FAQ and known issues

Misc / unsorted

• How do I report an issue or get help?: Click here.

• Is PlexConnect free?: Yes, although due to demand we have now put in place a way in which you can donate through Paypal if you love PlexConnect.

• What ATV generations do you support?: The ATV2 and ATV3.

• Can I use PlexConnect without a jailbreak?: Yes, most users only need to install PlexConnect on their supported device, change the ATV's DNS server setting to point to the PlexConnect machine and they are up and running.

• Will PlexConnect run on my device?: See here for supported devices

• Can I run PlexConnect on a different port number?: No. You need to run on port 80, as this is what the ATV sends its request data on. If you are already running a web server on port 80 then either: (i) disable it (ii) change the port number you current web server is using (iii) disable the PlexConnect web server then setup a virtual host and reverse proxy on your current web server

• Can i run PlexConnect on a different machine to the one running my Plex media server (PMS)?: Yes.

• What ATV firmwares do you support?: [See the official support page] (https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect/wiki/Supported-Apple-TV-devices-and-firmwares)

• What is the latest version of PlexConnect and where can I download it? The latest stable release can always be found here. The latest code can always be downloaded from here.

• Can PlexConnect automatically start when i turn on my device Yes, you can run PlexConnect as a daemon (OSX/*nix) or as a windows service.

• Are there plans for standalone application installers rather than source code?: Yes, we are looking at the options for this.

• Do you have a roadmap I can see? Yes click here

• Do I need to install Python and what versions are supported?: On OSX Python comes pre-installed, although if running Snow Leopard please install Python 2.7.x to avoid some pre play screen issues (it will be automatically installed alongside the pre-installed default). If you are running Windows you will need to install the 2.7.x version of Python. NB Python 3.x is not currently supported.

• I have multiple ATV's in my house, will PlexConnect work?: Yes, PlexConnect will also save individual settings for each ATV.

• I have multiple Plex media servers in my house, will PlexConnect work?: Yes.

• I miss being able to use the ATV's trailers application/Can I use PlexConnect with on of the other ATV apps?: You have two options:

1. Install the IMDB trailers channel on your PMS to have a trailers application within PlexConnect.
2. Use the iMovies Theater app or the WSJ app by following these instructions.

• Can I use the iOS/Android Plex client to control PlexConnect?: No.

anything DNS

• I use services such as Unblock-US to access regionally restricted content, will PlexConnect still work?: Yes, just set the "ip_dnsmaster" IP in the "Settings.cfg" file (generated on first clean shutdown of PlexConnect) to your unblock service's IP.

• The other applications on my ATV are working much slower after I setup PlexConnect: Change the "ip_dnsmaster" IP in the "Settings.cfg" file (this is generated on the first clean shutdown of PlexConnect) to your ISP's DNS server IP (it is set to Google's DNS server by default; for some users this may cause slowness on the other native applications as it masks your geographical location to content delivery networks)

GUI / look&feel

• Can I view the TV section in list/grid format?: Yes you can switch between list, detailed list and grid view in the settings screen on the ATV.

• Can I view the movie section in list/grid format?: Yes you can switch between list, detailed list and grid view in the settings screen on the ATV.

• I like the actors thumbnails but why do i only get them for some actors?: PlexConnect will download thumbs that are available, for those that are not it uses a generic icon. If you are not seeing any try changing the priority for your metadata agents in PMS.

• Can I manually change the watched/unwatched status of a file or TV show season?: Yes, press and hold select to bring up the contextual menu with this option; this can be done on movies, TV episodes, TV seasons or TV shows.

• Can I manually change the artwork for a movie or TV show?: Yes, press and hold select to bring up the contextual menu with this option.

• Can I change the Trailer icon to a PlexConnect one?: Yes see this page for details.

• Why can I not have wrap around scrolling on the ATV menus: This is a limitation of the ATV firmware.

• Is PlexConnect available in my language: Hopefully! PlexConnect should be available in your language if your language is available in the native ATV settings menu; you can help with gaps or corrections by updating the localisation file here. If your language is not one of those natively available on the ATV then you can still manually add support to PlexConnect by creating an MO file and overwriting the language file in "assets/locales/en" (or whatever language you have the ATV set to).

Playback

• My videos all play back in stereo: Ensure you are running Plex media server (PMS) 0.9.7.27 or greater, that you enable "Enable Dolby Digital on Apple TV" under the PMS advanced transcoder preferences and that Dolby Digital is set to "On" rather than "Auto" in your ATV's settings menu.

• I am unable to playback TS video files: If these are folder structures of a DVD then they are not supported.

• How can i choose which audio track to use?: Yes, on the pre-play screen.

• Does PlexConnect support DTS audio?: No because the ATV firmware does not natively support it, other multichannel audio is supported.

• How can i choose which subtitle track to use?: Yes, on the pre-play screen.

• Can I change the subtitles size?: Yes, you can make them bigger or smaller in the settings screen. NB this only applies to subtitles that get transcoded or that use PlexConnect's own renderer. For those that get direct played, you will have to wait for the release of iOS 7 for control over their size.

• Can I force a certain quality for transcoded media?: Yes, you change this in the settings screen on the ATV.

• Can I playback DRM'ed video files i bought with iTunes?: Yes, because it uses the ATV's native media player, PlexConnect is capable of playing video content that you have bought in iTunes.

• Does PlexConnect support ISO or Video_TS playback No (most Plex clients do not support this).

• Does PlexConnect support 24p frame rate playback for films No, because the ATV's native player does not support this.

• Can PlexConnect output 3D content?: Yes, see this post for details.

• Do stacked files work?: We do provide limited support for stacked files, where a film is split into multiple parts. PlexConnect will play the files but resume support on the ATV will not work after the first part has played (the time stamp is recorded at the PMS end so other client will resume properly but we are unable to get the ATV's built in player to play nice).

• I have multiple versions of the same episode or film, why does this make PlexConnect crash when I try to play one? Support for choosing which file to play when you have multiple versions of the same film/episode is not yet available, testing shows that currently it is a bit hit or miss as to whether the file will play. We do plan to add support for selecting the file as on the desktop client.

Plex Sections / Plugins / Channels

• My Plex Music section does not work: Music section support is highly experimental so do not expect it to work at the moment).

• One of the channels I have installed on my Plex Media Server does not work: Channels are supported, although dialogue boxes are still to be implemented. Please do not report any problems with channels unless you have tested that they work fully on the Plex desktop client and preferably on the mobile iOS client first.

• The Aperture plugin does not work: This is a known issue.

• The Photo plugin does not work on my Linux based device: This is a known issue (it was only configured to work with iPhoto and Windows).

• The iTunes audio plugin does not work: This is a known issue.

• The iTunes video plugin does not work: This is a known issue.

Shared content

• Is MyPlex / shared content supported?: Yes

• Is using a PMS that is not on my LAN supported?: Yes but you will still need to run an instance of PlexConnect on the same LAN as the ATV you are using to access the remote PMS.