Should work for existing users.
Put on your party hats—Plex Pass turns 8 today—and we want you here for the celebration! 🥳 Now through 5:59 AM PT on 8.29.2020 a Lifetime Plex Pass can be yours for only $88 USD. Price may vary depending on location and currency. Use code 8PLEXPASS8
Note: Paying in Brazilian Real may yield a cheaper price. See topic
Curious, does the QR code in your pfp link to anything?
No shouldn't do…
Damn, I was hoping to find some secret message 😂
@WoodYouLikeSomeCash: I just scanned it with qr code reader and it's compressed into bbg format, not sure what app you need to decode it.
Usual disclaimer, if you just want to watch video files you have downloaded within your home network, and you have iOS/TV OS devices, then you will probably be better served by Infuse. Infuse is the more elegant solution, all you need to do is share a folder on your computer to the network, and on Infuse you set it to use that folder. Then you can browse that folder to choose what to watch, or you can use Infuse's built in media library so it's like browsing Netflix but it's all your own stuff, all automatically sorted and categorized. The difference with Infuse is this media library sorting is done in Infuse, on your iOS device itself. Plex makes your computer take care of all that. Also Plex will often transcode the video on your computer and them beam that transcoded stream to your device. With Infuse there is none of that, your computer is just serving up the file as-is and all the decoding and stuff is done on your playback device itself. Infuse has paid licenses for Dolby HD audio or something built in, whatever I'm not sure, but it plays everything I throw at it just fine. It feels like the VLC of of home streaming, it just works. It won't do music though.
Plex + infuse generally works best
Infuse is great app (I’m subscriber), but it don’t do Live TV. Free iPhone/iPad VLC app can read from network share AND do music.
Btw. “Dolby” and.”DTS” are just headlines - since Infuse don’t do headphone profiles, you can’t hear surround. Just means app can read format without external transcoding.
It does surround on Apple TV.
@AustriaBargain: Beaten to edit. I suspect most users are iPhone/iPad, though.
Btw. Dolby and DTS decoding are built-in IOS features - Infuse don’t do themselves - maybe pay royalties.
@AlexF: All I know is that it plays everything. Maybe in a PCM stream or whatever for some, but I don’t care about seeing the logo on the recurved, I just want to hear the sound. Whether Infuse or my recurved does the initial decoding doesn’t matter to me.
Infuse is great, but the fact that it is apple only is a major limitation. I can run plex directly on my android tv, windows or Mac devices, phones and tablets, or Apple TV.
But you're right, infuse playback is generally better than plex in that it does not transcode. I have my files and plex server running on a synology 918+ so I haven't had any issues with the transcode (ie it's invisible to the user).
So Infuse is not available for Android yet?
Hard to compare Infuse with Plex, as Infuse does not have profiles, does not support Live TV / DVR, and device support is extremely limited.
Transcoding local media using Plex is a thing of the past for boxes like the Apple TV and Nvidia Shield - everything direct plays.
Saying that, the Plex experience on Apple TV is sub par compared to something like the Shield, as it lacks support for Dolby Vision, has no True HD Atmos / DTS:X, does not pass correct HDR metadata, does not support resolution matching, has poor Live TV de-interlacing, can't run Plex server, and struggles with bitrates above 120Mbps.
Are you using Plex live TV/DVR on a Shield? My Plex server is on a Synology DS918+ I have a HDHomeRun and I'm watching on a Shield TV. The live TV audio slowly goes out of sync with the video over time. If I exit out and back in it will be in sync again, but will slowly go out of sync again. This affects the DVR too, recorded TV the audio slowly goes further and further out of sync with the video.
@sav11: Yeah I am using a Shield with my Plex server on a Windows 10 PC.
I don't experience that audio issue, but feel free to send me a PM if you want to compare settings and troubleshoot etc.
@sav11: I have the same nas and mostly playback on android tv client connected to home theatre receiver. No audio sync issues on mine.
Plex was really clunky on synology nas vs media server which is flawless. Can someone explain the point of plex to me?
Server/client streaming architecture, and on-demand transcoding.
Hmm yea. But as I say the free and no mucking around media server is fast and flawless, unlike plex. Strange.
Are you talking about ease of use or performance? What parts of those were difficult? I've found the free version of Plex quick and easy to setup on my Synology and performance for me has been great. It will cripple some of the J series Synology's and those with less than 1GB of memory.
It gives a Netflix like experience with organising your media and can do transcoding through the app, so for example some TVs can access media through DLNA but they might not support the file format. It also allows sharing your media with family and friends. I've setup the Plex app at my parents place on their TV and they can pull media from my setup, bandwidth wise for 1080p it works fine and works without issue even on their 25Mbps NBN plan and my 20Mbps upload.
It wasn't the user that was having trouble, more the platform. Plex performed like trash and would crash and the Media server performed exceptionally well. The user is quite experienced in IT and spent a long time trying to fix Plex. In the end, the user was left wondering why Plex exists when Media server works so well and Plex doesn't.
I have a synology and Plex is light years more capable. Media server is just a dumb dlna client. Not even slightly comparable.
Just wondering what more than reliably playing media you actually need? Are thumbnails very important? Plex seems to struggle with its primary function so the rest of the features really do seem secondary.
@Budju: Firstly, it doesn't struggle with its primary function. Playback on my home theatre system via android tv app with synology media server is flawless, and it feeds into my AVR with full digital audio passthru.
Secondly, it's not about thumbnails. The fact that you think that is what plex does indicates you have never properly used it.
Apart from playback, what it does is collect metadata. Why is this more than "thumbnails"? Well metadata is genre, style, actors, artists, similarity metadata, year of production.
So for movies and TV it makes a collection of media files behave like Netflix. You can browse by title or genre or year etc - all the basic stuff. But if you go into a movie or series, it shows you the director and actors etc and these link to other movies/shows - again much like Netflix.
For music, you get playback features like Apple Music/Spotify. Play random music, play random music from the 80s, show me artists or albums similar to the one I'm viewing. Lots of stuff.
You can group your stuff into libraries. So when I open plex, I have movies, tv shows, AAC music, FLAC music, multichannel music, jazz music, music videos, downloaded videos.
You have user accounts, so you can limit kids to certain ratings show. You can limit remote users (like my parents/siblings) to only seeing my music but not remote streaming my 4k movies and killing my upload.
It logs usage - so I can see what movies, tv shows and music are being played by remote users. I can manage the metadata and even delete the actual files from the NAS storage using the admin account.
It remembers where you were up to on each show/movie. So you can start watching on the big TV, continue playback on my phone on the toilet, finish the movie on tablet in bed.
it does live TV and PVR functions using any BDA compatible tv card, which I don't use.
It can sync the files to local devices, or stream remotely. For example the plex iPhone app looks like Spotify but is playing my files. It even shows up on my CarPlay and is functionally equivalent to AM/Spotify in terms of playback etc.
The app also functions as a remote control, so if I'm playing music on the TV/home theatre my phone or tablet can show the playback controls and library control. So I can be controlling what I play with the phone while cooking dinner but it's playing on my big speakers in the other room.
Seriously it does a lot. It's hard to explain. Look at the links here https://www.plex.tv/en-au/your-media/
Thanks !!!
its been cheaper not the best deal but still a deal will up vote
Thanks, been cheaper but been waiting for it to come on some form of sale so im all in :) cheers OP
Does Live TV support Australian EPG for DVR? Does is show Australian subtitles and multiple audio (AD)?
I recorded bananas in pyjamas the other day as a test
which DVR tuner are you using? silicondust HDHomeRun?
and how did you get the Australia EPG? pay subscription through iceTV? as suggested by the FAQ?
and can it identify ad break and skip it?
ad removal is an experimental feature
I'm using a HDHomeRun with it.
Also using free XML data from http://xmltv.net as tonyamazing said below. Mine has recently lost data for all the 10 channels though (10, Peach, Bold etc).
The ad removal feature works perfectly.
So, that answer to EPG - no, not the one over the broadcast - need to find auxiliary source - ICETV sub$cription, or, free scrapers and hope it lasts.
What about the broadcasted subtitles and alternative audio streams? I’m guessing no to those too.
For those interested - Silicondust’s own free app can’t show Australian subtitles, but other apps, eg. WMC, can.
It used to support the OTA broadcast EPG but they removed it last year or earlier this year. So far http://xmltv.net was working well for free. But recently mine lost EPG data for all the 10 channels (10, Bold, Peach etc). They have a deal for ICE TV specific subscription for Plex AUD$4/month https://www.icetv.com.au/plex-subscription/.
I'm not sure about subtitles and audio streams. SBS world movies in other languages has English subtitles.
I am assuming you are referring to TV captions? Plex Live TV does have an option to view captions. But, the Plex video player keeps crashing whenever I try to activate it. This might be because I am using a Sony PlayTV tuner, which is not officially supported?
Tidal and Plex aren’t comparable platforms…
How does the fact that Tidal integrates with Plex suggest that they are equivalents or alternatives?
@Gonltruck: Plex used to try and flog Tidal with it
Still testing Tidal hifi for 4$ a month and the MQA streaming is great with a compatible DAC and head phone setup.
I just don't see what features of the Plex pass you really need that you don't get with the free version
Used to be 99
Let me know when there's a free time travel machine* deal to complement the $99
*must travel in both directions
Don’t need time machine. Hop into alternate universe that’s a bit behind.
So what do you need that the free version doesn't do, I did a comparison once, didn't seem like a lot
Thanks OP! Been waiting for a discount! Not the best deal they have had but it will do for me.
Great program but I just don't need anything but the free package.
What is this used for?
For purchasing Plex Pass
I asked about plex, is it streaming thing ?
Its network media streaming software. To put it simply, it lets you access your movies, tv shows and music that are stored on your computer (or a server) wirelessly from your phone, other laptop, or TV in the house
@Modesty: Sort of. But as far as I'm aware Chromecast requires you to physically use the source device and "cast to" the receiving device.
Plex is controlled from the receiving device i.e. you don't have to get off the couch it just finds the media on your device
Plex is used to organise all your media into an easily used format. My Mrs and 5 year old can use it easily. It allows you to group your media however you want it, TV Shows, Movies, Kids movies etc. It will then display a cover picture as well as synopsis, movie previews, interview with actors etc. Each user on the server can get their own account which can be parental permissioned if you want but more importantly will remember whether each account has watched a show or movie. That way your not trying to figure out what was the last show you watched. You can connect any device you want to it including Chromescast so it works easily on my TV and I use my phone to control it. You can also pause something and watch it later on a differnet device.
Plex pass also allows you to stream it over the web so I can watch it on the train etc.
@Modesty: Yes you download everything to one device or network storage then your plex server makes it pretty and streams it to all your devices.
@sav11: That device needs to be turned on where files are stored? Whats the purpose of this connecting to chromecast, as if someone has smart tv or chromecast they can directly cast over there , so whats the need of plex then? I know its something good as manh people use it but i can't find it useful for me in any way.
@Modesty: Yes the device that has Plex server installed has to be turned on for other devices to stream from it. The files can be stored on any network connected storage (doesn't have to be the same device as the Plex server).
Basically Plex is great if you have your own content you want to stream locally. If you don't have or want your own content, and just stream everything over the internet then you have no need for Plex.
@Modesty: BTW all these features work with the free version of Plex. You only need Plex Pass for advanced features e.g. parental controls, remote streaming outside your network, live TV DVR with auto ad removal etc.
@Scythic: Yes the device you have Plex server installed on has to be powered on for devices to be able to stream from it.
The media doesn't have to be on the same device as the Plex server i.e you can have it on any network storage then point the Plex server to it.
Primarily for those who have pirated music / films, you can stream it through an app via a media server (PC).
used Plex a lot when i was downloading movies to my RP2. The free version offers a lot already.
The Skip Intro function of a Plex Pass subscription is the nuts.
Agree, that's a great feature they added.
hey guys, never used Plex before. can anyone fill me in on what you can get in terms of streaming services?
Nothing. It streams whatever media you already own (legally or otherwise)
Sorry, thought the question was related to music streaming - to which the answer is still nothing, although it integrates with Tidal if you pay for it
@muncan: Eh? I can't see anything in that link that talks about music streaming services, unless you are referring to music TV channels. I don't think anyone would refer to that as a music streaming service since pimp my ride was a cool show on MTV.
@Gonltruck: Sorry I didn’t realise the question the OC asked was specifically referring to music streaming services.
I’ll go now.
Can I have two plex servers with plex pass on the same plex pass subscription - like a synology nas and a pc? My nas isn't fast enough to do transcoding so I need to turn on a pc for that when needed.
Yes. I have a server and a laptop running dual servers.
You can have as many servers as you want :)
Thanks for the replies. I suppose that means families could share the plex pass subscription as long as they use the same login.
I stopped using multiple servers as it sucked. Each one is separate so e.g. it doesn't know what shows you've watched on the other server (even though you're using the same account).
You can use your plex pass features on your server and create accounts for other family members. The plex pass features work for all and your account is the master account with plex pass subscription. You don't have to all use the same account/login.
If you pay via PayPal and set your billing country to Brazil the subscription cost drops to BRL366 ~AUD$93. Just tried and works. Credit to some comments on Reddit.
Legend! R$366.66 BRL -> $97.62 AUD is what i ended up with via CC.
Thanks man. Can confirm this works as I just bought it for $97.62 AUD. Your a legend mate.
Where do you set the billing country? In Plex or Paypal?
I can't see an option in either.
When you go to the billing for plex choose paypal method apply the code and then select country as brazil.
nice find!
I did this also, but I couldn't figure out how to remove paypal conversion rate, normally you can choose to use the cards rate. So I ended up also getting $97.62 but inclusive of Paypal's conversion fee.
Didn’t work. Selected Brazil on the PayPal page which changed the language - logged in and paid. Charged me the same amount 118aud. What am I doing wrong ?
awesome dude! I got it too for $97.20 with conversion. You champion!
Jellyfin is open source and good enough to replace Plex for most people
I agree with you.
Until last week I was using Plex and had urge to by Plex pass. Luckily, I switched to Jellyfin and no longer needed it. saved $$$
Thanks to you both, never heard about JellyFish (I have used Emby and Plex before)… So does Jellyfin work on Android TV OS (Vodafone TV) and similar to Plex you will also require a server?
Also does it have Advertising? I haven't used Plex for a while but I read somewhere that there are ads built-in to it?!
Thanks again for the suggestion
Yes, It works on mobile phone,TV (not sure about vodafone TV). Check it out here: https://jellyfin.org/
Exactly like Plex but better!
Yeah there's an Android TV app
Quick one , sorry haven’t tried It yet but does JellyFin have sharing your libraries like Plex does ?
Yes, You can share libraries. Your friends don't have to sign-up with Jellyfin.
From my understanding it's not necessarily easy if you're not on the same lan, unlike plex. I looked into this a few months ago and it seems like the recommended way to setup remote access is via a reverse proxy (e.g. using nginx) attached to your own ip, likely via ddns. This is complicated to set up, but if done correctly would allow you to access the server from anywhere on the internet by navigating to the url and logging in.
Another option I was considering was to host a VPN on the same network as the server. That would be free at least, and in principle should work, though I didn't see much discussion about it online.
Love Plex, and I personally use the Plex Pass features daily (mainly Live TV / DVR and Parental Controls), although for most common tasks, a Plex Pass is not needed:
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reasons-do-not-need-plex-pass/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201751006-plex-pass-feature…
Pro tip: If you run Plex server on your Nvidia Shield or WD My Cloud Pro, you don't need a Plex Pass for Hardware-Accelerated Streaming:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware…