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Over the past decade, I have recklessly gathered DVD rips, movies, and TV series, and Plex has been my go-to option for dealing with the turmoil that this collection has caused. On my computer, these files were dispersed in several locations, and I had also forgotten about some of them on dusty external hard drives. In contrast to well-known streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus, Plex is essentially a tool for managing personal media collections. It is intended to assist you in transforming your cluttered media collection into an elegant and user-friendly interface that can compete with the major streaming services.
Plex will perform the laborious task of scanning your files, retrieving metadata such as titles, cover art, genres, and descriptions, and organizing and labelling everything for you in a logical and organised fashion. Plex is a user-friendly digital media library that you can run and enjoy on your personal computer.
This is its most basic function. However, with little additional configuration, you can easily stream material from your Plex server to the TV in your living room, a gaming console, or even your smartphone when you are not at your residence. In addition, you can let your friends access your media library and make their own individualized playlists using Plex, which has gone beyond its original purpose of merely managing your own personal media. It is now capable of streaming a variety of movies and television series for free, transforming it into an adaptable and all-encompassing media solution.
Plex Specifications
Plex offers free live TV, on-demand movies and TV, news, and online programmes. Simply sign up with your email or Apple, Facebook, or Google account. The free Plex Media Server lets users manage their movies, music, photographs, and TV shows. Syncing the server with Plex lets them stream material and watch live TV.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Supported media formats | More than 200 video formats and codecs, including MP4, MKV, AVI, MPEG-2, and HEVC, as well as audio formats like MP3, AAC, and FLAC. |
| Streaming quality | Up to 4K HDR streaming with Dolby Atmos audio. |
| Transcoding | On-the-fly transcoding for devices that don’t support the original media format or resolution. |
| Offline playback | Download media files to your devices for offline viewing. |
| Live TV | Watch and stream live TV channels with the Plex Live TV & DVR add-on. |
| Music streaming | Stream your music collection to any device with the Plex Music app. |
| Photo sharing | Share your photo albums with friends and family. |
| Parental controls | Control what your kids can watch and listen to. |
| Mobile apps | Plex apps are available for all major mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, and Windows. |
| Smart TV apps | Plex apps are also available for most popular smart TV brands. |
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What is a Plex?
Plex may appear to be just another option to Netflix at first glance, but do not be fooled by this appearance. Even though it’s a streaming platform, the majority of the movies and TV shows that are available to view here are either very old or very low budget. However, none of them cost anything. There is also the possibility of finding more recent titles that are not yet accessible via streaming on Plex. After you have found them, add them to your Watchlist, and then look in the film description for a section titled “Watch from these locations” to find out where you are able to watch them at the present time.
You will discover the server with the movie listed as a source if you are using a Plex Media Server that already has the movie stored in its catalogue. Clicking the “Music” option located on the Plex side menu will also allow you to stream music from the service. However, because all of the music on Plex comes from Tidal, you will need a Tidal subscription in order to use it.
On the other hand, the majority of users often utilise Plex for its media server. You are able to construct a server with the help of a Plex Media Server that will pull films, photographs, and music from the device that is acting as the host and then broadcast it online for all of the other devices that are associated with your account.
Plex review: App Design And UI
Plex introduced a “unified” user interface, eventually unifying its apps. Plex’s customisable sidebar lets you pin libraries you wish to access and hide others, like this reviewer’s streaming channels. This design unites your libraries and those shared by friends and family into a single interface. You may pin Movies from your server and Uncle Bob’s server below it. You may also search and see results from all your servers in one list.
Simple and straightforward Plex’s Home Screen and Recommended tab for each library are similar to other major streaming providers. Continue Watching, On Deck, and Recently Added rows are useful for paused content, TV episodes, and recently added media. You can customize this layout’s content and order. The Recommended tabs for your other libraries will automatically generate a few categories like “Top Rated Westerns,” but they are limited and can’t be customized like Netflix’s algorithmic recommendations.
Plex review: Interface
Plex offers free streaming movies and TV shows. On the Home screen, Plex shows horizontally scrolling categories including Most Popular, Top Movies, Plex Picks of the Week, TV Shows, Only on Plex for a Limited Time, and genres like drama, comedy, romance, and music.Live TV features channels that show how much time is left on a broadcast. Live TV on Plex lists current shows by channel and hour. Retro Crush, Cheddar Presents, Newsy, Deal or No Deal, HobbyKidsTV, and Hollywire have something for every TV fan.
Plex organises information in a prominent category list under News on the main screen, although users can browse all categories via the left-hand menu. Arts, Entertainment, Business, Gaming, Lifestyle, Politics, Government, Science, Technology, Society, and World News are categories. Top menu channels include Associated Press, The Guardian, and Reuters. You can personalize, organize, stream, and share your Plex favorites on all devices under Your Media. This feature requires certain Plex software.
Plex review: Streaming Service
Plex adds Crackle TV and movies to its free library, claiming “more individual movies than you can stream on Netflix.” Plex’s collection fluctuates with Netflix’s relationships with big entertainment firms. In just a few minutes of surfing, we found Zodiac, Minority Report, Battle Royale, and Attack the Block. Chances are you’ll find something you’ll want to see. The TV selection leans towards old comedies and reality shows, although there are enough of “something to put on the background” shows.
Plex review: Supported Devices
The Plex service is readily accessible on a variety of popular devices, including mobile phones, game consoles, streaming devices, and televisions. Always make sure you check the provider site for the most recent information on the devices that are compatible with their services.
- Alexa products, such as Amazon Echo
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android phones and tablets
- Android TV
- Apple iOS phones and tablets
- Apple TV
- Google Chromecast
- Nvidia Shield
Plex review: The Good and Bad
Plex is a crucial streaming service despite its lesser-known status. The finest streaming services offer enormous collections of episodes and movies for on-demand viewing, but Plex lets you control your own domain.
The Good
- Capable free version
- Intuitive apps on many platforms
- Easy setup
- Growing library of on-demand and preprogrammed video streaming content
The Bad
- HTPC support only through forums
- Limited interface themes
- Removed features like gaming and podcasts
Questions and Answers
If you have a large amount of locally saved material on your computer, the piece of software known as Plex is an absolute necessity. In contrast to Kodi, setting it up is simple, and there are applications for all of the major operating systems as well as all of the popular media streaming devices. The price structure is another important distinction between Plex and Kodi.
The Plex Web App is included with the free version of the Plex Media Server, which users can access online. The ‘Movies & Shows’ streaming service that we offer is completely free to use and is sponsored by advertisements. When you connect a tuner that is compatible with your server as well as an antenna, you will be able to watch live over-the-air broadcasts that are available in your location.