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Plex Media Server beta adds plugin architecture

by Mat Lu Feb 23rd 2009 at 9:00AM



As we've noted before Plex (formerly OSXBMC) is the open-source media center application derived from XBMC (as was Boxee). They've recently announced the release of version 0.78beta adding an interesting new feature: the Plex App Store. The Plex App Store (which actually doesn't seem to be a store per se, at least not yet) is an online repository of plugins for Plex which allow users to add content from a variety of online streaming sources including, you guessed it, Hulu (which was working at least as of this writing).

Apparently the framework for writing these plugins is in Python and "provides an easy, XML-based method to display Flash or Silverlight content to Plex." The plugins themselves are relatively easy to write, with many requiring only "20-40 lines" of code. This means that other developers will be able to write plugins relatively quickly, perhaps circumventing technical restrictions from the streaming sites. There are a few rough edges with the new functionality, but they expect they will all be fixed "shortly." Nonetheless, if you were running Boxee on a Mac (not Apple TV) and are bummed by the loss of Hulu, Plex is worth a look.

Plex 0.78b is free download from Plex.

Thanks, Jayman.

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As we've noted before Plex (formerly OSXBMC) is the open-source media center application derived from XBMC (as was Boxee). They've...
 

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cesar

anyone know the name of the artist and song used in the video clip?

February 25 2009 at 11:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to cesar's comment
Marcos

It's from the Garden State soundtrack. The song is "In the Waiting Line" by Zero 7.

February 25 2009 at 2:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Adam Schoales

I really want to get into Plex but I just cannot seem to get it to work properly, that is to say properly scan my folders/libraries and get all the ID3 tags/info and such.

but it looks so effing cool!

February 23 2009 at 6:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
macboyinsf

I'm successfully using on a Mac Pro and intuitively learning navigation by keystrokes. I've added Hulu but perplexed as to how to sign in to my account. How do I get to sign-in fields to input my username and password?

February 23 2009 at 3:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gordon

HULU works fine, you just need sign in on using safari first before using PLEX. You should go to the PLEX forum, it has answers for all the issues. Remember this is a brand new feature. PLEX rocked my weekend with all these new plugin/apps.

February 23 2009 at 3:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Gordon's comment
macboyinsf

I am already signed in to my account in Safari but the movie I want to play has mature content and I'm asked to sign in again.

February 23 2009 at 5:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gordon

If you read the Blog posting on the PLEX site, there is the advisory the plug-in/apps are still under development. That said, the ability to log in to YouTube or Hulu services is under investigation and it is hopeful that you will be able to watch your profile's favorites or the nasty ole mature stuff on PLEX soon.

February 23 2009 at 6:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Duke Boles

Using the short sighted views of Hulu's content providers, I expect they would pressure Hulu to either close or technically limit the gateway to their content in some way as to not allow this. Not sure how this would work, but I am sure they will figure it out.

February 23 2009 at 11:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Duke Boles's comment
Rylin

Not possible.
If you can read it, it can be automated.

These plugins function more or less the same way Safari's "WebClips" do -- look at a known piece of HTML, extract the "container" that has the material you want.

In the background, Safari/Plex/Webclip is still running the entire page (meaning JS etc. doesn't break it.), but only displays the relevant section.

I'd be surprised if the "plugins" expose themselves as being anything but Safari.
In other words, good luck, Hulu.

February 23 2009 at 11:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Duke Boles

Is it possible that Hulu would move from an embedded HTML model to an API? Their content providers will surely start to see that with embedded HTML they can't possibly control the proliferation of their content.

February 23 2009 at 12:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
LD

I haven't been able to get the Hulu plugin to work. It seems other have the same problem. Perhaps Hulu has taken steps to prevent Plex from working with Hulu.

February 23 2009 at 10:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to LD's comment
Mat Lu

I don't know what happened. After reading your comment, I tried it again and just watched a video (a SNL clip) with the Hulu plugin.

February 23 2009 at 10:46 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
LD

Still not working for me. Just hangs trying to stream Hulu.

February 23 2009 at 2:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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