Plex on Apple TV 4K now supports 4K video, FLAC & HEVC

10 Nov 2017 | Rasmus Larsen |

Plex has pushed out an update to enable playback of video in 4K resolution as well as direct playback of FLAC music. A separate update has enabled HEVC decoding.

Plex on Apple TV

Plex lets you enjoy your media files stored locally on a range of devices. To get started you need to set up a Plex server, select what you want to share, and then download the Plex app on your preferred playback device – for example Apple TV.

The company has released two updates for its tvOS app following the launch of Apple TV 4K. The first update (version 1.18) was pushed out in late October and the second update (version 1.19) was pushed out this week.

The first update features support for 4K video playback on Apple TV 4K. In addition, it adds support for “direct playback of FLAC music” on tvOS 11, meaning both versions of the Apple TV box. The second update adds support for “direct play support for HEVC video codec” on tvOS 11 (both Apple TVs). That is possible because Apple has enabled native support for the formats with the release of tvOS 11.

Plex on Apple TV 4K does not yet offer support for HDR video.

Besides letting you enjoy your locally stored media files, the company has over the last year branched out in a number of ways. Plex now supports Live TV, DVR functionality, and live news. The app is free but you can pay to gain access to additional features.

The updates for tvOS / Apple TV are available now and should automatically download. We have included the change logs below.

Plex on Apple TV

Version 1.18 NEW: - Added support for 4K video playback on the Apple TV 4K. - Added support for direct playback of FLAC music on tvOS 11. FIXED: - Fixed issues with Home Video libraries, preventing resuming playback and accessing the context menu. - In rare cases News might not have started playing back automatically. - When browsing a library the context menu will open for the correct item. - The play & shuffle buttons on the "By Album" music screen now work correctly. - Fixed an issue with News settings causing the setting value to be displayed incorrectly. - Fixed an issue causing a crash when opening items that are still loading in grid views. - Added Direct Play toggle back to advanced settings.
Version 1.19 NEW: - Add direct play support for HEVC video codec. FIXED: - Plex Pass upgrade screen would result in endless spinner if purchase was cancelled. - Added Direct Play toggle back to advanced settings. - Fixed issue where user could interact with content behind loading screen. - Fixed an issue that caused setting labels to be incorrectly truncated. - Fixed an issue causing the edge of lyrics to be cut off. - Increased the number of items included in the newscast and categories feed. - Fixed an issue that could cause the play / pause button to become unresponsive. - Prevent text in the audio player from getting cut off. - Playlists might not have displayed with older versions of Plex Media Server. - Fixed a rare crash when reloading the photo timeline. - Improved title when browsing search results by tag. - Allow direct play and direct stream on supported Live TV streams.