The firm behind the Plex media server software has announced a slew of new updates that’s sure to make life a little more comfortable during this extended stay-at-home period.
Top of the list is the addition of Chromecast integration for iOS devices, with Android support coming within the next few weeks. Plex said it thinks of itself as the “Switzerland of Streaming” – a neutral player in the platform wars, aiding interoperability between rival factions of devices. Very cute.
The folks behind the software are also announcing a brand new user Live TV interface for Apple TV and Android TV users, which will spread to other platforms in the near future. The interface includes “the ability to kick off a recording directly from the player, and quick access to recent channels.”
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There’s also a brand new picture-in-picture feature in the channel guide, where you’ll get a sense of what’s on while skipping through the guide.
The company has also added some “quality of life” improvements. The company says it now “takes to tune new channels should be greatly reduced, from twelve or more seconds in some cases down to just a few now. We’ve made lots of fixes around “watch from start,” seeking while watching live, and resuming in-progress recordings. We’ve improved the genre-specific recommendations, and added quick access to recently-watched channels.
“We have also added several new featured rows, gathering similar kinds of programming together so you can see what movies are coming on later or what your kids can watch (once they’ve finished with school, of course). These are available on Android, Apple, Roku, and our web app.”
The company recently announced that the Live TV portion of the app is now free, so there’s never been a better time to jump in on Plex and alleviate some of that lockdown boredom over the weekend.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
