There are so many reasons why we prefer Plex over iTunes, but if you're looking for just one from us to share, it has to be the ability to remotely access and stream your media library on any device, wherever you have internet access.
Preparing your media files for Plex
Before you begin installing Plex Media Server, it's highly recommended that you check your media collection has been named and organised in a manner which Plex will understand. If not, you may notice content isn't recognised, is mis-matched, or not found at all.
If you hired DigiRAW, you can be sure accurate file naming has been completed for you. But if you have your own creations, here's how your files should look.
- Movies are collated together in a "Movies" type folder, TV Shows in a "TV Shows" folder etc.
- Movies are named as follows...
Movie_Name (Release_Year)
e.g. Suicide Squad (2016)
Look up is easy, find your movie at the The Movie Database
- TV Show episodes are named with the season and episode:
Show_Name SxxExx
e.g. American Crime Story S01E01
Look up is easy, find your TV Shows at the The TV Database
- TV Show episodes are stored in their own folder as follows:
/TV Shows/Show Name/Season/episodes
e.g., /TV Shows/American Crime Story/American Crime Story S01E01.mp4
- For TV shows, the folder structure can be very important. Make sure you have show folders that contain season folders that contain the episodes
Tip!: It's important to understand that Plex Media Server does not have its own graphical user interface. When you run the server on your computer, NAS, or other device, you won't see a window open with a "server UI" or similar. Instead, you use the Plex Web App to manage your server.
Download Plex Media Server
The Plex Media Server can be downloaded for free from the Plex Downloads page. There are many platforms available:
◦ Windows
◦ Mac OS X
◦ Linux
◦ Compatible NAS devices
From the Downloads page, choose the platform or device you need, and download the installer. The Plex download page looks like the below example...
Get a Plex App
While you're on the Plex Downloads page, you may wish to download a player app as well. The server includes the browser based Plex Web App, but you'll probably want to download an app for other devices. There are many available:
- Desktop PCs: Plex Home Theatre (Windows or OS X) or the Plex for Windows app (from the Windows Store)
- Mobile Devices: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
- Connected Devices: Apple TV4, Android TV, game consoles, Roku, Smart TVs, Amazon Fire and more
1. Download Plex Media Server
The central brain that organises all of your media.
1. Stream to any device
Install Plex apps on your favourite mobile and streaming devices, gaming consoles, or smart TVs and get access to your media wherever you are.
2. Add your media
Plex recognises just about any kind of video, music, or photo format and displays all of your content in an easy-to-navigate interface.
Plex Media Server Installation
The server is available for many different platforms. Installation is always via a downloadable installation package and follows the platform's usual installation method. For NAS devices, you should follow the manufacturer's add-on installation procedure.
Note: You'll need to be sure to run your Plex Media Server on a filesystem that allows symlinks/hardlinks. For the vast majority of users, this isn't an issue. If you're running on an unusual filesystem (such as a drive pool or similar), then you should check PLEX for support.
-
Windows
- Download the Windows Installer .exe file
- Run the installer
- Follow the usual installation method
- At the final screen, click the Launch button. If you don't select this, launch the Server from the Start button
The Plex Media Server will launch and install an icon to the System Tray (bottom right of the screen) To setup the Plex Media Server, choose Open Plex... from the Plex icon in the system tray.
-
OS X
- Download the Plex Media Server .zip
- Unzip the file
- Drag the Plex Media Server app to the Applications folder
- Launch the Plex Media Server from the Applications folder
To setup Plex Media Server from the server computer, launch the Open Plex... from either the ">" icon in your Mac's menubar, or right clicking server icon in the dock.
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Linux
Below, you'll find information on installing Plex Media Server for our supported Linux distributions. Once installation is complete, you can also choose to enable updating via repository.
Related Page: Enable repository updating for supported Linux server distributions
Ubuntu- Download the .deb package
- run sudo dpkg -i plexmediaserver_0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd_amd64.deb (replacing the last filename with the name of the package you downloaded)
To setup Plex Media Server, on the same machine you installed the server on, open a browser window, and go to http://127.0.0.1:32400/web.Note: The Plex Media Server runs as the user "plex" by default. The plex user must have read and execute permissions to your media directories and files! For more details on how to do this, see the Linux Permissions Guide.
Fedora/CentOS
- Download the .rpm package
- run sudo yum install plexmediaserver_0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd_x86_64.rpm (replacing the last filename with the name of the package you downloaded)
To setup the Server, on the same machine you installed the Server on, open a browser window and go to http://127.0.0.1:32400/web.Note: The Plex Media Server runs as the user "plex" by default. The plex user must have read and execute permissions to your media directories and files! For more details on how to do this, see the Linux Permissions Guide.
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NAS Devices
- Download the installation package appropriate to your device
- Follow the NAS manufacturer's installation procedure to install the Plex Media Server
- If you have problems, visit the Plex Media Server NAS forums and search for your device for help
To setup the server, open a browser window and go to http://local.nas.ip.address:32400/web (e.g http://192.168.1.5:32400/web).
Related Page: Server > Opening Plex Web App
Related Page: Forums > Plex Media Server > NAS
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