Monday, January 20, 2020

Ultimate Guide to Plex Media Server for Windows

The universal watchlist is a helpful tool as well, eliminating the need for you to keep separate lists on each of your services — you can keep them in one place. As you browse and search, you just add titles to your watchlist, and as they become available, leave one service, and show up on another, you'll always know where you can watch them. If you only want to see titles that are available, you can filter your list using the Available to stream filter. Every client device possesses different capabilities, which means each Plex client also possesses different capabilities.

Most every new TV has a 4K resolution and supports high dynamic range video playback, so your streaming box should, too. The more HDR formats a streaming device supports (Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG), the more compatible and future-proof it is with newer HDR TVs. At this point, the price difference between 4K and 1080p media streamers is $10 or less, so there isn’t much reason to get a 1080p one. A streaming box can also give you easy access to the video and music content you already own and let you play it on any TV in your house. You can access and play media stored on your home network without needing to hook a computer up to your display.

Plex Home Theatre on Qnap

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plex media home theater

Now, set up is completed and you can start copying media files to the storage space. I have a little Intel NUC machine that's serving as a client, and when i try to run the Home Theater version, movies look terrible and are playing either choppy or VERY choppy . I looked at the settings for video, and tried enabling and disabling the "always transcode" options - but it doesn't really seem to matter. So, if you’re the type of person who likes to own your movies, so as to not have to worry about what streaming service they’ve jumped to this week, you should strongly consider checking it out. The folks at Plex offer a series of media tools that let you stream your local media library your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or TV thanks to a series of apps for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Roku, and other platforms.

Got personal media? Plex does that too.

If your server machine isn’t powerful enough to handle this conversion process, you may be told that the movie cannot be played. Many devices, including smart TVs and Android TV boxes, come with the Plex client pre-loaded, so there’s nothing to download. The clients are typically free, but occasionally, Plex charges a small amount to download them.

plex media home theater

You may also terminate this TOS at any time by providing Plex with notice of cancellation, but all applicable provisions of this TOS will survive termination, as identified below. Upon termination and in accordance with law, your right to access and use the Plex Solution shall cease and you must immediately destroy all copies of any aspect of the Plex Solution in your possession. Termination shall result in deactivation or deletion of your account with Plex. Further, Plex shall not be responsible for any damage that may result or arise out of termination of this TOS. You may be required to provide certain personal information necessary to create an account with Plex.

Everything You Need for a Backyard Movie Night

Plex, the media server software that powers many a home theater setup around the world, has announced that it’s ending support for its Plex Media Player software for the desktop, replacing it with a new desktop app. For anyone who uses a streaming set-top box, like an Apple TV or Roku, to access their Plex library, this move won’t have any impact on their day-to-day use of Plex at all. But for people who preferred to use their PCs connected directly to their TVs, it’s a serious blow. The single most important thing any media streamer must do is play back the content you want to watch.

plex media home theater

You can rate a show to improve your recommendations or add it to your watchlist so you can come back to it later. Since this functionality works across all the different streaming services, it delivers a more consistent experience. If you use only one or two streaming services—say, Disney+ and Netflix—you probably don’t need a separate media streaming box. Almost all current TVs have built-in support for the most popular streaming services, as do many cable and satellite boxes, gaming consoles, and Blu-ray players.

The addition of AirPlay 2 and Apple’s TV app gives the Streaming Stick 4K a lot of the perks of an Apple TV at a much lower price. I have multiple streaming devices hooked up to my main TV, representing every major platform, and I keep coming back to the Chromecast with Google TV because the interface makes it so much easier to find what I want to watch and offers superior recommendations. We test every media streamer in a basic system with only a TV, as well as in a complete home theater system with a Dolby Atmos soundbar.

There is no way for you to synchronize settings from one device to another easily. That means you will have to set up each Kodi device as though it were the first time. Additionally, there isn’t a customer support option, so if you run into any issues, there’s nobody to help with troubleshooting, so you have to figure it out on your own. Similar in many ways to free, ad-supported services like the Roku Channel, Plex Free Movies and TV is both an add-on to your personal Plex experience and a standalone service. Plex HTPC supports Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later, or a Linux OS with Snap support.

The Best Media Streaming Devices

The most interesting feature of Plex Media Server is the ability to transcode your videos depending on your device and network. In practice, this means that it will dynamically squish videos so that they still play smoothly on your mobile phone or your iPad over wireless network. You may be surprised to learn that Windows allows you to organize hard disks into storage pools, which use RAID-style mirroring and parity techniques to keep your media files safe. In my previous guide, I have already covered Plex with unRAID media server, but this time I decided to use Windows with Storage Spaces, because unRAID + Plex combo was not working reliably enough for me while Windows + Plex has proven to be working exceptionally well. In this complete guide, I will show you how to build a simple setup with Plex Media Server and Windows Storage Spaces feature that will make all of your media easily accessible from almost any device.

plex media home theater

The main reason to get a dedicated streaming device is to gain access to streaming services and apps that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to access—and to have all that content presented to you in the way you find most intuitive. Typically, streaming media players include more channels, a more responsive user interface, and better search and organization features. Also, support for newer streaming services often comes to streaming boxes before it comes to TVs. With such a wide selection of streaming services, as well as access to live TV through services like Sling, a media streamer can allow you to cut out cable or satellite TV completely.

Sign in with a Plex Pass enabled account to access exclusive preview downloads. Save it to your Watchlist in one click—even if it’s not on Plex! It’s universal, and even better, accessible from all your devices. Is our favorite 32-inch TV because it looks and sounds good, it’s easy to use, and it has the best assortment of helpful features. For cable and satellite customers, Roku has apps from Xfinity and other providers that Google TV currently lacks.

Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice and insights. But for the rest of us, Plex is sadly one feature shy of HTPC perfection, one that would greatly broaden the concept’s appeal. For a certain kind of techie, Plex HTPC—the acronym stands for “home theater PC”—might fill the void left by Microsoft’s Windows Media Center, which helped computers double as living room entertainment devices before Microsoft discontinued it in Windows 10. Once that’s done, tell your friends and family to create a free Plex account and then tell you the email they used to create it. The obvious way to deal with this problem is to make sure your Plex server is running on a really robust computer.

Plex HTPC, which officially launched last week, lets you access Plex’s over-the-air DVR service, your personal media library, and Plex’s own free content catalog through a slick app for Windows, Mac, or Linux. It offers the same full-screen interface as Plex’s existing apps for smart TVs and streaming players, and you can navigate with a keyboard or game controller instead of a mouse. One of the most powerful features of Plex is the ability to configure the Plex server for remote access. The gaming console, Blu-ray player, or smart TV you already own probably streams Netflix and plays some local files, too.

plex media home theater

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