I do not serve my libraries outside my home so I am wondering why I should need a server and a client to simply watch movies in my home.
Is there a way to only run one APP and have a clean organized library?
Why cant the GUI client app be built into the server app?
At bare minimum when I click on the server app why cant it open the client app instead of a web based app?
Because even if you have no interest in remotely accessing your Plex content, you may want to watch programs on multiple devices/rooms of your home. Also, many people run their Plex servers on devices that have no speakers or display.
If you have no desire to serve ANY OTHER device in your house or on the go, then I suggest that Plex is not the program for you. The whole point of Plex is to have a centralized place for your media, complete with metadata, posters, thumbnails, trailers, etc. Then, you use fairly minimal clients on a bunch of other devices to have a consistent presentation of your media, the ability to keep track of what movies/episodes you have seen, and shortcuts to quickly return to where you were watching. On top of all that, if you want to watch a particular show/movie on a device, you can keep a single copy of the movie, and the server will reformat (a copy of it) in real-time to play on the device.
If none of this appeals to you, then consider Kodi, which (I hear) Plex was a branch off of, which keeps all this metadata in the client itself. This means that whatever device you watch on will have to potentially have gigabytes of extra data stored on it. I used to be 100% Kodi, until I found out my FireTV had so little internal storage that I could not access my own video library without running out of space.
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What are you doing in the local server web app that you can’t do in the, I’m guessing here, Windows/Mac native app? Just use the client app then most of the time?
I think I will try Kodi, thanks.
Basically I have a laptop plugged into a surround system in turn plugged into a 65" TV. Its my ENTERTAINMENT system offering music, tv, internet, movies, games, work, hobbies with 20Tb attached. I torrent all my media and keep about 80% of it.
I was looking for a one stop media organizer.
The client app can not see your files if the server app is not running.
I like to keep my system super lean so I dont want a server app running in the background all the time. If I want to enjoy a movie I have to open the server app, open the client app, and start the movie. I then have to close both apps. This is highly inefficient for my logical brain.
I enjoy all my media from one system and dont need to access it from any other device or network.
The client app can not see your files if the server app is not running.
Yeah I know, I didn’t mean don’t use the server, the server app is literally meant to serve up your content, it’s not super beefy either when it’s just sitting there, not hurting anything. Just have it run and not open it lol.
The basic server-client relationship is very logical, but I guess for your super specific use case any media player would do right.
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As you have described your setup Kodi seems better for you than Plex. But here are some things to think about.
Windows players (including Plex) can’t do HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. This is a reason to consider a streaming box with the Plex app. The Plex app may even be made for your TV, in which case it should support all the TV’s HDR modes. (The Plex Police will insist you spend money on a box and not use the Plex client in the TV, but there is no reason not to try it because some TVs run Plex just fine.)
If you are not using Windows as the playback device you won’t have problems with things like the audio settings changing unexpectedly (happens CONSTANTLY to me in Kodi and Plex), HDMI full/limited mode, and other annoyances. I am sure you CAN manage all of these things. I did too, for many years. Then I tried Plex on a streaming box and I was so pleased that it “just worked.”
Lastly you may find you enjoy having all your media on all your devices once you have that option. You are habituated to exclusively using the entertainment center now, but it is also pretty cool to watch a TV show in bed if you find you can’t sleep, or have your music on the road, or even to share a movie with a friend.
You could install the Plex server on that media laptop, install the Plex client on the TV, and just see how it goes. Once you get over the mental hurdle of the server/client model you may find you like what it does for you.
I was JUST like you once, only cared about ONE place to watch shows, insisted on everything being on Windows… I am not saying you need to change, but if I found I liked it better the Plex way, you might too.
You don’t need Plex in your use case.
Build a CoreElec streaming box and manage your content/metadata through Kodi instead.
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Plex server being beefy or not I have a high-end gaming laptop (my entire media centre) with 64g of ram and I dont let anything run when I am not using it. I have windows leaned out and locked down from install because that is the way I prefer it.
“any media player” does not create a beautiful GUI library like plex does, that is what attracted me to it before I realized I needed to run a server and a client. I am trying Kodi as an alternative but may just suffer with using the server.
I appreciate the feedback.
I try to keep as much bloat and software off my devices (laptop, tv, and phone are the only ones I have) so dont want to add stuff to my tv (I have even removed all the tv’s bloat and apps. All my tv does is turn on and display my laptop screen, think of it like a 65" monitor.
When I want to watch tv in bed I simply swivel my tv in the right direction, I live in a bachelor/studio apartment.
Any music I need on the go is on an sd card I put into my car system or my audiophile MP3 player (yes I still use one of those). XD
Today is Kodi install day so I will see how that works for my specific usage.
I understand fighting bloatware but you are taking it pretty far, my man! I cannot imagine stopping a server process when I am not actively using it.
If you do try Plex you will drive yourself crazy if you try to micro-manage what the server does. Not only does the server have to run for the system to work, but by default Plex wants to connect to online metadata sources, it authenticates with the mothership, it periodically re-scans your files looking for changes, it tries to group media into collections, it offers recommendations on what to watch next … It is a busy little bee. You can turn off a lot of that stuff, but not all of it.
Whichever way you go, I hope you find media library bliss.
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