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Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - Printable Version

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Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - GortWillSaveUs - 2012-04-20

Just saw that Roku is advertising that you can install Plex Media Server app on a MAC or PC and stream content to your Roku box.
With the drop in price to $50 for a Roku,..is this now the cheapest solution out there for a HTPC?

Plex for Roku

Plex for Roku can play a wide range of video, audio, and photo formats as well as content from online sources using myPlex and the Plex Media Server.

Access all your local media through your Plex Media Server

Plex for Roku gives you access to all your local media by connecting to your Plex Media Server. Install Plex Media Server on your computer and configure it to point to all your local videos, music, and photos. Then the Plex channel on your Roku can connect to your Plex Media Server so you can enjoy that media on your big screen.

And it's not just the Roku. Once you have your Plex Media Server set up you can enjoy your media on all sorts of devices with Plex clients, including Mac and Windows computers, iOS, Android, and Google TV (just to name a few). Check out the wiki for more information on Plex in general, starting with this guide.
myPlex

You can also access all your myPlex content on your Roku. myPlex lets you queue videos from various websites to watch later on your Roku, as well as share Plex Media Server sections with other people.


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - reksveks - 2012-04-20

think the cheapest would be the xbmc flavour for raspberrypi, Raspbmc when it comes out


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - GortWillSaveUs - 2012-04-20

I suppose my point being that while I was hoping to build a really cool HTPC and run XBMC (which is one awesome piece of software),...my cost for building one was probably $600-$700. I was going to buy a Zotac for around $330,........but heck,...I already own a Roku.

I guess I'll find out how good Plex on Roku is, when I get home and try it tonight.

If nothing else,..if this works well,...it'll give me more time to do research before deciding on the building of a HTPC.








RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - beetlesnack - 2012-04-20

(2012-04-20, 19:42)GortWillSaveUs Wrote: I suppose my point being that while I was hoping to build a really cool HTPC and run XBMC (which is one awesome piece of software),...my cost for building one was probably $600-$700. I was going to buy a Zotac for around $330,........but heck,...I already own a Roku.

I guess I'll find out how good Flex on Roku is, when I get home and try it tonight.

If nothing else,..if this works well,...it'll give me more time to do research before deciding on the building of a HTPC.
I can't comment on the Roku, but why would you need to spend 600-700? $300 should do it.



RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - reksveks - 2012-04-20

Plex, I think only gains an advantage on XBMC when you have a few clients and they are portable ones such as mobile phones and tablets (which I think you can download to so you can play then locally) but if you have one or two main HTPC's then I will choose XBMC.

My post (if anyone saw it) before was a bit snarky I will admit, I apologies.


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - GortWillSaveUs - 2012-04-20

Quote:I can't comment on the Roku, but why would you need to spend 600-700? $300 should do it.


You got me,..I suppose I was exaggerating a lot, especially when I just glanced at my parts list that I wrote out yesterday.
It shows a grand total of parts of: $195 for case, MB, cpu, psu, and ram.
If you add Windows 7 OS,..$300-$350

I get carried away sometimes. Big Grin




RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - homewrek - 2012-04-20

Do you have to pay for plex on the roku, or is it free on the channels list?


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - Bstrdsmkr - 2012-04-21

I'd say that's a pretty personal question. Make a list of what you want from your HTPC. If Plex on roku meets those needs, then rock it out with your pockets out. To illustrate the contrast, I could easily say roku is a 100x better solution than XBMC. And be totally justified... if all I want is Netflix.

Roku doesn't let me play Skyrim and Super Mario Bros 3 with my xbox 360 controller and headset =)


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - snowglyder - 2012-04-21

I personally love Plex. Cheap ($60 Roku, $99 Google TV). Easy to setup. Mobile clients for access anywhere. Playback resume across all devices, which I love because I can watch shows or movies on my Android tablet at work and pickup where I left off when I get home. You can also share out your media easily with MyPlex accounts. Easy to use... my 3.5 year olds have been using it since they were 2.

I wish XBMC had cheaper options. I still rock it on the og xbox. Although I'm using that less and less as I also have a Roku on that TV too. Instead of building an HTPC for $300, I have 3 TVs going (Logitech Revue and 2 Roku's) for $240. For my use, locally stored videos and Netflix, it's perfect.


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - GortWillSaveUs - 2012-04-21

Well,...I installed the Plex Media Server where I have my ripped DVDs (all iso files for now)
I then added the Plex channel on my Roku (it's free to the person that asked,..in fact, you don't even need to register if all you're using it for is to play you media locally)

So, it connected to the Media Server,....and it did create the art for the individual movies and music it found.
Music plays fine.

But,.....the movies,...not so much.
It plays the movie "The Right Stuff",..but all others,...it dumps out and won't play any other movies.

The interface is slow, and not as pretty as XBMC (of course)

I think I'll work toward getting that HTPC built and soon.




RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - digiot - 2012-04-26

That is because Plex does not support ISO playback!
Any other file format would work fine. I ripped all my DVD-ISO's to MKV's with MakeMKV but I am slowly replacing them all with BluRay rips! And no the Plex GUI does not look as nice as XBMC on a PC.
But it looks a lot better then the non-exciting XBMC on Roku Wink
Remember that Plex is a Server + Client approach with means one Server and unlimited Clients on a lot of devices(iOS,Android,DNLA,Roku...etc).
If you are like me and just need a system for playing back local media to several devices Plex is the best way to go.
If you are building a HTPC you could also install Plex on that and personally I like the Plex Client GUI better then the XBMC one.
But that of course is personel.

MacMini i5 PlexServer/Client + 12Gig RAID
ATV2 (PlexCLient)
ATV3 (no PlexAngry)
PS3 (DNLA/PlexCLient)
Sony KDL46NX720 (DNLA/PlexClient)
iPhone 3GS/4/4S (iOS PlexClient)
Ipad, iPad3 (iOS PlexClient)





RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - joazito - 2012-04-29

Jailbroken Apple TV.


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - thewarm - 2013-06-09

I just picked up a Roku 3 box for my bedroom (dumb TV in there). I put Plex server on my XBMC, Frodo, Windows 7 HTPC. Using the free Plex channel on the Roku, I can watch my Movies and TV Shows perfectly!
PS, I'm using the Roku wirelessly. Very easy to set up...


RE: Will Plex on Roku be an extremely cheap solution??? - GortWillSaveUs - 2014-10-15

(2012-04-26, 14:42)digiot Wrote: That is because Plex does not support ISO playback!
Any other file format would work fine. I ripped all my DVD-ISO's to MKV's with MakeMKV but I am slowly replacing them all with BluRay rips! And no the Plex GUI does not look as nice as XBMC on a PC.

Thanks for the info!