Apple TV Plex Client Install

Apple TV Plex Client Install

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The following explains how you can install (and later on update) the plugin on your (Jailbroken) 2nd gen (black) ATV. Use the software at your own risk and don't blame anyone except yourself if your ATV blows up in the process. Consider this the last warning!!!

Contents

THIS PAGE CONTAINS OLD AND OUT OF DATE INFORMATION

Please visit the Plex CLient for AppleTV wiki page for fresh information!



Jailbreak

First, you need to Jailbreak your Apple TV. Many instructions can be found around the web.

  • The method that you use depends on which version of iOS you have. You can find your version in the Settings > About of the Apple TV Menu system.
    • If you have 4.2.1 (4.1.1 on atv) the easiest way to jailbreak is by using Greenpois0n. The process is a multi-click jailbreak but relatively easy. The huge advantage Greenpois0n has over the other jailbreaks is it is unteathered - meaning, one doesn't need to have the atv2 connected to a computer to boot. Instructions can be found in this Plex forum thread -> http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/23394-greenpois0n-rc6-guide/.
    • As an alternative, if you have 4.2.1 (4.1.1 on atv) another way to jailbreak the atv2 is by using Seas0nPass. The process is a one-click jailbreak (restore image is automatically downloaded, modified, and restored to device [after entering DFU mode via remote]). Seas0nPass also includes a one-click tethered boot as well. Instructions can be found at http://support.firecore.com/entries/387605.

Install the Plugin

For the sake of the following instructions, we assume the IP-Address of your ATV is 169.10.11.12 (instead of the IP you can also use apple-tv.local or appletv.local .), and that you can log in using ssh.

  1. Start your ATV and log in to your ATV using ssh 
    • ssh root@169.10.11.12
    • It will ask you for your password, which (if you did not change the default) is alpine. (I strongly suggest you change the password using the passwd command!!!)
  2. In that ssh session, you need to add new cydia sources using 
    • echo "deb http://www.ambertation.de ./downloads/PLEX/" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plex.list
    • Check to assure that http://www.ambertation.de is up by visiting its webpage.
      • If ambertation is down, try the following. If the above worked, do NOT run the following command. 
      • echo "deb http://awkwardtv.dyndns.tv/ stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/awkwardtv.list
      • Note: using awkwardtv may not have the latest plex source, and you may wish to go through ambertation at a later point.
  3. Now update your cydia database using 
    • apt-get update
  4. Install the Plex plugin with 
    • apt-get install com.plex.client-plugin
      (append with an equal sign followed by the specific version if you don't want to update to the latest stable release)
  5. Assure that the required packages are all installed with 
    • dpkg -l
    • look for beigelist, mobilesubstrate, org.tomcool.smframework and com.plex.client-plugin
    • possibly com.nito too? not sure if this is necessary in all circumstances
  6. The install script restarts the GUI for you, if it did not, you can do it manually and hope that it comes back
    • If your iOS is 4.2 or later: 
      • killall AppleTV
        OR
    • If your iOS is less than 4.2 
      • killall Lowtide
    • Note: If you run these and your UI on the HD screen does not go black and refresh, you may need to run a "force kill" by adding the -9 option: 
      • killall -9 AppleTV

That is it. You should see the PLEX menu item now. If the UI does not come up again, assure that you are doing the tethered boot. If you experience any problems (which you almost certainly will :) ) just report back to the Plex forum. But remember the ATV is just a hobby :D

Upgrading the Plugin

Once in a while there might be an updated release for the plugin, so once in a while you might want to check for updates and install them. Here is how that will work:

  1. Start your ATV and log in to your ATV using ssh 
    • ssh root@apple-tv.local.
  2. In that ssh session enter 
    • apt-get update
    • apt-get upgrade

On ATV 4.0 you may need to run for the changes to take effect. 

killall Lowtide


Downgrading the Plugin

If you ever experience a problem with an updated version, you can always go back. For the sake of this example we assume that you want to go back to version 0.6.4. Her is how that would work:

  1. Start your ATV and log in to your ATV using ssh 
    • ssh root@apple-tv.local.
  2. In that ssh session enter 
    • apt-get install com.plex.client-plugin=0.6.4


On ATV 4.0 you may need to run for the changes to take effect. 

killall Lowtide

Troubleshooting

If you are having problems updating and were formerly installing via the .zip files or other methods or from other repository sources, you may want to try the following to start from scratch. Run these commands when ssh'd into the Apple TV (make sure to double check that the commands are exactly as listed, as they are deleting stuff) 

apt-get remove com.plex.client-plugin
rm -rf /Applications/AppleTV.app/Appliances/PLEX.frappliance
rm -rf /Applications/Lowtide.app/Appliances/PLEX.frappliance
rm /User/Library/Preferences/com.plex.client-plugin.plist
apt-get update
apt-get install com.plex.client-plugin

Logs

When finding bugs, it may be useful to you or developers to get logging info from the locations below. 

On AppleTV:

0.6 releases:
/tmp/Plex.log

0.7 releases
/var/log/syslog

On Mac Plex server:
/Library/Logs/Plex Media Server.log

On Windows Plex server:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Logs

Additional Info

Retrieved from "http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/Apple_TV_Plex_Client_Install"