The Plex product consists of two software apps: the Plex Media Server app, is downloaded to your Windows or Mac, and organizes your media across your home network. While this review will focus mostly on the OTA TV channel capability, the Plex solution is essentially a home entertainment “server” on steroids, with capabilities well beyond AirTV’s focused ability to capture and stream live OTA TV channels. How does cord cutting play into this? Well, the Plex Media Server software also allows you to integrate an external TV tuner (connected to an antenna) so that you can access your live OTA TV channels. In a nutshell, you can stream all of your media anywhere you go and on all the devices that you use. Today, however, I wanted to take a look at Plex-a Bay Area startup which utilizes an ambitious software-based approach to capture OTA channels, stream them to various devices, and a whole lot more.įor several years, Plex’s Media Server software has gained popularity by allowing you to organize literally every type of media file (videos, music and photos) that you have on your home computer, in the cloud, and/or on external drives, and stream it to just about any other type of client device, including gaming consoles. AirTV is one great way to access local Over-The-Air (OTA) channels for free, giving users the ability to stream content throughout the home and to their mobile devices on-the-go. “It would break our agreements with providers,” he said.Judging by the huge response that I got to my AirTV review several weeks ago, there’s no question that a lot of mainstream consumers are chomping at the bit for products and solutions that allow them to sever their relationship with their cable and satellite companies.
Asked about how rival Channels DVR can record content from free video sources and TV Everywhere apps, Hancock said Plex wouldn’t facilitate that.
Beyond Plex’s over-the-air DVR support, users are effectively on their own to bring in content from ripped DVDs, PlayOn recordings, or more illicit sources. Still, don’t expect Plex to greatly expand the kinds of content that users can bring into their servers. With shared watchlists, for instance, a group of friends would be able to see what everyone else is watching, and then access that content via a shared server. Plex’s universal guide, for instance, can already link to content from users’ media servers, and its social features will benefit users who share their server access with friends. It’s also worth noting that some broader Plex features might benefit server users as well. “On the server side of the house, more resources will be dedicated to Plexamp, which is because there’s no other option really out there,” Hancock said.
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