- Reviews.org viewers, "How do you Plex?"
This is a very popular service and topic for our audience
and we've seen some exciting updates from the company
on streaming services.
When it comes to how we organize and watch our media,
I think a lot of us fall into the,
if it's not broke don't fix it category.
But of course, with software and streaming,
when platforms change, it can break things for end users.
Recently Plex published a new home theater PC app
for the service with proper Linux support.
And it got us wondering, those of you who Plex,
how do you Plex?
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I love the Plex.
To begin at the beginning, here's how I Plex.
I run a little NAS box.
We did a video on network attached storage solutions
which is also linked below.
It's basically a little computer
and it's only job is to store
and share large chunks of data.
But because it's a computer,
we can install and run software on it
and that's where our Plex server app lives.
Plex needs a host program running
for other devices to access those media files.
You can run Plex from a full PC,
but if you wanna access a video from your phone,
the PC obviously needs to be running.
By moving Plex to our NAS,
I don't have to run my power thirsty workstation
to stream content.
The storage is connected directly to our router.
It's basically always on.
So, any other device with a Plex app or any streaming stick
or any smart TV can stream content from that storage.
With the proper login and credentials, of course.
Flashing back to the olden tech days before Chromecast,
I used to connect a full gaming PC to my TV.
I even got fancy and installed a TV capture card
so that machine would double
as an inexpensive TiVo-like DVR.
Even back then buying huge hard drives was cheaper
over the long run than paying for a TiVo and a subscription.
But I digress.
Today, I still run a little gaming PC behind my TV.
I built an Intel nook
and it's great for console quality PC titles,
but I almost never fire it up for media anymore.
The current generation
of 4K streaming sticks are really good at playing 4K video.
Easier to use, they can run constantly with less power draw.
I don't need a full PC to play video or listen to music.
And that's mostly how we use the Plex,
either through an app on the phone
or installing the Plex Android app to a Chromecast.
I look for what I want to watch on the phone
and then I send that to the TV.
And if you go through the Android app on a Chromecast,
we get a prettier layout with actor information
review scores, and options for playback.
Again, back in the olden days, the folks
at Plex originally launched a Plex media player app
for people using full PCs connected
to their TVs and home theater equipment.
The PMP app was designed to be used
at that living room distance from a TV and with a controller
or a remote instead of a PC-style keyboard and mouse.
If you wanted the best picture and sound quality,
it wasn't really that long ago
you needed the compute power of a full PC.
Well, over the years
the software which drives Plex has changed
and the company is focused
on other initiatives and many, many more consumers
are likely using inexpensive streaming sticks.
The Plex team tried to sunset the PMP app,
but a small group of passionate,
home theater Plex fans pushed back on that idea.
Enter the new Plex HTPC app.
The code on PMP was outdated and we're talking about a chain
of software and updates that started somewhere back in 2008.
And the media landscape is very different today.
Plex HTPC is more consistent with the design and layout
of the mobile and streaming apps, with a main focus
on improving interface, fluidity, and performance
while also trying to deliver the same granular controls
that the home theater crowd would appreciate,
especially getting down into refresh rate and audio options
while maintaining remote and controller support.
This is not built off the older PMP apps.
So of course, there are numerous comments
and some complaints in the Plex forums already
about things not working the same way they used to
or features that might be missing.
But from the company's perspective,
they couldn't keep maintaining old code
which was increasingly incompatible
with the rest of the Plex ecosystem.
The flip side, because this is more
in keeping with the mobile apps,
it's exciting to see Linux support at launch.
There's a small, but healthy community
of folks building home theater computer gear
using Linux to make custom media streaming solutions.
The last Distro that I played with was Kodi,
but you can find builds to run on a Raspberry Pi like OSMC.
And I get it, it really feels
like old internet tech to get excited about.
I have to admit, I'm getting crankier as I get older
and I don't like looking for my favorite content
on different streaming subscriptions.
I've been buying a steady stream of 4K Blue-rays
when my favorite films get good transfers
just so I know I'll always have them.
And I know where they are.
The mission of Plex has also evolved.
We covered recently, and that video is linked below too,
how the service is looking to become a complete front end
for your other streaming subscriptions.
I've been leaning on Plex search, hard.
Now instead of looking through other catalogs,
I go to Plex, I search once, and it pulls up all the places
I might be able to watch what I wanna watch,
plus the ability to manage my home media,
plus the ability to stream my music collection,
plus the ability to share some
of this stuff with my family and friends.
So, here's the thing.
I'm an old, but I'm not that old,
and I think this HTPC app is just a little too late for me.
This is what I would've killed for.
I mean, this is what I would've used back when
I had that old gaming PC connected to my living room TV
and all of our content lived on that PC.
Now that I've shot and edited this video,
I'm not likely to use the HTPC app
on my current TV gaming PC much, if maybe ever again.
Our content lives on a network storage box
and the Chromecast version of Plex is just too convenient.
My needs for media streaming have
both evolved and simplified.
I think this is a great app
for the HTPC faithful and likely to get better
with some feedback from the community, a couple bug fixes,
some feature improvements, but I have to wonder how much
of an audience for this style of software remains,
which is where I ask you media junkies in our audience,
if you are rockin' Plex, what does that look like today?
Are you still running it from a home theater PC?
Are you looking at a specialty solution or a Linux Distro?
Do you keep a box of hard drives connected to your router?
Drop us the tastiest of hot takes
down in the comments below.
And I'm really curious who
at Plex is both into terrible ancient alien documentaries
and Tom Selleck movies.
Is this a crossover demographic
of viewers that I wasn't aware of?
But, I digress again.
As always, thanks so much for watching,
for sharing these videos,
and subscribing to the channel for reviews.org.
I'm Juan Carlos Bagnell, AKA some gadget guy
and I will catch you all on the next video.