Have a cabin in the woods There is no internet. I have a modern lg tv, a wifi router, a new denon receiver, Roku stick Also have a Windows laptop.
Cabin is used by relatives who are not techies.
Is there anyway to make this work easily. I’m about ready to give up. Can’t seem to get Roku to talk to pc running plex server. “Server name not available”.
Tv says plex app not available.
In the past putting plex server on laptop and using Roku at different places worked fine as long as their was internet and everyone on same subnet.
I’ll try anything. Even if I have to buy another gadget.
Thank you
set secure connections to prefered and make sure your prefered network is selected.
then check your lan network ip and mask is set correctly.
Is the server in the cabin? Or are you trying to phone home?
I believe a cabin based Plex Server requires some manner of “check in” with home base (Plex themselves) periodically for updates and such. As a result, you may experience some success without internet for a while, but it will eventually fail when it tries to call home and doesn’t get an answer.
I think a Roku also requires some manner of internet connection to do stuff.
In a truly enclosed, internet free environment with a TV and a “Server” you’d be far better off picking up a hard drive, loading it full of movies/shows and running Kodi. I ran that setup in my cabin for years, until I got some good mobile hotspot service on my phone.
Kodi could work, but it would require each client to maintain the metadata/images/posters separately. If this is acceptable, you can do that, even if the media is held centrally on a separate device in the house.
Jellyfin is a Plex-like, and I think it has good support for no-internet connections. Plex uses online authentication, which GREATLY simplifies the setup process, but does mean that you must jump through hoops to get a no-internet setup for Plex to work.
Roku (and some TV apps) may be the one device that cannot work in a no-internet environment. I think I recall reading here a month ago where someone said that Roku itself REQUIRES internet just to load the app. This isn’t a Plex restriction, but a Roku restriction. If you buy almost any other device (android-based, most likely) and install those at each TV, it can likely work.
Note: Keep in mind that you cannot have individual profiles available in an offline environment, everyone will be logging in as the admin user itself of the server. That means each user will have the same “Continue Watching” that everyone else has.
I have no internet. I do have wireless router. No internet I’m in a cabin. I update media on laptop when I’m at home
I tried connecting my plex server on a laptop up at cabin via wifi. Could not connect:
Not via Roku
Not via lg tv app
Would I have any luck with htpc version?
Would I have better luck with kodi?
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I think you’d have far better luck with Kodi. Load up media at home. Do all the scans and such. Take to the cabin and connect direct to the TV. No problems at all. I’ve run a PC at my cabin that way for years. I did buy a little USB “remote” for it, which made navigating the thing infinitely easier than using a keyboard.
Plex needs internet. There’s just no way around it. You might get it to work with some tinkering, but it would only work short term, until it decided not to.
Thanks. I’ll go with Kodi and nvidia shield through a home theater receiver. Will make things easier for guests using the cabin I hope.
