Alternative ways to run Plex?

Fjor@lemm.ee to Technology@lemmy.world – 71 points –

Context; So... Just bought a brand new TV and life is good, but I should have done more research before buying it. I primarily want to use PLEX for watching media on the TV. However, due to "smart TV's" not being smart and being rather slow because most current TV operating systems are either bloated or just riddled with ads.

Question; So Plex is there, but it runs very poorly. What are the best options out there to get this running smoothly? Are the only options AppleTV and Amazon Firestick? Anyone been in this boat before that have any tips-n-tricks to share?

Ps. I hate ads, so the Firestick is of off the charts.

Much appreciated

73

NVIDIA Shield Pro (the 2019 model is the latest version) with a couple of customizations STILL is the absolute best for avoiding ads.

It is the most powerful outside of the latest model AppleTVs, but with the added benefit of being completely customizable.

Personally, I HATE ads, so I use a combination of customizations to eliminate them completely.

  1. A custom “launcher” - this is a little weird to wrap your head around if you’re not familiar with Android OS devices, but it basically means “replacing” what you see when the device turns on. A few years ago, Google couldn’t help themselves and started adding more and more advertisements to their “home page” for the Shield’s default launcher app, so I switched to the “Wolf” Launcher and have never changed, though I would probably recommend “FLauncher” now since you can still (at least last I checked) get that directly from the Google Play Store without any “side-loading” (which means to install things from non-Google sources)
  2. I love YouTube, but hate ads, so I downloaded and installed a 3rd party YouTube client called “SmartTube Next” - which although DOES require a side load installation, COMPLETELY ELIMINATES ALL ADS, AND in-video sponsorships, and even intros and other annoying filler content in some more popular videos.

The side-loading part makes things a little more scary/difficult to setup but I promise it’s worth it and there are always updated videos online on how to do this safely and securely.

I just set up like 8 of these things a few weeks ago for my brother and he loves it. Nothing is laggy or slow, no ads, and it integrated into his Smart Home stuff effortlessly.

One last note - a custom launcher can replace the default one (rather than run alongside it) by grabbing and installing “Launcher Manager” - another side-loaded app.

Think I will buy a Nvidia Shield Pro, it seems like the overall best solution. Thanks for the detailed insight!

Absolutely! Just remember, no device is perfect. The Shield Pro just has the least crappy things that streaming boxes tend to have and the highest POTENTIAL of all the devices out there due to the availability of Android OS applications.

Make sure you do those customization actions I described and I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy the device. If you have any other questions that a Google / YouTube search won't solve, don't hesitate to comment here again.

Appreciate it! Thanks <3

I want to sincerely thank you for this post. We have the same attitude towards ads. I am getting a new TV soon and am trying to find one without the ads on the launcher screen. I didn't realize a 3rd party launcher was possible. I an definitely going to put that to good use. And will also use Launcher Manager to replace it. My current TV has the factory install launcher with all updates disabled to stop the Google ads.

I use YouTube premium to avoid ads and to give the channels I do watch more money.

Right now I am leaning towards a Samsung or Sony. Do you have any input on those brands?

I like my LG OLED CX. Does every type of visual format (DolbyVision, HDR, etc.), has “VRR” (variable refresh rate) to allow syncing with game console frame rates / GPU screen refresh rate.

If I had to choose something else from what I have now (which is 2+ years old now), I’d probably go do as much research as I can and visit sites with detailed comparisons of every major TV model like RTings.com and watch any video reviews I could of my TV of choice if available by this guy.

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

this guy

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

My problem is that this is a Panasoic TV, there is no Play Store like on normal android TVs, so dont think i can side load anything?

No. Don’t use the TV’s built in “smart functionality.”

In fact, I would recommend blocking it from the internet altogether.

In my experience “TV software updates” never improve any functionality… they use them for better analytics and at worst, literally pushing ads.

Buy a dedicated smart device and use that for your streaming.

Specifically I recommend buying an NVIDIA Shield Pro 2019 model (the latest).

You can get them at any Best Buy or Bezos store.

Also, while we are at it, general tip for everyone here - don’t use WiFi if you can. Use the Shield’s gigabit wired Ethernet port. Specifically means you’ll get a more stable signal from whatever Plex server you are using. I personally experience zero buffering on 4K DolbyVision video with DTS-HD MA 7.1 / ATMOS audio for anything I watch on Plex.

Just so folks know, almost every single one of the TV companies who make TVs that DO have an Ethernet port cheap out and only put in a 10/100 Ethernet port… NOT an actual gigabit 10/100/1000 Ethernet port.

The Nvidia shield is the android tv with google play services. It would be your drop in replacement for the Panasonic interface you are currently using.

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Running Jellyfin through a Roku works wonderfully. Jellyfin is a FOSS alternative to Plex and ran great on Roku, but ran poorly on Firestick, so it might just a Roku vs Firestick thing there.

Something else to consider is just buying a really cheap laptop for less than $200 or something and running Plex/Jellyfin or even just use your home network and play everything through VLC via HDMI on the laptop. You could even get a Chromebook and run Ubuntu on it and find an option for close to $100. A laptop option works well because you get to bypass ads and TVs operating system.

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Google TV with Chromecast seems to work and it's relatively cheap. I do get occasional stutters every now and then. Honestly, if you want the most flawless solution, running Plex from a computer and plugging that into your TV will outperform everything else.

I have nvidia shields in basically every room of my house

Those things are incredibly expensive, I don't think I could even afford one of them.

What makes them worth the extra money compared to say, a raspberry pi? I'm assuming Nvidia shield runs some version of Linux and is just as compatible with all the various packages and services you might want to run on a media device (such as a Plex server for starters of course), but what can it do that the pi came, to justify it's more than double the cost?

Ai upscaling, more ram, android so you can sideload apps, game streaming

Pi 4s come in 4 and 8gb ram varients (both being more than the shield), can run android, and are more than cabable of game streaming. Ai Upscaling is gross, imo. Additionally for the price of an nvidia shield you could get the new Pi 5 with a better cpu and more i/o

I love my shields 🤷, out of the box I don't have to do really anything like install an os etc

Also has ads

I run an Apple TV, but jeep tire shield got the home theater

Personally, I like having a full fledged PC connected to my TV. Currently I'm using a Beelink T4 running Ubuntu. The PC is under my direct administrative control, so no surprises with ads or other things.

Power consumption may be slightly higher than an NVIDIA Shield or Roku, but at 24w at full tilt for the Beelink it cannot be that much more.

The same Beelink machine comes with Windows 10 as well, if you'd rather have Windows.

That would work for plex. But if one also wants Disney Plus, Netflix or Prime, that wont work (or with really limited quality)

If you need 4k, then I can see your point. My TV is 1080P, so the browser works just fine.

None of these services provide 1080P through a browser. Netflix can be hacked todo so with a different use agent and does play up to 4k on MS Edge on some windows Laptops, but other then that its 480p or 720p, depending on service.

What do you run in Ubuntu for your content display? I currently run Rokus to access my Jellyfin server but have plenty of unused PC hardware which could replace the Roku.

I haven't found any family friendly (read: idiot proof) way to make the PC as easy to use as the Roku.

Not who you asked but I rub my jellyfin server in the browser on my media box. If yiy cab click on the link saved on the desktop you cab access the server

I do the same as averyfalken, just run everything in the browser.

No you won't get 4k, but it does work for 1080P. You can run the Plex client on PC for 4k media.

I will always recommend the Nvidia Shield. It works significantly better than any other streaming device I have or have used. You can also host your Plex server on it directly if that's a use case you're interested in.

Any Android TV device is going to have ads on the launcher now because Google sucks, but you can just install a third party launcher and set it as the default to get around that.

Shield fan as well, but "will always recommend" is pretty strong wording considering it's pretty much an abandoned product from Nvidia's perspective. I don't know that it will be very future proof, but for now it's great for running plex as a server or otherwise and although it hasn't been updated in many years, the upscaling algorithm to bump 1080 to 4k remains unparalleled.

I mean sure, I'll recommend them for as long as they continue to work, but I'm still using the first model I bought back in 2015 and the only issue I have with it is needing to reboot it once every few months because it'll stop connecting over Ethernet.

I’m a fan of the Apple TV because I’m in the ecosystem. Plex works just fine for me there. And I love that my Apple TVs don’t seem to rot out as fast as Android or Google TV boxes I’ve used in the past.

That being said, someone else mentioned the Onn box, and that thing seems to have pretty solid value. I’d start there, too, if I was trying something non-Apple.

Having been through several generations of Apple TV, I second this option. They’ve always been pretty great to me with regards to running Plex.

Oh man, I just had the memory pop in of using Plex on my AppleTV 2 — had to use a side-by-side python script running on the Plex server to make it work. My, how far we’ve come!

i love my rokus. they can run plex and jellyfin without a hitch

Second this, yes advertisements, but Roku doesn't like auto play videos and shit, solid little devices.

Apple TV? No ads, works well with Plex, bypasses crappy TV “smart” features.

This is the way. The TV is the Cadillac of Plex players, and pretty affordable for the quality of the device, especially considering it is an Apple product.

Is “the Cadillac of ____” still a relevant reference? It’s been a minute since the Cadillac brand has been known for quality.

It’s been a long time since anyone actually used a rule of thumb too, but it is recognized enough as a colloquialism to still be used in a sentence and understood as a metaphor. That is how I was using Cadillac here—not to refer to an actual Cadillac, but rather the pop cultural conception of what a Cadillac is supposed to mean.

Great Point 👍

The song I’m listening to from 2022 literally just said “Woke up in a Cadillac” too. 😆

Here is a greatbarticle on how to build your own streaming box with Kodi and a raspberry pi. You could also use a playstation or xbox.

Rokus are cheap. So are Chromecasts. We have the same issue with our TV.

Hell, even an old laptop can be loaded up with Linux for a set top box experience via Kodi or Plex directly. You can use Kdeconnect to turn your phone into a mouse/keyboard input over your wifi.

If you have a XBox you could try Jellyfin as there are apps that run pretty well on it. There's also an Android app so you could grab a $50 TV box from AliExpress and do it that way too. It'll also work via a web browser.

Jellyfin is also open source with no subscription fees for advanced features nor all the bloat that's tacked onto Plex as well. It's got a clean interface that I quite like too. It can take a little more work to get running though.

Also, the reason it's running poorly is likely because Plex has no hardware encoding at all unless you pay for it. When I tested it there was a huge difference for me in playback smoothness with it.

I assume you are talking about the Plex client or the server too? Client wise, the shield is still excellent as other folks have mentioned but I have been using Apple TVs lately, the client is snappy and works well. I have one of the first gen 4k ones and it plays everything I have tried to play. I got tired of the adds on the android devices and the Rokus have even gotten annoying lately so that’s what prompted me to switch.

ETA: in case someone is wondering, I also use the Home Assistant integration with my Apple TVs and it is superb.

Same situation, got a 4k Roku and it's been an absolute godsend for 3rd party apps!

So yeah, my vote is for a 4k Roku, I think they're a lot cheaper than an Nvidia Shield as well.

With a pihole you can block all ads and tracking on the Roku, too. I've got five of them and they're all in a special group to limit tracking, and they all primarily run Plex

I will always recommend buying or building a small home theater PC (htpc). Then you get a wireless keyboard with a connected track pad and you are set.

If you are more tech savvy, you can save money and recycle by simply installing Linux on an old laptop/pc that you are not using and plugging it into your monitor.

Would Kodi be an option?

I might look into Kodi instead, seriously dissapointed with plex running so poorly

Kodi can run on a raspberry pi and has a Plex app. I use local media and jellyfin so I can't testify how good it is

You could try one of these.

onn. Google TV 4K Streaming Box (New, 2023), 4K UHD resolution https://www.walmart.com/ip/2835618394

No thanks: https://killedbygoogle.com

Buddy, I've still got an original Chromecast I use daily.

Ditto. Got the 1st gen usb style, the 2nd gen puck, and the last ultra that came out before they had a full on OS and remote controls and shit. All 3 of em in use daily to this day.

$20 for what seems to be a good streaming device ain't bad, but I can understand where you're coming from.

These are surprisingly decent. I have the non 4k one from a few years ago and even that is faster than smart tvs I’ve used.

I recommend a Roku streaming stick or a Roku streambar if you need a decent sound bar too. That's what we use on our "smart" TVs and I hate ads too. Full disclosure: they do put one ad on the homescreen off to the side, but none in the actual content apps. You'll only see it while between apps.

I have a streaming stick in the bedroom, and it's much slower than my LG C8. I'd say the C8 is double the performance. Acceptable, but not good.

I completely believe that, assuming it's one of the non-4K sticks. The older generation models are rather wimpy and slow (we had one that we replaced for exactly this reason), but any of the newer 4K-capable devices have been snappy and responsive.

I stopped using Plex a few years ago. Now I just cast the video to a Chromecast. VLC or cast via browser.
It's not going to work for remote, but if all you want to do is cast movies to a TV, it's a simple solution

Also as a bonus, you can cast a lot a streaming media without commercials by using an adblocker.

Can it do transcoding and subtitles?

Subtitles yes. Not sure about transcoding. VLC is a pretty robust application with decades of development.

Okay - googled and yes https://wiki.videolan.org/Transcode/ And I believe most modern browsers will support this and casting, so you can always just open the local media file with your preferred browser and cast it that way

Do you have a games console? Xbox & PlayStation have Plex apps and are able to handle lots of file formats nativity. HDMI CEC is pretty neat too, you can use your tv remote to control media and navigate Plex on the console.

My experience with PS4/PS5 playback wasn't great. They don't have as many video codes as say, a simple streaming stick like Roku.