Set Up A Media Server For Mac
On the web there are plenty of services for, but every now and then one pops up that really goes the extra mile to provide a better experience. This is the case with Plex, which allows you to create your own ‘server’ using your Mac or iOS device to stream your media to other devices connected via apps. Here’s a better look at Plex and how it all works together. Setting Up Your Content Server Step 1: The first thing you have to do is head to the on your Mac or other computer that you will use as a server and download the there and on any other computer that you’ll like to serve media from. Use this opportunity to create an account there as well. Step 2: Before starting to, make sure to have it ready in separate folders for optimal performance.
Turn a Mac mini into a media server with Plex If you have a large media collection, you may want to use a Mac as a dedicated device to run Plex. While it may sound daunting to set up a media. Click here to Download the Plex media server for Windows, Mac, Linux FreeBSD and more free today. Shall remain non-transferable and may be subject to additional license grant terms set by the respective third party licensor(s). Terms, and conditions may apply to certain subscription arrangements (including sign-up or registration), Plex.
Plex has dedicated to how you should prepare and organize your media for optimal recognition performance, but other than for organization purposes, I saw no other reason for it. Of course, if you deal with more complex media (like separate files for movies and subtitles for example), following Plex’s instructions is definitely advised.
Step 3: Once the server client has been installed on your Mac and you have your media ready, access the server from your Mac’s menu bar and click on Media Manager to open the web interface. There you will be prompted to add your media folders to create Libraries. These are completely ‘editable’ and you can even refresh it to keep it up to date with what is on the folders they feed from. Important Note: Remember that if the computer you serve your media from is underpowered, playback of media such as videos might not be smooth. Plex Apps A big part of the appeal of Plex is to be able to interact with your content from other devices.
For this, Plex uses apps that you can ($1.99) or other smartphone, on your tablets and even on your smart TV. The moment you start an app your device (an iPhone in this case), it will immediately show all the libraries available on your network (the ones you set up before) and their contents. From there, you can instantly start playing your content on your device, which Plex transcodes on the fly for smooth playback.
The My Passport Pro has been verified to work as a bootable drive that can be used in this manner. However, for this drive to be bootable, the drive must contain a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) file system with a GUID partition table. Wd my passport for mac bootable windows 7.
I tried a couple of shows and movies and playback on my iPhone was flawless. The local iPhone app also provides a healthy amount of options, allowing you to tweak a variety of settings, ranging from the quality of your streams to the size of the subtitles when available, among many others.
Additionally, you can also use your mobile device as a server, and with the Plex apps that you can install on smart TVs, you can actually stream content from your iPhone to your TV, which opens up a lot of possibilities. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by how well Plex fared in my case. I don’t like the fact that everything on your computer/server has to be done through a browser instead of through a native app, but that’s a minor grip when compared to how well the rest of the package performs. Last updated on 8 Feb, 2018.
(Getty) Many have grown dissatisfied with the limited streaming options of services like Netflix, YouTube, and Vimeo. And while there isn’t one perfect home media solution for everyone, physical media enthusiasts and file sharers alike will find a happy medium in a dedicated media server. These servers work like HTTP servers, but offer a dedicated user interface plus many other features, depending on which option you decide to go with. And though some incorporate streaming services, these options are best left to those who already have a strong media collection and are seeking a way to enjoy it in a curated manner. So whether you want to streamline your entertainment, reorganize your business media, or house a semi-legal collection of ripped movies, consider these options for home media servers below. (Plex) Possibly the most popular media server software out there, Plex offers an easy setup and a highly flexible system for managing your media.
Plex can be setup on any hard drive, ideally a NAS (network-attached storage device), but since my PC is on pretty much 24/7 I had no problem making my main machine the host for my own Plex account. Setting up your Plex server is a largely automated process, and getting a stream set up on the other end is usually as simple as downloading the free app for your chosen platform, be it a smart TV, web browser, XBox One, PlayStation, or Apple TV. Remote access is ready out of the box, and does not require any port forwarding or extra setup. One of the first things you’ll notice about Plex is that its menus are beautiful on every platform. The menus were fast and easy to navigate, though I did run into some hiccups trying to brows my stupidly large music collection. If you have multiple terabytes of media content with metadata, cover art, etc., it will only populate this information as fast as your connection permits.