Note: Unfortunately, Plex killed off its Plugins feature in late 2018.
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If you’re a casual user, Plex will virtually work straight out of the box. You just need to spend a little time learning how to set up Plex and add your media.
But after you’ve used Plex for a while, you might notice a missing feature, or wish for some extra functionality. Which is where third-party plugins come into play.
There are hundreds of Plex addons out there; many of them aren’t worth your time. But some are absolute must-haves.
If you’d like to know which third-party Plex tools can turn you into to a power user, keep reading.
1. Tautulli
Formerly known as PlexPy, Tautulli is an essential add-on for anyone who shares their Plex library with other people.
The add-on focuses on providing statistics about your Plex server. The stats include what programs have been watched, who watched them, and when and where they were watched.
It’s also a powerful notifications tool. You can alert other people when you add new content to your library, receive an alert if your server goes down, and many more.
Lastly, this add-on allows you to use custom scripts. These let you expand the functionality considerably. For example, you could kill a stream if a user is outside of your local network, or automatically add a label to recently added library items.
2. Web Tools
Web Tools is perhaps the most commonly-used Plex add-on.
It includes the popular Unsupported Appstore (which includes a host of unofficial Plex channels and user-generated content), as well as logging tools, a subtitle management module, a playlist management module, and a tool that can scan for missing or unmatched media.
Depending on which operating system you’re running, installing the add-on can be a bit complicated. Luckily, we’ve explained how to unlock Plex channelsHow to Unlock More Channels on Plex With the Unsupported App StoreHow to Unlock More Channels on Plex With the Unsupported App StoreThere are hundreds of Plex channels available through the Unsupported App Store. Here's how to install it and unlock the extra content.Read More elsewhere on the site.
3. Sub-Zero
Plex can handle subtitles nativelyHow to Use Subtitles on Plex: Everything You Need to KnowHow to Use Subtitles on Plex: Everything You Need to KnowPlex supports several subtitle solutions for your media, but they're all disabled 'out of the box.' Here's everything you need to know about how to use subtitles on Plex.Read More, but it comes with a few caveats. You only have access to a couple of subtitles libraries, and the tool doesn’t retrospectively add subtitles to existing media.
Sub-Zero offers a more holistic way of managing subtitles.
It will automatically scan eight repositories to find the best subtitles for your video, it can scan your media for missing subtitles files, and it offers many customization tools such as color, timing offset, and the removal of HI tags for people with impaired hearing.
4. Plex2Netflix
Unfortunately, there is no way to watch Netflix from within the Plex app. However, Plex2Netflix does offer an easy way to see how much of your existing library is available on the popular streaming service.
It’s useful if you’re running short of space and want to delete some content. You’ll also find it useful if you’re wondering whether you need to spend the time downloading a new show.
For each library item, the add-on will tell you what percentage of the show is available. For example, perhaps you have five series of your favorite comedy saved locally, but only the first three series are available on Netflix.
5. Plex Export
Would you like to show other people what content is on your Plex server without giving them access to the server itself? Plex Export is the add-on you need. It lets you produce an interactive HTML page that anyone can browse.
Your media is shown by section, and the HTML page includes live filters so viewers can quickly establish what’s available. You can filter by most metadata fields, including genre, actor, year, rating, and more.
Free Editor For Mac6. TheaterTrailers
Some people like to try and make their Plex server replicate the movie-going experience as closely as possible. A big part of that is watching pre-movie trailers for films that haven’t yet hit theaters.
The TheaterTrailers add-on can pull in trailers that are currently airing in cinemas and broadcast them before your video starts. When the films eventually become available to the public, the app will automatically delete its trailer.
7. Plex-Sync
Plex-Sync lets you automatically sync the watched status between multiple Plex servers. It’s useful if you have separate servers running in different locations—for example, at your house and in the office.
The tool can also sync between different users. If you and your partner watch some episodes of a show together but others when you’re apart, it will ensure you’re both on the same page when you next log in.
You can sync your content via both HTTPS and ports.
8. Transmogrify
Transmogrify is a browser extension. If you access Plex via a web browser rather than through the desktop client, the tool will introduce several useful new features.
Plex Mac Download
The additional features include a server statistics page, a way to see any missing seasons or episodes in TV shows, actor profiles, and a randomizer for movies and TV series.
The extension will also add several new links to the Plex interface. Examples include a “view trailer” button, a link to a movie’s IMDb page, and a Rotten Tomatoes link.
9. IPTV
Many TV networks around the world broadcast their shows via IPTV. Using the IPTV channel, you can access those feeds (assuming they’re not encrypted or geo-blocked).
To add content to the app, you’ll need to get your hands on a streaming URL or an M3U playlist. A quick Google search will reveal hundreds of playlists you can choose from.
The app supports on-screen program guides, channel categories, and custom channel logos. If you’ve never used IPTV before, make sure you check out the add-on’s wiki. It has all the information you need to get started.
10. Trakt Scrobbler
For those who don’t know, Trakt is like the Last.fm of the video world. It automatically logs everything you’ve been watching to your online profile.
Kodi has a Trakt add-on, so if you split your time between the two popular apps, this is an essential tool to keep on of what you’ve been watching. It will sync your watch history between the two apps so you don’t become confused. https://treeru.weebly.com/all-share-pc-software-for-mac.html.
Like Last.fm, Trakt will also make recommendations based on your viewing habits. It can even tell you which services and apps offer the show or movie you want to watch. Other features include a TV calendar and customizable watchlists.
Helping You Become a Plex Power User
Of course, installing these plugins or addons won’t suddenly make you a Plex power user. If you want to get the most out of Plex, you’ll benefit from reading some of the other articles we’ve previously published on MakeUseOf.
Start off by learning some essential Plex tips and tricks, then decide whether or not you need a Plex Pass. Finally, try one of these Plex web shows and these popular Plex podcasts.
And to learn about sideloading Plex pluginsHow to Sideload Plex PluginsHow to Sideload Plex PluginsLearn how to sideload Plex plugins, how to use sideloaded Plex plugins, and how to delete sideloaded Plex plugins.Read More, check out our guide.
Explore more about: Media Streaming, Plex.
Plex Database Editor
[Editor's note: The following review is part of Macworld's GemFest 2009 series. Every day until the end of June 2009, the Macworld staff will use the Mac Gems blog to briefly cover a favorite free or low-cost program. Visit the Mac Gems homepage for a list of past Mac Gems.]
It's difficult to find a video cataloguing and playback application that rivals the formidable pairing of iTunes and Front Row. But now there's Plex, a media center for Mac OS X that's capable of cataloguing and playing back every major video format out there, and it works admirably with the Apple Remote to boot.
Unlike iTunes, Plex doesn't make a copy of your media files and pull them into its own organized hierarchy, opting instead to let you control the folder structure of your media. Once you have your movies and television shows organized and renamed by release dates for movies and seasons for television shows, all you have to do is point the application to the folders in question and it automatically pulls the relevant information about all your media from various online sources such as the Internet Movie Database, the Online TV Database, and MTV. Furthermore, it also automatically adds all the media files from your iTunes library to its own, allowing you to take advantage of iTunes' superior music organization along with Plex's strengths in the video department.
Once you have your media added to Plex, you can use either the Apple Remote or the cursor keys on your keyboard to navigate through the interface and play your music, movies, and television shows. The interface is beautifully designed and easy to use. The folks behind Plex have done a good job of hiding the complexity of the application behind the contextual menu (invoked by pressing and holding the Menu button on the Apple Remote for a second or two or hitting the 'C' key on the keyboard) and preventing it from spilling onto the main interface. If you want to do some things manually like editing the title of an item, marking it as watched or unwatched, scanning for new content, or adding an item to your favorites list, that contextual menu allows you to do it all and then some.
One other great aspect of Plex is its newfound extensibility and integration with online sources for free content. Recent versions of Plex include the App Store, a built-in library of free third-party plugins that allow Plex to download content from websites like Apple Trailers, Hulu, Joost, Netflix, Pitchfork, Vimeo, and YouTube, which is just a tiny sampling of the rapidly growing library that consists of hundreds of such plug-ins. Combine this burgeoning library of plug-ins with the incredible pace at which new features are added to Plex itself and you're looking at an application that has something new to offer almost on a daily basis.
(Image Caption: Plex's beautifully designed interface makes it a breeze to navigate through and play music, movies, and television shows stored on your hard drive.)
Plex has almost completely replaced the combination of Front Row, iTunes, Perian, and QuickTime Player for me. It's not just a great cataloguing and media center application; it does a stellar job of playing back media files as well. Very high definition videos, in particular, play smoothly in Plex, although they don't in any of the aforementioned Apple programs, even with the Perian codecs installed.
Plex is supported by an active community of developers and users, and new features are released on a weekly basis. Even with the abundance of features Plex already has, the developers assure me that there is much more to come--and I believe them.
As great as it is though, there are a few features I would like to see added to Plex. The first one is more manual control over the tagging of media. Although Plex's automated scraping of online databases is very reliable and does a great job nine times out of ten, there is always that odd video that just refuses to be identified correctly and you'd much rather fill in the details for it yourself. Also, you might have a series of videos that you want to corral into the television shows section, but you cannot do so in the current version of Plex's library.
One other feature that makes a lot of sense is a built-in theme browser (which may even be made a part of the App Store) that allows you to browse and download a variety of third-party themes for Plex and install them with a single click. As it currently stands, Plex's default theme MediaStream is pretty much the only option for users. I would like to see this change and the Plex team's emphasis on this area might bring about that change.
If you have an even moderately large media library and like the idea of having everything neatly catalogued and readily available at the press of a button, or if you simply like watching high-definition movies, then you should try Plex. To see Plex in action, watch the video below (visit the Macworld YouTube channel to see the Plex video demonstration in HD).
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Our 186-page Mac Gems Superguide is a veritable greatest hits of Mac Gems. It's available as a PDF download, PDF on CD-ROM, or as a printed book. Learn more about the Mac Gems Superguide.
[Aayush Arya is a journalism student from India and regular contributor to Macworld. His online haunts include his blog, Penned Thoughts, and his Twitter feed.]
This story, 'Plex media center software' was originally published by MacCentral.
Copyright © 2009 IDG Communications, Inc.
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