I know i’m in the minority as it seems almost all INFUSE users don’t care about the video player (interface) they’re using on the Apple TV.
See here:
INFUSE’s custom video player is great when it comes to playing almost any file format out there without the need to pre convert/remux them to an ATV friendly format.
But it’s user interface is very much outdated as it hasn’t changed since ages it seems.
Apple’s native video player interface has made great improvements in the last couple of years:
But none of them made their way into INFUSE. And that’s sadly not going to change any time soon:
Back in the early days of INFUSE’s video player there was a simple option to still use the native player. A switch inside settings.
So, instead of hoping/waiting to get an improved INFUSE player UI, PLEASE bring back the switch to use the native ATV player!
Just tested EMBY and while their general app UI lacks any of INFUSE’s beauty and style, there’s still an option to use the native video player - and it works as expected! With all of the latest improvements of Apple’s great UI. Even the native scrubbing thumb support is there (of course you need ATV compatible files but all of my videos are remuxed anyways).
Well, i’m no dev and have no real clue what efforts would be needed to bring back support for the native player option. Only thing i know, it used to be possible in INFUSE - and EMBY (plus PLEX to some point) still offer that option.
@james Please consider bringing back the option to use the native Apple TV video player! Thanks
Infuse makes use of all the video playback APIs available on Apple devices, and switches between these seamlessly depending on the content type.
There was never a ‘switch’ to use the native player only, and adding this would dramatically decrease the number of file types Infuse would be able to play. In essence, most people would find themselves switching back and forth between native and normal for very little benefit. This is not something we will be adding.
There is a case for updating the playback UI to be closer to what Apple introduced in tvOS 15 (just last fall) and this is something which is on the radar. This thread is the best place to discuss and follow progress on this topic.
OK, so why is it then that the native tvOS player always feels way snappier than Infuse’s custom player?
I mean if i play an Apple TV compatible .m4v file via home sharing (Computer app) or PLEX’s native player option all player actions happen instantly like:
skipping (faster/snappier)
scrubbing thumbs (instantly generated and more granular in control)
fast forwarding (fullscreen preview and automatic resume vs. windowed thumb sized preview and manual resume)
I get that but in my case all of my video files are remuxed into compatible m4v containers so i can play ALL of my videos with native the tvOS player plus get all benefits of it’s up-to-date UI.
As developers your team (could have) had access to the new enhancements/API’s since last WWDC which was summer 2021. Just saying
Given that the original post here + my suggestion to give us the option for the native tvOS player + various related posts on this thread got more than over 50+ likes - PLEASE @james give this suggestion more attention and move it up your priority list! Thanks.
I for one am completely against what you are asking! If I understand you correctly, you are asking for a far inferior video player to be added back instead of what infuse currently offers, because you want it to look differently? Wouldn’t you much rather be able to play literally any file type without issue?
The infuse player UI is very well laid out and I don’t see any issue with it. In fact I’ve come to prefer it over every other video app (I use Plex 99.9999% of the time).
So please @james do not downgrade the video player for “looks”!! Plex has done this time and time again and it’s almost impossible to play a wide variety of video files on the ATV native plex app. I don’t care how good an app looks, if it can’t play all the codecs properly it’s a waste
As long as it’s an option. However I don’t see any benefit for infuse adding an inferior video player back. That’s just my opinion of course.
On my ATV4K the infuse player and UI is super snappy and play everything from 4K UHD blu-ray mkv files to 4K dolby vision or HDR content. And fast fwd or rewinding is pretty much instant as I have a rather fast network and quality storage and use Plex as a server.
Do you use Plex, emby or something similar? Because I notice 0 lag in the player UI when I navigate.
I’m also using PLEX as backend. Don’t get me wrong - INFUSE has done a great job with it’s custom player in terms of playing any file format out there. But in direct comparison with the native tvOS player it lags a bit in speed/snappines and in terms of looks and usability. And that’s my opinion.
For my part, i don’t need a custom player on my ATV 4K. All of my files are in Apple compatible .m4v format and play without any problems with the tvOS player.
I love the ATV but i hate that every single video app can use it’s own custom player. So you have a different user experience and handling for every player app out there (don’t get me started on the abominable YOUTUBE app and it’s player…) no consistency across the system.
IMHO every video app should have at least the option to also use the native tvOS player regardless of how limited (for some users) it is. It’s the golden standard when it comes to UI (also just my opinion) and new features and it’s how Apple intended it to work and look. And that’s the way I want to use my ATV.
Of course INFUSE can adopt looks and features of it’s custom player. But this takes time - every time. So i think it would be easier to just add the native player as an option.
Is there a reason why the native A/V player for iOS/tvOS isn’t used? It seems like that would give the best playback results, and a consistent playback UI. Also better remote support. Then you wouldn’t need to worry about building in features for video codecs or troubleshooting issues there, you could just rely on Apple to make sure those things are functional. Things like Atmos or spacial audio are exposed via OS updates.
Infuse has a far better video player than the native tvOS player. Not sure what kind of content you watch but as someone who created a Plex library by ripping my entire blu-ray collection, infuse is the only video player that handles that without any issue and direct plays everything I have even 4K HDR Remux mkv files.
I’m curious, do you guys just sit around your ATV 4K and look at the UI, or do you actually watch movies and tv shows? Lol
Again, give me a player as powerful as the one infuse has over any of that “pretty” UI crap. What good is a pretty UI if it can’t play your files properly? Lol just my 2 cents.
I also use Emby and it has option to use MPV or the Native Apple player.
I also just recently am testing out Plex, which its native player says its MPV, but has option to use old player (AVplayer).
What ever Infuse in using, it recently has issues with multi-channel audio over Bluetooth on Apple TV, I posted a thread about it. All other apps do not have the issue.
As stated numerous times all of my video files are in ATV-compatible formats. So there’s no need for a custom player, everything plays just fine with the tvOS player.
Just because you guys haven’t informed yourself about what can be played natively on an Apple TV, or simply don’t care, is no reason why there can’t or shouldn’t be AN OPTION to just use the native player!
I think the only feasible way to do this is to add a “Use tvOS native player when the video filetype allows” toggle in settings. A user could theoretically then cater their filetypes to avoid an inconsistent player UI and boom — this commonly requested feature gets solved and everybody wins?
— this commonly requested feature gets solved and everybody wins?