introduce support for desktop Flash as its larger case could accommodate a more powerful processor and larger battery. Hulu's content partners would also be less likely to rally against supporting such a device since it would not compete as directly with the large-screen cable TV experience (although, that said, HDMI or DisplayPort would be a natural port for such a device).

The iPad could also be a great fit for in-vehicle video viewing. It would take about ten minutes for one of the iPod accessory companies to announce a case that allows it to be slung over a drivers' seat as an alternative to the portable DVD player. And Apple's recent embrace of stereo Bluetooth could enable backseat listening without headphone cables.

Finally, it would help Apple test the waters of the television market without having to compete head-to-head with Sony, Samsung and Vizio. An Apple television could simply be an iPad with a tuner, inputs, and programming guide. The integrated display of the iMac has made it far more more successful than the Mac mini. There's a clear opportunity for the iPad to similarly show up the Mac mini's living room cousin.

New Apps for Plex released

2009-07-27T07:18:00.002-04:00

Click here for the official link, or read below:

While we’re putting the final touches on the next Plex release, we thought we’d release a new batch of plug-ins for your enjoyment, including some for our international users. Major kudos to our prolific team of plug-in developers, we now have over 100 plug-ins in the store, and many more in progress.

Starting the batch, off is a FOX News plug-in written by Sander Spies. Watch breaking news, or your favorite news and commentary shows.

Written by Gordon Johnston, The Guardian plug-in features the latest news, sport, business, commentary, analysis and reviews from the world’s leading liberal voice in news.

Written by Jonny Wray, Bicycling Magazine is the world’s leading road biking, mountain bike, and cycling magazine. Find bike and gear reviews, cycling and mountain biking tips, training articles, expert biking advice, bicycle maintenance know-how, and a dedicated biking community.

Written by Gordon Johnston, Cranky Geeks features content from John C. Dvorak, whose crankiness knows no bounds. Dvorak is a contributing editor of PC Magazine, for which he has been writing two columns, including the popular Inside Track, since 1986.

Written by Gordon Johnston, Pixel Corps features video and audio shows from the from the guild, covering news and technical overviews from the worlds of media, video productions and Apple tech.

Trailer Addict, also written by Jonny Wray, features HD movie trailers, teasers, TV spots, clips and featurettes for upcoming, new, and classic films.

ARTE ist ein europäisches Kulturprogramm, das sich an alle weltoffenen und neugierigen Bürger in Europa wendet, insbesondere in Frankreich und Deutschland. Über ARTE+7 stellt ARTE Teile seines Programms der vergangenen sieben Tage online zu Verfügung.

ARTE est une Chaîne culturelle européenne qui s’adresse à tous les téléspectateurs curieux et ouverts sur le monde, partout en Europe et en particulier en France et en Allemagne. ARTE +7 permet de visionner certains programmes d’ARTE pendant les sept jours qui suivent leur première diffusion.

ARTE is written by Christian Sabor.

Written by Gordon Johnston, DL.TV is for tech fans, by tech fans. It features some of the most timely and honest views about what is going on in tech today!

Bandes-annonces, Extraits vidéos, Making-of, Trailer, Haute définition, Teaser, Podcast, Interviews

Allocine.com is written by oncleben31.

One last note: The plug-in authors should check the released versions, as they may include minor changes or fixes.

TVU Network - the answer to Network TV and Sports on your MacMini?

2009-07-20T12:51:00.006-04:00

Hi Everyone -
I thought I'd post this out for readers to comment on and review. I have run across TVU Networks, which you can get to by clicking here which seems to offer free over the net broadcasting of network channels in the US and abroad all via a installed player.

This seems like one of those "too good to be true" and "how come I haven't heard of this before kind of things" so that's why I'm making an open posting looking for anyone's thoughts and comments on this.

For what it is worth, I'm posting from work, on a PC laptop - while using the TVU to watch Sky Sports football (soccer) roundup channel from England. I also switched over to a CBS affiliate and watched some Rachel Ray show - commercials and all.

Is it possible this is a potential way to get the sports we need - or those one time shows like Oscars for example - that we can't easily get from torrents or Hulu?

They also have an iphone app which is supposed to do that same over a WiFi network.

Let me know what you think...

UPDATE: As Jimbo points out, Veetle is also a good option for sports. Thanks Jimbo!

The Future of free TV & Hulu?

2009-07-16T14:56:00.004-04:00

A very interesting post on the Ipod Observer about the future of TV and Hulu. Click here for the official link or read below:

The Free Internet TV Era Is Coming to a Close

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 2:07 PM - by John Martellaro

Free TV content on the Internet, notably via Hulu, has a lot of people exited, perhaps even canceling their Cable TV subscriptions. However, that teaser phenomenon isn't going to last. Hollywood places a lot of value on creative content, and the goal isn't to give it away, rather it's to create a new revenue stream. The viewer, that's you, will end up paying more.

For several years now, I have been subscribing to some key media related newsletters. They keep me up to date on the pulse of Hollywood and how those executives think. The one enduring theme is that people love to watch TV and movies, and creating new revenue streams, even to the extent of having people pay twice, is not out of the question.

For example, when you watched Eli Stone on ABC, you paid your Satellite or Cable provider the first time. But the recording was held hostage on your DVR with no way to move it to an archive, Later, when you bought the series on DVD or in iTunes, you paid a second time. This business philosophy is what, despite economic hard times, allows Hollywood executives to keep up on their Porsche payments.

Old TV from 1950s

The Teaser

Right now, the Internet is in teaser mode. The network studios are providing free content with limited commercials to capture additional customers, not relocate them. These are customers who may or may not also have Cable or Satellite TV. It's a question of time and space shifting plus convenience that lures may people onto Hulu or TV.com or the like.

Once these additional revenue streams begin to work, then the plan is to slowly start charging. That's why Hulu started out with registration and, later, a dedicated app. The idea is to have the viewer log on, designate as a customer, and ultimately pay up for special content, and ultimately, all content. Your frog will be boiled along the way.

Content Providers

There are content creators and content providers. Apple and Netflix are competing content content providers. They don't create content, they simply compete to deliver content and pass a lot of the money on the the creators. That's why we haven't seen Netflix available on Apple TV. Competitors to provide content usually don't play well with each other.

On the other hand, content providers often work deals with hardware manufacturers. For example, Netflix recently inked a deal with Sony to provide Netflix stream directly on some Sony Bravia HDTVs that have built-in Ethernet or, soon, Sony's Video Link. Because Apple already provides its own integrated hardware, the Apple TV, once again, there is little motivation for Apple to work directly with any one else.

Perils Await

The problem is that the collective surge of consciousness amongst the TV viewing community can often bypass what appears to be logical solution. For example, if events go in favor of Netflix, then some day, we could find ourselves automatically signing up for the consensus that Netflix is the natural way to watch movies on demand. Every other solution drops off our radar.

This phenomenon is why Hollywood puts as much content out there in as many different ways as possible. Movie theaters, Hulu, Blu-ray, DVD, Blockbuster, Netflix, Cable, Satellite, TiVo agreements, and so on. As content providers compete for your attention, some will flourish and some will fail. Hollywood, however, keeps raking in the cash.

Apple has fixated on the single idea that people will pay for TV and movie content sans commercials. Meanwhile, Hulu and others, keenly aware of the drop in advertising revenue these days, are working hard to generate new revenue streams. A day could come soon when you'll end up paying to watch Hulu with limited commercials. Don't think so? The history of the transition from free, over-the-air TV to Cable television proves how Hollywood executives think. Keep raising prices, develop new revenue steams and depend on the fact that most viewers just shrug and keep on paying. A few mavericks, cynics, and technical wizards notwithstanding.

Apple benefits from having a single, coherent mechanism in place with iTunes. Those who insist on not paying for anything will slowly become squeezed into paying on other delivery systems. Whether the Apple way or the Hulu way or the Netflix way becomes the dominant vehicle is really up to those companies, not the content creators. In that sense, Apple is on both solid ground and shaky ground.

Solid in sense that, thanks to Mr. Jobs and Apple's ties to Disney and content creators, the company profoundly knows that content has value and must be paid for. Shaky in the sense that if they don't keep up with the initiatives by other content providers, and Netflix comes to mind, Apple could end up losing the entire business base they've developed to supplement music sales. Keep moving, keep growing -- or be eclipsed.

In any case, no matter where your loyalties lie, the future holds the promise of more content in more ways and you'll pay for them all. Sometimes twice or more. The classic teaser, the free TV ride era is coming to a close. What Apple needs to do to come up a winner in this Hollywood double-pay bonanza is a subject that will have to wait for a future article.

TV RSS Revistied: TED and ShowRSS

2009-07-16T08:35:00.008-04:00

We're revisiting TV show RSS feeds because of two people who have made some comments. My good friend John had brought up about a week or so ago that TVSS.net seemed to be down. Of course, this is a big problem to the smoothness of how the setup works, so I started doing some light searching for replacements, but hadn't really found anything.

Then reader Jimbo made a comment post to the blog yesterday. Here is that comment:

Love your blog, as I can relate to your journey into Plex and a cable free life. Check the Plex forums for an App called Episode Linker. It will improve you workflow, byt watching the folder where your TV episodes finished downloads are located, pickup any new file there, fix the naming of the file, or either symlink, hardlink, copy, or move the file to the location of your choice. Finally when it's done, it will trigger a Plex library update. It works like magic: Subscriptions downloaded, naming fixed, filed moved to correct location, Library updated. Your familiy will worship you...You also might want to give TED (Torrent Episode Downloader) instead of your Torrent client's RSS client. Enjoy

JM

I forwarded this to John to see if he knew about this. He responded that he was already investigating a new site as well. So let's take a look at them a little closer.

The two sites are Torrent Episode Downloader (TED) and ShowRSS. TED is a client you download and ShowRSS is web based.

I've played around with the two of them for a little bit now, and my impression is that I think I like TED better so far. TED gives a very nice user interface to the whole process, along with nice graphics, and also something which the RSS feeds don't give you - upcoming show air dates before the season starts. If you look at the screen shots below, you'll see with TED, it shows that 24 has a new episode coming up in September, when the new season starts. ShowRSS, or any RSS for that matter, doesn't give you that information. Granted, you can subscribe and it should start downloading once the show is available, it is still nice to see that, I think - as opposed to getting a "no show, good luck" kind of message.

I've also added the free torrent client Transmission which integrates nicely with TED. You can have TED running in the background and checking for updates as often as you like, or you can just run it when you want TED to check. From there, it automatically finds the shows, opens up transmission, and starts downloading the folder you like. Of course, you can use any torrent client you want, such as Vuze, xTorrent, etc.... I have noticed that Vuze does like to download movie trailers or videos it is pushing even without you requesting - not a lot - just one or two here and there - which can by slightly annoying - but, Vuze does have a lot of good video content all built in. So, if you want a client with video offerings, Vuze is definitely the way to go.

Also, John makes the following observations: "I like the fact that showRSS is not and installed program, but it looks like TED lets you add shows to it, where showRSS has a predefined list (although it seemed to have everything i get)."

I haven't tried out the Episode Linker App for Plex yet as Jimbo mentioned, but as soon as I do, I'll post up thoughts and info. In the meantime, if you want to check it out on your own, you can find it by clicking here.

Click here for the TED Wiki

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter with Audio Support

2009-07-11T08:12:00.000-04:00

From the 123macmini.com site:

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter with Audio Support
Friday, July 10, 2009 - 12:45 PM EST
Posted by: Fran

Apogee has announced the release of its Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter with USB digital audio. The new adapter joins their Kanex family of Mini DisplayPort adapters and allows Macs with a Mini DisplayPort to be connected to an HD source and have digital audio be outputted through the adapter.

Since HDMI is able to support both audio and video, users wondered why it wasn't possible to have the option of having audio come out the Mini DisplayPort adapter as well. The new adapters will be able to output digital audio signals through the USB port. USB audio was integrated into the adapter with HDMI output to allow the audio pass through. Two USB 2.0 ports are also conveniently located next to the Mini DisplayPort, which allows easy access to plug both cables in.

The new adapter still has the same specifications as its predecessor as it still will be version 1.3b and support resolutions of up to 1080p. The adapter also looks similar to the current Mini DisplayPort to HDMI. The significant difference for the adapter will be the extra USB cable next to the Mini DisplayPort cable. The new adapter also supports uncompressed audio such as LPCM.

Apogee said it plans to release the Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter with USB digital audio in August. No word on pricing, but we'll keep you posted.

Engadget Goes behind the doors at Dolby

2009-07-09T19:55:00.001-04:00

Have you ever wondered what the differences between Dolby Digital Plus, Pro Logic and TrueHD were? Still trying to get your head around the evolution of digital surround sound in the past ten years? Yeah, you're not the only one so the crew over at Engadget HD made the long haul to Dolby Laboratories to learn everything there is to know about modern surround sound and what makes it work. In other words, if you are even the least bit interested in being surrounded by sound when watching movies or playing games, head on over and check it out!

Click here to read the whole thing!

The Threat to HULU and Free TV online

2009-06-27T07:37:00.003-04:00

Here we are again - Time Warner & Comcast trying to dig in by charging for "premium" online content. There is also an article in the Wall Street Journal about this. Thanks to Tom H. for pointing this out to us!

Click here for the Wall Street Journal Article

Click here for the full Wired article via CNN , or read below

(WIRED) -- Two cable powerhouses have announced an ambitious pilot program that aims to convince their customers that, actually, TV on the web should not be free.

Jeffrey Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner, speaks at the NCTA conference in Washington.

With a service called TV Everywhere, Comcast and Time Warner will give cable subscribers access to "premium" television content via broadband, and later cellphone connections.

To begin with, 5,000 Comcast subscribers will begin testing the system next month, giving them access to Time Warner's TBS and TNT channels on their computers, and the same channels' video-on-demand catalogs on their cable boxes.

If you made peace long ago with the idea of paying a monthly cable bill, this probably sounds great. It means watching your existing subscription on new screens without paying additional fees or buying more hardware. (Of course, as consumers adopt TV Everywhere, they can probably expect price increases.)

But if you prefer to watch your television for free on ad-supported sites like Hulu while paying only for the internet connection that delivers it, you could be in for a rude awakening. TV Everywhere represents an alternative -- and possible threat -- to the popular Hulu model.

If the pilot program impresses the group -- and proves to other networks that its user-authentication system is secure -- Comcast and Time Warner expect the other television programmers, ISPs and mobile providers to join, giving all cable subscribers a way to watch the content they pay for on their televisions using any broadband-connected computer or authenticated cellphone.

Already "at least 92 percent of Americans qualify to watch this for free online," according to Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner.

For these subscribers, TV Everywhere represents a potential win. The only question is whether they will keep paying for the old cable subscription model as their viewing habits shift online.

There's nothing to stop television networks from putting their content on both Hulu and TV Everywhere, because TV Everywhere's contract will be non-exclusive, according to Bewkes. However, given the choice between Hulu and TV Everywhere, television programmers have an incentive to go with the latter.

Only the TV Everywhere model promises to port yesterday's lucrative business model onto today's platforms. And that, according to some critics, is exactly the problem.

"[TV Everywhere] raises substantial anti-competitive issues by restricting the availability of programming to the favored distribution methods," said Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of the public interest group Public Knowledge. "Under the TV Everywhere plan, no other program distributors would be able to emerge, and no consumers will be able to 'cut the cord' because they find what they want online. As a result, consumers will be the losers.

"In addition, we are concerned that this program violates the open nature of the internet. By adding this additional toll lane, Comcast and Time Warner want to create their own 'managed channel' within the internet and turn the internet into their own private cable channel."

So, what about Hulu? Will its deals fall through given this new option?

"There will be some part [of Time Warner's content] that will be out there [on Hulu], said Bewkes."Short-form content, I think, will continue to be available -- promotional content will continue to be available."

However, only cable subscribers will be able to access other content online -- through officially licensed avenues, anyway.

Bewkes added that some other television programmers have avoided Hulu "for security concerns and because they didn't like the model," but that they will give TV Everywhere a chance.

"Consumers vote every single month with their pocketbook," he added. "They don't have to subscribe to cable. They don't have to pay for these services, yet they do. The number of people paying for subscription television has gone up and up and up every single quarter that we've been in the business."

New Plug Ins for Plex

2009-06-24T07:10:00.001-04:00

Click here for the official link, or read below for more Plex Plugin Goodness:

It’s a Tuesday night, you’re bored, the North Koreans aren’t launching missiles at your state, and you’re media hungry. Well, you’re in luck. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our brilliant team of plug-in developers, we have a few more plug-ins to offer you. (Actually, I think 14 counts as more than a few.) Again, many thanks to Andreas W. for the highly skilled graphic design work.

First up is Picasa Web, written by Ian Gratton. Browse your private online library or your friends’ libraries, or search for photos.

Have you ever wanted to listen to radio stations on Shoutcast with Plex and been frustrated with the poor user interface? Just install the new Shoutcast plug-in, set your preferences (minimum bit-rate, sort order), and browse through thousands of streams.

Next up, written by our own Scott, Miro is a plug-in that taps the Miro Directory, an open content directory which offers over 6,000+ internet TV shows and video podcasts. Organized by genre or language, there is something for everyone in here (including a fair number of sheep, apparently).

Forum user beowulfe was kind enough to write a few plug-ins guaranteed to please your better looking half. Sure, they might complain when you watch 24 or don’t take the garbage out, but sit them in front of these plug-ins and you’ll likely be able to sneak off with your mates for a beer.

First up is HGTV for all your home design, decorating, home improvement or landscaping projects.

Next up is The Food Network, which has lots of content including Ace of Cakes, Good Eats, 30 Minute Meals and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

MakingOf.com, written by the prolific Ryan McNally, is a behind-the-scenes Web portal that provides an intimate, fresh look into the process of making a movie by the insiders themselves. Lots of cool content here.

“RTL NOW” ist die Marke für zeitsouveräne TV-Nutzung von RTL-Formaten. Seit Januar 2007 können Sie auf dem Video-Abruf-Portal RTLNOW.de einen großen Teil des RTL-Programms für sieben Tage nach Ausstrahlung kostenlos per Stream ansehen. Highlights lassen sich schon unmittelbar nach der TV-Ausstrahlung abspielen.

Author: Robert Nio

Ask A Ninja is an award-winning series of comedy videos about the image of ninja in popular culture. Watch the latest episode or any past episodes in Plex.

Elk jaar staat Utrecht tien dagen in het teken van de Nederlandse film. Dan vindt het Nederlands Film Festival plaats dat gericht is op de Nederlandse cinema in al zijn facetten. Bekijk hier de vodcast en andere online video’s van het festival (o.a. trailers, interviews en verslagen vanaf het festivalterrein).

Author: Sander Spies

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, also by Ryan McNally, is a webcomic written and drawn by Chris Hastings and inked by Kent Archer. Published three times a week on its own website, it features the fictional adventures of a character named Dr. McNinja, a thirty-five-year-old doctor who also happens to be a ninja.

Am Samstag, dem 20. September 2003, um 13 Uhr ging die wöchentliche Computersendung c’t magazin im hessen fernsehen erstmals auf Sendung. Serviceorientiert und unterhaltsam berichtet c’t magazin jeweils dreißig Minuten lang über die ganz alltäglichen Probleme beim Umgang mit Computern, Handys und dem Internet. Woche für Woche nimmt die von Mathias Münch moderierte Magazinsendung neue Produkte ebenso unter die Lupe wie die Qualität von Dienstleistungen.

Author: Robert Nio

8-Bit Theater, written by Ryan McNally, is a comic based on the video game Final Fantasy I, following the four Light Warriors in their quest to vanquish the King of Demons, Chaos.

Freecaster.tv, written by Jonny Wrap, is the premier source of free high quality extreme sports videos. Watch LIVE webcast, streaming, replays and on-demand best sports video.

GameSpy, also by Ryan McNally, is all about video games. You can find walkthroughs and reviews of games for the PC, XBox, and numerous other platforms.

One last note: The plug-in authors should check the released versions, as they may include minor changes or fixes.

You've heard of Lodgenet, right?

2009-06-22T23:39:00.003-04:00

I know, I did the same thing: "Lodgenet....Lodgenet....how do I know that name?!" - ok, so think back to the last time you were in a hotel, and you turned on the TV - that's it - those wacky people which offer you all that amazing programing and games - that's lodgenet. Well, if you think the mac mini home theater is just for us cutting edge types - not anymore - Read this post from our friends over at 123macmini.com

LodgeNet today announced a new Mac mini-based IPTV+ system designed for the hotel industry. According to the company, this solution presents hoteliers with an entirely new set of capabilities to create compelling in-room interactive experiences, and provides an exceptional new opportunity to communicate brand messages to their guests, deliver a broad range of on-demand entertainment, present hotel information, and even support the sale of hotel products and services through in-room technology. The solution also supports the delivery of television and web-based entertainment, and provides a platform for the development of next-generation interactive applications.

The company said they designed this IPTV+ solution to leverage Apple's Core Animation Technology as well as the processing power of the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processer. This enables LodgeNet IPTV+ to provide compelling new user experiences including robust animated effects and extensive image and video layering features. Also, by choosing the new Mac mini as part of its solution, LodgeNet is offering its customers an environmentally friendly solution for in-room processing that meets the EPA's new Energy Start 5.0 specification, and which features an energy-saving function that consumes less than 13 watts in idle mode.

LodgeNet will be showcasing the product at HITEC 2009 in Anaheim, California from June 23rd to the 25th.

New Apps for Plex, including MSNBC

2009-06-17T10:19:00.003-04:00

Click here for the official post, or read below :)

New Plug-in Releases

June 16th, 2009 | Category: Plug-ins | Author: iordonez

Things have been quiet on the blog recently, but behind the scenes we’re busy working on some exciting new features, and Plex/Nine is beginning to take shape.

In the meantime, our plug-in developer community has been doing some absolutely amazing work. We’ve had such a deluge of new plug-ins that we’ve revamped our workflow and created a Lighthouse project to manage things better. Huge props to Ryan McNally, Gordon, Ian, Robert, Nikolas, Rick, Scott, and all the others that make the plug-in space so rich and exciting.

Isaac has been kind enough to take on the role of release manager and has been working tirelessly, coordinating the efforts of the plug-in developers, framework developers, and designers. Not to mention he’s written some new plug-ins!

Additionally, the very skilled Andreas W. (tassitassi on the forums) has joined us and is contributing a huge amount of artwork and icon design for new plug-ins (and improving existing art). This guy is incredibly talented!

Onto the new plugins; first up is MSNBC, written by Isaac. This is one that can certainly help users in “cutting the cable”. Use it to stay current with daily news updates in health, entertainment, business, science, technology and sports video.

Hot on the heels of MSNBC is an update to our CNN plugin (also by Isaac, who’s rapidly becoming a Python god) that allows you to watch live CNN news streams. While the streams are generally only available Monday-Friday 7AM-8PM PST I think this is going to fill a huge gap currently missing in the content tree. The only thing that would make it better is if we could get James Earl Jones to say “This…is Plex”.

Next up, and written by Gordon Johnston, Pro at Cooking is a comedic cooking show hosted by Dave Lee, also known by his Chinese name Dawei. Each episode features a female assistant, who tends to be a victim of chauvinism (in the name of humor). The series is filmed in Toronto.

One note: Isaac made the Eggplant Parmesan for his wife and he can’t stop talking about it.

Also written by Gordon Johnston, Interview Project by David Lynch is a neat site which features a road trip where people are interviewed across the country. Really cool idea, and really cool content.

Written by Jdevoo, The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism periods (1100-1850), containing over 21,300 reproductions. Never took art history in college? Crack open a beer and stare at some art. Use it to impress a date.

Next up, written by the prolific Gordon Johnston, the BBC Podcasts plugin allows access to BBC podcasts on a variety of topics, and is accessible outside of the UK.

Last up is an update to The White House plugin which adds support for much more video content and also adds a Photos section with the latest photos from the White House’s flickr feed. Rumor has it that Obama relaxes at the end of the day in front of Plex.

One last note: The plug-in authors should check the released versions, as they may include minor changes or fixes.

Boin Boing Video now available for Plex

2009-06-15T07:13:00.001-04:00

Not sure what Boing Boing is, but, it is now available

Click here for the official post, or read below:

We were super excited when Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing contacted us to see if we could provide access through Plex to their excellent video site. An hour and a couple of emails later, we have an easy and fun way to browse Boing Boing Video while sitting on your couch.

For those of you new to Plex, you can download the latest version from here. After you’ve installed, start Plex and head to the App Store:

Since Boing Boing Video is one of our featured plug-ins, you can find it in the Featured Section. Simple select the plug-in to install it.

Once you’ve installed the plug-in, you can find it in the Videos section off the main menu. Sit back, open up a beverage of your choice, and watch some great content.

Hulu Released dedicated client for Mac

2009-05-28T17:13:00.002-04:00

Not running Plex? Not happy with Hulu on Plex? Well...now you can run Hulu direct onto the mac, without a browser and with full apple remote support!

Click here to read all about it.

VIDEO_TS (DVD rips) networked skipping problem: SOLVED!

2009-05-23T12:28:00.004-04:00

For about a month now I've been having problems with VideoTS (DVD rips) skipping / pausing for about a second or two during playback. I don't have this problem with TV shows in AVI. To remind everyone, I have my files on a mac pro and everything is on the network, so the mini is pulling data from the pro.

My setup:

Intel based MacPro quad core 4GB RAM
2009 Mac Mini, 2.0 GHz with 2GB RAM
Time Capsule N router (not the newest one that came out a few months ago)
Netgear XAV101 Powerline Eathernet Adapter

Both the Pro and Mini plugged into its own Netgear poweline adapter and then there is one where the router is, in another room. House is one story, 1600 sq ft. (I say this so you can get an idea of distance). Straight line distance, imagine a triangle and everything is about 30 feet from any one unit. Both are running 10.5.7. Did it with 10.5.6 as well.

As I said, both 720DH MKV and SD avi TV shows play fine no problems. Playing the Video TS files is where I was having this pausing problems, which basically made the movie unwatchable.

Things I tired:

- I maxed out all the caches in the Plex - didn't work.
- I stopped spotlight on the mini - didn't work
- I was running iphone airmouse server on the mini. I stopped that - didn't work.
- Nothing else was running on the mini in the background.
- I moved the Video TS folders from the USB external drive to a Firewire External drive - didn't work.
- I moved files from the firewire to an internal HD on the Pro - didn't work.
- I reset both computers, and made sure the Pro wasn't doing any internet activies - didn't work.
- I reset the router and the Ethernet adapters - didn't work.

What happened last night? My girlfriend said, do you just want to watch it the macbook? Very annoyed the system wasn't working, and that we would lose the awesome explosions on the sub (we were going to watch Body of Lies), and eveything that goes along with it - I said, sure why not, we've tried everything else.

Well, usually with the mini, the Video TS movies would take like 30-40 seconds to load up and start. She pulls out the macbook and in like 5 seconds, the movie way starting - ummm....wow, that was pretty fast. - what's up with that?

So we select play and the actual movie starts again pretty quick. That's odd - usually it takes like 30 seconds for the buffer to fill up - interesting....

We keep watching - 1 minute, 2 minutes (by now on the mini, it should have studdered and paused/played) - we watch the whole movie - STUDDER FREE! WTF is going on?

Yes, I know you've thought of it too. It can't be the mini - the mini has only one thing on it - Plex. Nothing else is running. Her macbook had like excel open, firefox open, spotlight running, something else going on, etc... granted it is a 2.4GHz and 4GB of RAM, still....

The only difference is....yes - the macbook was wireless and the mini had wireless off and the netgear powerline as its connection.

Well, I just unplugged the netgear from the mini (still plugged in on the Pro) and turned on the wifi on the mini. The movie has been playing for an hour now in the background with NO skipping or pausing! Fantastic!

The only thing I can think of - originally when I set the system up, the Pro was running wifi and it was just the mini and the router connected via the netgear. Then recently I added another netgear to the Pro. I guess when you have 2 computers using the netgear via only 3 units, you start running into bandwidth problems.

Either way, problem solved and hope this helps anyone who is having similar issues :)

Plex 0.8.1 Released :)

2009-05-23T08:05:00.002-04:00

Click here for the official link or read below - then, go download :)

Remember how when Windows 3.0 came out, it really sucked, and it wasn’t until 3.1 that Microsoft got things right? Well, I’d like to think of this release (download here) as being the “Windows 3.1″ release of Plex. We’ve fixed a lot of issues, and this version should be much more stable than the previous one. Additionally, the people who were staying with v0.7.13 because of issues with BluRay rips in subsequent versions can now download this version without fear.

FIX: Idle CPU reduced greatly. On an iMac we went from 24% to around 9.8%. On a 1.83GHz Mini we went from 38% to 16%. Al Gore is happy.
FIX: Hang when playing WebKit content after 5.1 content.
FIX: A few issues causing App Store/plug-ins to disappear.
FIX: Hang on exit (when Media Server Scrobbler was enabled).
FIX: Cannot play/browse AC/DC (and other artists with funky names) from the iTunes library. Heavy metal fans rejoice!
FIX: Scrobbling plays of AAC files to the Plex Media Server wasn’t working.
FIX: Crash on start when Plex Media Server was run on a computer without Plex.
FIX: Intermittant lack of audio when starting 5.1 videos when background music/themes was enabled. (We also disabling the fading, which was not helping.)
FIX: VC-1 apparent regression in ffmpeg 0.5 which caused much higher CPU usage and related problems. Ryan and I resolved it by reverting to an earlier version of the codec. Thanks to Peter for bringing the issue to our attention, and to Aaron for help in tracking it down.
FIX: View Slideshow context menu items weren’t enabled for top-level photo plug-ins.
FIX: Jay and Isaac tweaked the default settings for IMDB to make sure the best quality posters are returned.
FIX: James made some tweak to Now Playing. The flip time is now configurable in the Advanced Settings Cocoa UI (Make it flip every 5 seconds! Make your child and/or pets motion sick!) Additionally, the background is more in line with look of MediaStream.
FIX: We’ve defaulted the automatic audio stream selection to false, as we think that default makes more sense (Thanks, Isaac! You can turn it off manually yourself in the video player preferences.) We also fixed an issue with the auto-selection of subtitles if the auto-selection of audio streams was disabled.
FIX: We pulled the latest libdcr code which decodes RAW images (it fixes some pink-hue issues with newer cameras).
FIX: As forum user “someone” reported, the German strings were botched in the previous version.
FIX: Sébastien Vaast kindly send us updates to the French translation.
FIX: We fixed a possible crash with Javascript seek bars in site profiles.
FIX: Relative coordinates on “thumb” seek-bars were broken, many thanks to Robert Nio for reporting the issue and testing the fix.
FIX: We pulled the latest XBMC UPnP code, in hopes this would help with some problems reported on the forums. We also pulled a fix related to the sendkey HTTP-API command, and a few other fixes.

New Iphone remote just for Plex

2009-05-21T21:30:00.002-04:00

Check out the new iphone remote for Plex. If anyone is using it, please comment!

Click here for the official post, or read below:

New Plex Remote for the iPhone
Thursday, April 21, 2009 - 11:51 AM EST
Posted by: Brian

Aargh-a-Knot, a member of the forums, has created a hot new Plex remote for the iPhone. In fact, I think it has been the talk of our Mac mini HTPC forum for about the last week. Why you might ask? Well, it's probably one of the best looking and most functional remotes around for controlling the Plex media center on your iPhone. He actually created the remote using the Snatch trackpad and remote application for the iPhone, which received a major update to version 3.0 earlier this month. This version of the application makes it possible for users to save and load remote layouts to and from their desktop, and install pre-made remotes downloaded from the Snatch website. They currently have remotes available for Plex, EyeTV, Front Row and Windows Media Center, as well as a numeric keypad for your Mac.

If you're interested in learning more about Aargh-a-Knot's remote for Plex, I suggest that you head on over to his website. He just posted a new article explaining how to install and use the remote in greater detail. All you really need is the Snatch application running on your iPhone or iPod touch and the Snatch Server running on your Mac. He'll walk you through the rest.

New Plex Plugins Released

2009-05-18T08:40:00.001-04:00

A new series of plugins from Plex has been released. Click here for the official link, or read below.

As we fix some of the bugs that slipped into the first release of Plex/Eight, we thought we’d offer up some new content for you to enjoy. The very cool thing about this batch of plug-ins is that they have been created almost entirely by the Plex community!

First up is I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER written by Bart Dorsey, a plug-in that we’ve all been loving. It allows you to browse pictures from a huge selection of funny sites like the Fail Blog, Pundit Kitchen, and of course the eponymous site itself.

Next up, great for the kiddies, is Sesame Street. Written by Beowulfe, it gives you access to hundreds of short videos from years of the show.

Written by one of our most prolific plug-in authors, Gordon Johnston, Llewtube provides access to content from Robert Llewellyn’s Car Pool video blog. Robert (of Red Dwarf fame), has taken to driving around with interesting people and filming the whole thing.

Written by Brad Dolman, Tripleman is a photo blog from a Vancouver photographer.

This next plug-in, written by pygmalion (great job!), provides HD content from fxguide, which is a leading site covering visual effects in filmmaking. They’re all streamed at 720p, professionally produced, and have great content; for example, the most recent one features an interview with J.J. Abrams.

This was requested on the forums; the Bill Moyers Journal has lots of great content, including thought-provoking interviews and discussions.

Lastly, I tossed together a quick plug-in for Adam Carolla’s podcast.

Additionally, a few plug-ins were updated. Rick Fletcher finished a brilliant update to his Major League Baseball plug-in which now provides access to MLB.TV. Rick has really pushed the envelope with this plug-in, and we had to add some new Media Server features to make this plug-in work.

I also pushed a minor update to the NPR plug-in which provides much better metadata so that it looks better in the Now Playing window.

There are a lot more plug-ins in the works (some nearly done), so expect a new batch pushed to the App Store in the next few weeks.

One last note: The plug-in authors should check the released versions, as they may include minor changes or fixes.

Plex 8 Released!!

2009-05-11T00:03:00.002-04:00

Time for a new upgrade for Plex! Version 8 is out, and looks like they're already working on 9, which will be an official ver 1.0 release (we're still playing with an alpha/beta product lol). Also, looks like we can expect some new app goodness soon too! Read all the info below - as for me, I'm off to upgrade!

Click here for the official link and post.

Plex/Eight Released

from Plex by elan

First of all, happy Mother’s day to all the Plex moms out there! (Remember, Plex Dads, a new Plex release is not a substitute for flowers or a nice call.)

We’re very pleased to announce the first release of our stable Plex/Eight series. It’s been a long road, but we’re quite happy with the stability, especially given the massive amount of new functionality. You can download it here.

We’ve already started work on the Plex/Nine series, and you’ll be seeing lots of change between here and the official “1.0″ release. We know what areas need the most work (the library, usability) and we have a few surprises up our sleeve which we hope you’ll enjoy.

We’d like to give a really, really big shout out to our growing community of plug-in developers. The response to the new Framework has been tremendous, the plug-ins are flowing in, and we’ve gotten great feedback from everyone. Thank you all very much! As promised, James and I are heads down on documentation and will have something for you to look at very shortly. We’re also working on some updates to the App Store to improve the “regionalization” which will make it easier for our users around the world to get to the plug-ins that work for them. A pox on content providers who limit the content to only certain areas of our little blue planet.

This release consists primary of bug-fixes, but we’ve added the usual treats. As Chuck Norris said, “Anything else would be less than civilized”.

NEW: Have you ever been annoyed by a video playing with subtitles even though the audio track is in your native language? Or having to look through all the 24 subtitle tracks in the MKV just to find the one in your language? Annoying, right? Plex/Eight auto-manages subtitles and audio tracks based on your language setting (i.e. the OS X language setting). For example, if your language is set to English, videos with English audio tracks won’t display any subtitles, whereas a foreign film will display English subtitles. If the language is set to Portuguese (Olá amigos!), an English film with lots of subtitles will auto-pick the Portuguese ones.
Likewise, for those of you encoding dual 5.1/stereo tracks in your MP4 files, Plex will pick the AC3 track if the receiver is AC3-capable and the tracks have language tags.

These options are both on by default, and they will not override per-video settings. Also, note that some video files don’t have language information for the audio and subtitle tracks. The code tries to be clever, but it’s not magic.
NEW: James whipped up a cool animation for the Now Playing screen. Those of you with Plasma screens can now rest easy. The animation triggers every two minutes. Drink some nice red wine and stare at the screen.
NEW: There are more and more of you using the Plex Media Server to stream your iTunes libraries to Plex, and a common request was to update the play counts and mark podcasts as viewed. In Plex/Eight, Plex now “scrobbles” plays to the Media Server, which updates the iTunes library (note that since it uses AppleScript, you’ll need to have iTunes running on the machine where the Plex Media Server is, and it will be started by OS X if it’s not). This feature is off by default, and you can enable it in the Media Server section of the preferences.
NEW: Anamorphic zoom mode. Falk Husemann submitted a patch to change the 16×9 zoom mode to work with projectors which have anamorphic lenses attached. You can read more about this sort of set up here. You can enable this new mode by setting true in your advanced settings.

And the fixes:

FIX: Sometimes album art didn’t show up in the Now Playing window.
FIX: Remote fanart (e.g. iTunes) wasn’t showing up.
FIX: Very slow start/skipping tracks for music. We made some improvements to the Media Server, and the ever-skilled jmarshall committed a nice related fix which we pulled. You won’t believe how much faster it is.
FIX: Speaking of performance, a big shout out to Jens Kleemann, who has been working for a while on analyzing and improving the performance of Plex. A few weeks ago, he told me that one of the main sources of the idle CPU usage was in some code that was locking and unlocking a mutex. He even sent over a patch that did less locking, and Plex took less CPU with the fix. Now this didn’t seem right to me, as a thread that is blocked on a mutex doesn’t consume any CPU. One night I looked over the mutex code, and I noticed a line of debug code that got the thread’s Mach port. I’d put this line in when I was trying to track down a threading issue *ages* ago, and it wasn’t used anymore. Except, as it turns out, it was responsible for consuming about a quarter of Plex’s CPU usage when idle. So a big thank you to Jens, and a big apology from me. Just think how many trillion of instructions your computers have executed for no good reason because of me. I might actually be responsible for global warming.
FIX: We’ve changed the thumbnailing code for photos to use a single thumb instead of four, by popular request.
FIX: Nikolas Stephan kindly submitted a patch so that Last.fm scrobbling works with tracks played from the Plex Media Server.
FIX: Nikolas Stephan also submitted a patch which allows selecting folders for the photo screensaver, apparently something which used to work.
FIX: We restart the Plex Media Server when we quit after 5.1 play (or upon restart after a crash). This is needed to work around a CoreAudio/WebKit issue, and you would have seen this issue as WebKit videos playing back without audio.
FIX: We automatically remove empty iLife sources, so if you don’t have Aperture, it won’t show up, for example.
FIX: GlimmerBlocker no longer prevents WebKit plug-ins from working.
FIX: The new wider list view works with the “hide thumbs” option.
FIX: Some SSA subtitles (e.g. Chinese) didn’t render correctly.
FIX: James made some fixes to background music; the volume level of the background music shouldn’t be quieter than regular music, and fixed a couple of problems with it not restarting properly. Also, it’ll fade out when starting a video.
FIX: The fonts have been fixed in the Now Playing window for the Original font set.
FIX: A possible crash in the Plex Media Server.
FIX: Better keyboard mappings for the Now Playing window and Mira (thanks to marklight!)
FIX: We pulled the latest IMDB scraper from XBMC (thanks to aaron and jayman for testing it out!) and this should fix it bringing down incorrect posters when the IMPA awards option is on.
We also pulled a good bunch of code fixes from XBMC. (No Aeon fixes, sorry.)

Next up will be a big release of new and enhanced plug-ins, and then back to work on Plex/Nine.

Disney joins Hulu

2009-04-30T13:19:00.001-04:00

Click here to read more

Plex keeps getting better and better and better...

2009-04-25T07:51:00.005-04:00

This is just so cool - I mean, the one program thing I was looking for next week was Charlie Rose. And here I was thinking I'll just watch on the computer when Plex says, why? you can watch on y our mac mini home theater - because, and if I may steal a line "There's an app for that!" Look at all the sweet goodness which has arrived!

Click here for the official Plex link:

We can’t help it, writing plug-ins is addictive. Here are a bunch of new ones to keep you happy and entertained in front of your TV. A step closer to killing cable?

Charlie Rose has thousands of hours of interviews with highly interesting people. Everyone from J.J. Abrams to Sean Penn to Yo-Yo Ma has been on his show. (HEY! Don't forget world famous film director and screenwriter Ramin Bahrani! (who was interviewed by Charlie Rose last week!)

The Comedy Central plug-in, written by Scott, provides lots of stand up comedy, roasts, and episodes from shows on that channel.

This next one was requested on the forums, and was quite simple to code. There is a ton of great news content on here for fans of the New York Times.

Written by Gordon Johnston, who’s been kicking some serious ass, the NBC plug-in offers hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of programming, from old-school shows like the A-Team to the latest season of ER.

This last one is my favorite, being that I’m a big fan of indie music. Recommended if you like the Pitchfork Media plug-in, the site has lots of great up and coming artists.

Plex 0.7.15 released: Improved Music Experience

2009-04-23T12:26:00.003-04:00

Looks like a new version of Plex is out and touting all new features and improvements for your music listening pleasure.

Click here for the official link to the story or read more below:

April 23rd, 2009 | Category: Release | Author: elan

We’re coming to the end of the Plex/Seven series, so we’re primarily focused on bug-fixes, but we did find the time to add a few new things for your enjoyment. Many, many thanks to all the people who helped out with this release. In the next few days, we’re going to release a few new plug-ins (and updates to existing ones) that make use of new features/bugfixes in this release, so be sure to update as soon as you can! The release can be downloaded here.

NEW: One of the complaints we’ve heard is that the visualizers available with Plex, while cool, sometimes cause seizures in kids and household pets. Others say that it leads them to look forward to 4:20 PM. In any case, James and Mike B (of MediaStream fame) teamed up to bring you a sexy new option: The Now Playing visualizer. Select it just as you would any other visualizer, and take it for a spin.

NEW: We’ve added support for ratings in Plex Media Server content. So in the next revision of the Netflix plug-in, for example, you’ll now see star ratings, as you will in another new plug-in that will be released shortly.

NEW: Do you ever find yourself struggling to shuffle a playlist, or play an album straight through, by displaying the playlist, toggling settings, and then switching back, having forgotten what you were doing in the first place? James added a convenient Shuffle item on the context menu to make that struggle a thing of the past. Together with the new Now Playing visualizer, we’re hoping you find music playing just a little bit easier this release.

NEW: New iLife art (thanks to the talented tassitassi). You see some of it peeking out from the screenshot above. (Note: you’ll have to whack your existing cached art at ~/Library/Application Support/Plex/userdata/Thumbnails/Programs/Fanart/)
NEW: Our friend Kent has been hard at work on analyzing our user data. Among other things, he’s discovered that our Swedish users rock! There are more Plex users per capita in Sweden than any other country. He compiled this data by looking at the Sparkle update requests. To make his job a bit easier, we’ve added a token to each update request that’s unique for each computer. We’re sending a one-way hash of the computer’s MAC address, which when broken down into plain English means that (a) we’ll be able to figure how many total computers are running Plex and (b) we can’t use the data to obtain any information about your computer.

We’ve also fixed a number of bugs in this release:

FIX: The context menu was broken for the Favorites section.
FIX: We weren’t saving the ’show extensions’ setting correctly in advanced settings.
FIX: James fixed a long-standing (since Plex/Five) scraper hang with tvshow.nfo.
FIX: We got a patch from rgrove (thanks!) that ensures that LAN cache settings are used for SMB shares.
FIX: Caching was disabled, which caused no end of trouble playing back Internet content.
FIX: We added Lanczos back to the OSD upscaling menu.
FIX: We increased the size of the default fonts. I have to personally apologize for that, apparently I ate too many carrots as a baby.
FIX: Crash/hang when exiting after playing a video.
FIX: Also a longstanding bug, the occasional lack of GUI sounds after playing videos (thanks to Kent for helping me track this down).
FIX: The Plex Media Server is a Universal Binary again.
FIX: Ryan helped me fix a DTS->AC3 transcoding channel mapping bug.
FIX: A Plex Media Server crash (when stopping a WebKit video shortly after starting) was fixed.
FIX: We’ve made the list view give more room to text. After all, scrolling text is hard to read.

FIX: Stopping a video with 5.1 audio could be a bit slow.
FIX: The clock could display letters (e.g. “kk:49″). Thanks to Daniel for helping me track this one down.
FIX: James made the thumbnail searching code respect the dvdthumbs advanced setting (so you can add support for Front Row style preview.jpg files).
FIX: Double speed playback of 22KHz audio in videos (e.g. some FLV video).
FIX: Enhanced the caching of directories to work well with the Plex Media Server (much quicker backing up to parent directories).
FIX: Isaac fixed a few confusing strings.
FIX: Improved Russian strings (thanks to friendly).
FIX: Blurry fanart. Thanks to tassitassi for bringing it to my attention and to jmarshall for the fix).

We also added a few new Media Server plug-in features and fixed some bugs:

NEW: Support for typing a string in the site config (requested by Rick, useful for authenticating into Flash sites).
NEW: We allow specifying a dead zone in the seek bar site config, which can help make a tooltip disappear after a seek.
FIX: Preferences weren’t being correctly escaped, which could lead to problems logging into Netflix, for example

Harmony Remote - "Exit" goes to main menu issue resolved

2009-04-22T19:13:00.002-04:00

I think I forgot to post this, but I was having an issue when watching a show that pressing the Exit on the Harmony 550 was taking me all the way back to the main menu screen and I couldn't access the other episodes of the show without a lot of hassle.

Turns out the solution is pretty simple. Just go into your Harmony remote software and remap the "Exit" button. You want to change it from "exit" to "esc". That solved the issue for me and I haven't had any issues since.

Display/TV update: issue resolved

2009-04-21T19:31:00.004-04:00

So earlier I had made some posts about turning on the mini and TV and finding "snow" on the TV instead of the screen. Well, after a week now with the new Monoprice mini DisplayPort ->HDMI, I haven't had any display problems.

I haven't had a chance to try out the iphone remotes yet, which I hope to do sometime next week. Also, I have found myself still liking having a keyboard for some reason. Occasionally, if I reset the Mac Pro for an update or something, the shared folders get dropped from the mini, and I need it to reconnect, etc., so, I am thinking of getting a mini bluetooth keybaord. I'm not sure which, but, something pretty small, obviously...

All in all, after a couple of weeks, I love the setup. I think the only thing I thought I might miss was that my bother, an amzing movie director, is being interviewed by Charlie Rose this week sometime (well, it has already been filmed, but is being aired this week) and I thought oh how will I see it - turns out all the shows are online, so no big deal. His movie is Goodbye Solo, so check it out!

But back to the mini, the setup rules. I don't miss cable, I don't miss Tivo and everything works pretty much flawlessly. I have all my TV shows, no commercials, no missed shows which come on at the same time, DVD movies work great, Hulu on Plex is a dream, Netflix on Plex is just awesome (I watched 2 movies in the past week on watch it now).

That's it for now..

Hulu coming for iphone!

2009-04-17T21:58:00.001-04:00

It just keeps getting better and better!
Read more here!

According to Silicon Alley Insider, Hulu, which is jointly owned by NBC and Fox, is in the process of bringing its streaming television catalog to iPhone. And, according to an industry executive that spoke with SAI, it’s going to be—and, no, we didn’t make this up—“badass.”

The People +1, Time Warner 0

2009-04-16T22:43:00.004-04:00

Time Warner backs away from pricing change.

Amid widespread consumer outrage, the No. 2 U.S. cable provider is putting on hold plans to change the way it charges for Internet access.

Click the above link to read it all :)

Time Warner = pay for bandwidth ARGH

2009-04-16T09:52:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to post this, since it basically concerns what we're doing using our mac mini's as home theaters. I started following this late last week and now its hit on national news, so I will post it as I followed it.

First, I ran across this on Engadget (click here for the official link post)

In a move seemingly designed to further our frustrations with broadband providers, Time Warner Cable has soft-announced an "unlimited" package once its new data caps go into place... for an affordable $150 monthly charge. Responding to criticism over the company's plans to start capping usage and charging for overages, Landel Hobbs clarified the provider's stance, letting users know that the capping would be limited to a $75 ceiling, thus (when paired with its top tier plan) would provide "virtually unlimited" usage. Virtually unlimited. Here's a rundown of what the COO proposes:

A limited package for "light users" at 1GB/month, 768KB down / 128KB up, with overage charges of $2/GB/month.
Road Runner Lite, Basic, Standard, and Turbo packages at 10GB / 20GB / 40GB / and 60GB caps, respectively, and overage charges at $1/GB/month.
A big daddy, 100GB Turbo package at $75/month with overage fees of $1/GB, which, when coupled with that magic threshold of $75 in charges, becomes the "unlimited" plan.

We only have two questions, guys. First, how will you let end users know they're hitting caps? Right now there's no centralized solution for monitoring bandwidth. Even cell phones show minutes used, so will you give us the infrastructure for broadband monitoring? Secondly -- instead of giving users a "virtually" unlimited package, why not just sell an unlimited package at $150 a month? The impression we get is that you want to leave the door open for aggressive users, and that your capping of capping charges might be a moving target in the right situation.

That prompted me to email Time Warner about it:

Inquiry:I just read this news report and would like to know if this is true, or if it is being discussed, or if it is being rolled out or any other information you can provide.
I am a Time Warner Customer with Road Runner. Thank you
______________
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/time-warner-cable-lays-out-broadband-capping-plans-says-150-fo/

Here is the official Time Warner response back to me:

Response:
Thank you for contacting us. Time Warner Cable understands and embraces the current evolution in the way people are using the Internet for things like video, music, and more. We continue to manage our network to ensure that our all of our subscribers have a terrific user experience. We also recognize that the Internet was not designed to handle the mass amounts of video that are now being consumed, therefore there is a risk that service speeds could slow to a complete crawl unless proper investments are made. We are taking a multi-pronged approach that we feel will be to the benefit of our customers. As we are in the early stages of planning, we want to keep you informed of what we are doing to ensure our subscribers continue to enjoy all of the content available on the Internet today.

Our goal is to provide the best possible Internet experience for ALL of our customers, not to let the minority affect the majority. The vast majority of our customers will see no difference in their monthly bill. The challenge is to find an equitable way to charge customers so that we can pay for necessary infrastructure upgrades. We are looking to create a business model that will allow customers to choose the speed and consumption package that makes sense for their household Internet usage. With a consumption based billing plan, all customers will have access to a ''gas gauge'' that will enable them to track their consumption against their plan. A customer will have three months to get comfortable with the gauge before the bill hits. We don't want our customers to have any unpleasant surprises. Some of our customers may actually save money by ''right-sizing'' to a plan that meets their needs. We are happy to help them do that. Included in the extended trial is Greensboro, NC. Preliminary communications regarding specifics will begin in August 2009 in Greensboro, NC. Billing will follow these communications after a three month grace period. If you would like to speak with a live agent regarding this matter, please either visit your local Time Warner Cable office, or call your local Time Warner Cable Customer Care Center at 1-800-892-2253 or 1-866-874-2389.

Please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance.

Thank you for using Time Warner Cable.
Elena
Time Warner Cable Support
Raleigh, NC
919-595-4892
1-866-489-2669

Naturally, I sent them back an email:

To: TWCable@nc.rr.com
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 11:58:23 AM
Subject: Re: Time Warner Cable Response to inquiry 180330

RESPONSE:
Thank you for your response.

Especially given the current ongoing REASON for the economic situation, I find it unbelievable that Time Warner now wants to find another way to squeeze the customer for every last dime. Please forward to management that:

1. Pay for hours of internet during the dial up era of 1995-2000 is over and dead and people will leave Time Warner for other places like Verizon VIOS or AT&T IPTV if you start charging for bandwidth. You have basically stated you want the customers to pay for your infrastructure so you can make more money.

2. Cell phones have already started going to one price for unlimited minutes and bandwidth. Sprint has eliminated minute charges by going to $50/mo unlimited or $100 for unlimited internet bandwidth and cell phone. At&T is going to have 7MBPS later this year. My iphone , with 3.0 software this june is going to have tethering available. Don't be surprised when people start dropping Time Warner and using itunes to purchase TV shows over the internet connected by a tethered cellphone - all through AT&T and not Time Warner.

3. Blockbuster filed this week with the SEC that they can't pay back their last $250 million loan. On top of the $750 million they had picked up last time, this is basically saying they're going to follow suit with Circuit City. Do you think it is coincidence that the peak of Blockbuster stock was the same time Netflix's IPO went out - Netflix has destroyed Blockbuster and Hollywood video with having NO LATE FEES and unlimited rentals and ever increasing watch it now capability. Netflix tried regulating watch it now 2 years ago to 10 hours or 20 hours per month depending on your membership - that lasted for about a year and they finally went unlimited. Smart move - now Blue Ray players are coming Netflix Ready, Philips has a Netflix ready TV, Tivo has Netflix, XboX has Netflix.

You are going to drive customers away when you start charging for internet. They will go to AT&T in this area. IPTV will be rolled out by the time you put this in place. They are going to offer 24MBPS with TV, Phone, Internet. If not AT&T, there will be something else. If someone wants internet, cable and regular HDTV, it is already about $130/month.That's just insane, and now you want to charge more...

Then yesterday this news item came out: (click here for link to post)

Public rejects Time Warner metered-bandwidth tests

Time Warner Cable is reportedly having trouble finding submissive test subjects for its proposed scheme of charging US customers by the gigabyte for their internet service.

Additional trials for the company's new "consumption based billing" regime were slated to begin in several markets this summer, but public outcry has made the cable giant retreat from some of its attempts to stuff the all-you-can-eat internet genie back in the bottle - for now.

The company originally intended to expand tests of metered billing on April 13 to Rochester, New York, Greensboro, South Carolina, and San Antonio and Austin, Texas. But all has not gone according to plan.

After facing a surge of complaints from customers, Time Warner has decided to delay the rollout in both Texas cities until October. Presumably, a few months will make bandwidth caps easier to swallow.

"What happened as we're continuing to listen was we worked in some of the comments and ideas that got sent to us," Time Warner's South Texas veep of communications told the San Antonio Express News.

Pricing would have started at 1GB per month for $15, and go up to 100GB per month for $75. Each gigabyte over the limit would cost $1, except for the $15/month plan, which charges $2 per GB.

Time Warner and other providers trying to push metered internet on customers argue that internet demand is rising at a rate that could outpace capacity within a few years. The companies say they need to raise money to fix the infrastructure problem, and the fairest approach is to move to a tiered model where customers who use more bandwidth foot the largest bill.

Opponents have claimed firms like Time Warner want tiered pricing to discourage usage of bandwidth-heavy internet video, which could threaten cable TV packages the companies also offer. Time Warner, of course, denies this claim.

Testing the markets in Rochester and Greensboro will apparently continue as planned. Interestingly enough, Rochester's leading DSL provider, Frontier Communications, has already abandoned its plans for metered billing because of - you guessed it - public outrage.

"We have gotten hundreds of calls from Time Warner customers into our call centers," Frontier's local honcho told the Associated Press. "I guess it's been a public relations crisis for Time Warner."

Frontier claims it's grabbing internet market share because of objections to Time Warner's metered pricing plans. ®

And now today it is on MSNBC which you can read about by clicking here.

I know its not specific to the general purpose of the blog, but, I think its important enough that people are aware.

UPDATE:
Macworld just posted this , click here to read.

Important part:

Except—and you may have noticed this in financial circles—this whole unfettered free-market thing hasn’t worked out so well. Riddle me this: How many cable operators do you have in your town? I’ll start.

One.

Go ahead, you count now.

Anyone? Two? Three?

Time Warner shrinks from the word “monopoly,” but let’s face it, it and other cable operators drove the little guys out of business over a decade ago. They own their respective spaces. And the fact that they control both cable TV and broadband and are willing to manipulate one to affect another in the vast markets they control should make someone start paying attention.

Thankfully, someone is paying attention—New York Congressman Eric Massa. Massa is drafting legislation to prevent tiered pricing structures such as those being tested by Time Warner Cable. Massa had this to say on his website:

“Time Warner’s decision has the potential to more than triple customers’ current rates and I think most families will find this to be too taxing to afford. Time Warner believes they can do this in Rochester NY, Greensboro NC, Austin TX and San Antonio TX, and it’s almost certainly just a matter of time before they attempt to overcharge all of their customers. And while I favor a business’s right to maximize their profit potential, I believe safeguards must be put in place when a business has a monopoly on a specific region.”

I’m an entire country away from this guy’s district, but I like the way he thinks. If you do too and would like to express the power of you, send him an encouraging e-mail message. The unfettered broadband you save may be your own.

UPDATE:

Time Warner Cable scraps broadband capping plan in Rochester, NY

It's already delayed its controversial broadband capping plan in a number of markets, and it looks like Time Warner Cable has now gone one big step further in Rochester, New York (one of the initial test markets), where it has reportedly scrapped the new tiered pricing plan altogether. As you no doubt recall, the plan was more or less modeled on cellphone pricing plans, and had intended to cap customers' data usage at a certain level and charge upwards of $1 per GB for any overages (eventually maxing out at $150 per month). That, naturally, didn't go over so well with folks, and even New York Senator Charles Schumer eventually got in on the act and complained directly to Time Warner Cable. Of course, this still doesn't officially mark the end of the pricing plan in other markets, but it certainly seems to be getting increasingly difficult for Time Warner Cable to move ahead with it.

An update to Video TS folders studdering over the network

2009-04-15T15:28:00.003-04:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had some issues with the Video TS folders studdering / skipping just a bit over the network, but the .avi TV shows were playing fine. At the time, there was talk of moving it off the external USB to an internal based drive, which I did.

I ended up having the problem again the other night, and figured it out. It is either one of two things, and really , probably a combination of both. To solve the problem:

1. In the Plex settings, max out the cache in the local network video and audio. This will cause the DVD video ts to take about 10 seconds to "load", but, well worth it.

2. I unplugged my netgear wall plugs for the Cat 5/6 cables and replugged them in. It seems you have to do this from time to time with these guys.

Anyway, my guess is, you can use USB external drives and be fine - all you need to do is max out cache and reset any wall plugs you have, or reset the wireless router (N router, naturally :) ).

MacCast Podcast on the new Mac Mini / Home Theater

2009-04-15T09:59:00.002-04:00

Adam at the MacCast site has posted up a great interview with Ara Derderian of HTguys.com on the new mac mini. Its a great podcast in general, and of course this one especially as it deals with the mac mini as a home theater set up.

On the software side, they more focus on Boxee and Front Row, and get to talking about how there really isn't one good solution and that Boxee is good for online content where as Front Row is better for local. I don't use Boxee, but using Plex, I have found it really pretty easy to setup and that Plex does easily access online content like Hulu, Apple Trailers, CNN, etc.. as well as bring in all my DVDs, all my TV shows, all my iTunes music (which I'll do a post on soon), and pictures (if I wanted - I don't do it, but if you wanted to you could). I have my GF's macbook setup with Plex and it also can play the same content no problem. Never the less, its a very good episdode, and both MacCast and HTGuys are top notch, so give it a listen, well worth it!

Here is the description of the show, and click here to go directly to the podcast or search it on itunes.

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Special edition. A special episode of the Maccast with Ara Derderian from the HDTV & Home Theater Podcast (htguys.com). We see how the latest version of the Mac Mini stacks up against the prior generation for use as a home theater Mac. We also talk about Mac remote control options and a few other odds and ends including our hopes for future generation media based Macs.

Iphone / Ipod Touch - A Remote Alternative

2009-04-12T00:34:00.005-04:00

Ok, so, you either don't have a Harmony, but you do have a iPhone or iPod Touch and want to use it to control Plex and/or the mini? You're in luck, and have quite a few choices.

I haven't started trying these out yet, but do plan on it, just to play around. But, I figured I'd post and compile the major players here so you could see the options and try them out. Feel free to post your thoughts and results in the comments sections for others to see as well. Thanks!

1. Snatch: Click here of the homepage. Click here for the Wiki. Click here for the video.

2. Xmote: Click here for the homepage. Click here for for the video.

3. AirMouse: Click here for the homepage. Click here for the video.

update:

4. Remote Buddy Ajax: Click here for the homepage. Click here for the video

5. XBMC iPhone Remote: Click here for the homepage and video

Downloading HD TV shows in 720P

2009-04-12T00:08:00.005-04:00

A little while back a reader brought up a good point that simply specifying HDTV in the TVRSS.net search was not really getting HD. A standard hour long show like this gives you about a 350MB .avi file. Keep in mind, in my opinion at least, the 350MB download is still very very good quality.

A little searching around on TVRSS and I have found that it seems you can get great quality HD at 720P. If under quality you search "720P|HDTV", you can find subscriptions to shows like 24, Lost, House, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, etc.. in 720 and file sizes are just over 1GB.

If you find more search options that work, or any other good information, please post them in the comments section. Thanks!

Samples of the Aeon Stark

2009-04-10T08:57:00.006-04:00

Just a quick post - I have been playing around with the Aeon Stark and thought I would post screen shots of how nice the Stark looks. What I like - the ability to regulate which menu items are visible. Makes it much easier / quicker to scroll through the main menu items. I also like the clean look, and the ability to see the full artwork in the background. On the main menu of the Mainstream, the left half of the screen is taken up by the menu bar. Kind of annoying.

What I'm not to keen on - in the TV section, you don't and can't (as of now) get the episode information. Also, in the Netflix, you can't get the movie information on the watch it now. Also, the weather doesn't work yet in Stark. Also, in the Movies section, you have to click on "I" or info on the remote to pull up the movie information.

I guess at the end of the day one of these will fit your style, so that's cool.

That being said, here are some screenshots.

Its complete!! NETFLIX has arrived for Plex!!!!

2009-04-09T10:04:00.007-04:00

The one gnawing thorn in my side is finally gone! Watch it now for Netflix has arrived for Plex and it looks AWESOME! Posted today in the app store , easy install and wow, looks SOOO good on Mediastream and on Aeon Stark and to be honest, is even better than watch it now on Netflix's web site!

There are so many new options for how to find watch it now movies - Top movies in the past week, past 3 months, movies in your queue, new watch it now releases - its awesome!

It does require a installation of Silverlight by Microsoft, but that is easy and painless. Here is the post release and also screen shots of it on Mainstream and on Aeon Stark. Have fun!!

From Plex:

Netflix has never looked this good

from Plex by elan

A lot of people have been asking for this, and now your wish has been granted: Netflix on Plex. Tens of thousands of instantly playable movies, and a gorgeous interface with fanart, high resolution posters and rich metadata.

Major props to Scott for doing a brilliant job with this plug-in. He’s already hard at work at the next version.

The Netflix plug-in requires the latest version of Plex.

You also need the Silverlight plug-in installed.

These first two pics are from the stock Mediastream skin on Plex. You'll notice the one big important difference is Mediastream gives the movie description information right there. Stark does not, and as of now even pressing "I" or "info" on Harmony remote doesn't pull up the info - a pretty big drawback, I think - but, graphically, they both look great. I've been playing around with Stark for the past couple of days, since they released a new version a few days ago.

But, here are two pics from Mediastream and Netflix:

(all these are screen shots off my system)

And here are some shots from Netflix on Aeon Stark:

Boxee App Store coming

2009-04-09T09:39:00.005-04:00

Although I am a Plex guy, there have been some comments and interest from people who are Boxee fans. And they're both definitely great front ends - its like a Coke v Pepsi thing I guess lol.

So for those Boxee Players, I offer this news post of news from Engadget/ArsTechnica - and for those Plex lovers, you'll love the next post after this one :)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/boxees-app-box-and-api-goes-live-could-come-to-other-hardware/

Not that there should be any shock surrounding the formal introduction of Boxee's App Box and API -- after all, both were teased sufficiently during last month's bleeding edge alpha release -- but we're still thrilled to see things moving along nicely. This week, the open source media platform launched both an API and an application portal, both of which will act to bring all manners of third-party gems to the media browsing world. boxee doesn't plan on being any sort of gatekeeper (at least for now), which hopefully will spur innovation and get more developers interested. In related news, ArsTechnica has also found that boxee is currently in talks with a few big players in the hardware space, essentially hoping to get its 1s and 0s onto game consoles, Blu-ray players and other set-top-boxes. There's no clue as to the whens and wheres, but we suspect this means there will be no dedicated STB in the near future -- for better or worse.
Slashgear also added news of Pandora to Boxee:
[

To demonstrate the new API, Boxee has released two initial plugins: Pandora and RadioTime. The former allows users to sign in with their standard Pandora account, set up stations and listen to existing Quick Mixes, while the latter offers over 100,000 streaming radio stations.

Eventually developers will be able to charge for their Boxee plugins, but for now all extensions will be free. Boxee have also answered the call for Hulu support by embedding a Mozilla-based browser into the media center.

New Apps for Plex are released

2009-04-08T09:31:00.002-04:00

Looks like this is just the start of it! I'm definitely going to check out Vimeo.
Click here for to see the new apps posted.

Plex 0.7.14 released

2009-04-07T17:32:00.002-04:00

This just in, the guys at Plex have release a new version. And they say new apps are on the way within the week!

Download, upgrade, and I'll post some thoughts too after I do it..

Click here for all the information.

Mac Mini Home Theater setup summary

2009-04-07T16:19:00.004-04:00

I was scanning back through the blog and it seems a summary would be helpful - kinda put everything in one place. If you feel something isn't clear, or needs to be changed, just post a comment...

Hardware you'll need:
1. Mac mini - prefer 2009 version, 2.0 GHz with 2GB Ram ($650)
2. Harmony Remote - 550 ($50) or better
3. DVI->HDMI or the new mini Display Port to HDMI adapter
4. Toslink adapter if you're going to hook up to a digital 5.1 surround
5. A good network - either an N router and N wireless cards or a Netgear wall jack extenion

Software you'll need:
1. Torrent Client (I use Vuze, but you can do Transmission, XTorrent)
2. MacTheRipper
3. Plex
4. Aeon skin if you don't want the standard Plex Mainstream skin

Setup:
1. Connect the mini to the TV and audio system
2. Setup sharing with your main computer, or, if you're going to do everything on the mini there is no need.
3. On the computer that will store the Torrent files, download and install your torrent client (Vuze, etc.)
4. Go to TVRSS.net and get RSS subscriptions for the shows you want.
5. Add the rss feeds from tvrss.net to your torrent client.
6. Install MacTheRipper for DVDs
7. Make 2 directories in your shared folders - one called "Movies" and one "TV Shows"
8. All DVD rips should be saved to "Movies" and TV shows should be put in the TV Shows folder. TV shows need sub folders for the actual show name, then episodes go in those sub folders.
9. Install Plex
10. Follow the Plex wiki for setup -it is VERY good and solves many problems if you just follow the wiki and do it right the first time.
11. Install the Aeon skin if you like it better.
12. Set up the Harmony Remote

That's it.

This is all based on 2 computers with the mini sharing off of a main desktop/laptop. If you want to keep it all on the mini, then you don't need to any of the networking equipment, but you will need some external drives since the mini for $650 only has 120GB.

Of course, if you're not sure about it, or want to play around, just download and install everything on your current computer. Its all free and you can have plex running and playing in about 45 minutes. A DVD rip takes about 15 minutes, and a torrent download however long it takes.

The setup for me was actually very easy. I just like playing around and tweaking things to be just right, so that's where all my time goes into the project. Hopefully, I've covered most of the issues the average person might run into.

Mac Mini Home Theater

MyPlex - awesome!

Boxee Remote

D-Link brings the Boxee Box remote to PC, Mac users

Plex 0.9.2.7 released

Plex - on the new Apple TV??

Plex arrives on jailbroken Apple TVs (video)

Metadata and Plex update

Plex » Metadata Update

WOW - Plex is going to be embedded into 2011 LG TVs!

Plex 9, the 24 hour status report from Plex

Plex 9 released!

Oh - One More Thing

Plex .9 arrives Sept 1

iTV - We'll find out next month

New IR iPod/iPhone dongle for remote

RedEye Mini dongle now on sale for $49, looking good in early review

New Mac Mini Unboxing photos

New Mac Mini released - with HDMI!

Controllr iPhone App - Best remote for Plex!

Sneak Peak at Plex 9 Alexandria!

ESPN 360 App now available for Plex

Wanting to connect your MacBook & Plex to the TV - this is what you need! Henge Dock is awesome!

Henge Docks: finally, a well designed docking station for Apple's MacBook line

Plex 9 is almost here!

All HAIL ALEXANDRIA! Plex 9 is almost here! Read this link to wet your lips on all the goodness that is Plex! Click here for the link or read below!

Rumored sightings of new Mac Mini's with HDMI!

A new keyboard for the HTPC

New Mouse App for the iPhone - could be good for Plex

Logitech app turns your iPhone into wireless trackpad or keyboard

Bring me the iPad remote!

Come become a fan of the new Facebook page!

New version of Transmission is out and looks nice.

Engadget reporting ESPN 360 coming to Xbox

ESPN streaming coming to Xbox 360?

Intervew with Plex original creator, Elan Feingold

MacMini out of your budget? Look for the new Boxee Box

New Apps released for Plex

EyeTV streaming to iPhone over 3G

The iCam monitoring system for iPhone / mac

Comcast, NBC & Hulu

Handbrake 0.9.4

Spotify comes to Plex - for our European friends :)

Plex 0.8.5 Released

More on Hulu going - or not going? - to paid service and iTunes & TV Networks

Report: Hulu will not go pay-only

Apple Pitching iTunes Subscriptions to TV Networks?

Wow, fill out the Plex Survey for a chance at a new mac mini!

Let is Snow...Leopard - Plex 0.8.3 for Snow Leopard released

Hulu to start charging...its coming in 2010

Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010

Problems with Plex & Snow Leopard? This could help

From the boys over at Plex - Snow Leopard & the Remote

Apple releases new great products - and the mac mini server?

The Plex Survey

A new display port to HDMI

New Plex Plug in and Snow Leopard version on the way...

Talk of Hulu going to a subscription fee based format

New TV Season upon us - Torrents Revisited

Offical Update on Plex & Snow Leopard

Backing up data

Mac Mini Firmware update

The Snow Leopard Post

Time Warner testing Internet TV

Snow Leopard Upgrade Post coming Sunday....

Snow Leopard is coming early - Aug. 28

Rumors regarding Apple / Apple TV and the living room

More Plugins!

New Apps for Plex

Plex 0.8.2 Released

New Plex Plugins

Sale on refurbished Mac Mini's

Could Apple's rumored 10" tablet device be a replacement - or the future - of the Mac Mini HTPC?

Switched On: The iPad could succeed Apple TV

New Apps for Plex released

TVU Network - the answer to Network TV and Sports on your MacMini?

The Future of free TV & Hulu?

TV RSS Revistied: TED and ShowRSS

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter with Audio Support

Engadget Goes behind the doors at Dolby