Plex media server on android tv box?

Hi All,

First off apologies if this is the wrong place to post. i figured linux and android were similar enough and there wasnt an android section for the media server
I just bought an android tv box off ebay. Nice one, 2.4ghz and 2gb ram
my intention was to use it to run all my media apps, kodi, plex, netflix, etc

Now the other part of it is i need a new machine to run my plex media centre, was looking for something low power that i can leave on most of the time (if not 24/7) so that i (and my friends/family) can access my plex remotely whenever needed, i figured this box would be perfect. did a little googling and found there was a media server app for andoitd

ive got the box, im in the app store but i cant seem to find the plex media server app. im assuming its not compatible with my box for whatever reason
just curious what the minimum specs are for the android version of the server?
are there any other, similar, apps that can act as a media server and that can be picked up by plex’s media player?

There is no Plex made server for Android. Unsure what you googled.
Reference support article Plex Media Server Requirements

The Plex mobile clients can act as a mini server for content previously synced from a real server, but it’s not a true Plex server in any supported sense of the word.

Actually there is an Android Plex server BUT it only seems to run on one Android box, the Shield TV. It works very well but I think it cannot in any way be ported to any other Android system.

And one other thing Android and Linux are in no way similar except that they are both not Windows.

and are both open source operating systems

But thanks for your input elijah, bit disappointing but i guess ill find another way, thanks

For what it’s worth I tried looking for the same answer for my Android TV Box, and i found very little. All the apps for installing different versions of Plex Media Server would not load. So, out of curiosity I tried it on my Galaxy S8+ and it worked perfect. I’m not going to use my phone as a server, but if it works on it, there may be something developed soon for boxes
If you want to mess with the Raspberry PI3, I had it running on there but it wasn’t stable. I’m a Windows guy and my knowledge of Linux is very limited. It might be a cheap option if you have the knowledge of the OS. /shrug

@kralomax - please enlighten us with exactly what ‘server’ you installed on the S8+. Links and/or instructions?
Though I know the client apps have mini-servers to help share synced content, I’m not aware of a full server for any Android device other than the shield. I’m not saying it’s not available, I’m just not aware and would like to know.

Sounds like he extracted the PMS apk from the Shield and just installed it on his S8+. If you have a device with the same CPU architecture as a Shield, then yes the app can install. I don’t expect it to work though.

Ok, but, the Shield is pretty darn customized, with an extremely custom “based on ARM Cortex-A57” plus a whole bunch of GPU core stream processors/etc. That’s like saying Shrek the movie is based on Shrek! the book.

Where as the S8+ is a snapdragon chip, which may or may not be like an ARM.

Other than “Android OS” being the common denominator, which, might be all plex looks for, I too really don’t think it’s worth trying to run on a low powered android box.

Anybody can get work the app in a tv box?

Putting PMS on a box it’s never been on before is about as likely as teaching a rock to swim.
Android is like Linux. It’s a ‘name’ and comes in so many different flavors for so many different devices that you must validate the next layer (CPU and architecture of the box). If it’s not a complete match, do not expect success.

To further clarify: PMS servers on specialized boxes are specific to that box. Shield gets a build of PMS just for it. It is not intended to be utilized anywhere else.

Install Linux, install Plex Media server, worked for me as this as a guide (some modifications to process needed)
http://www.alexbevi.com/blog/2017/09/22/turning-an-old-android-phone-into-a-plex-media-server/

Plex Media Server 1.14.1.5488.apk from Dec. 2018 - for the Nivdia Shield - ‘may’ install on s912 Octa-core Android 7.1 TV boxes.

While availability and specs on these things vary daily, as of today 1/13/2019, it installed on one of these:

U2C Android 7.1 TV Box, 2GB RAM 16GB ROM Amlogic S912 Octa Core 64 Bits 3D/4K/H.265 Smart TV Box Dual Band WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz/BT 4.1 X Plus with Mini Wireless Keyboard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779NZ73H/

Forget any s905 box - it failed on two different ones I tried. Must be Octa Core 64 Bits…

Also got it running on a Trek K88 tablet…

No guarantees. YMMV. Later apk may not work, so plan one being stuck on this one…

Regards,
Chris

Adding here.

Not a tested or approved platform. No support from Plex will be available if there are problems.

I’m curious why you would even want to run a server on an underpowered little box without much storage. Maybe I do things differently but I have about 3000 movies, 2000 TV programs, 20k songs, and who knows how many family photos taking up 6TB of storage and shared among my entire household. Even if I could I wouldn’t run it on something so weak. You can find used PC towers with good enough specs for this for as low as $50-$75 at places like ebay and facebook shops. Install WIN 10, install the plex server, and let-er rip.

Been looking for a solution to this Plex thing for years. Looks like a viable solution still does not exist or might never for the future. I finally gave up on waiting. I do not want to maintain/manage a separate media server for my one single TV situation. I got an android TV box from Walmart (Jetstream Android TV Box AGT418) a few weeks ago running Android TV OS 8.1. Nearly pulled my hair out trying to come up with a solution to this. People have reported using Plex media server on the Nvidia shield but it creates a lot of strange hit or miss issues when/if you try to get it to work offline/without internet connectivity. For people like me in RVs/secondary homes without fixed internet access this is a bit of a problem. Finally, I decided to start using a different/similar media app called “Kodi”. It works a bit different from Plex in that you have to relearn all of its settings and how tos (many hours of work). Kodi works on most android tv boxes, does not complain about the internet being down or nonexistent in my experience, and is open sourced like Plex. Also, it has a built in DLNA setting feature so that you can stream your media files to other iOS devices thru a router that is not connected to the internet.

Plug your TV directly into the android TV box (via HDMI cable), then directly plug your USB hard drive(s) (containing all of your media files) directly into the android TV box, install Kodi on the android tv box via the google play store, figure out how to configure Kodi for your particular situation on the android tv box, install a DLNA compatible app on your iOS device(s) so you can stream your media files to them (optional perk if you want), organize all of your content within the Kodi app on the android TV box (scan for metadata using scrapers such as TMDB and TVDB), and you are FINALLY ready to go. This is what I did in a nutshell and so far works perfectly as I have been wanting. Nothing asking me for an internet connection all of the time, no server to maintain/manage, and costs roughly $100 less than the Nvidia shield.

I’ve had very good luck with refurbished laptops. They don’t take up any space and use less power. They will cost more than a tower, but there are deals to be had.

interesting

Kodi is awesome. It’s not quite as clean and “pretty” as Plex, but if you are willing to but in a little time (not much, but some) to learn, it’s very flexible. if you are looking for an easy way to serve video or music locally in a place with zero Internet (cabin, boat) Kodi is a good way to go.

It’s got a bad rap because of all the illegal “add-ons”, which ironically is the absolute WORSE way to use Kodi. (dodgy quality and sources) - so Kodi gets blamed (of course).

In addition to Kodi, I’ve also tried Emby and Jellyfin. All have their pluses, but all-in-all I’ve found Plex to be the best product in the field.

I use Plex regularly in my full time home (which has regular full time internet) where I have multiple TVs and other devices to put it to good use. For media file look and organization I originally started with Plex and prefer it over Kodi but Plex really needs to do something OFFICIALLY to better accommodate offline users and/or people who do not want/need a separate server for their media content files. I understand about the rep Kodi has associated with it for questionable add-ons, luckily for me I only use a few of their standard add-ons to get it to work the way I want it to.

When you setup the server, at the very bottom, you can SKIP the sign-in.

Some versions have the “What’s This?” in the lower right corner.

In either case, this brings you to the Limited Functionality setup.
It looks just like everything else but:

1. There are no Plex-Pass services (which is why constant on-line connection is required)
2. You will get most of the codecs but not all. Some are Plex Pass only.

You will be free of the contant connection requirement but with limits.

The choice is yours to make.