You’ll see a drop-down menu with a list of platforms you can choose from, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and a host of NAS platforms. Once you’ve picked which hardware you’re going to use, download the Plex Media Server application from the link below. Install the Plex Media Server Application However, if you don’t want to leave your computer continuously on you can use something like Wake-on-Lan to boot up your computer running Plex Server only when access is needed. If you need 4K or multiple 1080p streams and transcoding on the fly for streaming outside your network, you will need a more powerful device such as a computer. In order to stream your media outside your network your internet connection should also have robust upload speeds. You need to make sure the device you’re running it from has enough storage to accommodate your media library and always stays on and connected to the internet.

Keep in mind what running a Plex server, or any other kind of server for that matter, entails. The latter, though underpowered to handle multiple encoding and streaming media, is a low-cost way to build a Plex Server if you don’t want to invest in a NAS or don’t own a PC you can dedicate to that task, and is great for local playback on multiple devices. From computers running Windows, Linux, or Mac, to specialised devices such as a NAS or a Raspberry Pi.

You can install Plex Server on a number of compatible devices. The Plex model is simple: you store all your media on a single device with the Plex Server software installed, and then you install the Plex client on all your other devices. Plex operates as a centralized media server system that eliminates the issue above by streamlining the process of managing, organising and streaming media.

Plex my media