I’m looking for a music library organizer akin to iTunes for syncing to my phone (Android). I’m not as interested in using Plex as an always-on server. Does the following setup make sense?
Import and organize library in Plex.
While server is online, download library for offline use on my phone.
Allow server to be offline, and still access offline library on my phone without complications.
Sync additional content by turning on the server, and downloading for offline use, etc etc.
I’m okay with paying for a lifetime Plex Pass subscription and paid mobile apps for this to work, I’m just curious if anyone else knows if this is practical beforehand. The only other updated music library software I’ve come across is MediaMonkey, but it’s laggy even on my Pixel 6A and has an ugly UI.
Most of the Plex features are enabled by the server.
If your Plex client is offline from the server, so are most of the advanced features.
Plus, there is no support for downloading complete libraries to Plex clients.
Ah drat. If I’m looking to just sync music & playlists, what are some of the advanced features I’d be missing when my server is offline? Asking because I realize I’d be using Plex for about 10% of its total potential, which may help me out in this case.
Music-wise, Plexamp provides access to very cool automatic playlist generation. Many of which access the results of the previously performed sonic analysis of your music.
You will definitely make less pre-fabbed playlist like in iTunes, once you get the hang of these automatic playlists.
These are definitely not available offline. Plexamp | Plex
It is possible to download a few of these auto-playlists to your phone. But once they arrive on there, they’re “static” and cannot be modified anymore.
There is also a time limit per downloaded playlist of 24 hours.
I don’t mind not having any automated features like that. I’m not a big playlist person, and any that I’d make would be fully manual, so my biggest concern would be if my offline edits synced back after I booted my server back up.
I also wasn’t sure if I’d even use Plexamp, since I’m not an audiophile by any means. I’d probably experiment with both apps to see which worked better though.
Thank you again for you help with answering these questions
Plexamp is a much better app on a mobile device for listening to music. Its interface is designed to find and select your music for playback. The default Plex app can also play music, but it is also designed around selecting and playing single, long-lasting files (movies/shows), so it’s not as seemless or focused as the plexamp app is. The Plexamp app doesn’t really “enhance” the music, it’s just a more music-focused version. It’s kinda like using WMP to play music. Sure, you can, but wouldn’t a small music-focused app like WinAmp be better? That’s the point of Plexamp.
Ok, with that out of the way, it sounds like this may work for you. If the server is offline, the app will not be able to connect to your server and provide live files, but any album/playlist you have selected to download ahead of time works still. I created a playlist of music that I selected to download to my iPhone. If I want to add a song to the playlist I can do that in the app (with the server online), or I can do it from a web browser (with the server online). Any change made to the playlist contents is detected by the PlexAmp app the next time you load it up and the server is online. Once that is done, you may freely shut the server down and enjoy your playlists. If the playlist contents are perfect, you may never need to boot up the server again for quite some time.
OttoKerner does have a point, that playlists seem to have an arbitrary limit of no more than 24-hours worth of music in each list. I do not know if it is a design choice by the devs, or a limit to prevent a system/server-breaking bug in too-long playlists, but that is what it is.
Editing playlist in Plexamp while the server is offline… Hmm, I do not know. I haven’t used it enough to know if that works, but I don’t see why not. If this is ULTRA IMPORTANT to you, you may want to ask for a second opinion on someone else before you commit.
Mind you, I think Plex will work, but a Plex pass for it seems a bit overkill. The pass’ features I think are more helpful for the movie/show side of things. I think that perhaps the only benefit to the pass here would be the features in Plexamp. Checking just now, it seems that Plexamp is only accessible from ownership of a Plex Pass. I thought it was like the mobile Plex app, which could be unlocked for a one-time store purchase of $5, but I think it may be Pass-locked.
Honestly this would be the biggest hurdle when I first set up my server library, but afterwards wouldn’t be a personal issue. I’m not constantly trying to make playlists on the fly, and most of my playlists are just grouping an artist or two all together
It is, but from what I can tell it’s the only way to get mobile downloads (and Plexamp), unless if I’m reading the feature lists wrong. I was already anticipating paying for a product though, whether it’s this or the premium versions of MediaMonkey or something else. I just don’t want to pay a recurring fee to access (or rent ) my music. I’m by and large trying to recreate the media library experience from the mid-aughts (I miss my Zune ).
Will this knowledge though, I think I’ll pay for Pass for a month, and see if I can set up a demo of this scenario and see if it works. And who knows, maybe there’ll be a BF/CM deal? I’ll report back here though with my findings. Unless if I’m just using the completely incorrect keywords, I’m surprised I’m amongst the first trying this out! Thanks again to the both of you for helping out.
Ah, I am thinking of the download feature as being already enabled as aprt of PlexAmp, but I forgot that Amp cannot be run without a Pass. I’ve had the Pass for so long I guess I forgot what comes with it or not.
Plex does have a lifetime one-time purchase pass. It can often be discounted, especially during big shopping days (like possibly the upcoming black friday). This will forever enable the pass for your account, providing all current (and future) features restricted to the pass.
It still sounds like Plex might be a bit of overkill to me. Especially if you do not plan to use Plex for the Movies/Shows features, and plan to leave the server offline most of the time. At that point, perhaps a more music-focused app might be a better choice for you than Plex. I don’t have any suggestions for other apps, but a “monthly fee” or a hundred+ dollar one-time purchase seems like a bit much to just take your own music on the go.
Maybe just look into a small but dedicated MP3 player device? Or if it must be on the phone, I think a player app similar to Winamp would be good. Googling “Winamp ios”, I came across an article that suggests over a dozen alternate music player apps, all of which I’d bet will allow you to take music on the go. Maybe check them out? https://alternativeto.net/software/winamp/?platform=iphone
Omg I always forget about AlternativeTo, thank you! MusicBee looks like it might do the trick for me (it has library organizing & syncing, while most modern MP3 players just use drag and drop). I may drop 5 bucks for a month and see if Plex setup works out of pure curiosity, but otherwise I may have found my solution
) my music. I’m by and large trying to recreate the media library experience from the mid-aughts (I miss my Zune 
).
I’ll report back here though with my findings. Unless if I’m just using the completely incorrect keywords, I’m surprised I’m amongst the first trying this out! Thanks again to the both of you for helping out.
