Plex Media Server Part 1: Installation & Set Up

09/08/13 06:51 Filed in: Technology

I get a lot of questions on my OS X Server Series about how to use a server to handle streaming media to various devices both in and outside the home. With all of us having media both in iTunes and outside of it, using the tools Apple has built into iTunes is not always the best solution. Sure you can use home sharing to get your local media that you have inside iTunes to all of your Apple devices like Macs, iOS devices, and AppleTV’s. But what if you have media that you haven’t put into iTunes? What if you have other devices that are not made by Apple like Roku players or Android Devices? What if you want to access your media outside your home network? That’s where Plex comes into play.

Plex is a media server with a lot of the features most people want in a home media server. Plex combines Movies, Television, Music, Photos and Web services into one easy to use and set up application. Plex automatically pulls the metadata for your media and does a great job presenting it inside the Plex interface. The Plex Media Manager is a web based application so you can access it anywhere you internet access. Combine that with their applications and services for so many different devices and Plex really is a great media server for your content.

In this weeks tutorial I cover how to install and get Plex set up. Next week I’ll cover how to edit and tweak your Media. If you have any questions feel free to comment here or on my YouTube Channel.

Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, ITunes, Media, Screencast