Who doesn’t want to just relax and enjoy quality shows on the television? For me, I love nothing more than to binge-watch my favourite series. This is why I subscribed to the Spectrum Silver package which takes perfect care of my entertainment needs. But let’s talk about the famous streaming platform Plex that lets you watch personal content either from a media server installed in your home or from those that are shared by your friends. Essentially, you can think of it as Netflix but for the media you own.
However, in recent years, Plex has changed a lot. For instance, the platform started to support live TV and gave the option of DVR to let you record the broadcast television. And if that wasn’t enough, the platform launched its own cloud streaming content. This was done so you may download Plex and enjoy a variety of movies and shows, regardless if you or your friends own the Plex media servers.
Plex & Apple TV App
If you are a Plex user then there is some good news for you; this service can now be integrated with the Apple TV app. Yes, you read that right! However, you will not have access to all the features. Plex has been available on the Apple TV app since 2015 but it was never really integrated with the Apple TV ecosystem. This means that Plex couldn’t be operated via Siri. Plus, it just didn’t get tied into the Apple TV app in any way. And if you wanted to enjoy Plex then you would have to open its app and access it from there.
So, when the talks of Plex getting integrated with the Apple TV app surfaced, users instantly got their hopes up high and believed that they would be able to select the content from the Plex libraries more easily. They also thought that there will be just one dashboard that will have the content from both the TV app and Plex. But those who are familiar with Apple’s Universal Search integration knew there will be some kind of a catch and indeed there is one.
Plex Provides the Content
When the beta version of Plex’s integration with the Apple TV app was launched, it was explained by a Plex employee that users will only get to enjoy the shows and films that the service provides. This means that you will not be able to view your personal content. This integration works similarly to other streaming platforms such as Disney+ and Amazon Prime. Also, for now, this feature is only available for those residing in the United States.
You Won’t Be Able to Access Your Plex Library
This is the bitter truth. You won’t be able to access your Plex library when you are using it with the Apple TV app. And it is not going to happen until Apple decides to introduce some major changes to how tvOS and Apple TV apps operate. As of now, Apple TV integrates with third-party services in the cloud and it doesn’t let its ecosystem connect directly with them. So, whenever you search for a show or film from different services like Amazon Prime, it is the cloud catalogue that is being searched. And when you decide to play a particular title, Apple would use a deep link to play the content.
Plex has a personal library of its users but the platform would have to share it with Apple in order for people to access it. This may raise some privacy issues. At the same time, Apple doesn’t have any way to differentiate libraries on a per-person basis.
Conclusion
Plex’s integration with the Apple TV app is delightful news for those who like the platform’s content. However, the only problem is that you won’t be able to access your personal library. And this will continue to be an issue until Apple enables local search in tvOS. But it isn’t going to happen anytime soon. But hey, look at the bright side; you can still enjoy Plex on your Apple TV seamlessly!
