Plex Media Center for OS X Leopard

+ Top FAQs with Plex - for more help please check the WIKI.

How do I add internet video such as TED, YouTube, CNET etc?
Internet sources are added using the App Store found in the Applications menu. See the following screencast for more info. vimeo.com/3315184
One of the plug-ins has stopped working.
If a plug-in stops working, it’s likely that the structure of the site changed. This doesn’t happen very frequently with most sites, but it’s a definite possibility. When this occurs, an entity we call the “Campfire Robot” springs into action automatically and tracks us down to let us know, and shortly thereafter we can push an update. As such, if a site stops working, the best thing to do is to check the App Store for updates. If you have automatic updates turned on, check your install history to see if an update got installed while you were getting coffee.
I don’t see the Applications Menu Item.
If you previously used v5 of Plex we suggest deleting the folder called Plex found in ~/Library/Application Support/. Many things have changed and a fresh install will ensure the best performance with Plex.
How do I make Movies and TV Shows show up in their respective areas with poster art, plot info, etc?
View this screencast for more info vimeo.com/2758185

Release 0.5.0b10: Happy Forth!

July 04th, 2008 | Category: Release | Author: elan

The Forth of July, at least for most Americans, conveys visions of charred flesh on a grill, alcohol poisoning, and finger-amputating pyrotechnics. I do plan on partaking in every one of these cherished institutions, but first, a new release (HTTP, BitTorrent, Source)!

Please read through these notes carefully, as there are certain things that have changed and you’ll want to know about them.

  • FIX: Fixed an annoying regression which caused some videos to play too quickly. Hopefully it helped you cruise through wife-selected gems such as “So You Think You Can Dance”.
  • NEW: There is now support for “watered down” full-screen mode, and it’s enabled by default. This should provide compatibility with Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces, Cmd-Tab, Cmd-Control-Esc, etc. Plus all three of you who use Remote Desktop to control it will be happy that the annoying tearing is gone. Also in this new mode, screen blanking has been improved, you can modify your settings on the fly without restarting. If you’d like to use the old mode, you’ll need to edit ~/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata/AdvancedSettings.xml like this:

untitled.png

  • NEW: Don’t allow disabling caches, as this could lead to problems.
  • NEW: Enrique added support for Smart Crash Reports. This means that whenever you get a crash, you have the option of sending us the crash report. Simply click on the “Report…” button, and then in the bottom right, you’ll see a button for “Send to OSXBMC & Apple…” (which is enabled after the system configuration is gathered). Please, please, please, use this, we’ll get the crash reports, your bugs will get fixed, and then we’ll all drink beer and watch fireworks. Note also that the first time you run it, you’ll get a dialog asking if it can install Smart Crash Reports. (Note: I’ve heard this doesn’t appear on all machines, not sure why that is yet.)

untitled.png

  • NEW: The XBMCHelper is now installed into ~/Library/Application Support/XBMC, so that people don’t have that problem upgrading the application because the file is in use. The helper is automatically upgraded if needed as well.
  • FIX: The helper settings section has been renamed “Remote Helper” since it handles more than the Apple Remote.
  • FIX: We no longer prevent you from using the helper if you’ve installed Remote Buddy. There should be no problem using the two together, although to be honest, I don’t use it myself. Many thanks to the developer for working with us on this one.
  • FIX: That annoying problem where the Apple Remote brings up both Front Row and OSXBMC *should* be fixed. More like “worked around” actually, because it’s a bug in OS X. The side effect is that when the helper is running, it’s possible that applications like Quicksilver (who capture keys) won’t completely work. I say “possible” because (a) I haven’t tried it and (b) I don’t use Quicksilver while watching movies.
  • FIX: Crash on startup for case-sensitive partitions. Thanks to Brent for helping me track this one down.
  • FIX: A regression that prevented images from loading over SMB (does nobody use the app to view photos anymore?)
  • FIX: Removed all the broken resolutions from the screen settings. We’ll get back into changing screen modes at some point, probably at the same time as we switch refresh rates for different media.
  • NEW: Apple Movie Trailers script was updated to the latest version (thanks, Nuka!)
  • FIX: The default port for the web server has been changed to 3000.
  • NEW: Latest version of ofdb scraper was included.
  • FIX: The keymap has a new entry for switching between audio languages in full-screen (the ‘a’ key). Also, the ‘c’ key works to obtain a context menu in the file manager view (which is needed to eject optical media). To obtain these new settings, you’ll need to whack your old Keymap.xml file.
  • NEW: When starting from scratch, a default sources.xml is installed which provides people with some basic sources for photos, music and video. Many thanks to Isaac for these last four items!
  • FIX: The smart folder code has been reworked a bit. It’s *possible* that some of the scanning issues that Jeremy was running into will be fixed. If not, it’s probably not the fault of smart folders.
  • FIX: I’ve increased the latency by a few milliseconds in the Portaudio code to hopefully reduce or get rid of underflows entirely (resulting in audio dropouts). Please see if you notice any improvement, and check the log if you’d like to see what latency it’s using. N.B. The change will be subliminal (e.g. on my system the latency went from 1.5ms to around 9ms.)
  • FIX: Who says we don’t save the best for last? That annoying bug where the app hangs when canceling a video that’s buffering (e.g. YouTube or AMT or FTP)? Fixed!

Some good stuff cherry-picked as well:

  • Vulkanr got DVD playing working. So you should be able to insert a DVD into the drive and watch it play. To eject, go to the file manager and use the context menu. If it doesn’t eject right away, try again. Brilliant stuff, vulkanr! He also fixed another Python crash.
  • Jmarshall fixed the <blackbarcolour> setting, and lots of other little things.
  • Charleydoes fixed a crash on exit and a slow query.
  • Spiff added .ogv/.oga file extensions.

We’ve had some really hot days, and not a lot of rain. Barkley’s favorite place has been our friend’s pool.

IMG_1908.jpg

47 Comments so far

  1. Polcius July 4th, 2008 2:50 pm

    We need some FAT OUTLINE in subtitles XD XD!!

  2. bartdesign July 4th, 2008 2:55 pm

    Another great release!! Thanks team osxbmc ;)

  3. Gabo July 4th, 2008 6:05 pm

    I installed this new version and lost my remote buddy behavior, I don’t know how just the behavior disappear from remote buddy.

  4. DM July 4th, 2008 11:36 pm

    Please include http://dn-0.com/xbmc-trac/changeset/13835 in the next release.

  5. 56frk July 5th, 2008 12:48 am

    Another awesome release, new fullscreen-mode works perfectly on my second monitor!
    The only thing that I miss now is to be able to use the other Apple Remote Buttons while XBMCHelper is running, so you can still put your mac to sleep while XBMC itself is not running.

    Anyway, great work!

  6. The Walrus July 5th, 2008 1:41 am

    Does FanArt for Movies work? I know it works for “TV Shows” but I haven’t tried it yet with movies.

    When I started to use fanart it only worked for TV Shows but I read on the AEON-skin website that it now works for Movies as well. I think it was with the Linux-version of XBMC. Does this work with OSXBMC as well?

  7. The Walrus July 5th, 2008 1:42 am

    And thank you! ..all of the OSXBMC-team for this release. I can’t wait to try it out when I get home from work tonight.

  8. azrael July 5th, 2008 5:38 am

    wow, great as always. i suggest to put the remote action of the “menu” button in the home screen not to instantly exit the app, but instead show the “shutdown/sleeptimer” popup. I know it should be easy to do this by myself, but i think it would be a better default setting for many other people too.

    After a fresh install on my system with iniatially deleting the settings folder, the “watered down” fullscreen mode does not seem to be active. I think so because neither expose, dashboard or spaces seems to work, but i can live with that ;-)

  9. mike July 5th, 2008 7:01 am

    Remote Buddy Issue:

    I’ve tried turn off the new fullscreen feature (no expose, etc - so I haven’t fat fingered anything). It doesn’t appear to have anything to do with why remote buddy no longer works. Anybody have ideas? I’ll be glad to help however I can (test, send in data).

    Thanks again for the continued effort, btw

  10. Danii July 5th, 2008 7:22 am

    Hello guys, i´d just have to report how happy i was when i saw that there were now dvd support in the new version, prays the lord! in the theory, in reality i´m sad to say that it doesen´t work at all in neither my mac mini 1.66 dual core with 10.5.4 leopard, or with my brand new 1.83 dual 2 core! it just freezes with a weird screen. And u can´t do anything with the dvd. May it be because i run region 2 pal dvd?

  11. MadHyena July 5th, 2008 7:38 am

    i got the same problem, freezes with a weird screen.

  12. mike July 5th, 2008 7:38 am

    Remote Buddy Issue Update:

    I had also installed 10.5.4 this morning –Turns out there’s an update to remote buddy. Problem solved (at least for me). Sorry for the noise. =)

  13. vodafunk July 5th, 2008 8:20 am

    Remote Buddy and Sofa Control no longer work :(
    Otherwise, thank you for your hard work in this great project

  14. azrael July 5th, 2008 8:42 am

    DVDplayback does’nt work for me either, i tried TRON PAL region 2 - whenever i try to play a DVD or add the DVDdrive as a Medial location, XBMC asks to insert a dvd ;-). it also does not work via volumes/[dvdmountpoint]

  15. azrael July 5th, 2008 9:16 am

    i just got the CrashReporter opened after XBMC unexpectedly quit qhile playing a dvd iso over SMB… but it looks like the default crashreport dialog, and it only hast one “send to apple” button. The second one (from your screenshot) is missing.

  16. elan July 5th, 2008 9:55 am

    @Polcius: Don’t you mean “Phat” outlines? :)

    @DM: Will do, thanks!

    @Gabo (and others) : Remote Buddy/Sofa Control are likely broken due to the change in Info.plist. If you change CFBundleIdentifier back to org.xbmc.XBMC (I think that’s what it used to be), it may work. I’ll contact the developers of Sofa Control and Remote Buddy to let them know.

    @The Walrus: I’m not sure if fan art works. We may need to build a newer skin or pull in some patches. Please discuss on the forums and we’ll get it figured out.

    @Danii and others: DVD playback is still glitchy at best. For 0.5 final we will probably leave it disabled but allow enabling via advancedsettings.xml, in the interest of stability.

    @azrael: I’ve heard reports of this, not sure why. Smart Crash Reporter is considered beta on Leopard, this may have something to do with it.

  17. Steeve July 5th, 2008 11:23 am
  18. elan July 5th, 2008 11:52 am

    @Steeve: Please try the new binary at afp://dn-0.com/samples/Outbox. And head to the forums, let’s continue the conversation over there :)

    ???????!

  19. Larrikin July 5th, 2008 2:10 pm

    I’ve noticed a slight lip sync issue since this version. Anyone else noticed? I tried playing the same media in VLC and there were zero lip sync issues.

  20. elan July 5th, 2008 3:21 pm

    As per the release notes, the latency has been increased by a few ms, but it really shouldn’t be noticeable. Please find in the logs the line that read like this:

    INFO: Portaudio latency selected: 10.312500ms

    And post in the forum with your number.

  21. Larrikin July 5th, 2008 3:44 pm

    Just checked my logs and there is no entry with INFO: Portaudio….

  22. elan July 5th, 2008 3:58 pm

    @Larrikin: Please post a log and we can see what’s going on. Make sure you post a log where you play a video, otherwise that line won’t be in there.

  23. ??? July 5th, 2008 4:28 pm

    Could some one be more specific and tell us the exact location of Info.plist to edit?

  24. elan July 5th, 2008 4:32 pm

    @???: OSXBMC.app/Contents/Info.plist

    Please come the forums if you need more help or to discuss further.

  25. CharlesV July 5th, 2008 7:12 pm

    Will try and get you a log shortly, but am consistently finding that minimizing video and playing another freezes in b10, reverting to b9 for now.

  26. elan July 5th, 2008 7:42 pm

    @CharlesV: Good catch, mate! I was able to reproduce. Git will tell me the culprit shortly.

  27. CharlesV July 5th, 2008 10:01 pm

    Sweet! I’ll still try and log it in the AM when i’m not so drunk. :) Thanks, man, and keep up the good work!

  28. ??? July 6th, 2008 3:31 am

    I edited the OSXBMC.app/Contents/Info.plist it did not work. I only was comfortable doing that because I use linux and windows a little bit. I even rebooted windows windows style so OSX would know the changes but still remote buddy no longer works with osxbmc.

  29. Steeve July 6th, 2008 8:09 am

    @ elan
    “Please try the new binary”

    Works!!! :) Thanks! ?????…. :)

  30. truckman July 7th, 2008 7:48 am

    Not works new binary

  31. elan July 7th, 2008 7:57 am

    @truckman: Yeah, for some reason some code is breaking for Russians. Nothing intentional, I promise :) Use the binary listed up above with Steeve’s post and my reply (afp://dn-0.com/samples/Outbox)

  32. truckman July 7th, 2008 8:22 am

    elan Thanks!

  33. Mange July 8th, 2008 9:20 am

    I’ve just noticed a issue with external firewire audiocards.
    The audio is out of sync on all movies.

  34. SR July 8th, 2008 12:19 pm

    Hi, nice work. Cant get AdvancedSettings to work though. Also eems to be problems with screensize if its set to larger than window for example in movie player mode that is fullscreen. In fullscreenmode the mouse only moves in “startup” window size and stops at the “corners” which must be a bug.

  35. ??? July 8th, 2008 8:31 pm

    Oh forogot to post at a normal hour. I just dragged the info.plist from .09 into 05b0.10 and it worked again. Must be some other things remote buddy is looking for as well.

  36. Spot July 9th, 2008 12:56 am

    I have 24″ iMac with LCD television (1368×768 resolution).

    All the previous versions have been fine, when choosing Display #2 with that resolution in the preferences - but this version sticks OSXBMC with 1920×1200 resolution on that LCD television (so only the part of OSXBMC screen is showing, since the actual resolution of that LCD television is 1368×768).

    I’m going to try to disable the new full screen functionality for the moment, however, this should be quite easily to fix :) …

  37. Spot July 9th, 2008 1:04 am

    Actually I was able to fix this by editing guisettings.xml entry, and changing:

    1920
    1152

    To:

    1368
    768

    Probably by default, the new version made the wrong calculations, or the right & bottom amounts calculated by older version were not changed for the new version to work correctly?

  38. Marek July 10th, 2008 11:27 pm

    Also crashes at start for me - Sorry for being rookie - how do I use Steve binary? THANKS on 10.5.4

  39. azrael July 13th, 2008 8:36 am

    oopds - i just noticed that (i do not know with which version) the app was renamed from xbmc.app to osxbmc.app –> so i always started an old version via my shortcut ;-).

    Seems that all my problems are gone, since i use the actual version ;-)

  40. ntune July 16th, 2008 7:13 am

    what should i do with that binary from afp://dn-0.com/samples/Outbox ???

    sorry for the noob question

  41. elan July 16th, 2008 3:43 pm

    @ntune: Inside terminal:

    $ bzip2 -d XBMC-steeve.bz2
    $ mv XBMC-steeve.bz2 XBMC
    $ mv XBMC /Applications/OSXBMC.app/Contents/MacOS
    $ chmod +x /Applications/OSXBMC.app/Contents/MacOS/XBMC

    That should be it. You can do this all inside the Finder too, of course.

  42. ntune July 17th, 2008 12:25 am

    thanks, elan
    works like a charm

  43. SS July 17th, 2008 10:38 am

    ?????????? ???????????? ? ??????? ?? ?????????? ???? ?????? (afp://dn-0.com/samples/Outbox)

    :(

  44. elan July 17th, 2008 10:40 am

    Can anyone translate, and turn this poor person’s :( into a :) ? Thanks!

  45. Mike July 17th, 2008 11:23 am

    According to google..
    “?????????? ???????????? ? ??????? ?? ?????????? ???? ?????? ” Translates to
    “Unable to connect to the address specified by you”

    I’m not sure what he’s trying to connect to though, looks like that’s the xbmc-trac server? I’m also not sure why he’s trying AFP instead of http.

  46. sandman4sure July 17th, 2008 9:06 pm

    I think you need Safari for that, Firefox won’t work.

  47. elan July 17th, 2008 9:14 pm

    @Mike: Nice to see you round these parts :) AFP is where buggy media samples are uploaded, and the Outbox contains bug-fixes binaries (which the poor Russian users need for b10).

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