Plex now has become the hottest gear which is both a HD media player and also powerful media server. As for the media server, it is similar with the DLAN. But they do have differences. We all know about the format and codec thing , which always cause us into a dilemma, you have to first, figure out the format your devices support then start your transfer. It can be a very time consuming thing but for Plex media server. Differ from the DLNA media servers, it can transcode the videos while playing them on any device running the Plex Media Client. This may be the biggest differences between those two media servers. In this article, you can have a quick learning about how to play any video on your chromecast or Apple TV, etc.
Part I: Simple explore about Plex
You can download the Plex from the official website.
Configure the Plex
Plex is a little more complicated than other media servers. Here are sever steps for you to know:
1. Organize your files
Beofore you do anything with Plex , it is important to organize all your files the way Plex asked.You have to pur all your Movies, TV Shows and Home Videos into separate folders, which sub-folder for each bit of contect.
The structure of TV shows: \TV Shows\Show Name\Season\episodes
For TV Shows, the folder structure is important. Make sure show folders contain season folders that contain the actual episode files
For movies, ,music naming type ,check here.
2. Connect to the Plex Server and sign in
Once you’ve organized your files, you can connect to the Plex Server to configure it. Configuration is all done through the web interface, which you access through a browser. If you’re trying to access the server from the same computer it’s installed on you can use http://127.0.0.1:32400/web, as this is a special IP address that means ‘this computer’.
Once done your first job is to sign in to your Plex account. Click the icon of the person and click Sign In. Enter your Plex username or registered email address and password; if you didn’t register you can sign-up for a free Plex account.
3. Add libraries and channels to the Plex Server
Now you can freely add your own media to the server. Click the Home icon (looks like a house). Your own content is organized into Libraries. Click the ‘+’ icon next to other Libraries, then choose the type of content (Movies, TV Shows, Home Videos, Photos and Music), then browse to the folder that contains these files. Note, Plex will scan sub-directories, so you only need to add the master containing folder.
Stream from Plex
For the full experience you need to use a Plex app.
– Desktop (free):
– Mobile Devices (paid):
– Other Devices (free):
With all of these devices, as long as you’re on the same network as your server, you just open up the Plex client and it will detect the server automatically letting you play all of your content.
Part II: Plex with Apple TV, Chromecast
1. With Apple TV
First thing you need is a Plex iOS app. Once installed the app, just connect to your Plex Media Server and find what you want to watch. Click the Cast/AirPlay button (a TV with the wireless signal), then select your Apple TV, and at the same time you can still use your tablet or phone without interrupting the stream.
2. With Chromecast
Before you deal with your Chromecast, you should use mobile apps, which you have to pay for. But for the computer, it’s free.
After install the Plex app , open it then browse to contect you want to play, tap the Cast button (a small TV with a wireless signal). After that, choose the Chromecast that you want to send the content to.
Part III: Wonder how to make wired video codec recognize by Plex
During the using process, you may want to share the videos through Plex with your friends and families. But for now the 4K codec which often goes for XAVC, H.265 may be a really tricky one for Plex. So how to make those codecs smoothly identified by Plex?
Here you need a all-in-one converter for better enjoy with Plex. Easy to transcode your files into proper format that Plex can support like H.264 MP4 which can be directly played. Simple steps to go through:
Step 1. Download, install and launch this Plex all-in-one converter.
Step 2. Load your videos videos by clicking “File” -> “Add Video/Audio”
Step 3. Choose “HD Video” -> “H.264 HD Video (*.mp4)” as your output format
Step 4. Start to convert your raw videos into H.264 MP4 for Plex
After those four simple steps, when you re-identify your videos by Plex , it will be no problem for match. Let’s just join this Plex world for unprecedented multimedia visual feast!
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