We have all the tips, tricks, tutorials, and guides you’ll need to become a full-fledged master of Plex Media. Newbies and veterans, welcome!
Have you ever wanted to run your own personal Netflix-type service within your own home? Imagine if you could load up all of your digital movies, TV shows, music, and more onto a single device, then be able to stream it on any device on the same internet network.
Well, Plex lets you do that—and so much more. Plex is one of the best home media solutions available today. And the best part? It’s free to use! There are some non-essential convenience features that do require a paid subscription, but they’re truly non-essential. The best bits of Plex are, indeed, all free.
If you’ve never even heard of Plex before, you’ll want to check out our complete newbie’s guide to Plex. It’s long, it’s comprehensive, and it’s everything you need to get started even with zero knowledge.
Choosing a Device as Your Plex Media Server
The beauty of Plex is that it can run on many devices: most computers, certain gaming consoles, network-attached storage (NAS) drives, and even some routers. Perfect for an always-on home media streaming solution!
- What’s the Best Device to Use as a Plex Media Server?
- How to Watch Plex Media Using a Raspberry Pi
- The Best Prebuilt, DIY, and NAS Drives for a Plex Media Server
If you just want to stream Plex off of your laptop or computer, check out our Plex newbie guide that was linked up above!
Configuring Your Plex Media Server
Once the Plex software is installed and running on your device of choice, you’ll want to get it properly set up for your needs. Check out these tips and tricks that we’ve compiled over the years:
- Essential Plex Settings That All Users Need to Know
- Hidden Plex Settings That You May Have Overlooked
- How to Enable Subtitles on Plex
- How to Unlock Unofficial Channels on Plex
- The Best Unofficial Plex Channels to Install
More Plex Tips and Tricks
The general idea of Plex is simple—you select what you want to stream, and stream it—but you can take things up another level with some of the tips and tricks below:
- Plex Tips and Tricks You Should Start Using
- How to Watch Your Plex Media From Anywhere
- How to Watch Plex in Sync With Friends Anywhere
- How to Control Plex Using Amazon Alexa
- The Best Plex Web Shows You Can Watch for Free
An Even Better Plex Experience
The default Plex software is pretty great right out of the box. However, you can definitely improve the experience using third-party software, apps, and plugins that Plex fans have created over the years:
- The Best Plex Clients for Watching Your Media
- The Best Plex Apps That Make Plex Even Better
- How to Sideload Plex Plugins
- The Best Plex Plugins for Power Users (requires knowing how to sideload plugins)
Understanding Plex’s Paid Features
If you’ve gotten this far, you might be wondering what kinds of “non-essential” features are hidden behind Plex’s paid subscription called Plex Pass:
- What Is Plex Pass and What Do You Get for Your Money?
- Why You Probably Don’t Need Plex Pass
- What Is Plex Live TV? Everything You Need to Know
- How to Watch and Record Live TV Using Plex DVR
Alternatives to Plex Media Server
Plex is arguably the best at what it does, but there are several alternatives out there in case you find that Plex isn’t exactly the right solution for you:
- Plex vs. Emby: Which Is Better?
- The Best Plex Alternatives for Streaming Music
- The Best Media Server Software for Linux
Read the full article: Mastering Plex Media: The 25+ Best Tips, Tricks, Tutorials, and Guides
