Sure, I can have it enabled via settings.
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Oh and since it was asked for, I now have a build of Genus that also has macOS as a target. It’s pretty crappy right now (I just fixed the compile time errors), but it does mostly work.
Once I have the tvOS build out to you fine people, I will start work on overhauling the Mac app to look and function well. I don’t know if I will tackle iOS and iPadOS though. We’ll see.
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macOS build is also very nice. I’ve been using an AppleTV 4K for years now but considering switching to a Mac Mini like the good ole days and just going full htpc.
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Would love to get in on the tvOS TestFlight as well, if there is room still.
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Okay, so got my dev account set back up today, which means, hopefully, Monday I will be able to share the link to sign up for the beta test. I really appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and encouragement during this, it means a lot!~
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I launched a teaser site for Genus last night. Mostly it isn’t useful for you fine folks, other than it has an update stream which shows the important commits and changes I am making to the app, which might be interesting.
Once I have this build added to the testing apparatus at Apple, I will share a special link here for you to signup to a “forum” group for testing. I am experimenting with trying to raise some funds by allowing people to pay a small fee to join the testing list, but since you have been here and engaged since the beginning, you get in free. Going to limit it to 100 - 150 though. Just the core group that has been encouraging while I have been hammering away at this.
Hopefully on track to have the beta test ready by Friday!
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Really excited about it and looking forward to the release! Thanks for your time and effort.
So excited to test this! Thank you so much for all the work you’ve put in
Really looking forward to trying this over the weekend.
Hope you managed to systematically force HLS protocol for streaming (which will trigger MKV remux). There’s a server API for this.
Curiously, VLC 4.0.0 (latest alpha 6 codebase) seems to have added HDR & spatial audio support so maybe worth using that as the 3rd party playback engine for those that really need it. Documentation/NEWS.md · master · VideoLAN / VLC-iOS · GitLab
Thanks again!
Yep. Genus examines the stream and has 3 different modes depending on what it finds.
- Direct Play (MP4)
- Direct Stream Remux (MKV with compatible codecs)
- Transcode (when the other two fail).
Here is an image of a remux play.
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Just a heads up for everyone. I just submitted the beta to Apple for approval. Now the waiting begins. Hopefully there aren’t any issues I need to address. It’s always a guessing game with them.
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Okay, well that was faster than I have ever seen it. We are now live for testing the beta.
Just a reminder!
This is a test of the idea and approach, not necessarily a final product with all the polish, bells and whistles. With that being said I have tried my hardest to make it bug free, featured and polished. I will have fallen short in all of these areas, but I did all I could in a limited amount of time!
As a recap:
- Genus uses all native frameworks, so it will direct play MP4s with the correct codecs.
- Genus will Direct Remux MKVs with the correct codecs, and transcode everything else.
- There is no account switching, that will be added to the final release though.
- There is no Live TV or DVR.
- If you have more than one server (I don’t understand why you would), you choose the one you want to interact with, and if you want to switch that is accomplished via
- settings. The way it works in the official Plex app is clunky and dumb IMO.
I have been using Genus exclusively at home for the last 3 weeks or so, and I haven’t had any major issues, other than a strange one around Dolby Vision.
I don’t know if its because my DV files have the wrong version of DV or what, but no matter what I do I can’t get them to be recognized by the AVPlayer, so they display with the purple/pink issue.
I decided to ship this beta now, instead of spending more time working on this bug, since its really just a test of my ideas for how the app should work, what should be in it, etc.
Suffice it to say the official release will support the same DV formats that Apple does.
Okay, with that being said, here is the link to sign up for the beta, may the odds be every in your favor. There are 100 spots on this list, just for you fine forum folks.
If you want to file a bug report or have a feature request, you can add them here:
Thanks again for the input and encouragement while I have been getting this going. It’s meant a lot!
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Very much would like to give this a spin.
Well done 
do you consider to integrate as well LiveTv somewhen? But quite nice for a Version 1 - congrats!
I did a quick test before work and it’s surprisingly capable for such an early build. And that native player is gorgeous. Good job!!
Audio:
- Dolby Atmos in mkv actually WORKS!!! This is BIG. Until today, only infuse could do that.
- Sound works perfectly with HomePods (& EarPods).
HDR works perfectly in mp4:
- Dolby Vision Profile 5.1 and Profile 8 both work perfectly (the only 2 officially supported by tvOS, enough for most).
- HDR10+ (yes plus) also works perfectly.
HDR fails to play in mkv. I’ll do more testing over the weekend.
It also seems to struggle with loading massive remote libraries. I think it’s trying to index the whole server. I suggest switching to a “direct mode” instead of local index.
Overall amazing job Chris. Keep it up.
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Hi Chris,
Plex authentication for this is definitely account-based and if the account has access to multiple PMS and their libraries, then this is respected and fully transparent with current Plex account authentication.
You choose the library, no matter which PMS it is on. The account and the library are the selectors. The rest works via the data served via app.plex.tv (where even the local or public URLs are given).
The player itself makes life easiest, if it uses the app.plex.tv/link PIN method for authentication, so that no username/password gets stored outside plex.tv (tokens can be revoked without changing passwords).
Later, you could even have a multi-token management for multiple accounts to allow for even more flexibility towards edge case power users with multiple plex accounts.
I have successfully done this for my own project and it works like a charm.
Therefore, no need for “server level” choice. It’s all about accounts having access to libraries, no matter on which server these are located.
Cheers and all the best for your project. It sounds fantastic, even if I am not a mac user.
Really looking forward to giving this a go!
Use the TestFlight link in my last post and signup!
In this version of the app no, but I am spec’ing out a Genus Pro that will use a 3rd party player to support MKV directly, and I could see including LiveTV in that version of the app, as well as DVR possibly.
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Hmm, great comment about the massive remote libraries. I’ll see what I can do for the next build. I really appreciate the feedback and quick turn around!
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