Raise your hand if MacSparky has a directory on your Plex…
(Some filler characters)
I love the concept of “libraries” in Plex, especially because we use it on multiple devices for multiple audiences.
I have a “Movies” library, but also a “Kid Movies” one. The (youngest) kid’s AppleTV only has access to the latter. Same for the TV in the kids area at church if we’re having some kind of social event.
I also have a large library of concert videos and it’s nice to keep those separate (because no one wants shared access to those!).
All in, we have:
- Movies
- Kid’s Movies
- Epic Movie Series (keeps the 6-7 film series from “cluttering” up the main library)
- Home Movies
- Webcast Concerts
- TV Shows
- Music Library
A little bit of time organizing things makes it very, very easy to navigate and selectively share with others.
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First hurdle with Infuse: it would appear that my OS is outdated: I’m running Catalina and Infuse requires Big Sur.
The iMac supports it, but I’m very much a fan of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and I don’t like the idea of anything going awry. OS updates are scary.
Is anybody running Infuse on Catalina? Is it even possible? I did not find any legacy versions on Firecore’s website.
this may be OT
you may have some bad experience before. However, you may be running some vulnerabilty risk if you do not update
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Catalina still receives security updates, at least as of May 2022.
If you have an AppleTV, you can drop files into your home directory on the computer and then access them from the “computer” folder on the AppleTV…
You may want to look into Emby before jumping into Plex.
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I recommend setting up a Jellyfin server as Plex is slowly but surely switching from a Personal Media Server to a commercial streaming service. Their priority is onboarding streaming services onto their platform.
In the short term, you can use Plex as they haven’t sunsetted the personal media services yet. But I’ll set up Jellyfin as well so that you are ready to make the switch when that media server has matured enough to a viable alternative.
That’s an interesting thought. It would be a massive blow to the fan base if they stopped allowing people to play their own media, in fact there would be a massive outcry. I doubt it’s true as they’re still trying to make offline downloads work reliably in their Plex client, I don’t think they would have completed a massive rewrite (with more work planned) if they were only going to allow streaming from their sources.
They are definitely sending mixed signals. Things kind forcing Discover which suggests content from streaming services into the interface, removing the house from their logo, not addressing the slew of video bug reports and feature requests, and just the appearance of their home page.
Check it out. When you look at their home page, does it focus on personal media or streaming services?
I take those behaviors as writing on the wall. There could be internal politics going on. with a Plex Media Server group and a streaming service group vying for control of the products direction.
+1 for Plex, which I’ve been running happily for many years. I suggest you look into using a NVIDIA Shield TV Pro as a server for your content. It is an excellent device, offers tremendous value for money and will serve you well for years to come.
I’ve been running mine for five years now, it continues to get the latest software updates and is running as smoothly as when it was brand new. I have mine attached to a 4TB hard drive (an old spinning one) and it works flawlessly, easily handling multiple streams, with whatever I throw at it.
You also get the benefit of using the device as a client on a non-smart TV or to significantly upgrade the interface on a smart one.
I think Plex should be excused for hosting streaming services. They need to stay in business, and, face it, people are flocking to streaming services rather than buying media. The same thing happened to iTunes/Music.
But I can’t see them dropping personal media since they do have that (probably declining) service essentially locked up. Unfortunately (for them) it doesn’t provide a continuing revenue stream unless people buy their service subscription.
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Dear all,
I have a follow-up question about Infuse: I can access my videos stored on the “server” iMac from my iPad on the local network (I have realised that the iMac, since it is the one “serving” the videos does not need Infuse installed). What would I need to do to have access remotely as well? Would Tailscale work? If I went for FTP access instead of SMB is Transmit (on the iMac side) a software which would help me or I am misunderstanding how these things work?
Bottom line: I’d like to access (stream or download) video files sitting on my iMac at home when I’m on the road with my iPad. How do I do it? I still have some way to go before becoming a real power user! 
Edit: I saw on Infuse’s website that it would require opening ports, which I’m a bit wary of doing and so does Transmit.
The question remains if Tailscale would be able to do this, without any port opening, since even the remote machines would be on the same virtual network then.