How Plex Works: A Quick, High-Level Overview

Plex is arguably one of the most innovative and advanced media server/streaming services in the market today. It’s so useful to the extent that a lot of people utilize it to its full extent – not just for its storing purposes!

It’s something that you can use as a primary device to watch and load media from your phone or hard drive on your laptop or computer! And while its offers and features seem out-of-this-world, there have been reports where it does not work on a couple of smart TVs. So, before you search about fixing a couple of Samsung TV Plex issues or try to remedy errors, you first need to learn how plex works.

You can use Plex flexibly; you can use it as a third-party streaming platform, as well as for accessing and streaming the media server you’ve set. It’s compatible with a wide array of platforms and operating systems.

How Does Plex Work?

People get and use Plex because of its primary feature – which establishes media servers across all your devices. What this means is Plex will take stored videos from one location and stream/send it to a receiver or any device that can stream.

It’s a streaming service but it’s not like Netflix because you’ll be streaming your content from your own remote server. However, you’ll also be able to access some movies, TV shows, even podcasts that are ad-supported – and this has been on since 2019.

Streaming Third-Party Content

Following what we mentioned about streaming ad-supported free content, accessing it will be easy. You simply have to install the Plex app on your device! You can use Plex on multiple platforms, such as your smartphone, your smart TV, your computer, laptop, or anywhere!

To name some of the few, most popular options for watching Plex, they include:

• macOS
• Windows
• Android
• iOS
• Fire TV
• Roku

NOTE: These aren’t the only devices where you can watch and access Plex. There are a lot more devices where you can access it, such as gaming consoles and other Smart TVs!

Streaming Your Own Personal Media Server

Should you want to set up your own library, then it would be more complicated than streaming third-party content. In fact, here’s how you can establish your own personal media server. First, you have to install the Plex Media Server on the location where the media files are. Once done, create and set up media libraries (it’s often good to categorize them by the type of content).

Don’t worry about specifications – Plex will do the rest. Once done, download and install the Plex app on a separate device – like your Samsung TV, for example, and you’ll be able to access all the media you’ve established on the root source!

Accessing Plex on a device that’s connected to the same network is easy – Plex will do all the work for you! But, would it be possible to access Plex if you’re not at home or if you’re connected to a different network?

Accessing Plex On a Different Network

The beauty in using Plex is that it wouldn’t restrict you to access it while just at home. Even if you’re on a different network, you will be able to use and access the media server at home, so long as you were able to properly set it up.

Doing this is easy, you just have to establish an SSH tunnel or a direct tunnel that’s connecting your device (outside the network) and your media server (within the network) as if they were transmitting data locally.

Plex Live TV

You can also make use of your Plex device as a DVR, where you could hook up and connect an antenna, hard drive, and a tuner and use it. Plex would even help in terms of arranging and categorizing them based on their local listings.

The best part about this is you can use Plex Live TV for free! But, of course, you’ll be able to use the premium membership, which we’ll be discussing below.

Plex Pass

The Plex pass is the premium tier, where you’ll be able to give access to multiple devices. For instance, instead of paying $5 to get it on the mobile app for a one-time fee, you can pay $120 for a lifetime subscription, giving you unlimited access to all devices that are eligible.

With a Plex Pass, you’ll also be able to get extra apps on your Plex Live TV!

The idea of how Plex works is simple, you can use and access it as your go-to server if you’re already tired of streaming third-party content!

With Plex, you can consider your library as your very own local Netflix – and you can access it on many different devices on or off your network! You can also take advantage of the third-party access it can give you!

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for information about Plex or if you want to learn how you can use it, this guide will be all you need! Ever since Plex emerged, many commercial establishments and households made use of it because of its flexibility, versatility, and the efficiency it’s offering!