So shiny!

Roku gets a new Plex app that looks nothing like the old one

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Good news for Roku users: everyone’s favorite media center app maker Plex just launched a new Roku channel that makes you forget you’re using a Roku: Gone are the endless rows of square cover art and the complicated, nested information architecture that’s present in so many Roku channels, and also dominated the look of the old Plex app.

Instead, the new Roku app is using big imagery, wallpapers and a great-looking full-screen music player, and offers access to Plex’s new content discovery features as well as trailers and enhanced multi-user support. It’s visually very close to the Plex apps on Sony’s Playstation, Microsoft’s Xbox or Vizio’s smart TVs.

This is how an album looks like with the new Roku app...
This is how an album looks like with the new Roku app…

The app is currently only available to paying Plex Pass subscribers, but will eventually make its way to regular Plex users as well. And right now, it only supports movies, TV shows and music, but support for photos, playlists and channels will be added soon, according to a post on the Plex blog.

... and this is how it used to look like.
… and this is how it used to look like.

Plex is also currently working on integrating music videos from Vevo into its apps. The company first showed off this feature at CES, and executives told me at the time that the goal was to eventually make iTunes obsolete.

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