Here’s a look at what you need to do to get started streaming movies, TV shows, and your digital media with Plex.
How to Get Started With Plex’s Basic Service
When you create a free account at the Plex website, you can access a variety of movies and TV shows, web shows, news sources, podcasts, and music through the Tidal music service. Here’s how to get started using Plex’s basic service.
Using Plex With Your Digitized Media Collection
What makes Plex special is its ability to stream a user’s digital library, including digitized DVDs and Blu-rays, home videos, music, photos, and more. To use Plex to stream your media, you need a digitized media collection, a computer that meets Plex’s specifications for streaming music and video, and a home network. You also need a broadband internet connection with decent upload speeds if you want to stream through Plex when you’re away from home. Most importantly, you’ll need the Plex Media Server software.
Plex Media Server
Plex Media Server is the software that integrates your digital library with the Plex platform, allowing you to stream your content. Once Plex Media Server is up and running on your computer, stream to your phone, game console, other computers and laptops, and most television streaming devices, such as Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV.
Digitizing Your Movies and Music to Use with Plex
If you have a library of DVDs, Blu-rays, and CDs, convert that media to a digital format to stream with Plex. Tools such as Handbrake and other DVD-ripper programs make this process easy. The easiest way to digitize your music collection is to use iTunes or Windows Media Player. With these programs, whenever you insert a CD into your computer’s disc drive, you can convert it into digital music files.
How to Add Your Media to Plex
Here’s how to use the My Media feature of the Plex streaming service.
Streaming Your Media With Plex
Once you have Plex Media Center installed on your computer and the Plex app installed on your devices, you’re ready to stream. Make sure your computer is powered on and connected to the internet, and you can stream to any of your devices whenever you want.
