Folder-structure view as seen on PC wanted in plexsrver

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Using plex server and or plexamp issues(Especially no folder-structure view)

For the life of me I swear I have gremlins.Things are never in the same place over times (On a windows 10 PC tablet)

I was having issues showing the queue in plexamp,it would only show the LP playing but would still play the songs that I added to queue,and forget finding folder view more than once(I mean folder structure as it shows on my PC.As pretty as cover art view is I really prefer folder-structure view for many tasks)

So I switched to server. Not as pretty as plexamp but it is so easy to show the queue and I can actually re arrane the song list manually,moving exact songs where ever i want in the list.Good luck consistently finding that in plexamp.

Its the bottom right, right beside “settings”

Settings is 2 lines with a circle at opposite ends of each line, and “play queue” is right beside it"

This beauty setting will keep me with the server over Plexamp

But I have only accidentally found the actual folder view one time and cannot find it again

I followed the instructions as "To view the folder structure on a Plex server, you can access the “Folders” option within your library view, which allows you to directly browse the directory hierarchy on your disk, essentially showing you the exact folder structure where your media files are located on your storage device; this is often referred to as “Browse By Folder” in Plex settings.

Key points about Plex folder structure view:
Accessing the view:
Go to your Plex library, and within the viewing options, select “Folders” to see the folder structure. "

So 1st issue is, where is "viewing options, " What does that symbol look like(if it is a symbol), and where is it exactly? I have been at this for near 5 plus hours and am about to pop lol.

And by the library,is each desk/music folder considered a library on its own

A video would really help, as I am having issues reading instructions when I run into an instruction like "Go to “X” then.I have no idea where “x” is

UGH

Cheers in advance for any help

2

I follow this

" * Location: Go to “Settings” then “Server” and finally select “Library”."

But as always I am stuck on a step

I go to settings,but there is no “server” option,so again I am stuck

Is there not a more direct way to just switch between views?

Even if those instructions worked,they do not,it seems cumbersome

I really need instructions for the daft

In plexamp I found “folders”

Click “library” scoll down,there is “folders” view"

3

I have this in sus so far

Plexamp

When playing a song click music
note(library) at bottom-beside home-Then scroll down to folder(Has to be playing not the album itself view)

Plexserver

I can add to queue while playing and see queue by clicking “Play queue” bottom right -the 4 parallel lines with a small arrow.In between "stiings " button(2 lines with a circle at opposite ends of each

But I cannot figure how to do both those things in any one “Plex server” or "Plex amp)

4

I‘m struggling to follow your description of icon.

Viewing a library by Folders

Plexamp

  1. Click the Library icon in the bottom bar
  2. Select Folders entry at the bottom of that page

Folder mode in Plexamp
Folder mode in Plexamp495×1010 79.5 KB

Plex Web

  1. Select the music library
  2. Switch to the Library tab (if it’s not already selected)
  3. Set the library to display its content by Folders (instead of Artists, Albums or Tracks)

Folder mode in Plex Web
Folder mode in Plex Web787×408 45.2 KB

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200392126-using-the-library-view/

Play Queue

Plexamp

  1. Access the Now Playing pane.
  2. Scroll down to the Up Next section

Mini Player in Plexamp
Mini Player in Plexamp1206×398 55.2 KB

Play Queue in Plexamp
Play Queue in Plexamp499×1002 108 KB

You can interact with the play queue by long-pressing an item to access its context menu, or swiping the item to the left to remove it from the play queue.

Plex Web

https://support.plex.tv/articles/202188298-play-queues/

5

WOW, thank you mate, pics really help

By icon, maybe I use the wrong word? Symbol?

But you understood enough to help, so thanks mate

You really went out of your way to help mate, and I do appreciate that

Can I please add one more concerned question?

Is plexserver and plexamp always lossless as long as my files are lossless?

Can both apps support 24/192 and DSD?

I ask because in both apps I found a quality folder and all I seen was MP3 quality up to 256 as options and that concerns me

Again,your help was and is extremely appreciated mate

Cheers

6

Plexamp can playback high-res + lossless formats. Though there might be dependencies on the platform supporting a lossless pipeline.

What you seem to refer are the playback quality settings. You can configure the app to stream optimized versions while using cellular data. This will use Opus format — while that’s a lossy conversion, it should be transparent at a relatively low bitrate (meaning you shouldn’t notice much of a difference at very low bitrates, e.g. 128 kbps; contrary to mp3).

https://wiki.xiph.org/Opus_Recommended_Settings

Plex Web relies on your browser and will most certainly not play high-res media.

7

Cheers

You have been a great nhelp mate

On this news I am about to take my jog and stream my PC toons to my cell and see how it goes mate

Cheers

8

Is plexweb just another name for plexserver?

Or is it something else?

Boy do I have learning to do

Just so I get this correct, I thought plexserver was run on my browser.

I install plexserver and I click that icon,but no app runs in my view,so I assume it needs my browser to run

So I open my chrome browser and type in my server address and it runs

So that is plexWeb and it is lossy?

How do I run Plexserver(for lossless ) then?

I assume plexamp is lossless? I really love it,but one thing it needs is a way to allow me to physically move my queue as I desire.I can do that in what I thought was “plexserver” in my browser

I also just read that “plexamp” is def. lossy so I wont be using that ,I just need to sus this “plexserver” thing

I launch the icon and it does not show up, but it shows in task manager

Can you please advise some more please?

Cheers

9

Plex uses a client/server model.

  • The server is what’s running in the background, cataloging and preparing the files etc, stores metadata 

  • The client is the „player“

The web app is one type of client.
The server has a version of the web app bundled with its install to interact / manage the server.
But it’s also the most limited player, because it depends on the browser’s media playback capabilities.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200288286-what-is-plex/

10

Thank you for that advice and the link that I read

I suspected plexserver was a background client and that I need a frontend IE Chrome browser,but when you said “Plex Web relies on your browser and will most certainly not play high-res media” I understood that as the browser limits the music to “lossy”,but when I have "plexserver in the background the only 2 ways to run it are “plexamp” and a browser.

Is there a way to run “plexserver” in a browser lossless? I see no other way to run “plexserver” but with an IP in the browser.

My head is in pain trying to sus this

So does “plexweb” and “Plexserver” not run in a browser? I have to put the IP address somewhere?

If I am running a browser,how do I know if I am using “Plexserver” or plexweb(Lossy)"

They both run in my browser?

The only 2 clients as I understand are “plexamp” which is lossy(But google AI said "To make Plexamp play audio losslessly, ensure your music library contains lossless audio formats like FLAC, and then verify that your Plex settings are set to automatically transcode to the original format instead of downmixing to a lower quality when streaming; you generally don’t need to manually adjust settings as Plex will automatically play lossless audio if available in your library. "

Please understand that report caused more confusion as days ago someone said "Plexamp is always lossy)

Apparently “plexamp” can run lossless as lossles,according to some folks?

I am leaning towards “Plexserver” because i love its ability to organize the queue as I want,but I will settle for any Plex method to get lossless

To get lossless what exactly do I do and in what to get that?

What does that look like exactly

Cheers again mate

11

Stop referring to “Plex Web” as “Plex server”. You are confusing yourself and others by doing it.
Plex Web is not Plex Server.
The two are different parts of the Plex ecosystem.

Plex server runs natively on wherever you have it installed and started. On Windows and Mac its only representation is the tiny Plex icon in the task tray.
To play content from the server, you need a Plex client.
Plex Web is one such client, which doubles as a server management app.
There are other client app types for various devices and operating systems.
PC, Mac, Apple TV, mobile phones, smart TVs


Plexamp is a special Plex client, which is restricting itself to audio playback.
It can be installed on PC, Mac, Linux, and mobile phones/tablets.
When installed on PC, it can play play certain audio formats losslessly.
Provided, that
a) it has access to a sound interface which supports sample rates as high as the source audio file
b) the source file is in a supported codec and file container. Your best bet for high-res audio in Plexamp is flac. Avoid any patented codecs such as (E-)AC3, DTS, TrueHD, Atmos.
Playback in Plexamp is usually restricted to stereo. However, on Windows PCs, with a multi-channel sound interface, it is possible to play 5.1 channel flac files in surround (hi-res and lossless. I’m doing it for years now.)
c) there is sufficient network bandwidth available between server and client. Which is certainly almost always true when client and server are within the same home network. When remote, there can be restrictions in place, which then cause plexamp to request a lossy copy of the source file, in order to fulfill the bandwidth restriction.

1 Like
12

Well I am obviously and def. confused and do apologize for unknowingly confusing others in my ignorance as to what all this means.I have only been at this for a few days now,this is all new to me.I mean not to confuse anyone.The learning curve is painful,just when I think I have it in sus there is another roadblock

All this new terminology is new to me.I am starting from scratch

If plexweb is lossy I have no interest in it , so that may save time for all of us mate.

Maybe if I cut to the chase there will be less confusion ?

I have tons of lossless audio from 16/44 ,24/192,to DSD 512 that I want to play unhindered

I have plexserver and plexamp installed & I find no client named “Plex Web”,my apologies.

I do have a browser where I add my server IP into and browse and play my music,so I assumed that is “webserver”? If not what is that method called?

Is a browser just another client and not "plexweb"app/client ?

One thing I like about that in browser method is precise control over the queue,but if that is lossy I also have no use for it,but it is a shame to lose that precise queue control.Maybe plex will eventually add more queue control so I can drag and place tracks where I want them

Somewhere over these last days I have been told that “plexamp” is only lossy,but others ,and now you have said it is also lossless if my files are.I am here to testify that when playing music in “plexamp” i noticed that under the cover art infos etc i see

FLAC-Then 5 stars to rate the track and to my joy a bitrate report IE 192/24(my DAC handles to DSD 512) .

That seems promising to me,esp with what you say ,So when I see IE 192/24 Is Plexamp actually playing back my music at “native quality” (using Plex as some kind of pass-thru?)

Is Plex Server just the library host?

Near 70-80% of my music files are FLAC,with some ALAC and even fewer .Ape filesWill i need to encode those Alacs and .Ape to FLAC?

“Provided
a) it has access to a sound interface which supports sample rates as high as the source audio file”
I assume you mean a DAC,and yes my DAC does up to DSD 512

I was just reading some 3 year old redditt threads on plexamp and they all say that plexamp is only lossy,so I assume that over 3 years Plex has improved the app,or they are wrong.Once i have a firm handle on this I will def upgrade to the better features access.That suggests to me that they are worth upgrading for more feature once I get a firm handle on all this.

If there is a way to get native bitrate and the precise queue control that I get by typing my IP into a browser I would love that,if not,and you tell me that I am getting native unhindered bitrates in Plexamp as I reported,I will be ok with that.It seems that I am causing others a headache here.My apologies.

I am new and do not endeavor to upset or confuse anyone,and I would like to be a part of this community and one day hope to pay all this help I receive here forward

Cheers

13

Plex Web is very much able to play at least stereo flac files directly, even in hi-res. It all depends on the platform it’s running on. Sometimes even the kind of web browser, as each can have different restrictions re: audio format support. Flac=lossless

Doesn’t work. No Plex client has a pipeline for handling DSD directly. The best you can get is lossy transcoding of DSD to OPUS.

As explained above, if running Plexamp on Windows, and the files are using flac, it can work.

Opening the address http://127.0.0.1:32400/web on that very machine in a web browser will get you the Plex Web app.
Or on any other machine opening https://app.plex.tv will do the same.

That is using Plex Web. The “local version” of Plex Web, that is.
There is also a hosted version of Plex web available at https://app.plex.tv

A browser is a web browser. If you open the address of the Plex Web app in it, you are using Plex Web.

Not true.
As explained already, it always depends on the type of connection (remote/local) and the type of file, and the plat form where plexamp is running on. For instance when running Plexamp on Android phone, you are often restricted to 48kHz sample rate. If you have a flac file with 48 kHz SR and 24 bit dit depth, and a local connection to the server, it can play losslessly on Android.

It means that it is the technical details of the file that has been sent into Plexamp. So the data travelled unchanged from the server to Plexamp.
If the sound interface is supporting 192 kHz, then Plexamp can play the file as-is.
If however the sound interface can only handle 48, then Plexamp will downsample internally from 192 to 48 kHz.

It should work OK with flac an alac. APE I don’t know. That’s a more niche format. You are probably best off converting it to flac. Since these are both lossless, the conversion should not negatively affect the audio quality.

Correct. It’s the central repository for both the media files and their metadata. It will also analyse the files and collect metadata from external sources about them.
Plex clients will always refer to the Plex server when asked to play something. (an exception are Downloaded files, which are available on some clients)

As already detailed above, the writers of these lines probably were only using mobile phones, which are often not only restricted in bandwidth but also in the maximal supported sample rate.

I’m not sure what the bitrate has to do with an IP.
What do you mean with queue control?

You will get a very high audio quality if you

  • use Plexamp on a PC, with your external DAC connected.
  • set your DAC to a default sample rate of 192kHz, 24 bit (via the Windows sound interface properties) Doing so will cause all file formats other than 192kHz to get upsampled during playback by Plexamp. That is in my experience quite acceptable.
  • DSD playback will be only lossy

Try it with the above setting on your PC.
Listen to a high number of songs, with various qualities and file formats.
Decide for yourself whether what you are hearing is enjoyable or not.

14

Thank your for the kind and patient reply.It is appreciated

“I’m not sure what the bitrate has to do with an IP.
What do you mean with queue control?”

I meant when I use a browser I type in my IP address of the server.My apologies mate

By queue control I mean that in using a browser I can go to my queue and drag any file to anywhere in the queue that I want.I am really a lover of that option

In Plexamp I can only (when I am in queue view) right click the 3 dots by the file and make it play next,I cannot move it anywhere else in the queue.I can live with that if I am getting lossless,but man I would love that feature.

I hope in my newbness I have explained that well enough. If not I will try better to explain

Again,big cheers for your versed help

I hope to pay this forward someday

15

The same can be done in Plexamp.
See [How To] Plexamp 4.6.1
“ReOrder Tracks”

16

WOW I was about to ask about that mate :slight_smile:

Is there a limitto what the queue can display in plexamp?

I can have a ton of tracks in queue but only so may ever show,but once that last track is complete the rest of the queue shows

Cheers

17

Unfortunately, yes.
The web app shows the whole queue, it has that one in favor.

1 Like
18

Cheers again

19

Yes I have received much great help here and I do appreciate it

What a fine forum and a program

20

I wanted to come back to this post and say a huge cheers for all the help I have recieved & ask another question

Not really a question as I already know the answer(sort of)

I am using plexamp with all music on my Windows 10 PC,and I play that on my Win 10 tablet with a dac-amp

It is an amazing program and I am almost 100% satisfied

My only concern is the limited view on play queue.It is a huge part of my listening style to have full access to the queue and I do feel quite restricted by viewing only 12 songs

I know plexweb allows full view(But it is lossy and I would rather have a smaller queue view that listen to lossy

But it does seem a do able update for plexamp to increase the queue view and I see many folks wanting that feature

So I am here to ask if there is hope in the future for a larger queue view in plexamp?

It would make the program 100% IMHO.And not having it really brings the numbers down,but when the alternative is lossy that is even worse

I would be all over a life sub if that was to happen,but atm I cannot afford such.But if there was ever a crazy sale like there was a few years ago I would jump in

So a final question here.How can I keep my self informed of all things plex? I mean esp when there would be a sale?

Cheers