Tapeside VideoPress
Everything you need to write about Tapeside Video. Questions: hello@tapesidevideo.com
In one line: Tapeside Video turns your own movie library into a neon 1990s video rental store you can walk around, and when you pick up a tape and press play, it plays the movie.
Try it in ten seconds
The demo store runs in a browser, with nothing to install: tapesidevideo.com/demo. Every movie in the demo is made up. The app stocks the same shelves with the viewer's own library.
Fact sheet
| What it is | A player for your own Plex or Jellyfin library, presented as a video rental store you walk through. Both kinds of server can be used at once. |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Apple TV, iPhone and iPad from December 1, 2026. Already out on Mac and Windows.Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows. |
| Price | Free for 25 titles, with no time limit. One purchase unlocks the whole library: $4.99 through December 31, 2026, then $9.99. No subscription. One App Store purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. |
| Made by | Thomas, a systems engineer and dad working on his own. |
| Privacy | No account, no ads, no tracking. The app talks only to the viewer's own server. |
| Links | App Store · Microsoft Store · Browser demo · Why I made this |
| Contact | hello@tapesidevideo.com. Unlock codes for reviewers are available on request. |
The story
Thomas was trying to explain to his kids what renting a movie on a Friday night used to be like, and he and his wife realised how much they missed it. So he built a store the family could walk around, stocked with their own movies. It's made to be fun for kids with just the Apple TV remote, with a Simple view for the nights when the adults just want to press play.
"It's a hard thing to describe to someone who has only ever scrolled a menu. So I built the store."
The full note is at Why I made this.
In the store
- Walk the aisles, step up to a rack, pick up a tape, flip it over and press play.
- Staff and customers to talk to, a popcorn machine, a gumball machine and three playable arcade cabinets.
- The store dresses up for Halloween in October and for Christmas in December.
- Store sizes, colour looks and background music to choose from.
- A Simple view that shows the whole library as a grid of box art.
The player
- 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Vision on Apple TV.
- MKV files play as they are.
- Audio track and subtitle choices, chapters, Skip Intro and Skip Credits.
- Continue Watching picks up where you left off.
Trailer
Download the trailer (28 seconds, 1080p, 16 MB)
Screenshots and icon
Download everything as a zip (screenshots, icon and this fact sheet). All screenshots show the app's demo library of made-up movies and are free to use in coverage.
The storefront
The aisles
Choosing a tape
Tape in hand
Simple view
Film details
The arcade