Infuse alternatives for Apple TV, compared on facts
Based on: US App Store listings, Firecore's own documentation, our app's sourcetvOS: As listed by each app on 14 Oct 2026Checked
Short answer
Infuse is the most-rated player in this category and decodes DTS and TrueHD to multichannel PCM, but Pro is a subscription ($1.99 a month, $16.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime). Free alternatives are VLC, Plex and Jellyfin clients like Swiftfin; one-off paid ones include Plezy ($5.99) and our Jellyfin and SMB player ($6.99). No App Store player can make Apple TV bitstream DTS or TrueHD.
The comparison
| App | Price | Rating | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infuse | Free; Pro by subscription or $99.99 lifetime | 4.7 (28,399) | Local network shares, media servers, cloud |
| Plex | Free download | 4.6 (137,848) | Plex Media Server |
| VLC | Free | 3.7 (5,979) | Network shares, files |
| Swiftfin | Free, open source | 3.8 (275) | Jellyfin |
| Streamyfin | Free | 4.2 (151) | Jellyfin |
| Moonfin | Free | 4.5 (80) | Jellyfin, Emby |
| Plezy | $5.99 once | 4.5 (110) | Plex, Jellyfin, Emby |
| Native Player | Free | No ratings yet | Files uploaded through a browser |
| Jellyfin & SMB Video Player (ours) | $6.99 once | New | Jellyfin, SMB shares |
US App Store, 14 Oct 2026. Ratings are overall App Store figures. Format claims are each developer's; we have tested only our own app.
Sources
- Infuse Pro: “$1.99 / month · $16.99 / year · $99.99 / lifetime”, with a free 7-day trial.Source
- Firecore: Infuse “will first decompress this audio before sending it to your receiver as LPCM” for TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, up to 7.1 channels of 24-bit, 48 kHz on Apple TV. Atmos is supported with E-AC3 tracks; DTS:X is not.Source
- Jellyfin’s client downloads page lists no Apple TV client. Swiftfin’s App Store description calls it “an official Jellyfin companion app”.Source
- Native Player’s listing claims MKV, M2TS, TrueHD Dolby Atmos, DTS, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and says it “delivers full 3D audio to your receiver”. We have not tested this claim.Source
- Every other rating and price in the table is from the App Store lookup for that app on 14 Oct 2026.Source
What actually differs
Audio. Apple TV does not bitstream DTS or TrueHD to a receiver, whatever app you use (DTS, TrueHD). Good players decode those tracks to multichannel PCM, which is what Firecore documents for Infuse. Dolby Digital Plus Atmos is the Atmos format that reaches a receiver from Apple TV.
Where your files live. Plex needs a Plex server; Swiftfin, Streamyfin and Moonfin need Jellyfin (Moonfin also Emby); VLC and Infuse open network shares directly. Pick by your setup first, price second.
Pricing. Subscription (Infuse Pro), one-off (Plezy, ours), or free (Plex app, VLC, the Jellyfin clients). Some free apps have paid tiers for features like remote streaming; check the listing.
Our player, fairly described
- Plays from Jellyfin (direct play, no transcoding) and SMB shares. It does not support Plex, Emby, Kodi or DLNA.Our app
- MKV with Dolby Digital Plus is repackaged on the fly so Apple’s own player handles it; first frame in about 2.4 seconds.Tested
- DTS and TrueHD files go to a VLCKit software engine. We have not yet measured its exact output to a receiver, so we make no claim against Infuse here.Our app
Infuse is better if you want the widest set of sources and a polished library view and do not mind the subscription. Ours is cheaper if your files are on Jellyfin or an SMB share.
Questions people ask
How much is Infuse Pro?
Firecore's product page lists $1.99 a month, $16.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime, with a 7-day free trial (checked 14 Oct 2026).
Does Infuse pass through DTS and TrueHD?
No. Firecore says Infuse first decompresses TrueHD and DTS-HD MA and sends them to the receiver as LPCM, up to 7.1 channels of 24-bit, 48 kHz audio on Apple TV. Atmos is supported with E-AC3 tracks.
Is there an official Jellyfin app for Apple TV?
Jellyfin's own client downloads page listed no Apple TV client on 14 Oct 2026. Swiftfin describes itself as an official Jellyfin companion app and has a tvOS version.
If you would rather not fiddle with it
Jellyfin & SMB Video Player
Plays MKV, MP4 and TS from Jellyfin, SMB shares and NAS on Apple TV and iPhone. Native AVPlayer first, an FFmpeg remux path for MKV, and a VLC fallback.
View on the App Store$6.99 once, no subscription
We make this app. Everything above is true whether or not you use it.