Plex is a browser-based DLNA streaming media server. It can be downloaded here. Read more free Media Server software for Windows. Plex is easy to install and easy to use. It is based on XBMC whose strength is its ability to order you media in various ways. For example it has a special “folder” where it keeps movies or TV shows that you haven’t finished. It also keeps new media in a special folder. So its pretty easy to find movies and other media that you are most interested in. Read on to get to know more about Plex Media Server.
Plex is free. The only charge for Plex is for something called PlexPass which allows you to share media or to share your media, sync media with another device, and get the Android client for Plex. PlexPass is charged on a monthly rate of $3.99 per month.
The free version of Plex is quite usable on its own. You can use it for a home theater PC or as a media server for your DLNA media player or smart TV. It is also quite usable with Android devices with DLNA players. The Plex Android app isn’t required.
This is a screen shot of the Plex user interface:
Part One: Plex Media Server supported formats.
Part two: How to install and set up Plex Media Server.
According to their web page, Plex supports the following audio and video formats:
|
Container |
Video Codec |
Audio Codec |
Notes |
|
mp4, mov |
h264, mpeg4 |
aac, ac3, |
No |
|
mpegts |
h264 |
aac, ac3, |
No |
|
asf |
vc1, wmv3, wmv2 |
wmav2, wmapro, |
No |
|
avi |
mpeg4, msmpeg4, |
mp3, ac3, |
No |
|
mpeg |
mpeg1video, |
mp2, mp3, |
WMC Required |
|
mpegts, mp4 |
mpeg1video, |
mp2, mp3, |
WMC Required |
|
asf |
wmav2, wmapro, |
||
|
mp4 |
aac |
||
|
mp3 |
mp3 |
||
|
other audio |
transcoded to MP3 |
What to do if you have some videos whose format is not in the above table, such as iTunes M4V videos? – Use our powerful iTunes video converter – Pavtube ChewTune.
Please refer to this article to know how to convert iTunes to Plex.
How to install Plex Media Server?
The Plex installation is straight forward on a Windows PC and there is no special tweaking needed. You must create a Plex account during the installation which is free. You must also tell Plex which folders contain your media.
The Plex sign-up screen is where you assign the server name:
This screen lets you assign your media folders:
You can configure Plex for Internet channels:
Plex adds meta information to your media which it gets from the Internet:
Further Reading:
Add Movies to Plex to Make Your Media Experience Easy and Enjoyable
Plex Problems I Came Across and Solutions I Did
Stream Your Personal Media to PS4 without DLNA