We live in a time when more movies and series are available to us with just a few clicks than we could possibly watch in a lifetime. Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, PrimeVideo, Apple TV and other services are feeding us content at such a pace that sometimes you don't even know what to watch first. But despite all this convenience, I've recently realized one thing again. Not everything you want to watch can actually be found on streaming services.
And now I'm not necessarily talking about the latest blockbusters or current TV series hits, but rather about things that you devoured as a teenager, are associated with a certain period of your life, and from time to time you get a taste for them purely out of nostalgia. But try to find some older Czech TV series, old sitcoms, or lesser-known films legally today. You'll often find that they're simply nowhere to be found. They're not on Netflix, they're not on OnePlay, they are not on iVysílání, they are simply nowhere. And if they are, it may only be for a moment before they disappear again.
The era of wild downloading is long gone and most of us have gotten used to the convenience of streaming platforms, but let's face it, many people still have it somewhere on their computer, external drive, NAS or cloudu saved movies and series that you downloaded years ago. I, for example, will admit without torture that I have been on i for a long timeCloudI have a fantastic sitcom called Hello, This Is India, which used to run on Prima Cool and which I downloaded years ago via torrents simply because it was otherwise unavailable. And honestly? I still regret to this day that such things are not commonly available, because for a certain generation they have their own special charm, although I understand that this particular sitcom simply could not pass muster in today's hyper-correct era, if only because it revolves entirely around jokes about Indians and their culture and lifestyle.
I feel the same way about Redakcja from TV Nova. Yes, in the end it's a complete mess, but everyone probably has some guilty pleasure. People don't watch it because it's the pinnacle of television production, but because it reminds them of a time when similar things were on TV, people watched them without much thought and simply had fun with them. And then there are of course much more "decent" pieces, for which the problem is more in the availability of specific versions. Typically, extended versions of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, which do exist, but getting to them comfortably and watching them on TV may not always be completely obvious.
And this is where Plex started to make a lot of sense for me. If you don't know it, in very simple terms it is an application that can turn your own movies and series into a private video library. Plex is also available on Apple TV, which is an absolutely ideal combination for me. You can have the content stored on, for example, a NAS, home server, computer or other storage that you connect to Plex, and then conveniently play it directly on your TV without connecting a flash drive, without dragging and dropping files, without constantly figuring out what you actually have where.
But in my opinion, the greatest charm of Plex is not just in the playback itself. In the end, many other solutions could handle that. Plex won me over mainly because of how it can work with your library. If you have well-named movies and series, the application will automatically download metadata, covers, descriptions, information about actors, seasons, parts, and the like. As a result, you are suddenly not looking at an ordinary folder full of files, but at an environment that feels quite close to Netflix or another streaming service. The only difference is that the content is yours and you have control over it.
This is something I've come to appreciate more and more, by the way. With streaming services, you can never be sure that a given movie or series will stay there. You see it on the menu today, a month later it disappears due to licensing issues and you're out of luck. But with your own video library, it's different. What you put in it is what you keep there. And if you organize it nicely, name it, and let Plex take care of the rest, it can become a surprisingly elegant solution.
Na Apple TV then the whole use feels exactly as comfortable as one would expect from such an application. You sit down on the couch, open Plex, select a movie or series and watch. No complicated settings every time you start it, no searching for cables, no wondering if the TV will play the given format. Of course, you need to have a basic library stored somewhere and a properly configured Plex server, but once you get through it, the reward is a system that works very pleasantly.
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I don't mean to say that Plex is meant to replace streaming services. Not at all. I use them myself and their convenience is undeniable. Rather, I see it as a great addition for anyone who has their own video archive at home, or wants to preserve things that are not on regular platforms and probably never will be. Whether it's old series, childhood movies, family videos, documentaries, or special editions of favorite movies, Plex can give them the form they deserve.
So if you're dealing with a similar problem as me and from time to time you feel like watching something you used to binge watch but can't find on any streaming service today, Plex is definitely worth a try. Of course, it won't do miracles for you and you have to add content to it yourself, but once you get the hang of it, you might find that having your own private video library on Apple TV is much more addictive than it seems at first glance. And most importantly, there is something pleasantly nostalgic about it. In an era when content is constantly being loaned, moved, and deleted from catalogs, it's nice to have at least a piece of the film and series world firmly in our own hands again.
I prefer Infusion to Apple TV
For me too Infuse. Infuse doesn't require installing a server. Just a network drive. I also had much discussed problems with Plex Dolby Vision and frame synchronization – there was micro tearing.
I also use Infuse. It composes collections beautifully, it can do subtitles….
I have both, with a lifetime license. At first I only used Infusion, but with a larger amount of data, its library always gave up after a while and started creating its content again, and when it happened several times and I decided to move my growing collection to a NAS, I chose Plex. The library is really much better managed on it. Infusion now loads it instantly and does not create its own, which in turn simplifies and speeds up everything. Plex client for Apple TV has also developed nicely, but for me, Infuse still leads in terms of its playback capabilities. Anyway, what is probably worth mentioning today is that from June, Plex's lifetime license will become significantly more expensive, so anyone considering it should not hesitate. It is true that both solutions also work in free mode, which will probably be enough for many people. But those who want to get the most out of it, especially nowadays, when it is impossible to guess what and how any developer will charge in the future, are probably clear about the one-time lifetime license.
Correction – Plex lifetime licenses will become significantly more expensive from July 1st
For me, Infuse is the best. I have about 2000 movies on my Synology and Infuse creates a library of content without any problems. It is true, as stated in the previous post, that there were occasional database losses and new ones had to be created, but that has been the case recently. nestIt works perfectly. It supports all conceivable video and audio formats, I still don't know. nestI hope he doesn't lose something. On Apple TV clear number one. It's just a shame that Apple It has cut the previously supported DTS format. It used to work via the Passthrough setting in Infuse, but it hasn't been working for a year now. ProIt is rumored that he might in the future Apple again, we'll see. For the 169,- per year, there's nothing to think about.