Plex is a multimedia player and a complete media center capable of reproducing in the highest quality any video or audio track present on the device in which it is installed. With Plex we will be able to obtain all the information on a particular film or music album in a completely automatic way thanks to the indexing engines which, once connected to the Internet, retrieve posters, plot or song information, trailers and for some contents even subtitles forced and subtitles in other languages.
Plex can therefore become the real reference point for home entertainment, in particular if we have a device that stores all multimedia contents and we do not know how to view them on the other devices on the home network, thus placing itself as the first real alternative to using DLNA or other similar protocols.
We discover in this guide all the devices in which we can download and install Plex ; the guide will focus on the free version of the program, indicating where necessary the differences with the subscription version (Plex Pass).
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Use Plex on the PC
Plex is available on PC in two formats: Plex Media Server and Plex App .
The first allows you to index the multimedia files on the hard disk to make them available to other devices on the network, effectively transforming the PC into a multimedia server; the second is the client that allows you to play the contents indexed by another Plex Media Server possibly present on the network on another device.
If we want to turn our PC into a media server we download Plex Media Server from here -> Plex Media Server .
The program is compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 7, with Mac OS X (from 10.9 onwards), with any version of GNU / Linux and with FreeBSD.
Once Plex is installed on the computer, start it and, in the configuration window, enter the name with which Plex will be recognized on the network and the folders to be indexed (taking care to index for the correct content, so as to have the right information).
Once configured, the program will automatically index and remain active in the background (even when the PC is restarted) to always be available other other Plex devices on the network.
If, on the other hand, you want to play the contents indexed by another Plex on the net, we will have to download the Plex App for PC, available for free here -> Plex App PC .
Once the program is installed on your PC, it will immediately start displaying the contents of the Plex server present on the network (make sure that the device that acts as a server is turned on and with Plex Media Server active), so that it can be reproduced.
Use Plex on the TV
If we own a latest generation Smart TV, it is highly probable that Plex is among the apps available for use, so that you can view the contents indexed by a Plex Media Server present in the local network directly on the TV without using adapters or other devices used for reproduction. .
We then check in the Smart section of our television (or in the Market integrated in the interactive menus of the same) if we find the Plex app.
Once you find the app just open it, log in with your Plex account and start viewing all the contents indexed at the highest quality.
Currently the smart TVs of the following manufacturers are supported: LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio, but you may find Plex as an app to be installed even on TVs not yet officially supported (it is an app similar to the one available for Android).
A list of compatible TVs can be found here -> Plex TV Compatibility .
Use Plex on smartphone or tablet
We want to see our videos and listen to our tracks indexed with Plex on smartphone or tablet "> Plex (Android) and Plex (iOS).
Adding the app to our portable device we will have two choices: use the demonstration mode (which limits the functionality of the app and the playback time of content on a mobile screen) or subscribe to Plex Pass, so as to have unlimited access to our multimedia content both when we are connected to the home network and when we are away from home under LTE coverage; so we will be able to watch videos, films, TV series and listen to music in any situation.
As an alternative we can use the Plex app on mobile also in server mode, so as to exploit it to index the multimedia contents present in the internal memory or in the microSD of the device; in this case the app can be used without limits.
Use Plex on Chromecast
Chromecast is probably one of the best devices with which to take advantage of Plex in the home, because the configuration on it is very simple.
Since the Cast protocol is integrated in any version of Plex it will be sufficient to open the Plex app and (making sure that Chromecast is turned on and configured on the same network where the Plex server is present) click or tap on the cast icon, present at the top of the app.
Once Plex is associated with the Chromecast, any video will be played in the highest quality available.
If the multimedia file has codecs that are not compatible with the Chromecast, Plex integrates an automatic conversion system on the fly that will take care of converting the non-compatible audio or video part to play it without problems.
If we use the Plex app on mobile devices (also in demonstration mode) we will be able to associate Plex with Chromecast and send the indexed videos to the Google dongle without time limits (limits instead present if we enable viewing from the mobile screen), using the smartphone or tablet as if it were a simple remote control.
Use Plex on NAS
The NAS is a network device capable of storing a large amount of files and making them available to other devices on the network, therefore as a media server it lends itself really well because it consumes much less than a PC and can remain accessible 24 hours a day. 24.
On NAS we will obviously be able to install Plex Media Server, so as to index all the videos, TV series and audio files that we have previously moved within its memory (or downloaded using the tools made available to the NAS itself).
Plex Media Server for NAS can be downloaded for free here -> Plex Media Server for NAS .
On the download page we open the drop-down menu and select the manufacturer of our NAS among those available.
We download the right package, then open the NAS management interface and install the newly downloaded package to add Plex to the NAS software.
Use Plex on TV Box and Fire TV
TV Boxes are increasingly popular for playing multimedia content on monitors and TVs without smart features.
Even on TV Boxes we can install Plex without any problem, since the operating systems used are already perfectly compatible with the media center.
If we use an Android TV Box, all we have to do is search on the Google Play Store Plex and download it; if the TV Box does not have a Google Play Store we can download the APK file from here -> Plex APKMirror .
Some high-end TV Boxes may already have Plex integrated into their software, just check if it is present or if there are firmware updates in this sense.
To download Plex to Fire TV you must first perform a simple procedure that allows you to install Android apps on Fire TV Stick
To install Plex on Apple TV, simply use the integrated App Store, search for the Plex app and download it on the Apple TV Box.
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