Support

What do I need?

An Apple TV running tvOS 26 or later, a Plex Media Server and a free Plex account. No server yet? Choose Explore the Demo Reel on the sign-in screen to try every TV, plus the Weather and News channels.

How do I sign in?

Open CathodeTV and you'll see a four-character code. On your phone or computer, go to plex.tv/link, sign in to Plex and enter the code. CathodeTV finds your servers on its own. If you have more than one, pick the one you want. To switch Plex Home users, use Settings → Switch User.

A title won't play, or my server isn't found

• Make sure your Plex Media Server is running and signed in to the same Plex account.
• At home, the Apple TV and the server should be on the same network. Away from home, turn on Remote Access in Plex's server settings.
• Some files are converted by your server while they play (for example HEVC video in MKV files). That needs a server fast enough to convert video. Plex's dashboard shows when it's happening.
• If one title fails and others play, try it from Plex's own app. If it fails there too, the file itself may be the problem.

There's no picture preview when I scrub

Previews come from your Plex server. In Plex, open the library's settings and turn on Generate video preview thumbnails; the server makes them in the background. Until then, CathodeTV grabs frames itself for MP4 and MOV files. MKV files that the server converts show only the time.

How do I change the TV?

While something is playing, press up or down on the remote to flip between TVs, or open the controls and choose the TV button. Settings → Tube Presets lists every set, and Television & Glass, Scanlines & Phosphor Mask, Signal & Interference and Color & Glow let you fine-tune one and save your own. To always use a TV for a show or film, open the TV menu on its page and choose Always Use.

How do channels work?

Every collection in your Plex TV libraries becomes a channel that's already playing when you tune in. The easiest way to make a channel is to make a collection in Plex. In CathodeTV, Settings → Channels lets you:

• choose which collections air, with Update Channels;
• rename, hide or reorder channels (long-press a channel and choose Move);
• give a channel its own TV, or play episodes of a show back to back.

Settings → Channels → How to Set Up Channels & Commercials walks through it step by step.

When you press Back from a channel you tuned in the guide, it keeps playing in the guide's top-right corner. Select it to go back to full screen, or tune another channel.

How do I add commercial breaks?

Put commercials, bumpers and station IDs in their own Plex library (type: Movies) named something like "Filler" or "Commercials". In that library, make collections named after a channel with "Filler" or "Commercials" at the end, such as "Saturday Morning Filler". CathodeTV matches them to the channel with the same name and plays two or three clips between shows. You can also choose a channel's commercials by hand in its settings.

The Weather channel shows the wrong place

The Weather channel uses your Apple TV's approximate location. To use a different place, or if you'd rather not share your location at all, go to Settings → Channels and choose Enter ZIP Code…. Forecasts come from Apple Weather and need an internet connection.

Can CathodeTV cause burn-in on my TV?

On OLED and plasma TVs, anything bright that stays in the same place for hours can leave a permanent mark, and CathodeTV's TV frames are exactly that kind of image. To help:

• Pixel Shift is on by default (Settings → Playback & Streaming → Burn-In Protection). It slowly moves the whole set a few pixels so no edge sits still.
• Lower Room Light in Settings → Television & Glass so the frame is dimmer.
• For long sessions on an OLED TV, the Subtle Glow or Pass-Through sets have no frame at all.
• Keep your TV's own pixel-shift, logo-dimming and screen-saver features turned on, and take breaks.

LCD and LED TVs aren't affected.

Nothing shows in the Top Shelf

Open CathodeTV once so it can prepare your Continue Watching and On Now rows, and keep it in the top row of the Home Screen. If the shelf still only shows the CathodeTV banner, restart the Apple TV (Settings → System → Restart), which fixes most Top Shelf problems.

Privacy

CathodeTV has no ads, tracking or accounts of its own, and the developer receives nothing about you or what you watch. The full privacy policy lists exactly what the app sends and to whom.