We often come here when something is not working and we need help. For a change, I thought I would write up what works. Plex Inc. is not paying me nor did it ask me to write this post. In short, Plex generally works though it has some quirks.
Background
I have the Plex server installed on an Asustor NAS 5202T running ADM 4.3.3 (The Asustor operating system). I have about 15000 songs, 1200 audio books, 800 movies, and 50 TV series (not individual episodes). Everything is on the NAS. When I bought the NAS, it was bundled with PMS (Plex Media Server) 1.41.0. I have found no reason to upgrade it.
I connect to the NAS directly through Ethernet, directly through Wi-Fi (it’s rather slow), internally on LAN through Ethernet or Wi-Fi and remotely through any standard Internet connection. I use tablets, mobile phones, laptops, desktops and smart TVs.
In terms of clients, I use Plex Web; Plex, Plexamp and Plex Dash for Android; Plex, Plexamp and Plex Dash for iOS; Plex app for Vidaa (a TV operating system); and third-party Prologue and Chronicle (they work natively with Plex server) strictly for audio books. I also use the third-party Tautulli. I have a Plex Pass.
I’m fairly familiar with VLC, Emby, Kodi, NextPVR and Windows Media Player.
Use habits
I would say I listen to music 60% of the time, to audio books 20% of the time, watch movies about 15% of the time, live TV about 3% of the time and TV series about 2% of the time. I find Plexamp brilliant, but I have a big problem with separate apps for music and videos (see my post and similar views here). I’m the sole “admin” but I have about 15 people with managed accounts. I use Plex mostly remotely. I have turned off (I hope) all the social media features of Plex.
Positives
Plex worked for me out of the box with minimal tweaking. I especially liked how I could throw pretty much any file format at it (some have to be converted but it happens automatically; the user doesn’t even have to be aware of it); wide availability on various platforms; numerous data points; nice user interface; and hassle free remote access.
Other points:
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I can easily customize the title, album and artwork of my media files. I have heard (not experienced) complaints that the artwork doesn’t always stick.
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It’s easy to share my media with other people.
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With the right hardware (generic satellite receivers and a generic IP encoder, not listed by Plex) and the right software (NextPVR), I have no issues watching recorded TV programmes.
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Remote access, which was critical in my case, was as simple as enabling it in Plex settings. I didn’t have to do anything else. As a bonus, I could easily see my NAS’ external IP for use in other software without having to poke around. Weirdly (in a good way), Plex says the server is not available outside my local network but remote access works just fine. It uses the fallback “relay” function largely because I’m behind a “triple NAT” (don’t ask why). With the relay function, Plex throttles the bandwidth but that’s fine by me.
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Plex has very comprehensive documentation. Pretty much every scenario is covered.
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There is active development of the apps. This goes with good announcements and documentation. Some new features come but some old features also go. That said, I haven’t heard nice things about the new Plex app. I have disabled auto updates on my iPhone. Luckily, the old app still works, at the time of writing.
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Plex has a rich eco-system. Not mentioning the many third-party apps, Plex itself may be extended via plugins. I read somewhere that Plex scrapped the plugin feature in newer versions, but it still works perfectly on my system.
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Plex has many features, an overkill perhaps, that I’m not using at the moment but may need in future.
Negatives
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Remote access mostly works but not all the time and not for everybody.
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Although there is supposed to be an easy way out, I can’t access my media over LAN during rare times of Internet outage (I suspect because authentication fails). In that case, I use third-party DLNA. It’s not great but as backup, it’s OK. Plex also has a DLNA feature but I have never found the need to try it. I don’t know if that would work and, if so, how.
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I don’t like the trend towards fragmentation. I love Plexamp but I don’t see the sense in spinning it off from Plex.
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I don’t like enforced or secretive or sneaky social media features. Apple and Google tried that route and both failed miserably.
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There is no dedicated audio books functionality. One can use the music functions as a proxy but the experience is not great. I use the third-party apps mentioned above.
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Outside the documentation and this forum, support is practically non-existent. Some posts go more than 10 years without ever getting an answer. That said, there are people on this forum, including some Plex staff, who are very helpful.
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Plex is great and capable but in my experience, harder to learn than the competition.
Conclusion
All said and done, would I recommend Plex? Yes, but ultimately, it depends on what your expectations are and what you want to do with it.
