The Plex Media Server will launch and display an icon to the System Tray (bottom right of the screen) To setup the Plex Media Server, choose Open Plex from the Plex icon in the system tray. Download the Plex Media Server.zip; Unzip the file; Drag the Plex Media Server app to the Applications folder. Again, Plex supports basically all kinds of media file there is and it’s absolutely free to use. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up Plex on your Windows computer. Plex supports versions 7, 8, and 10 of the Windows operating system and you can follow this guide if your PC runs on any of the above Windows OS version.
Hey Guys,this is a beginners guide to setting up Plex Media Server on a Windows machine. Please feel free to leave a comment or if you require any assistance. Plex is a free program with server and client architecture, using it one can stream music, videos and photos from Windows to Mac computers, iOS, Android phones and more. Apart from Windows one can setup its server package on NAS boxes, Linux and Docker. How you can use the Plex Media Server? Did you download the software?
Plex is a client-server media player system and software suite comprising two main components — Plex Media Server and Plex Media Player. The Plex Media Server (also called PMS) is a desktop application that can run on Windows, macOS and Linux-compatibles devices. The server side of the application helps users catalog and organizes video, audio, photos and various types of multimedia files from different sources and making them easily accessible on your computers, as well as on other computers and devices — tablets, consoles, TVs etc.
Again, Plex supports basically all kinds of media file there is and it’s absolutely free to use. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up Plex on your Windows computer. Plex supports versions 7, 8, and 10 of the Windows operating system and you can follow this guide if your PC runs on any of the above Windows OS version.
How to Set up Plex on Windows PC
Pre-installation Media Preparation
Before installing Plex on your PC, you have to ensure your files are Plex-ready and are in accordance with Plex’s nomenclature. That is, your media filenames have to be in a language Plex understands. Very important.
And while this is — depending on the number of multimedia in your database — the most time-consuming aspect of setting up Plex on your PC, it is particularly of utmost importance as it helps Plex easily identify your files and download corresponding background art, descriptions, cover art and other important metadata. Although Plex also tries to automatically identify files, it is best practice to get your filenames in order beforehand.
Generally, video or movie filenames should start with have the title of the movie clearly spelt out with spaces of dots in between them. See image below.
If your movie has some terms like ‘DVDRip‘ or ‘WebRip‘ in the filename, you don’t have to break a sweat by removing the terms. As long as a reasonable part of the filename is correct, Plex won’t have a hard time identifying the gleaning information about the movie.
For movies with the same name but released in different years (i.e movies with sequels), ensure you differentiate them accordingly by renaming them to contain the years they were released.
For TV shows, filenames should follow the format: Title.Season(S)Number.Episode(E)Number.format e.g Power.S05E10.mp4 or Power S05E10.mp4
For more detailed information about media preparation on Plex Media Server, you can check Plex’s official article on Media Preparation.
Installation
Visit the official download page of Plex, select your device (i.e Windows) from the drop-down menu and a download link will be created to download the Plex Media Player setup (.exe) file to your computer.
Alternatively, you can visit the sign-up page and register a Plex account. A registration confirmation mail containing a download link will be sent to your email address.
Install and launch the Plex app on your Windows PC.
You will be directed to sign in to your Plex account with either your email, Google or Facebook account.
Sign in with your login credentials and continue.
Sign-up for a new account if you have previously created one.
Plex Media Server Set-up
Next is to set up the Plex Media Server by adding a couple of libraries.
1. First step is to give your server any name of choice, then check the “Allow me to access my media outside my home” box and click “Next” afterwards.
2. Next step is to delete the pre-created “Music” and “Pictures” library as created by Plex.
3. Click on the red X icon next to the pre-created libraries to delete them.
4. Next is to create or add new libraries either for movies, music or pictures. Click on the ‘Add Library‘ icon to create new libraries. A library is basically a collection of similar multimedia files e.g there should be an individual library for movies and music videos, TV shows should also occupy a separate library, likewise ‘Movies’
5. To create folder for your movies, click on Movies, then enter a preferred name for the library and click ‘Next‘.
6. On the next page, click on the ‘Browse for Media Folder‘ and navigate to the folder where your movies are.
7. After selecting the folder, click on ‘Add’, then on ‘Add Folder‘
8. Upon clicking on Add folder, Plex will commence indexing your movie files.
The same process applies for creating a library for TV shows, but a little complicated when it comes to Music files.
To create a music library, click on Add Library >> Create a basic music library >> Use embedded tags >> Add Library
9. After creating all libraries, click on ‘DONE‘.
Plex will begin identifying contents in your library and download their corresponding metadata like background images, images etc. Depending on the quantity of files to be synced, this process might take a couple of minutes.
Upon completion file identification, sycning, and library creation, a neatly catalogued Plex dashboard containing all your media will appear. You’ve successfully set up Plex on your Windows PC.
Got any questions? Do make sure you drop them in the comments box below.
Images credit: Simplehelp.net
Related
Plex Media Server is a great and server that can be installed on Windows 10 completely free. This server will allow you to add all your media files in folders and then have them sorted by Plex. Plex will actually read the title of all your media and try and determine what movie, TV show, song or album it pertains to and sort it accordingly by scraping the internet for the information.
Plex Server Windows
Once Plex has determined the exact media that has been added, it will create automatically a thumbnail, description, title and have it listed in your library for immediate use on your server, or access from your devices connected to the network. Plex will also allow you to access your server remotely even when not connected to your WiFi or home network if the settings are correct.
Signup
It is completely free to signup for a Plex account and takes very little time. Follow all the steps on the signup page and you will then be ready to download and install the Plex Media Server.
Download / Install Plex
To get the server up and running you simply need to visit Plex and download the server software for Windows 10. Alternatively if you are using a Mac, Linux and many other platforms, the server software may be available for you as well.
You will follow all the simple steps once you choose Windows as the operating system you would like to install the Plex server on, you whichever operating system you choose.
Once you have successfully downloaded Plex and installed it on Windows you will will need to setup an account.
Add Content
Once you have the Plex Media Server installed it is time to add libraries to the server so that you will be able to stream the content on all your devices. Open your Plex Media Server from the start menu and begin adding content to your server.
Movies
If you have movies and you would like to add them to your Plex server, simply click Add Library (it could be a plus sign next to library), then select movies.
Now you will need to browse to the folder that contains all your movies. If you have more than one folder that contains movie content, you will need to repeat these steps for each folder until completed. Once the library is added Plex will scrape the internet and try and sort your movies accordingly.
Make sure you movie filename is precisely the name of the movie. It is also a good idea to place the year the movie was released after the title. Macos clone drive. This helps Plex when identifying the movie especially if multiple films have similar titles.
TV Shows
This is where you will add the folders that contains all your TV series, sitcoms and shows that contain multiple episodes. The process is the same as it was for movies and will sort your shows accordingly for easy navigation from any device using Plex that accesses your server.
Music
Sometimes you don’t want to watch television, you just want to get your jam on. If you have some folders on your PC server or external drive attached, add your music folders as well. Plex will as it did with the video streams, scrape the web and find the details pertaining to your albums and songs and have them easily accessible to you. You will then be able to stream all your audio music as well from your other devices.
Plex For Windows 10
Photos
Plex Setup Windows
This section does not scrape the internet for you, however will be a great place to add your photos that you would like to see not only on your PC, but from anywhere. Keep in mind you will allow your photos to be seen from anyone accessing your server, but is a great way to show friends and family your portrait collection without having to cram each other around a computer in a tight place.
Plex Setup Windows 10
Other Videos
If you have some videos that the internet will not be able to find any information for such as home videos, cams and other video content, this is the category to add these folders too. This will allow you to watch all video recordings you have, however Plex will not be searching for any information on these videos.