Improving the network file browser, especially for AppleTV (tvOS)
Posted: 06 Feb 2022 15:35
I have an ever-growing library of video file in one large folder on my NAS. To view these vids, I used to use "Air Video HD Server" on a Mac, and the "Air Video HD" app on my AppleTV device. That worked well for many years, until the tvOS 15.3 update broke something, and now the videos keep skipping about once a minute.
So now I am looking for an alternative.
I've been using VLC on my Mac for years, and been quite happy with it. So I tried the tvOS version, which appears to be a bit outdate (v3.0.12). It works well in general, but it's not well suited for what I try to do with it:
I like to browse the movies on my NAS and then pick one, watch it, and then go back to browsing. Also, it would be nice if it remembered the viewing progress. Similarly to, for instance, Apple's TV app.
But the current tvOS version of VLC doesn't help with this. I have to go through many steps to get to the movies directory ib my NAS (which is especially tedious on an AppleTV without a kbd), and I have to do this repeatedly, whenver the app was quit, meaning that it won't remember my last viewed location and auto-login me again to the same path.
Also the directory browser does not seem to offer sort options, e.g. by reverse date, so that I could easily locate the most recently added videos at the top. And no previews, either, it seems.
I checked with the latest VLC app on iOS, but its browser seems to be lacking the same features.
So here are my questions:
- Are there forks or other apps for tvOS that use the VLC engine but offer a better browser for a "TV"-like experience?
- Is there some work done on the main VLC project in regards to this already, or is there no widespread interest in this?
- Can I do something to help? I'd be happy to offer financial support if someone feels they're up for improving the network file browser. I might also be trying this myself (I've been doing iOS dev in the past, but not tvOS specifically), perhaps with some guidedance so that I don't waste my time with figuring out the basics? Or does someone want to team up with me on this?
So now I am looking for an alternative.
I've been using VLC on my Mac for years, and been quite happy with it. So I tried the tvOS version, which appears to be a bit outdate (v3.0.12). It works well in general, but it's not well suited for what I try to do with it:
I like to browse the movies on my NAS and then pick one, watch it, and then go back to browsing. Also, it would be nice if it remembered the viewing progress. Similarly to, for instance, Apple's TV app.
But the current tvOS version of VLC doesn't help with this. I have to go through many steps to get to the movies directory ib my NAS (which is especially tedious on an AppleTV without a kbd), and I have to do this repeatedly, whenver the app was quit, meaning that it won't remember my last viewed location and auto-login me again to the same path.
Also the directory browser does not seem to offer sort options, e.g. by reverse date, so that I could easily locate the most recently added videos at the top. And no previews, either, it seems.
I checked with the latest VLC app on iOS, but its browser seems to be lacking the same features.
So here are my questions:
- Are there forks or other apps for tvOS that use the VLC engine but offer a better browser for a "TV"-like experience?
- Is there some work done on the main VLC project in regards to this already, or is there no widespread interest in this?
- Can I do something to help? I'd be happy to offer financial support if someone feels they're up for improving the network file browser. I might also be trying this myself (I've been doing iOS dev in the past, but not tvOS specifically), perhaps with some guidedance so that I don't waste my time with figuring out the basics? Or does someone want to team up with me on this?
