Air Video 2.4.6
Play DivX and other video formats on your iOS device
iOS App of the Week My continuing quest for an app that will allow me to play Flash video content from UK-based sites such as LoveFilm has proved fruitless thus far, so I’ve recently found myself playing with Air Video once more.
MKV playback: Air Video enables viewing of unsupported video formats on iOS devices
This wireless video-streaming app has been around for a while but this latest update rekindled my interest by promising support for Apple’s AirPlay wireless audio streaming technology.
Air Video has two separate components – there’s an app for your iOS devices, and a server application that runs on either Macs or Windows PCs.
Server conversion settings
Apple’s control-freak tendencies mean that iOS devices only play Apple’s preferred MP4 video format, but the Air Video server has the ability to convert other file formats such as DivX, OGG, and MKV that you wouldn’t normally be able to play – full details here.
COMMENTS
Misinformed
Re: "Stop swimming in the cool-aid"
Er wrong. I have VLC. Installed it prior to it being pulled and i use it to play .wmv and .mkv video. Apple didn't pull this app. VLC did. It was a port and a VLC programmer complained some of the AppStore terms are incompatible with the Open Source license VLC source code uses. He was probably annoyed the port to iOS had been done without them. Anyway, the app was available but Apple removed it at the request of VLC.
The article is wrong. Apple allowed VLC and another VLC like app (without an incompatible Open Source license) is perfectly possible. Of course H.264 has big advantages because it means all video decoding is hardware accelerated , a massive boost to battery life. The no longer available version of VLC I have runs the battery down about twice as fast for non h.264 formats.
Airplay is wonderful
Just played around with this again, and my new AppleTV last night. Using the Airplay feature means I can send from mac to iPhone/iPad and then to TV via AppleTV. No cables to plug in and I can have the full remote next to me. This means I don't require another computer in the bedroom as a media client.
The issue with using a NAS to stream direct to iPhone is that most of them don't really have the grunt for transcoding. As it happens, I convert all my dvd / vids to H264 .m4v files that get stored on my NAS. Some sort of Airvideo server without transcoding. for Synology NAS' would be great
Elgato have just upgraded their EyeTV ios app for video over AirPlay
and it works a treat .. live and recorded TV on my AppleTV streamed wirelessly through my iPad from my Mac Mini captured using an EyeTV tuner ... weird but wonderful.
get it right
the VLC group itself ordered it pulled. Not because Apple does not support GPL, but that GPL does not support ANY form of "app store" model. Apple has nothing to do with it. A VLC app on Android can be equally ordered pulled. the remote is fine, the VLC player is not.
