Today there are an infinite number of platforms for broadcasting content online that allow us to enjoy hours of movies and series online. Services like Net-flix, H-BO, Pri-me Video or Disney + classify all their content (in their own way) so that we can easily locate it. But what would you think if we told you that you can have your own “Net-flix” at home? Today we explain how you can watch all the content you want online from your Smart TV using Plex .
What is Plex?
Plex is a service that, using our computer or network hard drive (NAS) , allows us to create a multimedia server at home and from which you can play the content on your Smart TV, tablet, mobile or other computers. In addition, if this server remains on constantly, we can access the content stored on it remotely from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
One of the best aspects of this service is that it is cross-platform . We will have Plex available on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and a good catalog of operating systems available for NAS.
On this server we can store various types of content: videos, photos, music, podcasts, television programs, etc. In addition, we will have the possibility to classify and organize it as we wish. So it will be much easier for us to find any item if we have a wide catalog.
Sounds interesting right? Well, read on because creating this server is tremendously simple with the steps that we explain below. In just 5 – 10 minutes you will have your own Net-flix at home to start enjoying all the content from your Smart TV or any of your home computers.
How to create your media server with Plex
To create this multimedia server at home you will need, as we mentioned before, a computer with an internet connection or a NAS disk. As the most usual thing is that any user has a computer instead of a network disk, this guide will be based on this process.
The first thing you should do is download the Plex Media Server app from its official website . Once the operating system corresponding to your computer has been selected and the app downloaded, we begin with the installation and its settings:
- Indicate with which account or service you want to register in Plex to begin the configuration of your server.
- We go to a screen that tells us in a simple way how this service works. Click on “Got it!”
- As you will see in the next screen, this application has its “Plex Pass” payment service with which we can expand its functionalities. In this case we do not need it since all we are going to do is simply with the free version .
- Now is the time to name the server, this is simply useful to identify it easily, little more. When you put the name you want, click next.
- This new screen is perhaps the most important of the whole process. In it we are indicating to Plex the type of content that we are going to include in our multimedia server and, even more crucial, the place where we will store it. Here we recommend that, if you want to modify the storage path, follow the instructions that the service gives for the classification system as you can see in the following screenshot:
- Once you have added all the content you want and configure its installation paths, click on next. And voila, you have already created your Plex media server with storage on your own computer.
Learn to operate Plex
Now that you have the multimedia server created, it is time to give it the use it deserves . We are going to see everything necessary to “start it up” and be able to enjoy the content that we host on it from our Smart TV.
Add new content
To add any new content you will only have to select it and move it to the corresponding folder on your hard drive . That is, if you have a video that you want to have on the TV from Plex, go to the path you selected for the videos / movies when creating the server and paste it there.
Something super interesting about using this service is that, if the title you add to it is known enough we all understand what we are talking about , Plex has a content analyzer with which it will automatically place a cover and certain data of these videos.
How to “Link” the Plex Server with the Smart TV
This is the same or, rather, even easier than the beginning of this process. And it is that the steps, really, are only two:
- From your Smart TV, go to the app store and look for the Plex app on it. Once downloaded and stored in your library, open it.
- When you open it, it will ask you to log in with your account for this service (the one you used when creating the server). Enter these user data and password and voila, you are within Plex and you will be able to see all the content that it offers you.
Of course, you can also access the one that you upload to your server. To do so, enter the “+ More” option that will give you access to all the servers that you link to your service account.
Plex is not detecting my content, what do I do?
This is a common problem that you will run into, and probably won’t find a solution for, when you start using Plex. But don’t worry, because you can fix this problem in just a few seconds.
From the web service, enter the folder where the content that you cannot view is located. Once here (let’s assume that it is a video that you cannot locate), click on the menu with the three dots next to the name of the folder. Among the options that are displayed, select ” Find files in the library ” and voilà, Plex does an analysis of the local folder on your computer and will show everything new that you have added.
Customize content if “auto detection” fails
If the auto detection of the videos you add to Plex fails , or you simply want to place any other, you can modify it to your liking.
- From the web version, enter the folder containing said content, and click on the pencil icon that appears when hovering over the current cover.
- Here you can edit all the information regarding that video clip: title, tags, publication date, etc.
- Go to the “Poster” section. Here you can select the image you need from your computer and simply dragging, it will appear available to change the cover.
How to share your content with friends
If you want to share the content of your multimedia server with your friends so that they can also see it from their Smart TV, you will also be able to do it from the web version.
Click on the icon with the three dots, as we did in the previous section, and click on “Share”. You will only have to ask your friends for the email used in Plex or the username and place them in this option. After this, in the next window select the folders you want them to access and that’s it. Automatically, or after a few minutes depending on the amount of content you have stored, they will have access to your server and, obviously, to the content on it.
Now you know everything you need to start using the Plex app on your smart TV . Get ready to enjoy your own Net-flix at home from which now you are the one who decides what content is included and which is not.
