
Plex streamers who use Apple TV devices will be among the first to preview a new version of the app that offers a refreshed user interface, social interactions and other new features, the company affirmed on Wednesday.
The preview is part of a broader refresh of Plex’s mobile, tablet and smart TV apps that will roll out to streamers throughout the year, one that includes a major overhaul to its underlying technology platform with an emphasis on a more-streamlined interface and social connectivity.
Last year, Plex announced it was revamping its app, which allows streamers to build their own home media servers and stream TV shows, movies, music and photos to their Internet-connected video devices, and watch free, ad-supported TV and film content from hundreds of linear channels and on-demand content sources natively baked into the Plex app.
Starting this week, streamers who use Apple TV devices can download a preview of the new Plex app experience, though the company cautions users that the app is “nowhere close to perfect.”
“We want to get feedback from the community as soon as possible,” a Plex spokesperson told The Desk by e-mail. “The app will improve over time, thanks to feedback and ongoing work.”
The new Apple TV app includes a redesigned navigational experience, which aims to improve content discoverability on home media servers and across a user’s subscription video on-demand and free, ad-supported services. Users select the subscription and free services they use when they create a Plex account, and can add and remove services over time; Plex searches across these services when users look for movies and TV shows to watch, and recommends similar content based on viewing habits.
For Apple TV users on the preview app, Plex promises “more personal media customization and easier feature access,” though the company didn’t describe what those perks were, other than to say the Plex app for Apple TV would rely more on content artwork for “a richer experience.”
Apple TV users who want to download the Plex preview can click or tap here for instructions on the Plex user and developer forum.
For all Plex users, the company is rolling out an update that enhances social connectivity and interactivity across the platform. For weeks, Plex has allowed users to rate and review TV shows and movies, and share those reviews with connected friends and family members. Starting this week, Plex users will be able to make their profiles public, which will allow users to share their viewing habits, ratings and reviews more broadly. Users can also share a link to their profile on other platforms, including personal websites and social media. The company said a user’s current privacy settings will not change, though “all Plex users are findable by other Plex users in the app via search” by default.
For Plex users who have monthly, annual or lifetime Plex Pass subscriptions, a new feature is rolling out this week that allows them to stream content using HEVC encoding. The feature was first announced last September, when it debuted as a beta test for some users.
Now, HEVC encoding is rolling out to all Plex Pass users, which allows streamers with home media servers to watch TV shows and movies with improved picture quality and preserved color and contrast metadata. HEVC encoding is available for streaming, transcoding and DVR recordings, and can be implemented on Plex instances running on Mac OS, Linux and Windows when using hardware encoding on Apple, Intel and Nvidia devices.