Server Version#: latest
Player Version#: Samsung 55QN95A
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Hi,
I just downloaded Plex and did some testing. I installed it on my HP Spectre Notebook with Windows 11 Pro, told Plex where to find some video files on the local harddisk and purchased a monthly subscription. On my TV I installed the Plex app, which shows the video files on my notebook and is able to play them. Now I would expect to start a video also from notebook in the same way as I do it with Windows file explorer, i.e. right click the video and select my TV as player (but then the video lacks audio because of incompatible encoding). But there is no such option in Plex web GUI. In the upper right corner of Plex web GUI is an icon that says “Chose player”, which get’s populated when I launch Plex app on my TV. Although I don’t want to stream to a “player” (I consider my TV as a “device”, not a “player”), it does not work either when I activate the “player”. Instead, clicking on the play symbol of one of the video files gives the above message. What am I missing?
Ok, let’s rephrase it: I can start videos within Plex app on TV and watch them on TV. So Plex app obviously can see my TV. I can also start videos within Plex GUI on my notebook and watch them on the notebook. How can I initiate playing videos on the TV the normal way, i.e. right click on my notebook and chose the device (my TV)?
Plex will fling/cast media to a running Plex app on the client. If the OS of the controller supports direct streaming to the device (e.g. based on Chromecast or AirPlay protocols), you might be able to directly establish a stream that way.
I wonder… why is streaming from a PC „the right way“ instead of initiating a stream from the Plex app on the device?
If the OS of the controller supports direct streaming to the device
Windows does, MacOS also as far as I know.
you might be able
Might? Is Plex sort of unstable so far?
…why is streaming from a PC „the right way“…
Well that’s the way I’m used to do it within Windows (e.g. right click and send to USB drive or to TV). Since you don’t want to study manuals before watching a video you try it the way you’re familiar with.
After a while, I had the idea that there might be a relationship between the app on the TV and the “Connect to Device” icon (I’m a networker guy and don’t normally need an app to “see” a device, but rather a layer 1 connection and an IP address). So I launched the app on the TV - and bingo! Now the “client” (or “controller” or “server”, i.e. the web GUI, which finally opened after a long search via the hidden Plex icon in the systray on my notebook) shows my TV as a “connected device”. So I click on the play symbol again – and get the error message mentioned above. Since the movie was previously started on the notebook and now no longer starts and throws an error message, logic tells me that the client/controller/server actually wants to send the movie to the TV, but is unable to do so. This is the current state.
