plex.tv/linkactivate – What Is Plex and What You Need to Know about it?

“Movies are life. TV is king. Music is everything. And you are in control of it all. That’s why you need Plex.”

What Is Plex?

Provided you have some digital movies and TV of your own, Plex should be the media server app you can get. From listen music, web series and shows, podcasts, and news to personal media on your server, Plex allows you to find and access all the media that matters to you in one place. All you need is an app. Load up an external hard drive, turn to a media server, or just watch every piece of media on your computer.

Let us run you through a quick guide that talks about how it works if you want to set up your personal media server –

• Download, install and run the Plex Media Server on a compatible NAC device or NVIDIA SHIELD where all your media is stored and managed in photo libraries, music, home video, TV show, and movie.
• You need to add media libraries by type of content. Plex will then carry out these tasks (adding artwork, cataloging, and info) automatically.
• Now, get the Plex app installed on any device such as a tablet, smartphone, watch device, smart TV, personal computer, game console, or any browser.
• Open it and press the Play button.
• Now, sit back and enjoy.

Step-by-Step Guide for Plex Media Server

Check out the step-by-step guide below to set up and use your Plex Media Server the fastest way.

Setting Up and Installing Plex Media Server:

Choosing a Server – The Server Requirements: The advantage of having your Plex Media Server is that it can run on Linux, Mac, or Windows computers. Also, it can be installed on a compatible NAS (Network Attached Storage) device. Needless to say, Plex works perfectly fine on any modern computer. That’s why some customers have a dedicated computer, others prefer using their every-day computer.

Plex Media Server Performance Considerations: Two important considerations to look out for with regards to performance –

• The Plex Media Server allows multiple people to watch content at the same time. The more the viewers, the more powerful the server needs to be.
• When Plex prepares your files for the available bandwidth or for certain devices, the content is converted accordingly, thus consuming a lot of server resources.

Some issues (buffering, stuttering, or inability to play) may pop up in the playback if the server isn’t that powerful. This means the CPU cannot take the load or just not able to keep up with the amount of transcoding required. When this happens, you may need to upgrade your hardware or the problem might be with the network (slow).

• Download Plex Media Server: If you have made up your mind to use the Plex Media Server, click here to download the server for your preferred device.

• Install and Run Plex Media Server: You have completed downloading the server. Now, complete the installation process and run it. The procedure is easy and hassle-free. If you are using OS X, you need to move the app (downloaded) to your “Applications” folder.

Upon prompted to sign in or create a new account, you must accept the Terms of Service. The Setup Wizard will start then.

What First-Time Users Should Do: If you are using the Plex media server for the first, you might be asked to create a new account, sign in, accept terms of service, and run the Setup Wizard.

Launch Plex Media Server on Linux: Linux users must check these steps out –

• Open a Command prompt and type “sudo /etc/init.d/plexmediaserver start”
• Launch Plex Media Server on OS X: For OS X, the steps are as follows –
• You need to open the “Applications” folder.
• Look for the Plex Media Server and double-click it.

Launch Plex Media Server on Windows: If the wizard and browser don’t launch, this is how you should do it.

After the completion of the Plex Media Server installation, if you didn’t choose “Launch Plex Media Server”, find it in the Start menu to launch it.

If you chose Launch Plex Media Server, it would already be running.

Access Plex Media Server via Plex Web App: In case you are not aware of this – the Plex Media Server is embedded with the Plex Web App that allows you to not just control Plex but also access all your media via a browser.

How to Launch Plex Web App on Windows or Mac: This is how you can launch the Plex Web App on Windows PC or Mac.

• Windows: Open Windows. At the bottom right of the screen, you will see the Plex icon in the Windows System Tray. Once you find it, right-click the icon and select Open Plex.
• OS X: Open Mac. Go to the Menu bar at the top. You will locate the Plex icon. Once you find it, open Plex.
• The Plex Web App will be loaded on the default browser.

How to Launch Plex Web App on Linux: If you are a Linux user, the following steps are for you.

• Launch a web browser and in the address bar, you need to type in http://127.0.0.1:32400/web.
• This will connect the browser to the Server, thus loading the web app.

How to Launch Plex Web App on NAS (Network Attached Storage): Check the below steps if you installed the Plex Server on a NAS device. However, you must know the Internal IP Address of the Server.

• Start a web browser and in the address bar, type in http://server.local.ip.address:32400/web (your IP address).
• This will connect the browser to the Server.
• It will load the Plex Web App.

Signing in to Plex Accounts: Want to get most of your Plex? Always sign in to your Plex account through “Settings > Server > General”. Not only will you have complete access to all your media files, but also it makes sure the functionality is working fine.

How to Setup Plex Media Server: The following three important things to keep in mind to complete the Plex Media Server setup.

• The Setup Wizard: When running, the Setup Wizard leads you through a set of instructions so that you can name your server and set up your media libraries in a hassle-free manner.
• Add Media and Set up Libraries: Setting up libraries is important. Libraries can be set up for music, movies, TV shows, home videos, and photos. Also, prepare a test folder for each media type.
• Test Media Playback with Plex Web App: After the set up process is over, you may want to click on media to see whether it is working well.

Install Plex Apps: To install the Plex Apps, you need to –

• Download Apps: Download an app for your device – Smart TV, Xbox, iPhone, Roku, or Android.
• Network Connectivity: Are you trying to access the Plex Server from another device (outside of your home network)? You may need remote access to set up.

If the app and the server are on the same network, you will have a great experience. (You can browse and play any media from your device.)

• Watch Media While Away from Home: This is the default feature of the Plex Media Server. It will set up the Remote Access feature automatically.