Infuse

Preview: Infuse for Apple TV + developer interview

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

As an Apple TV believer since its inception, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never jailbroken my device even though the lack of downloadable media player apps that would let me play “foreign” video file types has been driving me nuts.

When the latest Apple TV launched, I immediately got in touch with James Abeler, better known as prominent jailbreak developer FireCore, who happens to be the brains behind the ultimate Apple TV jailbreak, aTV Flash Black, and the creator of a versatile iOS media player, called Infuse.

As someone who has been pretty much cheerleading Infuse since its April 2013 debut, I was extremely impatient to find out if an Apple TV edition of Infuse would be on par with its iOS counterpart.

James was kind enough to add me as a beta tester so I was able to play with Infuse for Apple TV for about a week, and here's what I was able to gather.

FireCore confirms Infuse media player hitting new Apple TV ‘very soon’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 12, 2018

Well regarded jailbreak developer FireCore today put an end to speculation, confirming that its speedy, powerful and versatile media player for iOS devices, Infuse, will be coming to the 4th generation Apple TV.

“We're now starting to see a beautiful bright light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is coming into form as Infuse 4 for Apple TV,” reads the post. Infuse 4 for Apple TV will be a free update for all current Infuse Pro users.

Infuse 3 updated with Touch ID support, faster browsing and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

FireCore updated its versatile media player Infuse 3 for iPhone and iPad today, bringing the app to version 3.5. The update brings about a number of improvements, including faster SMB browsing and a fix for those having AirPlay issues.

Additionally, 3.5 adds support for passcode and Touch ID locking, meaning you can now secure the app using one of these options. This way, videos and other media files you'd like to keep private can only be accessed via proper authentication.

Infuse 3.4 is live with folders, background audio, landscape lock on iPhone and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Infuse 3, an elegant and versatile player for virtually any video file format you can think of created by jailbreak developer FireCore, has picked up a slew of new features and improvements in Monday's version 3.4 update.

Infuse 3.4 makes it easy to organize your videos using folders, delete ones you no longer need from the ticket view, continue playing audio in the background after leaving the app to quickly check your email, and more.

Infuse 3.2 rolls out with Google Cast support, direct web streaming and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Infuse, a versatile media player for the iPhone and iPad by jailbreak developer FireCore (the brains behind the aTV Flash Black software), has been infused this morning with more than a dozen new features, improvements and enhancements.

Among other items, Infuse 3.2 can stream/download video from direct web URLs and has beta support for Google Cast, the search giant's version of AirPlay.

The freemium app is available at no cost in the App Store, with advanced features locked behind a Pro upgrade via the In-App Purchase mechanism.

Infuse 3 out with iPhone 6 support, AirDrop sharing, dark theme and dozens of improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Jailbreak developer FireCore has made a name for himself with the aTV Flash Black software that supercharges the $99 Apple TV media streamer. But he's also behind Infuse, an excellent app that brings support for a plethora of audio and video file formats to iOS, no conversion needed.

Apps like Infuse are a big deal because Apple's mobile operating system does not support “foreign” media formats out of the box. Following the initial Infuse release on April 30 of last year and Infuse 2 last December, here comes Infuse 3, probably the biggest update thus far.

Infuse 3 supports iOS 8 as well as the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus display sizes and contains other perks that round out the feature set quite nicely. And it's especially timely given that VLC for iOS got removed recently from the App Store for legal reasons, again!

So what else is new in Infuse 3? Read on for the full reveal.

Infuse 2.3: connect to UPnP/DLNA apps like XBMC and Plex to stream videos, new gestures and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

One of the best iOS media players around, Infuse by jailbreak developer FireCore of the aTV Flash Black fame, has received a major updated today that enables support for UPnP and DLNA media streaming protocols which allows the software to stream, download and sync media residing on compatible UPnP/DLNA device such as XBMC, Plex, WMC, PS3 Media Server and more.

The release includes a plethora of other new features and improvements such as half a dozen new gesture controls, the continuous playback feature, improved streaming for certain NAS devices and a bunch of user interface tweaks.

The new Infuse 2.3 is available free in the App Store, with an optional in-app purchase to unlock advanced features like AirPlay subtitle streaming, support for additional video formats and more...

NAS video downloads and other new features now live in Infuse in 2.2

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Infuse, the versatile iOS media player by jailbreak developer FireCore best-known for its aTV Flash Black software for the Apple TV, is getting a nice update with new features later today.

Infuse 2.2 is a pretty big update that comes with a number of additional features the team has been working on for awhile, as well as some of the top user-requested features. One of my favorite additions is the ability to browse network shares and download files for offline playback.

I'm loving it because no longer do I have to transfer my media to Infuse through iTunes, WebDAV or other clunky methods. Infuse 2.2 will be available as a free download in the App Store later today...

Infuse gains more video formats for free users, variable speed scrubbing and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

FireCore's versatile iPhone and iPad media player, Infuse, recently received a massive version 2.0 update sporting iOS 7-friendly interface while going free for everyone, with a couple advanced features locked behind a Pro in-app purchase. In today's free update, Infuse 2.1 unlocks more video formats for free users while adding variable speed scrubbing option, support for an additional subtitle format, better translations and the usual assortment of bug fixes and performance improvements...

Infuse iOS media player gets thorough iOS 7 makeover, now free

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

I'm a big fan of Infuse, a versatile iOS media player by jailbreak developers FireCore, the same team that brought you aTV Flash Black for the Apple TV. Why? Because consuming video in file formats that are foreign to iOS is high maintenance. I'm just reluctant to waste my precious time figuring it all out. Infuse elegantly takes the pain out of messing with the dull file conversion, syncing and hunting for subtitles and replaces that whole mind job with an enjoyable movie-watching experience.

Infuse supports 14 non-iOS video formats, features high-performance playback for 1080p content and has auto-download of cover art and other metadata from TheMovieDB and TheTVDB, with one-tap subtitle downloads from OpenSubtitles.org. It also implements the best AirPlay subtitle streaming I have ever seen on an iOS device, hands down. That Infuse supports multiple audio tracks/subtitles and integrates with trakt.tv to scrobble plays back to your account, submit ratings and post shouts doesn't hurt either.

As not everyone was down with Infuse costing five bucks, not many people got a chance to enjoy Infuse goodies. Not anymore. Starting today, Infuse 2 for iPhone and iPad is free in the App Store, with advanced features available as an in-app purchase upgrade. Infuse used to rely heavily on skeuomorphism so I was curious to see how developers would transition its graphics-heavy interface to clean iOS 7 aesthetics...

Infuse iOS media player updated with gesture control, teases iOS 7-ified 2.0 release

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

One of my favorite iOS media players, Infuse by jailbreak developer FireCore who brought you the aTV Flash Black for Apple's $99 "hobby" box, has just received a nice little update bringing the software to version 1.5.

Today's update has brought out two new noteworthy enhancements: gesture-based controls and TV show groups which basically cleans up your library by grouping all TV shows together by season.

FireCore also confirmed that a major Infuse 2.0 update is "coming this Fall". I've included additional tidbits concerning both Infuse 1.5 and 2.0 right after the break so give it a quick read...