Connecting sources

Add sources from Settings ▸ Accounts & Sources ▸ Add Source (on the Mac, Settings ▸ Accounts & Sources lists an Add row per type; on Apple TV, choose a source tile). Every source joins the same library. Aether plays what is on your own servers and devices; it does not provide any content itself.

#Plex

1. Choose Plex. In Connect to Plex, pick a sign-in method:

   • Direct Sign-In — Sign in with Plex using your Plex email, Google or Apple account.
   • QR & Code — go to plex.tv/link on another device (or scan the QR code) and enter the code Aether shows. Apple TV goes straight to this method.
2. If your account is a Plex Home, choose who's watching, with that profile's PIN if it has one.
3. Aether finds your servers through plex.tv and shows Connected. Tap Done.

Server side: Plex Media Server signed in to the same Plex account, or shared with it. You can add several Plex accounts, and switch Plex Home profiles later with Switch Profile on the account.

#Jellyfin

1. Choose Jellyfin and enter your server's address in Server.

2. Sign in with Quick Connect or Username & password.

   • Quick Connect: Aether shows a code. In Jellyfin, open your profile ▸ Quick Connect (or Dashboard ▸ Quick Connect) and enter it. The code is valid for five minutes.

Address formats. An address with a scheme (https://…) is used exactly as typed. An IP address with a port tries http first, then https; a bare host name tries https first, then http. No port is added for you — include it if your server needs one (Jellyfin's usual port is 8096).

Server side: Quick Connect must be enabled on the server to use it ("Quick Connect is turned off on this server" means it is not). If the server turns out to be Silo, Aether offers Add as Silo.

#Emby

Choose Emby, then either:

• Server — the server's address and a username and password, or
• Emby Connect — your Emby Connect email or username and password, then choose a server linked to that account.

For Emby Connect the server must be linked to the Connect account in its dashboard. If a server refuses the Connect sign-in, sign in on it once with a username and password, then try again.

#Silo

Choose Silo and enter the server address (for example silo.example.com:8096), a username and a password. Aether talks to Silo's Jellyfin-compatible API, which listens on its own port — 8096 by default, 8097 on older installs — not the one Silo's web app uses. That API must be enabled on the server.

#Nexus

Nexus is a media server for the Mac.

1. Choose Nexus. A Nexus on the same network appears under Nearby; otherwise enter its Server URL (for example http://127.0.0.1:8585 — the default port is 8585).
2. Sign in with a Password, or with a Pairing Code: in Nexus, open Settings ▸ People, generate a code for this device (ABCD-EFGH) and enter it. A code works once and expires after a few minutes.

Server side: Nexus running on a Mac that is awake and on the same network.

#SMB shares

1. Choose SMB Share. Enter the Server as a host name or IP address (for example 192.168.1.10) — an smb://user@nas/Media URL works too — or pick it from Nearby.
2. Connect as Guest, or enter a username and password (and a Domain / Workgroup if your server needs one).
3. Optionally choose a Folder (or Browse Folders…) and what it Contains: Movies & TV, Movies, TV Shows or Music. Without a folder, all shares are scanned.

The first connection triggers the system's Local Network prompt — allow it, or the share cannot be reached. Scanning goes up to four folders deep, with a combined limit of 2,000 videos across the shares and folders of one SMB connection. Subtitle files next to a video (Film.cs.srt, Film.en.forced.srt) are picked up automatically.

Manage a share from its row: Edit Connection, Test Connection, Re-match Posters and Remove This Share.

#WebDAV

Choose WebDAV and enter the Server URL (for example https://nas.local:5006/dav), a name, and a username and password — or leave the credentials empty for servers that allow anonymous access. Browse Folders to choose what to scan. Many servers serve WebDAV under a sub-path such as /dav or /remote.php/dav; Nextcloud users should use an app password.

#IPTV playlists and Live TV

Aether doesn't provide channels or a list of providers — bring your own.

1. Choose IPTV Playlist (M3U) in the welcome, or add a playlist in Settings ▸ Live TV.
2. Enter a Playlist URL, or switch to Xtream Codes and enter the panel's server (for example http://panel.example.com:8080), username and password.
3. Optionally add a name, a Program Guide URL (XMLTV) and the number of Simultaneous Streams your provider allows, then Add Playlist.

An HDHomeRun tuner is added by its address, for example http://192.168.1.50.

Server Live TV: channels from your own servers appear too — Plex Live TV (a switch per server in Settings ▸ Live TV; the DVR must be set up in Plex), Emby Live TV, and Nexus channels.

#Local files

On iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro, Settings ▸ Local Library offers:

• Import Media… — pick files from the Files app (video such as MKV, MK3D, AVI, TS, M2TS, WebM, MP4 and MOV, and audio such as MP3, M4A and FLAC).
• Upload over Wi-Fi — open the address Aether shows in a browser on another computer on the same network and upload files to the device; Aether must stay open while it runs.

You can also open a video from the Files app with Open in Aether. On the Mac, Local Library ▸ Add Folder adds a folder (with Rescan and Reauthorize…). Apple TV has no local library.

#Managing sources

From a source in Accounts & Sources: Reconnect, sign out (Sign Out of Jellyfin, Disconnect WebDAV, …), Rename Server, Remove Server, Server Status, and a switch per library to choose which libraries appear. Only the main profile can change which libraries show.

When the same title is on several servers, Default Server chooses which plays first; a downloaded copy always plays before any server.

Sync Server Logins (in Accounts & Sources ▸ iCloud) keeps your server sign-ins in iCloud Keychain so your other devices have them. It is off until you turn it on, and is not available on Apple TV — use Set Up from iPhone there.