Plex review 2021

Plex is a media streaming service that doesn’t just allow you to stream your own media, but access free media content from Plex own servers, which will show adverts from time to time. Plex also includes some live tv streams and the ability to watch and record over air tv like Freeview in the UK with a Plex pass. I regularly use Plex on several devices ranging from my five-year-old Samsung TV to my PC running Windows.

Is Plex free?

The answer to is Plex free depends on what you are planning to use Plex for? Plex can be a personal media server containing all your media, be it music, television shows or films. As well as streaming your media, you will be able to watch programming from Plex own online server and live internet TV at no cost to yourself.

If you buy a Plex Pass, you can combine it with an over there air digital tuner and aerial and use Plex PVR (Personal Video Recorder) functionality, allowing you to view live television and recordings to be viewed by any device on your network.

Live TV Streaming on Plex

Currently, in the UK, there are a total of 103 channels listed. The number of TV channels available to you will depend on where you live. My list of channels includes the lies of IGN, Reuters, and Euronews. I have on occasions had problems with lag, while other times I had no problem at all. You can find out more in our quick guide to live tv streaming on Plex.

Television and film streaming on Plex

Plex also provides many films and television programmes for free, with adverts appearing at times during playback. Many of the movies and television programs available seem to be from the turn of the century, if not earlier.

Watching and recording live TV on Plex

Plex supports over the air broadcast tv such as Freeview in the UK and the recording of television programmes on your Plex media server.

Once you have set up Plex to watch and record live TV, a section for watching live TV will appear on Plex, allowing you to watch live television on any supported device connected to your Plex account.

Watching live TV works well on a computer as it is straightforward to change channels. Yet, watching TV via the Plex app on my Samsung TV is awkward due to the UI being slow and clunky. With the Android app being somewhere in between. That is why I use the Windows app to set up any TV programmes I wish to record. Playback of recorded programs works well on all the Plex enable devices I use.

I have written a guide on setting up Plex as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder).

Watching your own film and television media

Your digital media can be stored on your Plex media server and played back on any device with a Plex app installed. Plex supports various formats and can handle anything from low-resolution tv programmes up to 4K HDR programmes. It will even lower the resolution of the receiving device cannot use it though this will impact performance. It can be awkward setting up your media, so we have written a couple of guides on rectifying some of the common issues, which are organising your media on Plex and if you continue to have problems with your music files. How to fix Plex metadata for music.

Listening to music

Plex can also playback your music, which, like films and television programmes, can be stored on the Plex media server. Plex is ok at music playback, but it is held back by the fact that the user interface of the Plex app was designed for the playback of visual media.

If you have a Plex Pass, you can download the Plexamp app, specifically designed for music playback. If you are interested, you will want to read my Plexamp review.

Listening to podcast on Plex

Plex also allows you to listen to a podcast. The available podcasts appear to be quite extensive when compared to other services such as Spotify.