If you haven’t tried Plex yet, I want you to stop what you’re doing and download it now. Put it on all your devices: your TV, your tablet, and your phone. Sign up for an account. It’s free, and it’s going to change how you watch movies and TV shows.
When most of us sit down to watch TV, we may mindlessly open Netflix or just start opening apps at random, looking for something good to watch. It can take forever to find the right title. But Plex streamlines the entire process.
Let’s explore why Plex is such a standout service.
Add Your Favorite Services
To maximize Plex’s abilities, start by selecting all the services you subscribe to. You can even add free services like Tubi.
Go to the Discover Tab
In the Discover Tab, you’ll see the most popular titles across all services. Scroll down and choose one specific service if you want to see available highlights. Here’s what Plex shows me for Disney+:
If you want to watch a title, click through and Plex will open the other service and take you straight to that title. You don’t have to browse again!
You can also scroll down in the Discover tab to see recommended and trending titles across all your services. Pull up a list of Academy Award winners. Browse movies by decade. See trailers for upcoming movies. Just browse around and you’re seeing the best of all the services you’re paying for without switching apps.
Use the Search Function
Maybe you’re in the mood for a certain actor. Let’s search for Tom Cruise.
Underneath a bio, you’ll see some of the artist’s most popular work.
Click each title to see where you can watch it. We can watch “Top Gun: Maverick” on Prime Video, MGM+, or Paramount+.
But Plex also shows us Tom Cruise’s entire filmography - even the titles that aren’t top-of-mind.
Do you remember the 2007 movie “Lions for Lambs”? I don’t, either. But apparently it has Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, and Meryl Streep. What a cast! Plex shows us it only got 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
We can add it to our watchlist to check out later, or (because we added Tubi as one of our services) we can just click on the Tubi icon and Plex takes us right there!
The search function works beyond actors, too. Search for directors or cinematographers or composers or even a makeup artist or costume designer! Plex will show you all their work and where to watch it. If a specific movie isn’t available on one of your streamers, you can even rent or buy it through Plex.
Watch Live TV
While Plex gives you hundreds of free TV channels and free on-demand movies, you can also connect an antenna and stream or record live TV through a device like a HDHomerun.
Since I use Sling TV as my live TV provider and Sling doesn’t offer CBS, I use my antenna and HDHomerun to record “Survivor” and “60 Minutes” every week. The recording is saved forever on my computer’s hard drive.
To watch/record live TV through Plex, you will need a Plex Pass subscription, but you can grab a lifetime Plex Pass with a discount if you act quickly. Plex Pass lets you skip commercials when you watch recordings!
How to Get Lifetime Plex Pass for $95.99 (20% Off)
- Click here to activate the deal from Plex.
- Choose a username and password to create your Plex account.
- Sign up for the lifetime Plex Pass option.
- Enter promo code FOREVERPRO when prompted.
- Enter your payment information and finish signing up.
Share Media With Friends and Family
Do you want your friends and family to be able to watch your home movies without putting them on a public service like YouTube? Plex allows you to share media from your hard drive with specific people. Invite your friends to sign up for Plex (even the free version) and you can let them watch any video files you have saved.
You can even segment your libraries - Grandma and Grandpa can watch videos of your kids, while your friends can watch those videos you took on vacation. You can always add or remove videos for a specific user or all your connections.
Listen to Music with PlexAmp
PlexAmp is my go-to music player. It can access all the songs I have saved on my hard drive. I created a running playlist and downloaded all my songs to enjoy from my phone when I’m working out. It even works with audiobooks you may have saved.
Conclusion
I use Plex literally every day. It makes streaming so much easier than having to search for titles on individual services. In an era where movies frequently jump from one service to another, Plex saves me the trouble of finding them.
Plex is also better for browsing while bored. If you want to see every movie Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter worked on, Plex can connect you to her entire filmography. Are you a fan of genius composer John Wiliams? Plex shows us all his credits from last year’s Indiana Jones film to 1953’s “General Electric Theater” (surprisingly available on Tubi!)
Plex should be your home base and first click when you turn on the TV. There’s always something to watch. Because you can use it to scan titles on free and paid services, it’s a universal hub to connect you with the entertainment you want.
I opted to upgrade with the Plex Pass because it offers so many great perks, but I used Plex for free for years before that. I’ve been using Plex for 10 years, and it’s only getting better. Give it a whirl and it’ll become a favorite of yours, too.
Plex
Plex is a free streaming service that includes on-demand access to 50,000+ movies and TV shows. The service also offers 1,100+ free-to-stream live TV channels in 193 countries. Users can also connect Plex to their computers to stream and share any media they have on their hard drives.