Plex is media-playing software that can stream a file from one device to another over your local network. The base product is available for free on Windows without ads. Or you can subscribe to the Plex Pass, which adds features such as DVR recording, syncing files to mobile devices, and coordinating with cloud storage services to stream media from the cloud to your device.

Pros

The base version is very capable: If you just want to stream a video from your computer to your TV or a mobile device, the free version of Plex doesn’t put up many roadblocks. It will encourage you to create a Plex account, but you can ignore that and just tell it to scan your PC for media to share locally. You can also create and manually add other folders, and Plex will add integrate that media and track those folders for future changes.

Plex is everywhere: You need a Plex app on both ends of your stream, so it needs to be available on a variety of platforms for everything to go smoothly. Thankfully, it’s one of the most widely distributed apps on the planet: You can get it for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, game consoles, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast. It’s not free on every one of these platforms, but the price tag is less than you’d pay for a deli sandwich and helps to fund future development.

Easily scales to your environment: If you’re trying to stream media over a spotty Wi-Fi connection, you can tell Plex to reduce the quality level, which reduces the network speed that you need for smooth playback. Or, if you have a fast and reliable connection, you can scale back those network optimizations and keep the video looking as good as possible.

Cons

Adding media to your library can take a while: Your media library is easier to visually scan if you’re using cover art instead of navigating by file name. Plex can also provide the year of release, the names of actors and directors, and other parameters for sorting and searching more easily. The flip side is that this added functionality requires processing time. If you have a sizeable amount of MP3s and whatnot, be prepared to do something else to occupy your time until Plex is ready to stream it all.

Bottom Line

While you can use VLC media player (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS) to stream media over a local network, Plex provides a much friendlier way to do that. And it has a proper media collection interface and better tools for handling different network speeds.

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Plex Home Theater for Mac supports a wide range of audio and video formats, providing a complete playback experience, but suffers from a perplexing interface and other quirks. This review is for the free version, which lacks the synchronization, automatic uploading, and cloud storage services of the subscriber’s edition.

Pros

Great online content handling: Plex Home Theater for Mac does a great job of playing and organizing online content in a variety of formats except FHD videos in Matroska containers. It helps you maintain a large video library without any hassle.

Content sharing: This player allows you to share and exchange photos and videos online — not through social media, but by sharing your libraries with other Plex users.

Cons

Perplexing interface: While the interface appears neatly arranged, finding the right buttons for the controls can be perplexing. For instance, we found it impossible to access channels without consulting the online support pages. The utter lack of tooltips only makes matters worse.

Be ready for some heavy reading: To use this program you have to read the help file as well as the support information and frequently asked questions available online. This application is anything but intuitive.

Relatively heavy on the system: During installation, you’re compelled to install a “media server” that runs every time you turn your Mac on. What’s more, the player, itself, uses a lot of resources, which occasionally results in non-responsiveness and instances of “failure to quit.”

Bottom Line

Plex Home Theater lacks polish. Though its online streaming features are appealing, its inaccessible interface and many kinks will disappoint you. That said, this app remains a promising media player with plenty of features. Let’s just hope it will get better with future releases.

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We update the app regularly so we can make it better for you. Get the latest version for all of the available Plex Media Center features. This version includes several bug fixes and performance improvements.

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For users who are not just looking for a simple video management solution but a total online video content solution, this app could prove useful. With Plex Media Server for Mac you can watch free online video content straight from the archives, manage your own videos, add your own channels, and more.

The application runs as an in-browser extension that allows you to plug into the feature and content of the Plex website. Once you have installed the app, launch it and you’ll be taken to the Plex homepage. Here you can add and manage your own videos, or add channels to begin viewing online video content. Once you have added channels, Plex Media Server for Mac will begin streaming your selected video content for you to enjoy. Most videos are available in 720p HD and some are even available in 1080p HD. This application is easy to use and performs well. You can sign up for an account, which allows the app to save your settings and channels for future use. There’s an activity tab that you can use to check your history and past activities on Plex, too. While this app offers a great service, it does suffer from the occasional loading and streaming issues.

Users looking for a video manager or a video streaming app cant go wrong with Plex Media Server for Mac. It’s a sleek and functional app that offers great service with occasional streaming issues.

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