Building a Plex Client
We mentioned earlier that there are a number of Plex client applications for a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows 8, and Roku. But all of these options usually rely on transcoding. If you store your media with a form of lossless compression, and if you want to preserve that quality throughout the process, you’ll want to build your own Plex client that can run the Plex Home Theater application.
PHT offers almost all of the functionality of the other Plex clients, but with an interface that’s both remote- and keyboard-friendly. The software can losslessly “direct play” any supported file in a Plex Server database (provided that the network is fast enough), and users can customize the look and feel of the application via a variety of skins and UI customizations.
As of the date of this article, PHT is officially available for Windows and OS X, with the option to use unofficial, community-developed Linux builds, giving users a wide range of potential platforms on which to build their dedicated playback client. The hardware and configuration possibilities are virtually endless, but we’ll hit on a few core builds that can provide a good starting point for new Plex users.
This is PC Perspective, so it’s a safe bet that most of you reading this article will elect to build your own client. Thankfully, the demands of video playback for a single stream on a single system are quite a bit lower than those faced by a server trying to transcode multiple streams simultaneously. You’ll therefore be able to use relatively inexpensive components in your client build and still have a good experience during playback.
CPU
When it comes to the CPU, you don’t really need much power under the hood for a Plex client. As an example, my personal Plex client in the home theater is running an Intel Core 2 Duo P8800, a 2.66GHz dual-core mobile CPU from 2009. I wouldn’t recommend that you buy this exact CPU, as it is no longer cost effective but, with a PassMark score of 1718, it is more than adequate for all but the highest bitrate 1080p content.
Looking to more modern options, the $50 Intel Celeron G1840 runs circles around the P8800 from a computational perspective, and you can step up to a Core i3-4330 ($140) if you want the more capable Intel HD 4600 graphics. On the AMD side of things, consider the A4-6300, a $50 chip arguably designed for the home theater PC market.
A brief note on motherboards: you’ll be fine using any motherboard that’s compatible with your choice of CPU, but I’d recommend picking one with an HDMI output, especially if you don’t plan to also use a discrete GPU. DVI converters and optical audio outputs are workable, but if you’re planning on hooking this box up to a TV or receiver, an audio-enabled HDMI output keeps things easy and simple.
Memory
If you’re building a dedicated playback client, RAM won’t be a huge issue. Playing back a high bitrate 1080p MKV requires less than 250MB of system memory on Windows 8.1. A minimum of 2GB to ensure acceptable performance of the OS is a safe bet. Of course, you’ll want to go to 8GB or 16GB if you plan to use your Plex client box for more than just movies.
GPU
The integrated GPU on most recent processors should be more than adequate. But if you want a little more power for tasks like gaming, consider a passively cooled card like the Sapphire Radeon Ultimate R7 250 or ASUS NVIDIA GT640 Silent. You’ll pay a little bit more and get a little less performance, but you’ll keep what is likely to be a living room PC as quiet as possible.
Of course, you’re also free to throw a Sapphire R9 280X Toxic in there if you don’t mind being regularly cited for disturbing the peace. Whichever way you go, just make sure that you get a card that supports DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) 2.0 if you want to get the benefits of H.264 hardware decoding.
System Storage
When building a system that’s primarily for Plex playback, go for a cheap, reliable hard drive. Solid state is an option if you want to keep noise to a minimum, but the small amount of caching required will be easily handled by even a slow mechanical hard drive. At most, an SSD will save on boot times and perhaps a bit of energy usage, depending on the drive.
You also don’t need much in the way of capacity. PHT will cache some assets locally, but the majority of your storage needs concern the server and media arrays. As an example, PHT on Windows 8.1 has consumed only about 2.5GB while regularly accessing my approximately 30TB Plex server (you’ll find your PHT cache located at C:Users[User]AppDataRoamingPlex Home Theater).
Case
Here’s where your personal preferences really come into play. There are a myriad of HTPC and small-form-factor cases from which to choose. Some I’ve had experience with include the Antec ISK 310-150, Silverstone ML07, and, if you’re looking for a case with a bit more room, the Silverstone Tek GD07B.
Regardless of case selection, consider replacing or upgrading the included fans to minimize noise. The Corsair Air Series Quiet Edition fans are inaudible from my movie watching position on the couch.
A final consideration is infrared control. You can control Plex Home Theater via the Plex mobile app, and there are Bluetooth keyboards built for living room use. But chances are that most of you will want a traditional remote control, and so you’ll need to either ensure that your case includes the necessary IR receiver, or pick up an external one. You can easily find USB-based IR receivers and remotes for less than $20 at places like Amazon and Newegg.
Pre-Built Solutions
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of building your own Plex client, or if you want the smallest and quietest solution possible, an integrated pre-built system might be the way to go. My personal favorite is the Intel NUC. You’ll need to bring your own memory, mSATA drive, and power cord, but any of these sleek and tiny PCs will handle Plex playback just fine. Even better, the NUC includes an integrated IR receiver, so you’ll be ready to go right away.
Another option, and one that I’ve used to great success, is to repurpose an old Mac mini. Don’t bother paying retail on this out-of-date hardware, but if you can find a used mini of the 2010 vintage or newer on the cheap, it will make for a silent and capable Plex client, complete with integrated IR, HDMI, four USB ports, and an SD Card reader.
Operating System
Once again, users have quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to the OS powering their Plex client. On the Windows side, you’ll need Vista or higher; those opting for Mac will need at least OS X Snow Leopard. For the unofficial Linux builds, the Plex community offers configuration guides for Fedora, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, and SteamOS. There’s also limited support for the Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center (OpenELEC).
Windows 7 or 8.1 are both good options if you’d prefer to keep things in the Redmond camp. Those considering repurposing a Mac should note that many users, including yours truly, have encountered bugs using the latest builds of PHT on OS X Mavericks and above. I’d therefore recommend sticking with OS X Mountain Lion if the Mac will be used primarily for Plex.
Regardless of your choice in operating system, you’ll want to configure a few settings to make the playback experience optimal. The first is auto-launch. In Windows 7 and 8.1, add the PHT executable to the Start Menu’s Startup folder. In OS X, you’ll find a similar setting in System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items. If you’re using Linux, many of the unofficial Linux PHT builds configure the app to launch for you at boot. Configuring PHT to launch at boot makes using the software with a remote much easier following a power outage or maintenance reboot. It may also be a key component of the “SAP” (“Spousal Acceptance Factor”) when investing in your new Plex ecosystem.
Another OS setting you may want to modify is the computer’s sleep setting. Depending on your hardware configuration and remote control setup, you may prefer to prevent your Plex client from sleeping, ensuring instant access without having to pull out the trusty keyboard. Many of the Plex clients, especially setups like the Intel NUC, draw so little power that keeping them active during idle times may be preferred if you plan to frequently use the device.
Other OS options to investigate include enabling automatic restarts after a power failure, disabling automatic system updates (which may break your Plex setup or cause bugs), and turning off any application and system notifications that may pop up during Plex playback and ruin the show.
Installing & Configuring Plex Home Theater
Once you’ve got Plex Home Theater installed, getting it set up with your server is a breeze. If you’ve got an account at Plex.tv, PHT will ask you to log in and enter a PIN during its first run. It’s a similar process to that used by Roku.
Plex will automatically configure itself for local or remote access to your server. If you’d prefer a manual approach, you can manually specify a server by IP address in the Plex settings. Many of the remaining setup steps are covered in the Plex video embedded earlier, and the step-by-step prompts in the PHT software make the process quick and painless.
I use a laptop (see below)
I use a laptop (see below) for my PMS. I have a external 4TB USB 3.0 drive attached with my media. I back it up to a drive on a my desktop.
The setup works great. It is fast, quiet, and power efficient. It can handle 3+ HD streams without issue.
I bought the laptop used specifically for using with Plex.
I am not sure why more folks don’t recommend using an i7 mobile CPU for a PMS, seems like a perfect marriage to me.
Toshiba Satellite P875 Laptop as a PMS
Model Name: P875-S7102
OS Windows 8.1
Processor3 and Graphics4
Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor
o (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
Mobile Intel® HM76 Express Chipset
Mobile Intel® HD graphics with 64MB-1696MB shared graphics memory
Configured with 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
this guide is very
this guide is very informative, but could someone take their time to build a parts list for me please on the items that were described. Some of the items on the guide are not specifically mentioned for the noobs that are just starting out. I would like to build a NAS system capable of streaming 1080p to at least 4 devices. I’m looking to spend around 400 with with hard drives. What setup can I get with this?
My opinion – basic system
-I5
My opinion – basic system
-I5 or I7 processor
-4 to 8 GB RAM (should work fine in 4)
-4TB Disk (will hold 1000+ Movies, hundreds of TV Episodes)- GB Network – hard wire to internet router, or via switch
if home network set up.
– Video card with HDMI (< $50). Don't need anything fancy. This will have the 5.1,7.1 included). - Connect to TV or AVR using HDMI - Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 Pro Better if internet router is 5ghz or dual band (2.4 and 5) Run PMS and PHT on same machine. Works just fine. If expecting lots of remote clients go with I7 Processor No need for separate PMS Can expand by adding more disks, or USB 3.0 disks ------------ Can also run WMC and Live TV and TV-DVR if you have cable (assuming you get HDHOMERUN or similar) ----------- Rip movies using MakeMKV Compress them with HandBrake (use a profile (or create) for high bitrate hhigh quality. Rips in MakeMkv for SD DVD of 5GB encode down to about 1.5 GB with no apparent loss in quality
Hi,
What do you use to
Hi,
What do you use to control your “basic system” Htpc? I use Harmony One for my device control, have you factored that in too?
Thanks,
Mark
Mr. Tanous,
Thanks so much
Mr. Tanous,
Thanks so much for the informative article. I recently bought a DS1815+ and I love it. I attempted to run PMS directly from it and found after much trial and sadness, it does not give me as much of a clear picture as I would like, even when direct playing the vides. It plays some of my videos well through DS Video, but the interface and such are not conducive for my children and wife. Also, I often get “the video format is not is not supported” even though all of my videos are mp4 transcoded through Handbrake.
All that aside, I have decided to repurpose a Windows 8.1 PC as a PMS only machine with all of the videos stored on my DS1815+. I would love to do just like your setup. You said…
” In my own personal Plex Media Server configuration, I have one of my Synology DS2413+’s Ethernet ports connected directly to the box running PMS. On the server, I map the Synology’s local IP address to a network drive and point PMS to exclusively to that location. I then connect the Synology to the rest of my network and the Internet via the second Ethernet port, so that I can access the NAS directly when adding new content or performing maintenance. This setup ensures that, regardless of what else is happening on my network, the media files will get from the NAS to the server unobstructed.”
I have two routers, one that runs a VPN, with DD-WRT on it and a second router bridged that runs Netgear firmware with no VPN and has all of my home entertainment stuff connected to it. My question is, and please pardon my ignorance on this topic because I really have no knowledge on networking, but how do I exactly map the Synology to a network drive and point PMS to that location and then have Synology connect to the Internet thorough the other connection. When I got it, I plugged it in, via the manual instructions, with both Ethernet cables, into port 1 and 2 of my non-vpn router. I am assuming the DS-1815+ is connecting to the Internet via both ports.
Thank you for your patience, time, and help with this matter.
All,
After a little research,
All,
After a little research, I was able to figure it out. I used this post, http://wolfig-techblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/connecting-ds212j-nas-directly-to.html, to figure out how to connect my PC directly to my Synology and set up Plex to read directly from it. Now I can transfer files in a jiffee. I used a USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Cat 6 cable and connected the USB end from my PC and plugged the Cat 6 end to Port 3 of my DS 1815+. Then I followed the steps in the post I cited to configure the PC and NAS to communicate using the setup. I then created a few mapped network drives using the IP addresses I created and then set up Plex to read directly from them. Plex has never worked faster!
Thanks to all for the help and insight.
I am surprised about hardware
I am surprised about hardware req.
If transcode the best idea is use graprhics card and support ARM procesors with MALI .. its all about power consumption.
I use BananaPi as NAS and i was planned to buy Ondroid C1 http://www.hardkernel.com.. but and use PMS. So .. as i was reading in an article its not possible 🙁
I have a question about
I have a question about running PMS on my Sinology DS412+. I currently have the plea package installed on NAS and running fine but when I launch the plea app within DSM the plex home screen opens in another browser window and at the top there is a message saying a plea media server upgrade is available Download now. Do I need to do the upgrade? Normally if there is an upgrade DSM notifies me in the Package Center. If I click on the Download it takes me to a screen asking if i want the NAS version or Computer Version. Seems like it wants to install on my Computer.
The official package from
The official package from Synology can be quite a bit behind the packages created by Plex. I almost always download the package from Plex and manually install it on the NAS. Just click on Manual Install in the Package Center and then browse to where you saved the downloaded package.
Hi guys, a lotal IT store
Hi guys, a lotal IT store sells something totally illegal: a modified ROKU player which connects to a remote server and gives you thousands of TV channels worldwide. We can all do this ourselves using Plex/XBMC/FreeNAS, etc. But the guy charges his clients $180 per year to unlock their Roku. Each year, a new set of codes is needed to keep the link to the remote server alive.
Note to all: I DO NOT WISH to setup a business doing this. It is illegal and I would never do something like this. But I’m curious how these guys operate. Did they put their servers in Costa Rica? Do they change them regularly? Do they need one media server (Plex/XBMC/other) PER client? Technically, how do you go from what everybody is doing here, having their own media servers with their own data, to having a paid customer base connect to your servers online to get their channels. I don’t believe that they stream films and other stuff from a server with terabytes of data. They only use their server as a relay to offer thousands of TV channels to their users.
Regards,
Maldoror
Wow what a terrible waste of
Wow what a terrible waste of time. Sorry man but your title should have been everyone look I am advertising for Plex. I came here hoping to learn the configuration of plex using multiple devises like readynas and such, but get an advertisement instead. Horrible…
It appears you didn’t click
It appears you didn’t click the link at the bottom of the context that says “Building a Plex Media Server”. This is just the first page where he gives an overview.
I don’t know about Plex….I
I don’t know about Plex….I tried to set it up and the whole process was such a hassle. I have way too much content to organize everything to make it so Plex doesn’t blow up. I prefer younity, giving me instant access to my home media server from all my iOS devices without any complicated setup. Once they have more platforms released, they’ll be a huge competitor to Plex. Has anyone else tried it?
What’s the best software for
What’s the best software for burning the entire dvd or Blu rays to the computer. Either free or pay software?..