While Plex is primarily a media server, it offers a number of other features in both its free and paid tiers. It makes your own library look just as pretty as anything from Netflix or Disney Plus. It tells you who starred in your movies, and can even find lyrics for your music. While most media servers leave you scrolling through an endless list of poorly named files, Plex automatically organizes your shows into seasons, complete with title cards and episode descriptions. What sets Plex apart is how well it organizes media, and how pretty the whole interface looks. Streaming players from the PS4 (but not the PS5) to Roku devices have media server apps built in even Windows Media Player works as a pretty passable media server in a pinch. Granted, media servers are a dime a dozen. “The cloud” is really just “a computer somewhere else that’s always turned on.” I’m sorry to be the one to deliver this news. This is also precisely how streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video deliver video to you, just with some extra steps in-between. By using the Plex app on another computer, a mobile device or a streaming gadget plugged into your TV, you can stream content from your computer to another platform of your choice. You direct the Plex software to this folder, and Plex then makes your computer available as a server. But if you’re an enthusiast-level consumer looking to tailor your media player experience, the customisation available on Kodi via the library of add-ons is unmatched – just expect to look up a tutorial or two during the setup process.While Plex itself can walk you through the process of setting up a media server, it works like this: You provide your own video content, and put it in a special folder somewhere on your computer. If you’re looking for a no-stress media player that looks and performs much like Netflix, Plex is the way forward. It really comes down to preference as both have similar functionality – it’s just presented in a very different way. Two asterisks: Require complex workaround to install Verdict In fact, only Google Play offers the ability to natively install and update Kodi at the time of writing. It’s safe to say that the difficulty of installation varies, with most platform app stores not offering the ability to download Kodi natively, and even with supported platforms, chances are you’ll have to download the installer via the Kodi website. Kodi is available for iOS, for example, but requires xCode and a Mac to do so. So, what about Kodi? It’s safe to say that the open-source media player can’t quite compete with Plex in the platform department, offering a shorter list than the competition, and in certain cases, you’ll have to follow a complex workaround to get the app on your desired platform. The good news is that Plex is available on almost every platform imaginable, from Android and iOS to more niche operating systems like Apple’s tvOS and Roku OS, and it’s even available as a Kodi add-on – meta, I know. What’s the point in a media player if you can’t access it on most of the devices in your home? When it comes to media players, availability is just as important as the features and user experience on offer. So, with a complicated UI and more work to set up the various features on offer, why do people flock to Kodi in the thousands? While we don’t condone it, it’d be remiss of us to ignore the fact that one of the biggest reasons consumers use Kodi is to install less-than-reputable apps that allow you to stream the latest movies and TV shows illegally, directly to your device without the need to download any files or pay a monthly subscription.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |