Upload media files and share with others or keep to yourself, and play the video guide to get a visual rundown

May 30, 2016 18:01 GMT  ·  By
Once you gain access to the Plex Media Server dashboard, click Add Library to get started
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   Once you gain access to the Plex Media Server dashboard, click Add Library to get started

Available on plex.tv, Plex is an online service you can use to upload and stream audio, video and photo collections across multiple devices, as well as to share media with your friends. To take advantage of this service, you must download, install and configure Plex Media Server.

Plex Media Server is available for Windows, Linux, OS X, FreeBSD and NAS devices, as well as Android, iOS and Windows Phone. It can be integrated with Bitcasa, Box, Dropbox and Google Drive, among other cloud services. Apart from the media files you share, you can view online content provided by various websites, including YouTube, Vimeo, TED Talks and CNN.

Restart your computer to finalize setup. Plex Media Server creates an icon in the systray, which launches the media server in your default web browser on double click. Once it's opened, click Add Library.

Add Library

In the Add Library window, you can Select your library type between Movies, TV Shows, Music, Photos and Home Videos, give it a Name, click Next, as well as click Browse for Media Folder and use the integrated tree view to locate the directory that contains the media files you want to stream. Click Add Library and wait for the empty area to get populated with all media files from the specified folder. You can create as many libraries as you want (click the + sign next to Libraries in the left column).

Click the Play button which appears when moving over a video's thumbnail to watch the clip in the web browser, or the pencil button to edit the video's settings. This opens a window where you can set General information (like Title, Original Title, Rating, Tagline, Summary) and Tags (like Directors, Writers, Collections) as well as choose images for the Poster and Background. Click Save Changes when you're done editing.

Returning to the Library, click the empty circle in the upper-left corner of a video thumbnail to select one or more items and perform operations for all at once by clicking the buttons above the library: Play Selected, Shuffle (play shuffled), Add to Playlist, Toggle Watched (mark as watched or unwatched), Edit (General and Tags properties) or More: Refresh, Analyze, Merge (create one video from all) or Optimize (convert for mobile, TV, original quality or custom).

Settings

Click Settings from the column on the left or from the upper-right corner of the window and go to Server to claim it by signing in with your account (in the General tab).

Go to Remote Access to enable Plex Media Server outside of your local network by linking it to plex.tv. This is practical when you want to access your home service from work or vice versa, or when you want to share your media libraries with friends. The tool automatically selects an open port but you can assign another one by ticking the Manually specify public port option and entering the port's number. Along with your IP address, it can be given to someone else to gain access to your Plex libraries via the web browser.

Go to Settings -> Users -> Friends and click Invite Friend to enter the Username or email address of another Plex user to share your libraries with. They will receive an email to confirm friendship. Compared to the Remote Access feature which can be accessed by entering an IP address and port number, friends can view your shared contents from their own Plex account, without having to make any configurations.

Plex Pass

Plex is free to use on desktops. However, you can purchase a Plex Pass to unlock additional features: high-quality movie trailers, cast interviews and other extras, sync with mobile devices (Android, iOS, Windows Phone), Wi-Fi camera uploads from smartphones or tablets, cloud sync, customizable restrictions for invited friends, free apps and early access to new apps released by the developer, along with song detection through sonic fingerprinting, top album reviews and artist bios, and auto Plex Mix playlists based on mood or similar tracks.

To get a visual rundown of the media streaming server, check out our video guide below. You can also download Plex Media Server.

Plex Media Server Explained: Usage, Video and Download

Play our video to find out how to upload and sync media files across multiple devices to enjoy favorite movies, TV shows, home videos, music and photo collections anywhere, as well as to share media files with friends. Check out our article for more info: http://www.softpedia.com/blog/plex-media-server-explained-usage-video-and-download-504655.shtml

Plex Media Server Screenshots (12 Images)

Once you gain access to the Plex Media Server dashboard, click Add Library to get started
Select your library type in Plex Media Server and enter a nameBrowser for a media folder to upload all containing media items using Plex Media Server
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