Do not use the root of your drive as a folder location. Its really just meant as a way to check that the file will indeed play. Enabling this option will attempt to import your music playlists from iTunes. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. If youd like to be able to access your library away from your home network, Plex makes it easy to do so. In the main Plex screen (Home icon on the top left), click "+" next to "LIBRARIES". If you are considering installing Kodi, we recommend looking over our Kodi explainer to learn how to safeguard against cyberattacks or any other potential problem that might occur with third-party add-ons. How to Use Cron With Your Docker Containers, How to Use Docker to Containerize PHP and Apache, How to Pass Environment Variables to Docker Containers, How to Check If Your Server Is Vulnerable to the log4j Java Exploit (Log4Shell), How to Use State in Functional React Components, How to Restart Kubernetes Pods With Kubectl, How to Find Your Apache Configuration Folder, How to Assign a Static IP to a Docker Container, How to Get Started With Portainer, a Web UI for Docker, How to Configure Cache-Control Headers in NGINX, How to Set Variables In Your GitLab CI Pipelines, How to Use an NVIDIA GPU with Docker Containers, How Does Git Reset Actually Work? As weve mentioned, there is a Plex client for just about every device on the market. Metadata refers to any data relevant to a movie or TV show besides the video itself. Plex has always given you the ability to customize your library, but today we're rolling out an update for iOS and Android that gives you even more control over your overall experience. You can even upload your own if you prefer an alternate poster. Maybe you only want movie and TV content pinned on one device, but on a different device, youd prefer quick access to music and the free TV streaming Plex provides. If you run your own Plex Media Server, you likely want to have all your own personal media libraries pinned. Similar in many ways to free, ad-supported services like the Roku Channel, Plex Free Movies and TV is both an add-on to your personal Plex experience and a standalone service. Theres no harm in trying both to see which suits your usage best. A sufficiently fast Wi-Fi network (routers and devices that support 802.11ac are best) can work too, but youll need excellent signal strength to support streaming in 4K/HDR. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. With the right add-ons, you can do more than simply play local and stream remote media with Kodi. I found the option to edit the home screen, but when I "pin" my library, it just shows "added recently", instead of the whole library. Many devices, including smart TVs and Android TV boxes, come with the Plex client pre-loaded, so theres nothing to download. But if youre a Plex Media Server user, you can access it through the same interface as your private library of content theres no separate app to download or install. Youll first need to set some general information for the library. Heres everything you need to know about how to use Plex. Plex provides numerous perks and minimal restrictions to help you manage and centralize your media library. : Customizations are associated with the particular browser instance. And sharing your library with other people can also slow down your home internet speeds. Though both are solid choices, there are some notable differences that can help you decide between them. How To Use Custom Media Artwork On Your Plex Media Center Plex Now Lets You Add All Your Streaming Services In One Place If you have an existing account but haven't logged in recently, when you next log in, you will be required to update your password. Enjoy Deep Control of Rows from Personal Libraries For folks who run their own Plex Media Server, you can have even more control over which rows will appear on an app home screen for a particular pinned personal media library. However, it's still good practice to keep every library in its own. You may be able to get away with a less powerful PC with this option enabled. Step 1: Simply download the appropriate installer and follow the instructions. Downloads for Windows, macOS, Linux Desktop, Direct Play, Direct Stream, Transcoding Overview, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information / Opt-out of Targeted Advertising. If you would like to completely reset your sidebar navigation and home screen configuration, this can be done by: Selecting this option will direct you back to the Plex Web Setup screen, where you will be prompted to select a server, media providers, and customize your navigation sidebar. The best thing you can do to make sure your Plex library looks good is to name and organize your files in a way that Plex likes. (Plex Pass required), When a red band trailer is available, use that when adding a trailer to your library. But since they come from third parties, you can end up with spoilers in your descriptions. He's invested in the Apple ecosystem, with experience covering Macs, iPhones, and iPads for publications like Zapier and MakeUseOf. You should now be familiar with how to use Plex. Setting up an iPad for our daughter and I'd like to pin a few of the movies she always likes to the home screen rather than having her search. The order of pinned items in your home sidebar will control the order of the content on your Home screen. Once the media server is fully installed, it will open a new browser window, which contains the Plex web app. Under Settings, click "Remote Access." If you see a check mark, remote access is enabled. Related Page: Video Preview Thumbnails. STH Project TinyMiniMicro the Plex Server Setup Guide Click on the Settings icon in top-right corner of the Plex web interface. Therefore, we recommend Plex for those of you who want to organize and retrieve your media. Cookie Notice If you have a huge library of TV shows and movies, Plex is one of the best ways to manage and stream it to all your devices. While this feature makes streams faster, it can also fill up the storage on your computer at home more quickly, so pick which movies to optimize carefully. Customizing Plex Web | Plex Support Reorder the Playlist source from your Plex Media Server to be at the top of the sidebar. It will also prioritize streaming services that you are subscribed to, with free options listed before any paid or rental options. Kodi is an endpoint for your media that needs to run on a device thats connected directly to your main TV (or projector). If you'd rather stream from a single local server to numerous local or remote devices, Plex is the better choice. With the free app, you can build your own personal media server and stream any videos from your computer to your TV or smartphone, no matter where you are. The critical difference is that it goes about the actions differently. Read More: The best streaming services to replace your cable. window.videoEmbeds.push({ Kodis interface is beautiful and functional out of the box, but its also highly customizable with downloadable skins. The simplest solution is an automatic feature known as Relay(Opens in a new window). The universal watchlist is a helpful tool as well, eliminating the need for you to keep separate lists on each of your services you can keep them in one place. Tim Brookes is a technology writer with more than a decade of experience. This way, you can search for something to watch without switching back and forth between different apps. This page is community-driven and not run by or affiliated with Plex, Inc. For every kind of file (movies, multi-part movies, TV shows that have multiple seasons and episodes, etc. ), theres a Plex-preferred naming style. Once thats done, tell your friends and family to create a free Plex account(s) and then tell you the email they used to create it. PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. For folks who run their own Plex Media Server, you can have even more control over which rows will appear on an app home screen for a particular pinned personal media library. Plex is simple-to-use software that brings together all your different types of media, and it also is pretty easy to install. Thats accomplished by managing the recommendations for that particular library. From the navigation sidebar, youll be able to choose which source to view, if you have access to more than one. Tim Brookes is a technology writer with more than a decade of experience. Each item listed in the navigation sidebar can be reordered or unpinned by highlighting the item, selecting the entry, and clicking Reorder. Playing that track in a supported app will then resume from where you left off. Mobile sync: A must-have for commuters, this feature lets you wirelessly keep copies of your favorite media on your phone for offline playback. First, while it's not strictly necessary, it's often best to create nested folders for every show, season, and possibly episode, if the episode is broken up into multiple files. Many of these web shows and podcasts can be found on other services, like YouTube, but having them accessible within Plex is a little more convenient. Choose the folder to add then click Next. There are several useful tricks and tools buried in the Plex server application's settings that can help you keep things organized and the content flowing. Including, but not limited to: Title: Editing a film or series title will change the name of the movie as it's displayed in your library. You've already provided feedback for this article, thank you for helping us improve our articles. Now use the "Browse For Media Folder" button to add any relevant folders you want included in that collection. You can also just select the Start button to start immediately. The default Agent is automatically selected when you create the library but you can change it by clicking the dropdown and selecting the one you want. You candownload and install Plex Media Serveron a large number of devices, including desktop computers (Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD) andnetwork-attached storage drives. Lastly, Kodi is a completely free and open-source solution. mlbarratt. Click, Once youve added all the source folders for this library, click, Enable the main setting under Settings > Server > Library. Plex covers all the major players, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and many of the smaller, niche services, too, so you should have no problem adding your favorites. Step 1: Run the Plex Media Server on your computer, or compatible NAS device, or others. After you have done that, press the Add Library button and select Movies and press Next. Kodi doesnt work on Roku, Amazons Fire TV, or Apple TV without a significant amount of heavy lifting to install and use it. It will cause problems. That would cause the row of playlists to appear right below Continue Watching. You've already provided feedback for this article, thank you. Thank you for helping us improve our articles. Move her approved movies to a folder, make a library from that folder, and then add the new folder to your existing library for you to use. To mitigate the damage, the Plex server lets you set limits on how much of your bandwidth streams can use. and our Make an appropriate folder and put your media in that, such as D:/Movies. As in, all artists showing. Step 3: You can store your movies, music, and other files anywhere you like, in as many different folders or hard drives (both locally or on network shares) and Plex will keep everything organized. However the moment your needs become more demanding, youre probably going to want to run your server on a desktop or laptop. Select the folders where your content is located. The most common way to fix library mistakes is to rename your files. For more information, please see our Plex User Guide - How to Add/Get Movies to Plex Library - WinXDVD