Plex, the popular media organizer, streaming solution, and media player, is now available on the Apple TV. The app, which is available as a free download from the App Store, helps users organize videos, music, TV shows, photo collections, and is able to stream content to the television connected to an Apple TV.
In addition, users can take advantage of special channels for access to even more content like Twitch, Comedy Central, BBC, and more. Plex can stream content stored directly on a local computer with the Plex Media Server installed, or a NAS setup for a media streaming solution that’s a bit more robust. Needless to say, Plex has been highly anticipated for new Apple TV users since day one, and it’s finally here.
Once Plex is installed on your Apple TV, it’s just a matter of setting up the Media Server on the machine that you plan on using to host your media. The nice thing about Plex is that it’s able to transcode a variety of different filetypes, so chances are, the movies that you have on your computer or NAS will be recognized and ultimately playable on the big screen.
The app features an in-app subscription purchase that allows you to add the Plex Pass—a solution to access extra benefits like parental controls, automatic movie trailers and extras, upgraded music experience with high definition music videos, and more. The Plex Pass isn’t a requirement to stream content from your devices, but it results in a more feature-filled experience that fleshes out movie organization and playback.
At its heart, Plex is all about movie organization, sorting, and playback. Remember, it’s based on a forked version of XBMC/Kodi, which itself was and still is all about movie management, organization, and playback. If you’re looking to be able to host and play back all of your movies from a central server or PC, then Plex is a valuable component that you should definitely investigate. If you’re someone who rips all of your DVDs and Blu-rays for archival purposes, then Plex is simply a no-brainer.
Again, Plex is available for free, and is a universal app. That means that it’s available on both iOS (iPhone and iPad) and tvOS. It’s also already optimized for the upcoming iPad Pro, which is rumored to launch next Wednesday.