Server Version#: latest server from the plex website
Player Version#: latest version from the App Store
ok so here is my setup. I have a synology ds412+ nas that all of my movies and tv shows are in separate folders, (movies and tv shows) are stored on. I have a Mac mini that is connected to the nas. I have an Apple TV with the latest version of plex on it. downloaded it from the apple store last night. I have an iPhone with the plex app on it. My problem is that in the Apple TV app, I navigate via the sidebar to my Mac mini that is the plex media server, and I cannot see a separate folder for movies and a separate folder for tv shows in the sidebar under the Mac mini’s name. I go to the right in the main window and I see my movies separated by movies and tv shows. However, it only shows the recently added, not the entire library and I cannot figure out for the life of me how to customize the main window or the sidebar in relation to my media. I want to be able to have two selections under the name of the Mac mini (the plex server) then on the right in the main window I want to be able to view all of my movies, and to be able to sort by genre, year, title, etc… and the other thing is when I pull up a media file (movie or tv) on my apple iPhone app, the video starts pretty quickly, however when I select lets say a tv show on the Apple TV, from the “recently added” which is my only selection and not my entire library, it just hovers and hovers. but if I do a search for lets say “desperate housewives” not only does it find it quickly but it starts playing very quickly. why the difference between the two methods. Please someone from plex help me out, I have been trying to figure out how to get support but it looks like support for users with a actual plex person is limited to the forums… Hope fully someone from plex will read this and offer a solution.
I’m a bit confused by your post…
Does your media properly show up if you’re using Plex on the iPhone and if you’re accessing it via the browser (e.g. using http://app.plex.tv/desktop)?
It might be helpful if you could provide some more details or a screenshot/photo from what you see (vs. what you expect to see).
Have you created separate libraries for your movies and tv-shows (not sure of it as you’re only referring to folders).
Usually… when you’re running the Apple TV app for the first time, Plex will ask you for your primary server or which libraries to show in your main navigation. You can also subsequently change which libraries are being “pinned” (vs. which ones to be only visible under the More section).
When you access a library from the navigation, there’s usually a number of “tabs” for that library accessible at the top of the page. You should at least see Recommended (with the hubs for Recently Added, Continue Watching/On Deck, Recently Released…) and Library (with all your media and the option to filter/sort/…). Depending on your content you will also see tabs for Collections and Playlists, each showing the collections or playlists within that library.
On your iPhone those tabs are usually located at the bottom of the screen (makes them easier to reach by your fingers when holding the phone in 1 hand).
As for your “other thing”… I cannot reproduce this. Media is starting pretty much immediately no matter if I open it on the Apple TV or another device (also no matter if I open it from a search or browsing the library). The only time when starting a playback can take a moment is if I configure my NAS to allow the disks to go to sleep… if they’re only spinning down when I click Play, it might indeed take a few seconds for the playback to start – then again… that’ll be the same for all players.
I also noticed something this morning. On my iOS app. I am away from my network right now and I tried to access my media libraries on the app. My two libraries are grayed out and not selectable. Obviously there is a setting in the Plex media server or something else that is causing this issue but I just can’t find the answer. Please help me Plex gurus!
Sorry… I’m not following.
We’re no longer talking about your Apple TV?!
What Plex app did you open that’s no longer showing your libraries?!
You can only access content from your server outside your home network if you enable Remote Access on your Plex Media Server (Settings > [Server Name] > Remote Access).
This depends on your internet access and the technical capabilities of your router / home network.
Ok so I decided to unplug the Mac mini and install the plex media server directly on the synology nas… worked like a charm…
So I decided to see if I could troubleshoot the plex media server on the Mac mini… I uninstalled the plex media server and got rid of any remnants of plex from my system… emptied the trash can and restarted.
did a fresh download of plex media server and fresh install. I made sure that I added my media folders from my nas to my sidebar in finder and proceeded with the setup. setup started as it should. found my server then asked me to add folders. I added the movies folder then I clicked “finish” since now I have two servers listed on the sidebar of plex I clicked on the Mac mini server. started a library scan and within a few moments, the plex media server quit. I had to restart the plex media server and proceeded to run a scan again. same thing… the plex media server quit.
I have added the two folders to my login items under system preferences so it will not have a problem finding them when a restart is performed. I dont know how to keep it from crashing when I select the Mac mini as my media server.
Any help would be appreciated.
