Will there be a media server app that will work on the new Apple Mac Mini with the Apple M1 chip?
Kevin
7 Likes
Definitely of key interest to me … My 7yo PMS is dying, and the M1 Mac Mini would be an ideal, smaller/faster replacement for it … hopefully, should be just a recompilation (with minor tweaks)…
2 Likes
if HW transcoding, and truehd/atmos passthrough became supported, it might make a great (albeit expensive) alternative to nvidia shield.
3 Likes
If Apple has done its job, I’d expect Plex Media Server to run unmodified on the new Macs on day one. Rosetta 2 is supposedly very powerful, with some Intel Architecture apps running “better” than they did on the Macs being replaced. And since FFMPEG uses the Video Toolbox API for hardware accelerated transcoding on Macs, that may even work unmodified.
Of course this is just speculation until folks have these in hand to test. But the migration story they’re telling is a compelling one, for most applications.
Now, if only the third-party virtualization story were a bit clearer…
1 Like
I’m also looking for a PMS to run along with my synology NAS.
I’m having trouble with wmv files playback on my plex client on android tv.
Due to this I was looking for a PMS with hardware transcoding support.
I hope the plex guys tell us how well plex will run as PMS on the new Mac mini.
1 Like
I’m also very interested in this. Currently I do my transcoding using an Nvidia P2200 on Windows 10 in a VM on ESXI. Yes, I do 4K transcoding because that is what I want to do. People have their opinions. on that, and I have have decided what is best for my environment and family. So I will need something with some serious horsepower to do transcoding. Currently the P2200 does it easily with multiple 4K transcodes going to 1080p running concurrently. I’d love to know if the Mac Mini can do the same thing?
1 Like
Currently rocking a 2012 i7 Mac mini with the usual SSD and RAM upgrades as a rack mounted Plex Media Server but it cannot continue forever.
A native Plex app for the new M1 Mac mini would be awesome but I do not think I have seen a comment from Plex on the subject. I had hoped to see something announced once the developer minis were released, at least to show that they are working on it.
3 Likes
Just to flag I am also looking to upgrade my 2012 i5 MacMini for something with a little more poke. Would love to see Plex Media Server running on this new M1 processor, preferably natively or via Rossetta 2 if necessary. Come on Plex - let us know what your plans are…!
2 Likes
When was the last time Plex announced their plans? 
I assume this will happen soon for 3 reasons:
1: The PMS already runs on Apple Silicon in the iOS/iPadOS apps even if it is in a limited fashion.
2: They use CLANG/LLVM to compile the PMS for MacOS already. Paired with point 1, it should not be that much more work left to do.
3: They are already building PMS for other ARM64 architectures.
2 Likes
Of even more immediate interest… Big Sur is out today. Are there any problems running Plex on a late 2014 Mac Mini (3 GHz dual core i7 with 16 GB)?
It sure would be nice if Plex had already tested this radical new OS on legacy hardware (which they probably have) and put up an announcement. (If they have, I can’t find it.)
In the mean time, I have set that Mac to NOT do any updates and will test on another (2018…) Mac Mini before I allow the production machine to transition.
While it will probably work fine, I don’t need the pain of restoring to an older OS version. Apple hates that. 
2 Likes
^^ This ^^
Given the native hw transcode, and the fact that Plex on MacOS is popular, and the fact that they’re using clang, and the fact that it’s relatively easy to recompile your app as universal, I would guess it won’t be long before we see a Universal app. That doesn’t mean it’s just a single button push, there’s likely work to do. But at some point, the work will need to be done, and the observable environment suggests it’s not a terribly painful investment to get there.
2 Likes
I would LOVE this. Interested in what this new “enhanced” media encoder/decoder engines built into the M1 chip can do if natively supported from Plex.
Currently running Plex on a 2008 Mac mini 
desperately need an upgrade but I was holding out for a refreshed Mac mini. Now I’m drooling, waiting to get my hands on one. Haha.
Interested in this as well, since my M1 Mac Mini is already en route. I hope we get at least a version of Mac PMS recompiled for ARM reasonably quickly, since I would like to move my stuff there.
“the M1 chip can hit the very best speeds it’s capable of and sustain them without throttling. Heck, I never even heard the fan spin up during repeated 30-minute Cinebench tests or when transcoding several 4K Blu-ray rips back to back. The mini has stayed silent no matter how hard I work it.”
Not sure if he was streaming from someone or if he was transcoding from the mini.
Agree, this would be an instant upgrade for me!
I have posted my findings here: Plex Media Server running on Apple Silicon M1 chipset i.e. new Mac mini, MacBook, etc
7 Likes
Ordered today my new Mac mini M1 so hopefully Plex will support it soon since my Mac mini Late 2012 is now out the newest macOS support
1 Like
Keeping this thread alive - this is something I will adopt once people with this architecture can give some feedback.
Check out the thread linked two posts above yours. It has a great deal of information regarding how well Plex Media Server runs/performs on M1-based Macs.
1 Like
I’m in the same boat. I’m actually holding off installing it on my M1 mini just because I want a clean install on it once it’s released as a Universal Build. Ffmpeg was recently released natively for the M1, as with homebrew of course, so I assume the server can’t be far behind. It does run off ffmpeg as a core for its transcoding engine, no?
