Plex app for Android Review
Plex for Android is a companion app to the free media center software Plex. It helps you with the management and playback of video, photo and music files, as well as podcasts. The basic functionality of Plex is completely free. However, to enjoy premium features you need to unlock its full functionality with a Plex Pass subscription or a one-time in-app purchase which costs monthly $4.99, or yearly $39.99, or lifetime fee of $149.99.
Features
The first thing you got to do is to set up the Plex server in your home PC. This involves downloading the Plex Media Server app to your PC and it is not a daunting task at all. The set up is a straightforward procedure, and you simply follow the instructions up to the ‘Finish’ button. You got to tell the server where all your medial lies, wherein it indexes them, thus making it easy to find with a search or add artwork to them. There is a service named ‘myPlex’ that allows you to create a user account on Plex servers and then stream you home media to your phone while you’re out on the road. This comes handy if you’re bored while on the move and desperately wants to watch some video or listen to music to kill time. Realistically, the video might not be suited for your 3G, given the data cost, but the music service is excellent, and Plex very well could be a worthy replacement for services like Spotify.
Video over WiFi looked good, even though it also depends upon the processing power of your phone and the network. You can manually set the data rate, or let the app handle it by itself. There is another nice feature: if you were watching a video on your phone, and suddenly decides that it looks good on the computer screen, then you can send it to an active media centre. The phone will then acts as a remote control. Other major features of the app include Plex Pass feature that syncs media to your phone or tablet for offline viewing. You can also sync media to your favorite cloud provider including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box, so you can stream media even when your server is offline.
Conclusion
Given the enjoyment factor it brings to the table, and the flexibility to access your videos/music on your PC while you’re on the move, its price tag is reasonable enough. The server and media center are free. So the whole deal won’t break your bank. The overall performance also depends upon your 3G and the performance of your phone. Check it out if you’re looking for a utility capable of organizing all of your video, music, and photo collections and streams them to all of your screens.
Category: Android Apps
