If you’re worried for some reason that the new Apple TV might not have strong enough video chops with all those apps and games, good news: Plex and VLC, two of the best video apps around, are coming to Apple’s new set-top box.
According to a blog post this morning, VLC is developing a tvOS app. “Some code to build VLCKit for the new tvOS was merged,” the update says. “It’s very early though, but we have video playback!” VLC is a cross-platform media player that supports pretty much every file type under the sun, and can even be set up to stream media content.
But streaming movies, videos, and photos is Plex’s bread-and-butter, and it’s coming to tvOS too, according to Plex co-founder Scott Olechowski, who told IT World:
There is no question we will be able to offer Plex on the platform. There are multiple ways to go about it, based on the tvOS SDK we now have access to. We are now evaluating the best path for Plex and will begin work in earnest once we have evaluated the options. The ability to access great and proven iOS frameworks on the device is great for developers like us – we know the stuff is solid and will perform really well. Our goal is to enable people to enjoy Plex on the hardware platforms of their choice, and there is no doubt this will be a top platform for us.
This is the best news I’ve heard about the new Apple TV. I’m a huge Plex fan: I have it installed on my Mac (which also acts as a 2TB server for my media collection), iPhone, iPad, and more. Plex, though, has never officially been available on the Apple TV, although a third-party hack called PlexConnect could be used for a time, if you were willing to jump through some hoops. But I personally love Plex so much that I switched my third-gen Apple TV for a Roku, just to be able to access it on my HDTV easier.
With Plex officially arriving soon after launch, and VLC also coming, the new Apple TV will immediately become one of the best streaming boxes around, don’t you think?
